Two Week's Worth

Tough News
I called a friend of mine to remind him that our 20 year reunion is coming up. I hadn't spoken with him in a few weeks, so I wanted to find out if he was considering going and if he knew of anyone else who may be attending.

What he told me shook me.

He had just found out he had Hodgkin's Disease. He would be starting chemo therapy within days.

His first session was Wednesday.

He seems to be handling everything well at this point. He's in good spirits and he hasn't had horrible side effects. We're praying it continues this way but I promised him that if he lost his hair I'd make caps for him. I'm still considering making a comfort-ghan.

Please cherish your friends every chance you get.

We'd all appreciate your prayers.


Guild-Related
I did not make it to the Guild Meeting last week. I was having too much fun hanging out with my family. I hadn't seen my brother in two years. Spending this time with my family, letting the kids play together, and taking a few moments to help my parents took precedence.

To answer Kim's question, I absolutely, positively, do not have a pair of Fun-Fur Flip-Flops. I promise you that I will never, ever make them. However, my niece and my cousin want to learn to knit. Since there is a slight possibility that one of them may eventually "gift" me with a pair, I may some day own a pair. The only way I will ever own a pair is if a child gives them to me.

This week, I did make it to my knitting meeting. We had a pretty good turn-out with lots of new faces. I'm probably a new fact to them since I only attend sporadically. There was a variety of of project going on but I was particularly drawn to some Plymouth Alpaca yarn one young lady was using.


Mom's Afghan
I've tried to up the time I spend knitting on the afghan. I was just leisurely knitting it when I had the time but soon realized that at the pace I was going it would not be finished until after Thanksgiving. While there is nothing wrong with that, I'd like to work on some other things before that time and now I may also be making chemo caps and possibly another afghan.

I'm now committed to knitting a little each day. It's not a forced thing. It's more of being aware of opportunities as they arise. I'm enjoying knitting the afghan too. Because of this, each moment I get to work on it is a good one.

At the doctor's office, while awaiting the start of my tests, I managed to knit a mistake. I was amazed that it didn't upset me when I had to rip the two rows to fix it.

My mom gave the afghan another approval today. I took it to her house for her to make sure it was going to be the appropriate width since she never gave me a real number. Though I told her I would make another if she didn't like it, she assured me she is pleased.

If the afghan were as skirt, which of course it is not, it would be about knee length now. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow.

Speaking of skirts, I've considered knitting one before but seen horrible comments where people say they bag and sag. Is this true of all knitted skirts or are they just a fashion faux pas?


Proper Giving
Tomorrow is my boss's birthday. He's an extremely nice man. What do you give your boss as a gift? I've never had a male boss. Actually I have-- but we all bought a gift together as a group. Maybe I need to brush up on a little etiquette.

Afghan Progress, The Meeting, and Family

Sometimes you need a little good news and a few good times.

My brother is visiting from out-of-town. I'm very excited because it's been over two years since I've seen him.
We're going to hit a few sites and take in an amusement park or two. We had a Welcome Home Party last Saturday. It was nice but much larger than I anticipated. I don't throw parties, so I'm glad this event was hosted by my parents. There were way to many people there for me. It was great seeing everyone but I don't handle large crowds well. They drain me, even if I adore the people in attendance.

This has been the first time in years that all of my parent's grandsons have been together in one house in a very long time. They played well together. Each has a different personality. Out of the three, my son is the oldest, and the shortest.















As far as knitting goes, I have managed to get in a few rows of my mom's afghan. I'm hoping she'll be pleased. She asked how long it would take to finish. She was guessing at a little under a year. I like the way she thinks. I told her it would be finished way before then.
















Hopefully, it will be done by Christmas. It's a small ghan, rather than a large one. Therefore, it won't require quite as many stitches. My goal was just to make an afghan for her, since she requested one, and because I like to be able to do nice things for my mother. She also wanted it to be a persoanl item, which dictated a smaller size.

I'm enjoying watching the pattern develop. I'll make one of these again, possibly larger the next time.

I have a Guild meeting tonight. I'm going to try to make it there but I'm not sure. The only drawback is they are planning to do Fun Fur Flip Flops tonight!!! Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I'm not fond of this idea in the least. I do, however, want to see what everyone is knitting and see if any events for the future are in the works.

I enjoyed the guild's shawl meeting a few months ago . It was good to see knowlegeable, friendly knitters and to be able to ask questions. I didn't ask any questions but I liked that the opportunity was available to me.

I pray there is opportunity for that tonight, before or after the Fun Fur, if I go.

Happy Independence Day

Yorktown was a mess tonight. If you wanted to see the fireworks, you should have parked by 7:00 pm. After that, almost everything was closed. Fortunately, I watched fireworks yesterday and felt no need to experience additional light shows today.

During my limited travels today, I picked up bamboo needles for my cousin to use to learn to knit. I also picked up a skein of pink yarn, as it is her favorite color. For a special treat, I picked up a rosewood crochet hook for myself.

I've started my mom's afghan. I decided to go with a feather and fan pattern. The baby afghan will probably begin tomorrow. I'm thinking of doing a Farrow Rib pattern, checkerboard, diagonal knit, or crocheting the ABC afghan, or the Sideways Shell Baby Afghan.

In any case, I was happy to actually have some time to actually knit quietly for more than fifteen minutes.

I didn't get to do all I wanted to do, or even all that I should have done, but there were some bright moments in my day.

Holidays were meant to be enjoyed. Hope you all enjoyed yours.

Visiting--the LYS and Relatives

I made it to Knitting Sisters yesterday. Everyone was pleasant and friendly, as usual!

I picked up a few incidental items and a Filati book I had been wanting. I also managed to find a book for a friend. I needed to pick up a few needles but I left my inventory list at home. I also didn't stay as long as I would have liked due to bad weather, fatigue, and being shaken up from the funeral.

There will be class for this kids at Knitting Sisters this summer, as Kat indicated in her comments. It will be in August, since right now they are still preparing for their move. I let my aunt know today so that she would be able to have my cousin ready to go. Now I just have to wait to find out the class times to see which ones are best.

My uncle said he wants to learn too. Unfortunately, while I was there (at my uncle's house )today I did not have a knitting bag with me. Otherwise, I would have tried to show him the basics. I told him I'd be willing to show him and that I'd send him some helpful links.

It was good to be with family.

Tomorrow I may even eat that Breyers® ice cream.

Giving, Sharing, Reaching Out

If you hate posts that are sappy or sentimental, you may want to skip this one.

Today I learned a hard lesson, actually, the lesson started yesterday.

I found out that a lovely person, with whom I used to work, died. She was smart, she was kind, she was friendly, and she was almost always smiling.

Now, she is gone. She was only 33. She had a heart attack. Hearing her husband speak of his loss was heart-breaking.

I left the funeral today feeling very shaken. I connected with a few people with whom I had lost touch. I'm planning to connect with a few others. It was a wake-up call for me. None of us knows how long we'll be on this earth. It is truly important to share moments with people you love. It's important to be kind and to share with people while you can. I haven't been communicating with my friends the way I used to, so I've made the decision to reach out to them because I know if I lose someone else I cherish, I'll regret the time "I should have spent" with that person. I'll regret the words I should have said.

I've had a lot of loss lately, more than I've shared here. It has taken a toll.

Now, for some reason, all I want to knit is baby blankets, nothing else. I don't even want to knit shawls, hats, or baby booties. I just want to make something that's rhythmic, simple, and comforting.

...some Breyers® Oreo® Cookies and Cream would be good too.