No real post today
Kidney stones suck….that’s all I have to say.
France, part 2
On Thursday or Friday (not sure which) my brother-in-law, Christophe, took us to a cave. No, that is not cave, but /cav/. Yes, short a. Anyway. A cave is a place where grapes are processed into wine. Christophe is in the Languedoc region of France. He is part of a different co-op than the one he took us to. This cave was the largest in the region. It is the Pomeroles Cave. Here is a photo.
We were able to taste several wines (before noon). They were really good. The tasting is inside the warehouse where the wine is fermented and stored. It was so cool. There was the coolest thing, too. There were spigots where you could bring a jug and fill it with one of three types of wine. this wine is what the older locals drink. It is not aged, but Christophe says it is perfectly good table wine and it is cheaper than gas! That’s right, a liter for a 1.2 euro or so. Here’s a picture of that.
Here’s the price list.
Here are a group of photos from the inner workings of the cave. You can see some of the fermenting and purifying tanks. I don’t know what every thing is because Christophe’s English is marginally better than my French. Let me promise, we were both at a disadvantage, but somehow managed to get along. Notice my dad…he had already sampled a few wines. They were NOT skimpy with the samples, either. It was so funny…I was every intimidated by the idea of going to a real French wine producer and tasting the wine, but the people there just acted like it was another day on the job and so did Christophe. Super.fun.
On the way back from the cave, Christophe took us to see his vineyard. All I can say about that is WOW! He has a lot of land and a lot of grapes. He grows two varieties. One is picpoul. The other is a red. The picpoul is a grape that is protected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piquepoul Only the growers in his region can grow it. In addition to all fo the grape vines, there are almond trees. Christophe pulled and cracked fresh almonds for us. He also showed us wild rosemary and thyme…not to mention many other herbs that I did not recognize and could not get the jest of through translation. There are also tons of markers on his land. The markers tell the story of the area using cartoon Roman soldiers who appear to be less than smart. Here si a gallery of the vineyard and the signs. I also tried to get a couple fo horizon shots. Remember, they are 25 miles from the Sea and about the same from the mountains. They really have it all in this area.
Tomorrow I will continue my France posts with pics from the coast.
Good Deed and Good Breakfast
Last night Henry and I took the girls to our favorite sushi place. We go at least twice a month and the staff love our girls. Te girls are very comfortable there and we trust them enough there to go to the restroom together. (Yes, this does have a point…give me a minute.) Anyway, 2/3 of the way through dinner the girls had to go to the restroom. They went and were gone for a very short time before returning with a WALLET! It was a white and pink wallet that was very, very fat. It was worn and fat. It had he look of a little thing that held someone’ life as tightly as a bit of synthetic leather and metal can. The girls were very concerned. We caught the manager and the girls handed it over to him. He promised to find its owner. A few minutes later one of the waitresses comes to table near tears. She wants to thank the girls (they had gone back to the bathroom to finish their business). She waits until they return and thanks them profusely. She hugged them and told them what good girls they are. She explained that she had just received her weeks pay and it was apparently in the wallet. Now this particular lady works at TWO restaurants we visit. She is a very hard working woman. The girls were kind of stunned to receive such gratitude from a grown up, a person they didn’t know well and for something they knew they should have done….but they were very pleased.
Right before we left, Sam, the waitress, brought a big bag of Japanese candies to the girls. They almost came out of their skins! They adore these treats because they are so different from the stuff you get at the supermarket. We tried to beg off, but she was adamant that she gie the candy to the girls as a thank you for such a good deed. She thanked us too for raising such good girls. Wow, they are good girl, if I do say so myself. Here they are with their reward.
This morning we made ebelskiver together. Henry and I went to Williams Sonoma yesterday and ran into a pan we couldn’t resist. Here’s a link and a better photo. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/c332/index.cfm Henry was intrigued and I consented to trying these. I picked up the cookbook as well. The interesting thing about these is that you beat egg whites and incorporate them into the batter in order to make them very fluffy. They puff up like and are the size of golf balls. I made one batch that was cinnamon and brown sugar. These had no filling. Then I made some filled with jam as well. The girls helped and we had a pretty good time. Everyone loved them but me. I really do not like pancakes and I don’t think they are different enough to make me like them. They are much eggier than pancakes, but still, no go for me. Here’s photos of the process. It’s a bit more involved than pancakes, but we had fun. Oh, ignore the pj’s and bedhead…please.
