Krafty1

A new home

Hey everyone! Sorry for my long absence, but it was was a much needed hiatus. I've migrated to a new home. I'm not publishing the address here. However, if you'd like it, leave a comment and I'll see to it that I send you to my new home on the internet. Life is an amazing journey!

At least it's something

I’m still here. And still knitting.  Finding it hard to write again.  At times, I have SO MUCH that I’d like to write.  At other times, I want to say “Screw it!”, because I need to hold back from saying what I’d really like to say.

There is so much work to do around my little fixer-upper.  There are so many opportunities that I don’t want to pass up time with the kids. There is very little time for “just me”.  And knitting has been relegated to the category of “Things I do, just not often enough.”

At least I have a project that I can pick up at anytime now: Shelly Kang's inspiring Sock Yarn Blankie.

So far, I have not repeated any of the sock yarns I’ve used in the past seven years. (BTW light blue...3rd from left...is from the first pair of socks I ever knit!)  I’m just glad to have something to grab and go with at this point.

Crazy

Sometimes life gets incredibly crazy.  I’ve learned, when things are incredibly busy, to take advantage of little opportunities that make me smile.  Like this one.

Recently, I had the pleasure of test knitting for a famous sock designer for said designer’s upcoming book (I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you).  A five day deadline wasn’t going to be difficult, but the delayed release of the pattern for testing came, during a week that was already booked solid, proved to be a challenge.  Included in the busy-ness was a hair appointment.

Knowing that there would be a good amount of knitting time available while my hair “processed”, it was a no brainer to take the knitting with me. Surely not the first time. (And that's as much of the sock as your going to get to see for the time being...I could show you, but then I'd have to...you get the picture!)  Anyway, my week had also been a bit crazy and I found myself wishing that my hairdresser still dispensed wine with appointments.  That’s when I decided to do something a little crazy and bring my own “beverage”.  I poured my “poison” into one of my coffee travel mugs and then poured it into one of the hairdresser’s iced tea glasses as soon as I got to the shop. 

It was the simple pleasure of feeling like I’d “gotten away” with something that made me smile…and gave me the jolt of pleasure that helped me keep on smiling throughout the week.  When life gets crazy, I’ve learned it’s important to do crazy little things that’ll help me smile and remind me that crazy is what we all are! My recommendation to you is: When life gets crazy, throw a little crazy right back at life!

Stitching Witch

I'm still here...busy as all get out and waiting patiently for the sock pattern I'm to test to reach my inbox.  Yarn possibilities have been pulled out and set aside while I wait. And my thoughts are moving back towards socks.  My thoughts haven't been so closely tied to knitting in a very, long time (and it feels really good to get myself reacquainted with my old "friend"!)

My mother has this saying about any change in life: she says, “Give it time, it takes two years”.  Well, she's right.

Whether it be a birth, a death, a marriage, a divorce, or even a move or retirement…”it takes two years”. Her theory is that it takes the first year for a person to “get used to the idea" of the change and go through all of the “firsts”. Then the second year to start figuring out what the new life is going to "look like" and to start getting used to it. (Heck, why do you think the “terrible twos” wait so long to start!?! It’s nature’s way of giving you time to be prepared for them!) Well, I am coming up on my own two year anniversary; two years since discovering that my marriage wasn't what I thought it was.

It took the first year to get used to the idea (if there actually is any getting used to the idea!) and working through the divorce process.  Then the divorce almost a year ago. The sale of the house…the final piece of our lives together…this spring.  And now, two years later, I finally see that my life has begun anew.  Some changes came easily, others not quite so smoothly.  But, as always, each of them has been an adventure accompanied by our band of merry friends and family.

  It seems fitting then that my Stitching Witch Travel Bug has been “MIA” for nearly two years.  You can read about her initial launch here…but to recap, her initial “flight” took place from New Orleans, then to Oregon, then to South Korea…where she sat nearly dormant for almost two years! Until a few weeks ago, when a German geocacher found her and took her home to Germany to kick start her journey to magical places.  Since arriving in Germany two weeks ago, she has been to Koln & Dusseldorf (both cities the girls & I have visited) and is currently in Bayern headed towards…maybe Heidelberg where Celia is visiting her Boyo…maybe Munich where she could visit with Victor or  Bockstark. In all, StitchingWitch has currently logged nearly 14,000 miles!!

