March on!

Hard to believe that it's already March......how is it possible?  If I imagine today as a "You are here" spot on a map and I turn backwards to see where I've been then I would have to say I feel great satisfaction with the number of things that I've accomplished.
1.  I've gone through and repurposed or thrown out several shelves of stuff in the basement.  When you combine two houses worth of belongings there are going to be duplicates.  I have also discovered that I am ready to simplify my baggage.
2.  I've begun my hobby of winemaking and have so far been successful.  I am pleased with the space that Scott and I repurposed for winemaking and with my organization of all of the equipment.
3.  I haven't ticked anyone off so far or if I have, they haven't told me yet.  :-)
4.  I have successfully completed several knitting projects.

If I turn and look forward to the future I feel excited about what I see.
1.  Continued work and maybe even the completion of my hobbit house.
2.  Helping Scott build our greenhouse so that we can have a year round garden, berries and fruit trees.
3.  A new grandchild....a little girl this time.  I LOVE GRANDCHILDREN!!!!
4.  AND I can hardly wait to get going on new knitting projects.  In fact, the only problem I have is where to start!

Here's what I finished in February.

Pearls of Progress

If the rest of 2014 is anything like these past months and the month of March ahead of me, it is going to be a challenge to keep my head above water.......but a challenge I welcome because it's all good stuff.  It seems that we're never in one place very long and my list of knitting projects keeps increasing.....and I LOVE IT ALL!!
This week finds us back in Denver for 5 days and then a quick trip to San Antonio, TX to check in on my mother-in-law in her new home.  There are two golf games on the schedule with Scott's sister and her hubby and probably a joint birthday celebration of some sort.  Then it's back up the mountain for a 5 day "visit" and back down to Denver for our regular time with our grandson......like I said......LOVE IT!!  Be assured, I do not travel without a knitting project or two.  AND>>>>>..........(that was supposed to build anticipation)......
I've started a new hobby!
I've got my first two batches of wine fermenting in my "wine room"!!  This was what I requested from my family for Christmas and birthday.  For Christmas I received the wine-making supplies complete with fermentation buckets, bungs, air-locks, siphons and tubes, hydrometers and carboys.  Sounds like I know what I'm doing doesn't it?  For my birthday I received the wine kits, one Australian Cabernet Sauvignon and one Chardonnay.  I have a friend who has made his own wine for several years and believe me when I tell you that I called him a couple of times for help.  It was so much fun and so far is looking good......well, it smells good anyway.  It will be several months before I can tell you how it really turns out.

My friend and wine-making mentor, Russ Rainey.

As far a knitting projects go, I've finished a couple more baby sweaters and a mom/baby ear flap hat set with huge pom-poms on them.

That's all for now.....the other sweater isn't blocked yet but a picture will follow soon.

Priceless Gift

I had a unique opportunity today.  It made me cry because it was so precious to my soul. 

I got to unclasp the string of pearls that I cherish and add a pearl of such rare value as to make it priceless.  Few people ever get to add a pearl of this kind to their memories and to be given the privilege of recognizing this moment in my journey of life, to be honored enough by life and my creator that I got to glimpse it's value, truly makes it glow.  To me this is the essence of the adjective "luster" often used to describe the glow of something rare and precious.

What was this beautiful "pearl" of awareness you ask?

It was a compliment given to me by someone from my past, from my "hometown",  in Lresponse to a "Throw Back Thursday" picture on Facebook.  

I was feeling pushed down by life and  hadn't slept well.  My eyes were burning with the need to sleep more and my soul wasn't ready yet to face the continued unfolding of whatever the day had to present to me.  I was struggling with regrets about the choices I'd made on how to spend my time the day before.  (These were useless regrets because that day was already gone.  It had ceased to be the minute the sun had set.  At this point the only choice I had was to not make the same choice for the current 24 hours ahead.).  I was having a hard time holding the head of this struggle under water,  until it gave up and let me go.        

When I saw the old picture of myself I snickered  and that was the first hand up out of the dark hole I was beginning to stare into.  As I read the comments, I began to feel my spirits lift and then I came across this one. 

 "I remember the face by can't think of her name.   I  remember her as very friendly though.".  

I swiped at the tears on my cheeks and lifted myself completely off the edge of that yucky place I'd been sitting near.  I said a thank you to God for the encouragement and reminder about what is really important.  I wrote a note to the person who had given me such a gift of value.  

I gently added the beautiful pearl to my necklace of memories and placed it back over my head patting it gently into place over my hearts.  And after a deep breath I got up to face the day, this time in a much better spirit.  It was a great day!