One more thing…I forgot. The first egg I cracked was double yolked!
Master’s Knitting
I don’t think I have mentioned it on my blog yet…but who knows! I have started the Master Knitting Program offered through The Knitting Guild Association. Here’s the link in case ny of you are interested. http://www.tkga.com/mastersprogram.shtm
In short, one must knit numerous swatches demonstrating mastery of specified techniques, do research, answer technical questions and eventually design an Aran sweater and write the pattern. I am on the first level. There are three levels. I consider myself a good knitter….not the best, but reasonably good. I expected this to be somewhat challenging, but fun and informative. Wow! It has been challenging and I only have gotten through three swatches! individually, none of the techniques have been particularly hard as far as being able to do them. However, the level of perfection that I am finding myself in pursuit of is ridiculous. Two months ago I would have knit the swatches below and called them great. Now, I am wondering if they are even “good enough” to submit.
The 2by2 ribbing comprised the majority of my frustration and time. I am a continental knitter and due to the way I purl, my purl stitches are looser than my knit stitches. It really showed up in my first three tries at the 2by2 rib. The ribbing was rolling open where the stitches went from a knit to a purl. I found an article at the TKGA website about this very thing! Apparently I am not the only one to be cursed by this phenomenon. I think I have fixed it. The remedy is basically tugging on the working yarn right after the knit stitch and then again after the first purl. It sure does slow things down a bit….but it may be worth it if it keeps me from having to reknit them after being rejected by the committee.
The stockinette swatch with the 1by1 ribbing was much better in the ribbing section, but did cause me some problem again with the difference in tension between my knit and my purl stitches on the stockinette portion. When the tension between knit and purl in stockinette is different, the result is a fabric that has a slightly rippled appearance. I had to tackle this several times. I think I am now satisfied with that.
I am hesitant on my increases on both swathces, but especially on the garter stitch swatch. I think they show. The point of this exercise, was that you make increase that are invisible. I did a lot of research and found what I thought was going to be the most invisible increase for ribbing…the knit in front and back (vogue calls it the bar increase because of the bar that it leaves behind). This happens to be the increase I use most often, but now I am wondering.
I have not blocked these yet and I have finished the seed stitch swatch, but have no photos yet. I will block all three and repost. I would love feedback from anyone who has any ideas on how to make my knitting better, words of encouragement or anyone who wold like to commiserate with me! Hell, I’ll take any kind of feedback!
Anyway, here are the swatches.
And here is a picture Mycah drew of Henry on her Leapster game. Isn’t it the cutest!!!!
A Little Catching Up…Again
Sorry about the utter lack of content of late. All summer has been spent visiting our dear friends in GA or them visiting us. We also went to the beach with them…so we have been burning up the road.
The girls started school about two weeks ago. I would like to say that I have been lounging in my satin robe eating bon-bons hand fed to me by Henry. Alas, I cannot. I have been volunteering at the library a good t, taking yoga a couple times per week, going crazy with Mycah’s chef birthday party and being a bit under the weather. Oh, well…I don’t like sitting on my ass anyway….it just gets wider when you do that!
One trip to GA was exceptionally productive for me and I do have a couple of pictures to prove it……of course, I had to steal them from Wendy’s website. (more on that later) I’m sure everyone who reads this blog knows that I have some talented friends. One of whom, is he Fashion Instructor at a private university in GA. She is responsible for directing my husband’s purchase of my new pride and joy…the Bernina. She decided that I needed some intensive sewing lessons; as in 4 days of non-stop, 10 hour a day sewing. I had a really good start from working with Tracy and from the little knowledge needed to do the finish work on my knitting. So, we worked and worked. I learned how to make box pleats, how to finish seam allowances, how to make buttonholes and to put in invisible zippers. I also learned the fine art of pressing and interfacing. Anyway…I came away with a shirt for myself, a dress for each girl and a skirt for each girl. AND…they actually look like something I would pay for…in a store! Here’s a pic of the dresses and my top.