At the time, I was disappointed that she was “stuck” in Korea.  However, it was appropriate.  I’d been “stuck” back then going through my own dormant period time without much in the way of forward motion. Not anymore!  And it feels good to be revitalized!!  Of course, for the time being, my travels will have to be a bit vicarious through the StitchingWitch while we work on the house.  However, one of her “goals” is to get to Stonehenge.  Some traveler may grab her and get her closer to making that a reality…only time will tell. Quite frankly, if she makes it there, I may have to drop everything and meet up with her!!

Fortunate Frustrations

There are many who would tell you that I have a positive demeanor. And it's true, I do try to look at the positive side of things and always try to find something positive about even the most frustrating of individuals. But sometimes it's difficult not to get frustrated...even for those of us who remain mostly positive.

For instance, recently I discovered that there was water that would leak into the basement after a rain storm. So the next time it rained and I was home, it became apparent what the problem was...the gutters were spilling over and pouring right into the window well!!

Easy fix...

if you have a ladder...

which my parents have...

 

and they came over one evening with it for me to clean out the gutters...

five minutes before I was supposed to leave for one of my board commitments...

and was dressed for it...

not for cleaning gutters...

and did I mention that I'm not crazy about heights!?!...

but I did it...

cleaned out the gutters...

without getting my clothes dirty...

and made it to the event in time...

and was grateful the gutters were clean the next time it rained!!!

The gutters were minor and easy to overcome.

You may remember that I used to live in a house that we'd built a mere ten years ago...with all the amenities...like windows that actually open!  Most of the windows on this house have storms, but no screens...and the storms are painted/caulked/nailed/screwed/all of the above shut!  The few windows that have "combination" windows, are difficult at best.  Many of those don't open or have window wells so full with the deteriorated glazing that repairs/replacements need to be done!

Soon, we will order new windows for the house.  There's one piece of the divorce settlement that was supposed be part of the downpayment for a new house...but it never made it here in time.  In fact, nearly one year later the financial settlement isn't finished.  When it does arrive, it'll still become part of the house: new windows for the house, and hopefully before the snow flies!

In preparation, I filled out a credit app for a home improvement store...with my new address...and my "single" name...but they mailed it to my ex...in another state!!!...because the credit bureau says that I live with him!!! Gee, wouldn't he be surprised if I showed up on his doorstep with my suitcases!?!...not like that'll happen...but can you imagine!?!

(Anyway, it'll work out...but that's a tale for another day...a cautionary tale about keeping an eye on your credit report...and what it takes to clean it up if there's an error...or identity theft!!!)

Back to the current windows, the ones that don't open. Do you see what I see?  It's a window air conditioner.  That's right.  If the window won't work properly anyway, why not stick a window unit in it to cool my bedroom at night!?!  (I told you already, it's an old house. Next year, I'll use my home buyers credit to buy a new furnace and central air.)

Of course, getting the unit in was no easy task...on a warm afternoon...but thanks to my parents (again) we managed to get it in (plus one in Fred's room also). However, we'll have to watch our energy use since the entire upstairs (all three bedrooms and bathroom) is on a single circuit! But, that's another project for another time...replacement windows first.

My point of this already long post is that as frustrated as some of these items have made me, I consider myself very fortunate.  These are minor compared to what others are going through. 

Take my brother, for instance.  Three weeks ago he went in for his FIFTH back surgery. (He has bone issues...it's a long story.)  Last week, he went to the doctor to get things checked out since he started running a fever.  Within a couple of hours they had him back in surgery!  They had to reopen the incision and clean it out due to infection...staph infection. It was already into the fatty tissue and they feared it would soon attack his bones...the very same bones that already have disintegration issues!

Four more days in the hospital for him and then they sent him home...with a PICC line...(read about it)

He will need to self administer antibiotics for the next 10-12 days. He's understandably shaken...occasionally scared (though I don't know if he'd like me to say that)...and so are the rest of us. Of course, it puts everything back into perspective for me and reminds me how minor my frustrations are.

I am so very fortunate to have such minor frustrations come into my daily life.  Many of us are fortunate: with loving families, abundant friendships, and health. Yet we occasionally we let the frustrations of life allow us to forget our good fortune. We're human, after all. The challenge is to remember and embrace the fortune more than the frustration!