Project pics (per Dalton's request)

2013 Review in Pearls

It's almost over...2013 that is...in many ways it's been a very good year!  The easiest way to review this year for me is by marking milestones based on what I was knitting and why.

In January, having just finished my then 7 month old grandson's Christmas stocking, I started a beautiful grey vest.  The back and edging was done in crochet with the body knitted in a fan shape.  To finish it you took the outer most corners and attached them to the crochet which created the armholes......it was about the most fun project I have ever done.  The yarn had sequins woven in so it has a bit of sparkle without being overdone.  For me it became a statement of how I want to live my life...unusual as I follow a path that I can't necessarily see the end of .....but with enough sparkle that it is interesting. I also knitted a little sweater for a dear friend's wee little "JJ" and clothes for a teddy bear for big sister.

In February Scott built me a knitting "stash organization" and creating center for my birthday.  I love sitting there in his great-grandmothers rocker looking out the window at the mountainside that rises up behind our cabin.  I knitted a cool shawl/shrug using the Llama yarn I got as a gift for Chrustmas from my son and his wife.  He bought it from a co-worker whose family raise Llamas in Colorado.  It was lovely to work with!

In March I began to knit up more little sweaters for more little blessings that arrived in May.  Both of these little ones have similar names, "SJ" and  "JJ".   I also knit a sweater vest for myself out of some beautiful wool that I had purchased from my then favorite yarn store.

In April Scott and I took a road trip to visit his sister in Texas, his mother in Florida, our daughter in Tennessee, and then a week in Branson, MO.  Along the way I knitted a baby blanket and hat for my
not yet arrived grandson.  It was a pattern from First Lady Mrs. Hoover that was two sided.  You
knitted both sides at the same time.  It was a blast to knit and I thoroughly enjoyed it too.  I also 
began working on more Christmas stockings.

In May I finished up the baby gifts and began looking for summer projects.  The yarn store I loved
changed their focus to yoga and meditation so I had to find other sources for inspiration.  In doing so I discovered a wealth of options out there!  My world, yarn wise, opened up wide!!  What fun change is!

June, July, August and September.....well hmmm......I know I carried yarn project bags everywhere Scott and I went.  I know I knitted Sock Monkey Pants for my two youngest grandsons, a little sweater and hat for a cute little bunny owned by a sweet little girl from England that I met in Italy, a candy corn cocoon and hat for my newest grandson, a sweater and hat as well, a cute little sweater complete with a ruffle at the bottom for my sister-in-law's newest grandchild, cute little mitten ornaments for my friends and.......???   Oh Yes!  How could I forget?  FIVE really neat Christmas stockings for my children and grands.  And I'm just now halfway through a baby sweater for a new little November blessing.

You'd think I did nothing but knit this past year.   However, you'd be wrong.  It was a great year and these are just some of the pearls that I gave away.  The memory pearls with the family and my friends and neighbors I've added to my necklace of memories for my own enjoyment.

I hope you all have a very good year!!  I'm certainly going to do my best!!
Xoxoxo

Project pictures.....

Here goes.....another try at uploading project pictures.

Mason's Stocking

Nate's Stocking

Wesley's Sweater

Mason's Candy Corn

Sock Monkey Pants

It's been awhile.....but hello again!

You know how it is......sometimes you just have to take a break between projects.  In this case it wasn't a break in knitting for me.  It was more of a break in life.  I just needed to pull in and reserve my energy for those I'm closest to.  As I've reminisced over this break I am pleased with the result.  I know myself better, I feel more centered and confident.  I've released some of the pressures  I'd been carrying .......it was sort of like I "cleaned out and organized my purse" so it is lighter to carry and in the process I was able to "throw away" some of the trash.

These are some of the projects that I worked on during my break.  I do a lot of thinking while I knit  and as a bonus I end up with something to show for it.  (To see the project photos go to my next blog.)

Grandma's Techie Pearls

This week was apparently my week for tech support......I didn't call tech support.......I WAS the tech support.  This is a problem because I'm not all that "techie".  But I'm proud to say that I added another pearl to my strand.  (Just wish I knew how I did it!)

On Monday my husband and I took care of our grandson, 6 yrs old, who had the day off from school.  He has a new Wii game called Skylander.  It's pretty cool with a portal that connects to the game.  You place whatever character you want to be on the portal and on the screen you become that character.  No problem, right?  Just press the button on the remote and "Voila!" it all works!  Ah no, that's not what happened.  We did what any grandma and grandson would do.  We called for grandpa...."He'll be able to figure it out!"  This time even grandpa (after a call to daddy) admitted he didn't know what was wrong.  We moved on to something else for the day......low tech board games and endless rounds of cards and K'nects with time out for a bit of football outside in the yard.  (Grandpa taught him how to do a "head fake after a button hook"....??????)  Okay.......moving on....