Now I am just going to add a bunch of photos…some of from the first day of school and some are from Mycah’s Birthday Party. She had a chef’s birthday…that explains the aprons. The kids made a mess and had a blast. Also, the photo from the last post with the yarn and such in it is from a swap I received from a great gal in VA. I was trying to get the picture from here to Ravelry asap since it is bad form not to acknowledge receiving a swap as soon as you get it. Plus, I got a great swap, so I really, really wanted to make sure my partner knew I was appreciative. So, I threw it up on the blog hoping it would help me get it on Rav….it didn’t work. I had to link to my blog. But, at least it is in the blogosphere, somewhere.
One more thing, check out the photos Wendy took of the girls. They are on her website. She is starting up her photography business and I have to say…if you are in Middle TN, you’d be foolish not to use her!!!!! http://takingsnapshots.squarespace.com/
Long Time, No See
I haven’t posted in a while. I’m not sire why other than being so consumed with not having Henry here. I miss him so much, he girls miss him so much and I feel very disconnected. We went six weeks without seeing him. It was hell. Of course on the good note, Becca and her kids came for a visit and Chance and Emmy stayed with us for a few weeks. I think that is what got me so down. Henry was gone and then I as so busy with family that it was ok…..but then they all left….at the same time. While it’s nice to get back to a regular schedule, I really felt pretty deflated.
We visited Henry on May 2 to help him prepare for is MFA show. Now, I have always felt like my husband was a pretty amazing artist, but I have to say…this show was so, so great that I was pretty awe-struck of him. He has really worked his ass off for three years and it was great to see it all come together. I was terribly worried when he lost so much work in the flood, but he really got crazy busy and it didn’t seem like anything was missing. I couldn’t imagine another piece. He took the show down yesterday and today and packed his trailer. He will drive home tomorrow and probably get here late Monday afternoon. It’d be great if he made it home for dinner, but I’m not sure that will happen. It doesn’t matter…he will be home. I think I found a studio for him here. It’s just a couple of blocks away. He could walk. The lady is supposed to call me back tomorrow. Cross your fingers!!!
I’m leaving you with a bunch of misc photos, all related to above. They have titles, so you can figure it out.
Nightgowns, Clapotis, Spring
OK. Nothing I cannot think of any eloquent idea to link the myriad of things I have to blog about, so I will just go through all of the pictures I have for you.
The first is a couple of pictures of my nightgown….yes, my nightgown! I know that this whole thing good disintegrate into something that I’ll be kicking myself for….but I’m going to risk it. There is a back story here. Henry bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. Now, I have “sewn” before. The sewing that I did was very free form. I did a lot of satin stitch as part of larger pieces in book arts. I know the basics of the machine, but I do not know about cutting out patterns and then making them work. So, I used the machine a bit, but not much. I was really anxious to ramp up my skills so that I could make clothing for me and the girls. I have a quirky sense of style and am not easy to fit since the extra weight, so I thought sewing would be the way.
Enter Tracey. Tracey is a supper club friend from the Boro’. So here’s the deal with this. I have never felt so connected, loved and part of something as I felt when our family was part of the supper club. I miss it. I am lucky in that I have Wendy here, but two people don’t really make a community. I am trying here, but it takes a long time to develop the kind of relationships we had in Murfreesboro. You know, the kind where you let the kids run knowing that if they were in imminent danger or were doing something that did not fit the accepted norm f the group, then one of the other friends would say “hey, sew-n-sew, don’t do that.” It was cool…no parent got their feelings hurt and neither did the kids. Anyway, the short of this (although it looks like any hope of short has gone to hell) is that I was feeling a little like an island that very few people visited. So, Tracey calls me out of the blue one day. She said, “I’ve been thinking about you. I’d like to come and help you get the sewing thing going.” I just cried.
