Krafty1

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!

Spring Cleaning

Firstly, I am feeling better.  The vomiting stopped, the sore throat stopped and now I have a head cold.  Improvements all around!

Since my body seems to be clearing the decks, it's time to do a bit of that around here as well.  Since "the girls" kidnapped me and took me clothes shopping...

time to get rid of some of what they considered offensive. Dresses and blazers that can go to the local Working Women's Wear to help women get back on their feet by dressing appropriately for job interviews.  In my case, some of this stuff was two sizes too large and one friend taken to calling them "clown clothes" because they were so large on me. (You know who you are and I'm totally looking forward to our road trip shopping trip in September!)

Next, the towels from our first house...or was it first apartment...I don't remember...but I'm definitely finished with cold tones in my life!!

Off to the local Humane Society.  They love to get old towels (and in this case, well cared for towels) for cats and kittens.  Check your local chapter, they will more than likely be happy to receive them!

And finally, this just made me laugh...

It's the 7th of May and what do I see while on my lunch hour!?! That's right, a chicken and a bunny!!!  I was so surprised that I drove around the block just to get a picture to share with you all!! Happy Spring Cleaning everyone!!!

Sick Day...take 2

Though the vomiting has stopped, it has now been followed by a sore throat and plugged ears...think I'd rather have the vomiting.  Ibuprofen and my favorite Dutch tea were my constant companions today while resting on the couch.

Searching for a new project.

While unpacking, I discovered four skeins of black Classic Elite Inca Alpaca.  At first, I was looking at the Lina hat pattern.  I think it would be wonderful in black!  And Alpaca yarn is simply yummy!!! But, since there are four skeins in my possession, I checked to see if there might be a shawl or scarf that would work.  That's when I came across the Springtime Bandit.

Plus, someone mentioned on Ravelry that it didn't take nearly as much yarn as stated...heck, maybe I could get the wrap AND the hat knit with what I have on hand!  That might be hoping for a bit much, but in the meantime I swatched (Yes, I knit a gauge swatch!) and discovered that I was missing a needle size. 

So, since I felt better this afternoon...and since I discovered that my daughter left her wallet with her bus tokens behind...that meant she'd need a ride home from school...which is fairly close to Magpie's Cottage...and since I haven't seen the place since they moved...and since they probably want to know if I'll teach again now that we've moved...well, I bet you can guess the rest!

I now have the proper sized needle AND have completed the Set-up chart and one of the four repeats of the Body chart. But seriously, I hope that I continue to feel better and head back to work tomorrow.  Being sick sucks!!!

Now with ACTUAL knitting content!

Ta-da!

That's right! I actually finished knitting an actual garment!!

And...just to be sure that it was finished...

I got sick!

Vomit and chills.

Yuck.

I really hope that's NOT what it's going to take to get me to finish a knitting project in the future!!  Someone out there has a warped sense of humor.

The pattern: A Little Jazz by KnitQuest (be sure to click on the link and see how nice this baby drapes on a mannequin! I have neither a mannequin nor the frame of mind-I'm sick, remember!- to photograph this baby properly!!)

Here's to feeling better...please.

The Week that Was

I can't believe a whole week's gone by!  It was an incredibly long one too.  Most days I left by 7:15AM and never made it home again until past 9PM.  Friday night included a fundraising event that put me out past 10:00...by the time I got home, I was thankful that the work week was over!

Over the course of the week, things were piling up around the house (more stuff had found its way home) and I was starting to feel overwhelmed.  Saturday would finally bring a chance to sort through the chaos.  But first, a shower.

In fact, a wedding shower...don't let the balloons fool you.  The bride is part Indian...the bridegroom should (as is customary) arrive on elephant to the ceremony.  However, a) the bridegroom is a priest (Chill out...Episcopalian priests can get married!) and b) elephants aren't real plentiful around our locale! (Though one of the guests offered up her shetland pony!!)

The shower was a wonderful change of pace!  Afterwards, I was refreshed and ready to dig into the mountain of work back at home.

A momentary fright over the misplacement of my grocery money envelopes revealed how much I needed to spend some time getting settled.  It wasn't the only revelation this past week.  I've also come to realize how, after being married to someone who couldn't be trusted at his word, that my ability to trust has been skewed.  If you'd asked me a month ago if I had trust or suspicion issues, I'd have dismissed the question.  But, lo and behold, I discovered this past week that there are damages I hadn't yet faced.

Thankfully, the revelation came gently.  More importantly, "someone" has taught me that I don't need to doubt or question...that what he says can be relied upon without question...counted on.  What a refreshing discovery!!!  And I find myself relaxing...and not being in a hurry...and just enjoying whatever comes my way...

 

So tonight, once again there isn't a knitting report. But check out my new valence!   Mom made a fabulous one using the fabric I showed you.  There's a full curtain for the bathroom that used the bulk of the fabric, but enough for a trim border for this.  However, I don't have the right rod to hang that the bathroom curtain to show you.  Quite frankly, I couldn't even figure out how to get the blinds down that had been hanging here in the kitchen and didn't think I'd have anything to show you. ("Someone" took care of it though.)  The hardware wasn't quite right for this rod and I'd like the rod be a bit lower, but the drill hasn't been found yet.  Relax, make do, enjoy!  Doing it "right" can happen another day.  For now, I get to enjoy my Mom's handiwork!!!...and unpack a few more boxes...because life, though incredibly hectic, is becoming a whole lot smoother and much more relaxed.