Gotta start somewhere

It's been WAY too long!  There have been times over the past month that I wanted to write...in fact, needed to write.  But, with any lengthy absence, it's hard to figure out where to start.

Should I write about what was on my mind?

Should I write a "catch-up" post first?

Should I bullet-point what's been happening?

And the longer it took me to decide, the longer I went without posting, the harder it was to restart.  But, then a friend asked me if I planned to be "off-radar" for much longer. Seemed there's been something missing. 

This is Nick. This is Fred's (fka Skyechild) most recent "big brother". However, this time, Fred also adopted Nick's brother and their Dad.(..and named Nick's mother as my sister!)

Fred and I were at the movies on Thursday and ran into Nick afterwards.  Funny thing was, I'd been thinking about sending him a text asking if he was at work. Before I had the chance to act on my idea, he walk out of his "office" and took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the movie theater.

Fred paid close attention as Nick showed us how he was preparing a movie that opens this weekend for viewing.  The movie comes in on multiple reels and has to be spliced into one continuous reel. 15 inches of film equals one second of movie time!

It was amazing to see how it all works.  Not at all like I've seen in the movies! (Thanks Nick!!)

Why do I share behind-the-scenes at the theater with you on my "knitting blog"?  Well, because I needed to start writing again and Nick gave me material to write about. To write about "something" without worrying about what I "should" be writing about. Over the near future, I'll catch up on some of what we've been up to (mainly because I have photos) as well as cool things to share. For tonight, this is what you get because a girl needs to start somewhere.

And, as far as knitting is concerned, there are some completed projects.  However, amazingly, socks continue to avoid my needles.  I keep thinking about starting something, but have some kind of "block" that prevents me from just diving in and just getting started.

That's when a post on Facebook caught my eye.  I volunteered to test-knit for someone.  I won't be able to talk about it here. However, I'm sure that being assigned the task of knitting one sock within seven days may very well be the jump-start that my sock knitting needs! That'll begin this coming week. Gotta start somewhere!!

That's what friends are for!

I love my girls!  I am thankful everyday that they are mine! But as a single parent, on-duty 24/7, it's easy to forget to take time for yourself.  Though in many divorce cases there are weekends/holidays/breaks with the other parent, in our case that's non-existent.  Thankfully, I have a great network of friends who have made a point of making sure there is down time.  This weekend, it came all in one day!!!

Fred went to overnight camp.

Panda is home...but self sufficient so I could do my own thing.

Saturday started with mass, class, and then a massage!!  A full hour of being rubbed.  A full hour of laying still and taking in the sounds and smells and listening to my own breathing.  A full hour to think about nothing...or as close to nothing as a woman can get! It was awesome!!

And then, my friends decided that a bit of lunch should be followed by mani-pedis!

We laughed so much!!  At one point, they needed to remind me to breath! Look at this nutty group...can't you tell there was a LOT of laughter!?!

I don't know if it was the fumes from the polish or acetone, or if the high levels of oxygen in my brain from laughter caused me to splurge/upgrade to add the flower with gemstone.  Something made me do it...or maybe it was a "someone" who inspired me. Whatever it was, I like it!

But, the fun wasn't over yet.  On to another engagement for the evening hours with more friends.  This time, alcohol was included.  Since Fred was not part of the evening's activities and I was provided a designated driver, multiple, authentic margaritas were involved.  Enough so that when home again, I made a few phone calls to friends who hadn't been part of the evening's festivities.

Friends.  Everywhere I turned on Saturday my friends were ensuring that the day was full of relaxing, "me-time" fun.  If you have a friend who is a single parent who rarely gets a break from her routine, do her a favor...break her out of her routine!  It'll do wonders for her soul! I am refreshed and ready to go back to being full-time Mum...and loving every minute of it, as usual.  But it was great to have the one day to remind me that I'm just a girl. A girl who needs time with her friends. Time to rejuvenate her soul.  I am renewed!

Thanks, FRIENDS!!

Time flies

Where has the time gone!?!

Hard to believe it's been another week plus since my last post!  Last weekend Fred and I headed to Michigan for another graduation party...with another pig roast!..just like last year but without my Panda. That just means we'll head back again this summer so she can also spend time with the gang and do some wild stuff...(sorry, I can't share here what we did...but Fred has been introduced to another WILD activity and is totally hooked!)