So, Tracey came over today and spent 5 hours walking me through sewing a nightgown. I realize that most of you would think…a nightgown…slap a couple of pieces of fabrics together and call it done. You all know that I don’t do that. My gown has a collar that is double faced and sewn on and set in sleeves that finish off the shoulders, much like the way a baseball shirt is made. It is flannel and I love it. Here it is !
And just for the heck of it a couple of pictures of the girls.
The second part of the post is for the clapotis I have finished. It is not blocked, but it will be tomorrow. It is a wool and bamboo blend. A sock yarn…no idea of the name. I have the label somewhere. Oh well. I could be happier. The color pooled in a way that I was not totally happy with, but that’s how it happens sometimes.
Here’s the spring part. The girls spent an hour or two drawing on the sidewalk and running around looking for secret things Friday afternoon. They also put some stuff out for the fairies. After they took a bath due to being covered in chalk, we walked to Maffioza’s. The only thing that would have made it better would be Henry.
Aren’t those girls the funniest little things!
Oh, forgot one more thing. Mycah had her first artist reception Saturday. Her school had a show at the TN Art League. She was less than cooperative when I asked to photograph her with her piece. Humph…she may turn out to be an artist after all.
A New Day Dawns…where were you?
I spent the better part of yesterday at Wendy’s. We watched the speeches, the music, the crowd and the swearing in. I feel blessed to have witnessed such a monumental moment in American History. President Obama’s term in office started with a moving call to action. I felt it was one of those get up off your collective ass and make something happen kind of speeches. I like that. We are a Nation built from blood, sweat and tears. We are a Nation of innovators, doers, thinkers, inventors, boot-strappers. We can rebuild our Nation. I felt like he made it pretty clear that we are each responsible for doing our part, whatever that part is, to get the country back on its feet. He didn’t promise that government would do it all for us….they will do their part, we must do ours. Now…I need to figure out what my part is. (Stayed tuned)
I spoke to Henry after the event was over and he was as full of excitement as I was. The art department drug a big screen TV into the entry area of the building and even placed a good number of chairs around. They had some difficulty in caching all of it, though. They had to watch the BBC feed (7 minute or so lag) because the CNN feed was choppy. Unfortunately the BBC had to run its broadcast test thing right in the middle, so they lost that. Then they wen to the choppy CNN coverage and it was lost…so one lady had a tiny radio that she turned up full blast to at least hear what was going on and then they went to someone’s office and watched some online. They finally go the V going again and got to see the end. Let me say that everyone was pretty determined to see and/or hear it! I have pictures below.
You may remember that we were in Iowa for the caucus. We actually were able to caucus because we were living there for his school. We were Clinton supporters…but I had a feeling that she may not make it and it turned out that she didn’t. I’m not sorry that I supported her, but I am also not sorry that ultimately she was not the one. I was very happy to vote for Obama and I think his temperament and his work ethic will be just the thing our country needs. By the time November rolled around, we had moved back to TN. So, we got to vote for Obama in our home state. I finished my Tuscany Shawl just in time to wear it to vote….so it is really my Obama shawl. I wore it again yesterday when he was sworn in. I think that is one piece of clothing that I will always keep and I will always associate it with this moment in history.
Here’s a bunch of photos from my experience in TN and Henry’s in Iowa.
Winner
I had Mycah draw the winner finally. She was not happy about there being only one winner and demanded that there be three…..so there are three. They are Lori, Gina and Amy. Gina and Amy, I will need your addresses. I will email you. Lori, I have yours! Thanks girls for helping me celebrate my blogiversay!
Goals
It’s the end of the year and a time where one evaluates the past year and looks forward o the next. This past year has been one of momentous change. We sold the farm, moved to Nashville, I quit working, Mycah is staying home with me, Grey is in a new school, Henry is in his last year of grad school and I had a sobering realization that my MS is not just a dim worry in the back of my mind, but a visitor who can definitely impact our lives.