The next day Grandpa went to take care of our 7 month old grandson and I stayed to take care of  the 6 yr old plus his cousins (6 and 4).  We made granola bars and hot chocolate and headed downstairs for a game on the Xbox Connect,  great way to work off energy.  I pushed the button on the remote and everything came on just like it's supposed to.  My grandson was exuberant and we cavorted around the room high fiving and whooping, bumping hips and yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes!!". The cousins just watched us with perplexed smiles.   They obviously didn't get the significance of my accomplishment!

Imagine the celebration the next day when I pushed the button and, wonder of all wonders, the Wii came on!  My grandson and I again did the celebratory circuit around the room.  "Grandma!  You did it!  You figured it out!  Great job, Grandma!!"

I have no idea why it worked.  It does raise expectations for next time ......sigh.   I'm going to go with the "shut it off and restart it" trick though.

It's easier to follow pattern directions so I think I'll just sit down and knit!

Cherished Life Experience Pearls

The Methodist Federation for Social Action shared this post on Facebook:

Love Thy Neighbor
Thy Homeless Neighbor
Thy Muslim Neighbor
Thy Black Neighbor
Thy Gay Neighbor
Thy White Neighbor
Thy Jewish Neighbor
Thy Transgender Neighbor
thy Christian Neighbor
Thy Atheist Neighbor
thy Racist Neighbor
Thy Addicted Neighbor

When I read this I thought, "Why would I limit myself to only loving those I had assigned a label to?    Isn't it more important to love thy neighbor despite their label?"

  I don't feel the need to point out how someone is different than me.  I just want to love them because they are!  I don't need to know why they are different than me or their past experiences.  I just need to love and respect them.   I recognize and am comfortable with my opinions about life but that doesn't dictate whether I love my neighbor or not.  

Years ago I served as a volunteer in a program that provided supervision to families who were in the social system for one reason or another.  I was responsible for the supervision of the parental/child  visitations of a family whose child had been taken away by the state of Colorado and placed in the custody of the paternal grandparents.  The mother was a borderline personality who had 3 other children, one of whom had been taken away from her and was firmly ensconced in the social system, falling between the cracks of that social system as they tried to put the best interests and safety of the child first.  A hard case for sure.  Each of the children had a different father.  The father of the little fellow I was in charge of was from a middle class family but had lost his way because of adolescent rebellion in my opinion.  He was in far over his head in a world he didn't understand but couldn't extricate himself from.  I was to be the one adult that the little one could count on, the face he would always see whenever an interaction outside of his custodial home life was required.  Whether parental visitations or court proceedings, he and I were an inseparable pair.

After a time the social worker asked if my family and I would be willing to role model how a healthy family functioned by having them come once a week for a family meal, teaching them how to prepare nutritious meals and shop economically, how to discipline positively and how to give medication appropriately.  For several weeks we did just that.  One of the visitations involved me taking the sweet little boy to the maternal grandparents home for an extended family birthday party. That's when the light went on for me.  No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many times I had them over to interact with my family it wasn't going to change a thing.  We were traveling along in the same world but in different realities.  That's when I discovered how important it was to be intentional about character, morals and integrity in my life.  The only way to give my children a healthy foundation was to establish the boundaries that would give them the best opportunity to succeed.

I loved that family I worked with.  I didn't understand them at all.  I loved that little boy.  I felt empathy for the father and the grandparents who were taking care of the little fellow. I cared about the mother and her family, I didn't understand them at all and knew I never would but they were likable and they were alive and I knew they needed my respect and caring despite what I thought of them.  And when we went to court that last time and the court granted custody back to the parents it was bittersweet.  The grandparents were angry and heartbroken because they didn't believe that the parents would be able to provide a long term healthy environment for their son.  I admit that I had my doubts too but it is what it is.  Several years later the social worker called me and asked me to serve in the same role for the same little fellow.  I just couldn't do it.  I had my own 3 teenagers by then and just didn't have the time or energy to do it.  Was I wrong?  I don't know but I do know that I felt a tremendous responsibility to the children that I had birthed.  I had to let someone else stand in for a sweet boy.  I have no idea how that case turned out but I will admit my heart breaks a little when I think of him.

You can see that when I say I don't need labels or pasts to love, it is from experience.  It took a lot of energy and time to learn this but I'm glad to have had the opportunity.  I wish there was a way to help people out of the whirlpools of labels and recognition of differences.  How will they ever reach their destiny if they allow themselves to be distracted by the minutia of life?   