Part of why we love it in Michigan so much is the attitude...so laid back...with a bit of smart@ss thrown in for good measure.

Did you read the sign!?!

But, this week has constantly reminded me how time flies...one week isn't bad...but an entire school year!?!

Yep, here I sit writing this post while waiting for Panda to check out of her dorm room!  Seems like just yesterday we were preparing for her graduation!

And now she has her first year in! We moved her stuff out of the dorm last night, but not without a "Wilson pose" first. What a pair these two are!!!  I can't wait to have Panda home for the summer and Mikey will be visiting...more great energy in our new place!

But even a school year is minor in showing how time flies compared to...

a reunion with my high school sweetie...nearly 30 years later!! His mom had told me he would be in town briefly and I took the opportunity to do some catching up. 28 years later, the phone number slip off my fingers without hesitation!  28 years later, his Dad answered and yelled for him to pick up the other line.  28 years later, he picked up, said hello, and it felt more like it did 28 years ago rather than 28 years later!!!

Seeing each other, catching up on our families, and just being in proximity to each other was so familiar yet surreal....time flies!!!...how'd it ever get to be 28 years later!?! Yet it felt so much like no time had passed at all!!! Weeks turn to months and months turn to years...time flies!!

Packing

Wow...seems strange to type the word packing when all I've been doing lately is "unpack"!

But it's a different kind of "packing" these days...something akin to "pack mule"...or more specifically, in this case, "yarn mule"!

For those of you unawares, KnitPicks will not ship internationally.  So...there are those of us who provide the service for our friends abroad.  In this case, Hanna, has asked if I'd yarn mule her package to Finland.  I'd much rather go along with said package, at the moment, but off it'll go today to her.  Enjoy!!

But, that's not the only parcel that's arrived that isn't for me.

This one involves a shawl that my cousin is working on.  She's made a mistake and has mailed it to me for fixing.  As a new knitter she's doing remarkably well.  She's even identified (with green markers) where her mistake is.  It's too bad we live six hours apart! (Granted it would only be an hour away if they'd build a really big bridge across Lake Michigan so I wouldn't have to drive down and around and through Chicago!!! And for those of you who follow the link...that dashed line is the ferry route that I WISH were a bridge!!!)

Notice Hanna's parcel on the stool off in the distance...that's my reminder that today it has to go out in the mail!!! (Cause I said so...that's why!)

And knitting...well there's been some...nearly finished with the third pattern repeat on Springtime Bandit.  I even took it along to the hairdresser on Monday night...I got new hair!!! The kids are calling it my "Alice" cut. I love it and couldn't be happier with it!!

Now, on with the packing!

Sweet Mother's Day

Where did the time go!?!  I'm still not 100%, but by Sunday afternoon I was so tired of being at home...especially when I didn't have the energy to get anything accomplished.

My Panda, of course, checked in for Mother's Day.  We typically Skype on her sister's new computer. (Thank you Gram & Gramps!)

It's been a LONG time since you've seen my girls.  The three of us talked about it, and have decided that since there will be a lot of things going on this summer that will end up as blog fodder.  And, of course, blog fodder isn't much fun without photos.  However, for reasons I'd rather not go into at the moment, we've also decided that blog photos will require a "Wilson pose".

Remember Wilson? He was the neighbor on Tim Allen's TV series "Home Improvement". We would never see Wilson's face...it was always partially hidden.  Hence, the silly pose for the girls here.  Even my parents have gotten into making sure not to display photos of the girls on their blog. Check out "Fred" here (scroll down: she's in the blue knit hat). (Oh yeah...she goes by Fred these days...not Skyechild...or anything else related to her old name..."someone" new in our lives renamed her Fred...and her sister is renamed George...though she'll always be my Panda! but that's ANOTHER story!!)

But, my point was that my girls are awesome. ANd we are looking forward to a summer filled with fun Wilson poses to share.  We'd been having such a fun conversation that, by 3:00, when my co-pilot "someone" canceled our Tuesday run to college, we quickly adjusted plans and drove to Panda's college yet that same day instead of waiting till Tuesday.

It was all for the best...I had Mother's Day supper with my girls! It was AWESOME!!!! Just what the doctor ordered after a crummy week!

And the first load came home from school. Now to find a place to unload a futon!