I’ve spent the year just trying to find my way through this mess. I say mess…but most of it was good….just tempered. Many of the good things that we now have in place were a direct result of the one big issue we have. You all know what it is . I will say that MS has made me start learning to say no and has helped me to quit accepting guilt and worry over things that I have no control over. I am not to the place I would like to be yet, but I am getting there.
I have to say I have very selfish goals for the next year. I am not going to say that they are resolutions, because that is just setting myself up for failure. These are goals on my way to a better life. They are in no particular order.
1. Get to the gym three times per week.
2. Do yoga at home.
3. Reduce my and my family’s intake of meat by one to two meals per week and improve our consumption of whole grains and vegetables.
4. Truly manage our household finances.
5. Learn to sew.
6. Learn to spin…..well.
7. Get through the Knitters Almanac.
8. Work on Christmas presents through the year. (could include the use of some of goal number 7)
9. Work with Mycah in preparation for Kindergarten. Continue working with Grey to get her to grade level in reading. (We are close!)
10. Figure out what I am going to do with my life.
11. Enjoy my girls and my husband.
12. Find a church to call home.
13. Give a more holistic approach to managing my health a fair try.
14. Go to France to see my sis and her family.
I am going to print this out and put it on the fridge. My intention is to break these big goals down into little steps that will help me actually achieve them. I think it is a pretty ambitious set of goals, but good one that will really make a difference in my life…..and in turn a difference in my family’s happiness. Wish me luck and say a prayer for me. My prayer for all of you is that you reach your goals this year and find peace and happiness.
Haircut and prizes!
This is the package I got from jmknitster on Ravelry. That merino is so soft and the green is perfect. I love green. This is from the Monthly Adventures first anniversary celebration. The group has been a lot of fun this year even though I only participated in about half the swaps. This year has been so crazy that I haven’t been able to do all of them. Anyway, the moderators put a call out a month or so ago asking for prize donations. Everyday they announce a new winner. Believe it or not, I am also excited about sending my donation. I know who she is now and I plan to look her up to see if I need to change her surprise.
I received this two days ago. Then, yesterday I got an email from none other than MasonDixon Knitting to inform me that I won enough yarn to make the Emma Peel dress out of their new book. I am such a dork that I emailed her to thank her and give her my address and did not give her my last name! I was a little excited….what can I say!
In other, non-prize related news… I had my hair cut today. I have been letting it grow out a bit. I am gong for one of those bobs that are angled…short in the back and long in the front. Anyway, my hair guy decided to see what it would look like straight, so her flat ironed it. I don’t even recognize myself. I like it, but there is no way I am going to spend an hour on my hair in the mornings….no way. Have a look…
Sorry about the picture…I did the best I could for taking a phoo of myself with my crackberry.
MMMMM, Baby It’s Cold Outside
It’s not that cold, but it is starting to get much cooler here and it seems like it may stay now. I love the autumn. I love that it gets dark so early. I love that it is getting cold enough to wear more than a issue weight tee. Today I fired up the gas logs, poured some hot decaf coffee and knitted a bit. Not as much as I would have liked due to the difficulty of getting Henry’s thesis emailed to his committee. It was so large that it was killing the server. It is really picture heavy (of course, it’s art). Anyway, not as much knitting as I wanted. So, I have now set down again (with a bit of port this time) and plan to knit a bit more. I love to cuddle up and nest. This cold, grey day is just right.
By the way, I can’t wait to play Christmas music, singing and dancing with the girls in the kitchen….the one in the title is my all time favorite holiday song.
Sorry for a post about nothing…I’ll post pictures of my fireside knitting tomorrow (maybe). Go cuddle with someone you love and appreciate the chilly weather.
Girl’s hat for Connor’s Caps
Here is the completed hat for a girl at Connor’s school. Mycah was kind enough to model it…sort of. She is just doing it with her own flair! I used a pattern for the little flower from here. http://www.fortheloveofyarn.com/Issues/Spring06/patterns/spring06_stashbust_knit.shtml
It is so simple, it’s genius. It literally took five minutes to make. I added the flower so that the school colors were all there and I thought the little bit of mesh made it kind of flapperish…now it does look like something a flapper might have worn (save the shocking blue).