Baby Steps

I just got home from 3 days of being with my 7 month old grandson.  Oh what fun!    I cherish this time with him.  The moments when he looks up at me just to make sure I'm still there are like invisible lines of connection heart to heart and I know I am so lucky.  I feel so blessed.  Oh how I wish I had had this kind of time with all of my children all of their young lives!   I know that there were some moments like these with them but not as many because I wasn't as "wise" and I was busy with three children and responsibilities of mother, wife and teacher.   With my grandson I have the gift of time without the laundry, cleaning or working outside of the home.  I AM blessed!  I am blessed with time and only one responsibility when I'm with him.   That responsibility is him and him only.

As he practices crawling and pulling himself up, discovering noises and making sounds, I notice the way he examines each item and experience.  It takes all of the little things to accomplish the understanding of muscles and balance and movement.  Hmmmm.... What does this remindme of?  Would it be learning to play the piano?  (Or maybe it's knitting?)  These are very alike in that there are many small steps that you must learn before you can be successful in putting together something big.  So why is it that we forget that basic fact?  At what age do we forget?  Who pushes us to go so fast that we miss out on the doing and learning?  Hmmmm......

  I wish I could shake the world out like a dusty blanket and get us back to what is real.  It's people and experiences and love and kindness.  To h*#+ with success and position!   Of course you have to be able to make money and take care of a family,  but why do we make it so "expensive".......I'm not talking money......I'm talking about the human element, the "heart" component that we've let drop away.  Is it possible that this is the source of the violence of guns in recent years?  I think so.  We've forgotten who we are.  In the quest for identity and self esteem,  multi-culturism and acceptance of everyone and everything, we have lost ourselves.  In the quest for recognition of giftedness and athleticism, wealth and status we have forgotten that without the people, the other inhabitants of our world, there would be no purpose for any of it.  There would be no purpose for success or status or position or money or career.  

What can I do?  How can I effect change?  Am I powerless?

NO I AM NOT!  

I can and will put all of my energy into people!  I will make one stitch at a time. I will invest myself in everyone I have the privilege to interact with every day  of my life.  

And if I don't?  

Well then I will consider myself a failure and that is not acceptable.

I have a plaque that hangs where I see it everyday.  It says, "when I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"  (erma bombeck)

The Process of Knitting

A knitting project whether a garment or an afghan/blanket is a lot of work.  A knitter often follows a set of directions which at times have to be adjusted to fit the situation or size of the item.  It takes concentration and attention to details to be successful much the same as life and relationships.  If you make a mistake in the pattern, you have to take out stitches back to the place where the pattern is correct and start again and if you don't you end up with a project that looks odd and in the end is not something that you can be proud of.

I love to knit clothing for my family and friends.  It gives me great pleasure to see them wear and enjoy the items I've given them.  But more importantly to me I want each stitch to represent a connection between us.   I knit because I love.  I never knit without that awareness.

When I realized that knitting was a representation of how I wanted to live my life it was like a moment of epiphany.  I thought about the similarities between life and knitting and I suddenly found a way to make sense of the big picture of life and how I fit into it.  I realized the importance of integrity and character and intention.  It made me more determined than ever to live that way and to approach others with those values in mind.   I began to work harder than ever on my string of pearls, the things I wanted to be important in my life.  It hasn't always been an easy process, in fact it has at times been painful because although I began to change how I viewed life, the rest of society continued on .......imagine that!

Knitting Pearls

I love to knit.......I like to crochet, paint, create, cook, read, sing and play the piano.................. but I LOVE to knit.

Several years ago I read a book that described each of a woman's life experiences as representing a new pearl in her "life necklace".  I can't remember the author or the title of the book but I know I have a copy of the excerpt at home (when I get back From my vacation I'll look it up and share it with you).  It made a powerful impression on me at the time and the idea has stayed with me ever since.

I realized about 5 years ago that my life was in the process of changing. I had the sense of reorienting my focus and priorities in other directions from what had been my norm. Activities and interests that had been important to me became less so with some of them falling away completely. But oddly I was finding a peace and satisfaction in the new. I felt myself being pulled toward a smaller but richer focus of priorities on family and individuals. I realized that what I wanted to leave in this life was not what would be talked about or recognition for something I'd done but rather the real action of the doing for someone else. In my family and close friend circle it was making the time that I had with them rich in quality. In my everyday world it was leaving something positive with everyone that I interacted with as I went about my day.  I became more focused on appreciating in real time everything that I was doing and everyone I was with.  It felt so good and soon I realized that I didn't feel a need for approval from anyone.  I felt good about myself and that's what became my compass.