Rhinebeck Bus Trip 2014

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I Feel...

Today's Ten on Tuesday post is another writing prompt:  I feel.  So, here we go...

1.  I feel happy to be in my 40's.  It's such a freeing age.
2.  I feel blessed to have a daughter who is so intelligent, empathetic, and kind hearted.  She "gets" things that a lot of adults don't get.  She speaks her mind, and she speaks out against injustice.

When she was young (maybe 6 or 7?), we were leaving the convenience store close to our house.  It's in a little strip mall.  I'm waiting for the light to turn green when I hear, "That's not right!  That's not fair to say no-one Chinese!"  She was very offended.  I was trying to figure out where this outburst came from, when I saw the sign:  No. 1 Chinese.  As in, Number 1 Chinese (restaurant).  I quickly explained to her that, sometimes, No (period) is used to abbreviate the word number, and that the sign wasn't really stating that no Chinese people were allowed.

3.  I feel like there's never enough knitting time.
4.  I feel tired.
5.  I feel stressed (most days).
6.  I feel especially stressed when I realize that my daughter will be able to drive in a year (increased car insurance), and that she'll soon be old enough for college (again, money).
7.  I feel extremely thankful for what I have: my family & friends, a home, food, a car, a job.
8.  I also feel thankful for knitting and for yarn.
9.  I feel happy to have so many hand knit items to wear.  I can't stress enough how COLD this winter has been!
10.  I feel happy, too, that I have people who read this blog, even though I post sporadically and tend to ramble.  :-) 

Monday, February 24, 2014

This Winter

I don't normally mind Winter in PA.  I really dislike the heat & humidity of Summer, so Winter is ok to me.  I don't love snow.  When I was in Kindergarten - 2nd grade, my family lived in North Chicago and I saw/experienced enough snow to last my lifetime.  But I can tolerate Winter.  The cold temps (that have been especially cold this year) are great for knitting and for wearing hand knits.

But this Winter...this Winter has broken everyone.  Including me.  Last week was the first full week of school my daughter has had this (calendar) year.  EVERY week, we have gotten a snow storm.  Or an ice storm.  EVERY week her school has cancelled at least one day.  My work schedule has been crazy (either I take off, or arrive late).  And the ice.  I am SO. OVER. The ice!!  I look at ice and just want to cry - rather than attempt to walk across it one more time.  I feel like every place I go, I have to walk on ice.  I fell once this season - and my body hurt for at least a week afterwards.  And I know so many people who have broken bones from falling on ice this year.

My sense of time this year is all out of whack - and it's not that good to begin with.  This is what happens when you have 2 days at work, one home, 2 more at work, then off for 2 days...you get the idea.

So, I thought I'd share some pictures, showing what's been going on in my life:


That's our back yard.  The bird bath farthest from the shed sits in a garden.  This picture was taken from the bathroom window - I had very little interest in actually going out in the snow this year.

 
This is the start of one of the patterns in the January 2014 Rockin Sock Club shipment.  It's the Paper Lanterns Shawlette.  The 'paper lanterns' in the edging will lay flat when the shawlette is blocked.  I am LOVING this pattern and this colorway!
 
 
We were babysitting my friend's little boy this past weekend.  Here, Kyra made a "hammock" for him, using a blanket & her legs. 
 
What have you been doing this Winter, to keep yourself occupied?
 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday post is a little different.  It's a writing prompt.  So, here it goes...

1.  I am feeling accomplished and well-organized because I cleaned out my filing cabinet & made files for my current needs (expenses and such).  Now, when I have a receipt or a bill (or pay stub, or report card for my daughter), I just walk over to the filing cabinet, pull out the drawer, and drop the item in the appropriate file.

2.  I am excited that my 1st Rockin' Sock Club shipment of 2014 arrived.  The Sock Club is one of my Christmas gifts and I love it (because I get 6 shipments throughout the year!). 

3.  I am super excited that one of the patterns in the January Sock Club shipment is a shawlette.  I love shawlettes and think everyone should have at least one - they're so versatile! 

4.  I am proud of myself for going through my yarn stash and rearranging some of it (so that it's better organized).

5.  I am on a mission to knit scarves to leave around Downtown Lancaster, for anyone who needs them.  This was not my idea - I saw a picture on facebook, of someone in Canada who is doing this.  I think this is a wonderful idea, though.  I have some Paton's Classic Merino in my stash - that I bought for one thing or another - that makes soft, warm scarves.  I'm making them wide, so that people can use them as a head and/or face covering, too.

6.  I am looking forward to the changes I am making in 2014.  That's another post - I just need to add links to it.

7.  I am also nervous about 2014 because there have been some major financial changes for me, and I'm not sure how things are going to work out.

8.  I am SO sick of ice!  The cold, I can handle, but the ice?  I'm done with it!

9.  I am glad football is over, so that my facebook newsfeed isn't clogged with football posts.

10.  I am feeling like winter will soon be gone and then it'll be hot & humid and I hate being hot and in humidity.  This also makes me feel like I have to knit everything really fast, because I'm running out of knitting time (since I rarely knit in the summer).