Mama started her hat today, so it looks like the TN/France contigent will be able to cough up 5, if not 6 hats. Off to post pics to Ravelry.
Didn’t get the picture taken
no pics. busy day. at least i bothered to write something…..even if it was nothing.
The Tuscany, She Is Done!
I just finished binding off the Tuscany Shawl. I doubled checked Ravelry only to find that the shawl took me a little longer than I thought. I cast on September 22 and finished November 3. I will say that during this time I have made a puppet for Ms. Silva’s class, separated countless books for her by chapter, had Grey tested and now signed up for Sylvan, went to Georgia to visit David, Lori, Drew and Zoe, cooked and cleaned as normal and worked on another 3 or 4 knitted items. So, I guess I am saying, I didn’t sit still every day for 4 hours a day and knit on this thing. Had I done that, I would have been finished in 10 days. I don’t have a picture yet. It’s dark outside, light is bad in the house and I look a little worse for the wear today. I’m going to where it tomorrow to go vote. I’ll make sure to get a picture then. I think mine turned out a little bigger than the shawl in the book, which is what I wanted. I used a fingering weight….made sport weight, Alpaca. It is so warm and soft and unbelievable. Pictures tomorrow.
Oh…..if anyone has not told you in a direct…..I’m-pointing-at-you-MR/Ms way…….tomorrow is a very important day for our country. If you did not early vote, please exercise your right tomorrow. Henry and I will ake the girls with us. This will be their second time to come to vote with us. It won’t be their last. No matter who ou are voting for, go do it. Have your voice heard and take your kids no matter the age so that they can see you performing your civic duty and exercising your rights. GET OUT THE VOTE!
this is an experiment
I got a crackberry, so I have spent an inordinate amount of time seeing what I can do. I can surf the web, but it is NOT quite as fun and defenitely not as easy as being on my laptop. The pages get all long and squished. I can change the view, but then I can’t see the page! Still it is cool. I’m sitting at Sylvan waiting on Grey. I am knitting the Tuscany shawl from No Sheep for You by Amy Singer of Knitty fame. The pattern is pretty simple, but very enjoyable. I am using Ble Sky Alapaca’s Royal Alpaca in a georgeous misty gray. I have tried three or four patterns with it so far. Nothing worked,but this pattern is perfect for it. This shawl is going to be warm and soft. – may actually keep it for myself. Here are a couple of pics I took of it with my new toy! Nevermind….can’t get the damned thing to work. about the pics……
Vacation, American Girls and GA Aquarium
I would apologize for the enormous number of photos related to this post, but I don’t feel like it and I think every single one of them is important. We took a short vacation last week. It was not one of those over scheduled, packaged things many people love to take. It was the kind of vacation I love to take. We hung out with great friends and did things on our own schedule. We drove to Gainesville, GA where our good friends David, Lori, Drew and Zoe moved. Both David and Lori have landed great jobs at two different universities in the area. They have a magnificent house just minutes from either job and the twins’ school. Our girls have grown up with the wins and consider them their long lost (not really lost) sisters. I think the twins feel the same.
Anyway, we drove down on Sunday and hung out that evening. On Monday we had reservations at the American Girl Bistro in Alpharetta. Drew and Zoe knew that we where going, but Grey an Mycah did not. The twins kept the secret for over a week! Our girls fell asleep on the way, as it took about an hour to get there. They were very groggy as you can see in the first few photos. It started to dawn on Grey where we were rih before we got to the door. She has never been, but was busy sounding out the words on the sign as we were walking. She was absolutely dumb-founded. Mycah was pretty pumped after she shook off the sleepies. We shopped for about 45 minutes before making our purchases. Grey had made up her mind when we walked in, but I wanted her to see everything so she could be sure. She has been wanting a full size ”Kit” since Henry and I brought her back a mini from Chicago wen she was. She finally got it. Mycah decided on a baby, a newborn, with no hair. Thank goodness, that hair is a pain to keep up.
After we bought the dolls, we went into the bistro. The girls got to dine with their dolls. The bistro is kind enough to provide seats for he dolls that slip onto the table top.
There is way more to tell, but I will have to finish this tomorrow…stay tuned!
Lace Swatch
Contrary to what one might think, this is not the front of a knitted G-string. This is a swatch for my swap partner (see below). I was to swatch the pattern I picked for her and then post it on Ravelry. I may have messed up because I am thinking I should have sent it to he. I don’t know. Anyway, it is the end of the tie on the Clementine Shawl in the summer IK 2007. The pattern in so sweet that I may have to make one too. It looks like a pretty quick knit. It is a mini-shawl or shawlette. I’m not sure I would where it as a shawl, but i might make a nice bunchy scarf. One more thing to add to my ever expanding list of things to make!
Two Teeth Down and a Birthday Present from afar
Grey lost another tooth! Check her out:
Becca sent me a great b’day present. It was amazing that it got hear though. She put a sticker label on it, but fortunately thought to write on the package before affixing the label. The package got hear, with no label and no name! I should have taken a photo of the package, the ink was almost the same color as the package. Anyway, it was the oddest thing. The package felt like a brick. I opened it to find a crazy looking ball of yarn:
I looked and looked. I discovered that there were items in the ball of yarn. After one hour of unwinding lace-weight by hand, I found soap, bathwash, eye-cream, moisturizer and tea. The yarn is a really pretty pink/red. It is qiviut/merino/silk. It’ very soft and feels like it will knit up beautifully. Now to choose a patten from the bazillion on Ravelry!!!!
Update
OK everybody,
I owe a post on the TN…since I whined about it in the first place. After a round of stupid-high-dose steroids, I am on my way to recovery. I can actually drink something cold and bubbly without dying and the wind is now only causing the intense burning/itching, but no “pain.” My butt is still dragging, but I can actually work and feed the kids without crumpling into a heap. I really think I have another week of recovery and I will be back ship-shape! Thank all of you for the well wishes. It really helped knowing that people cared how I felt both physically and emotionally. I love you all!
It is National MS Awareness Week
March 10-17 is National MS Awareness Week. The call from the National MS Society is …what will you do? I read another girl’s blog and what she said was freaking genius….”I will have MS.” Hehehehe…me too!
Seriously, I am copying a blurb from the Society’s website and asking that anyone who knows someone with MS…leave me a comment. I find it amazing how many people know someone with MS when they think about it. MS is generally pretty quiet. It’s the “oh, but you look so good” disease, but think about it. Do you know someone? I know 4 in my family or extended family….and another 20 or so form my Nashville group. My dad meets people all the time. I think this is one of those seemingly silent diseases and I just want to know…..
Here’s the skinny on MS (and I do mean the skinny). There’s a lot more to it, but you’ll get the idea:
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. and 2.5 million worldwide.
Knitting for Peace, additional comment
One of the most obvious (to me) things that I left out of my last post on the Knitting for Peace book, is that the peace she speaks of serves not only the recipients. The peace that is gained from dong good in the world and the chance for the quiet mind that I get when knitting is a blessing to me. So, my gift to another actually results in a gift to myself. So, charity knitting is an amazing circle of blessings that I highly recommend.
Just my two cents, for what it’s worth.
Happy Birthday to my Hubby
Henry’s birthday is today. I kind of suck…I hadn’t done anything really. I made a decent dinner and I bought him a cheesecake at this amazing bakery in town. Cheesecake is his favorite dessert.
He has been able to kind of hang out and take it easy since school won’t be in for another week and a half…so I am very happy about that. I’m also incredibly happy that I have been lucky enough to share my life with him for the past 14 or so years and that he gave me two beautiful girls. He is probably the best-hearted man I have ever known. He is kind, strong, a great father and a loving husband. He is forgiving, slow to anger, but fiercely protective of “his girls.” This is the day we get to celebrate having him here. I think there is no better reason to celebrate in the world. Henry, we love you! Happy Birthday!
