Happy Halloweeny!

I'd say that it's just another Saturday here, in the world of Pretty...but it is Halloween, and the cousins have come for a visit to met the newest little peanut! 

It's been so busy, that I have not even taken any photos since the girls arrived! But I did bake cookies, and I finished a couple of Baby Bear Hats by request! 

In other news, there's a proper pumpkin on the porch, and I think all the kids are ready to Trick or Treat later...so, for now, I'll just leave it at this:

Happy Halloweeny to you all! Have fun and stay safe, and I'll see you next week!

Until then, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Adventures With Pop Pop

Off the beaten path is somewhere Pop Pop likes to travel, and this little buddy is usually pretty happy to follow!

We often end up in the woods somewhere, following paths and finding adventure along the way. 

Water is so much fun to find, especially if there are rocks or sticks to throw, but sometimes just getting to the water is all the fun they need. 

Rocks are always a big hit for these boys. Imagine their delight when we find rocks so big you can climb them! Wait...you don't have to imagine. I have photo evidence!

That Pop Pop is good at encouraging an adventurous spirit! 

It is so good for both of them! It is good for me to stay mostly on the path and take lots of pictures, because Gramma  is not as steady as the boys are...lol! But some of the photos end up looking a little like Where's Waldo...

It is good to get outside with this little buddy when we can, because his family has started a new adventure at home by welcoming a little brother!

When I first saw this photo of the three of them, Pop Pop and his two grand-buddies, I agonized a bit that the clarity was not perfect. The more I looked, however, the more I like this photo...that Tiny Buddy has barely started his big adventure. He is the most focused in the photo, still and serene (for this moment), secure in his Pop Pop's arms. Big Buddy is bouncing about, and quite obviously blurry, as he tries to figure out this new part of his adventure with a "baba" in the house. And that Biggest Buddy (Pop Pop) is right in between...a grandparent has likely lived through many bumps on the road of this life adventure, and so lives somewhere between the bounce and the bundle. Steady, strong and silly too, all in one package...and always a good place for a little buddy to lean into. 

Pop Pop and I are over the moon at the arrival of our fourth grandchild, and we look forward to lots of adventures together! I am already planning more adventures in knitting with this new arrival, and I hope you are finding ways to enjoy the adventures life brings, too. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and find your adventure) in Good Health!

Frantically Fall

This week has been hectic and busy and all the things! It has still been good, but it has had its moments, to  be sure. I think Frantic is a really good word, and I am glad that Saturday is here.

Today, I will be spending the day with my daughter and her family. It's another great day for walking in the park, checking out the kite flyers in the field and throwing rocks in the water...which is hilarious, by the way!

Frantic Fall has brought me many new challenges, like learning how to livestream for the church I work with. We streamed our first event yesterday, and it went pretty well! 

Since we are getting ready to start meeting in person again, this is big stuff, and it is fun to learn. I only wish there were more hours in the day! But we have a good team, and we are figuring it out. :) 

Socktober keeps moving on, and I am a little more than halfway through the second sock of pair three for the month...which is a LOT of socks to knit in a month for me!

These cat-approved Prairie Spring Socks in Destination Yarn (Downtown Holiday Lights is the colorway) will likely be my last for this month, then I am on to holiday knits and one commissioned piece. More about that when I cast on... For now, I will just keep knitting, drinking coffee and learning new things about online technology. You know I love technology (when it works)!

One of the things I love about technology is the ability to connect with people, especially during season of pandemic, when face-to-face is a little more difficult than usual. I have actually found flocks of new friends via group texts (usually started by a mutual friend) and random Zoom meetings with groups I have "known" in online forums for years!

Over the past few months, we have celebrated new babies, new beginnings, and some sad losses too. We have supported one another through kind words and deeds, and I even received a gift from the "leader" of my "Work From Homies" text group, because...you know, Coffee IS my spirit animal!

Thank you, Mary. Thank you to all of you online and around the country (even the world) who have joined into my community and fostered connection in this time of isolation! And thank you, blog readers, for being in my online circle by reading and commenting. I look forward to the day we can schedule in-person meetings with less anxiety, and maybe give a handshake or a hug in celebration of our sweet survival skills!

How are you all getting through? Are you joining virtual groups, or enjoying your 10 or less "bubble" groups in person? Have you learned a handcraft or taken up some other hobby? If you are still looking for that thing that will help you center your thoughts and emotions and help you survive the stress, may I suggest knitting? I know it is something I look forward to every day. Knitting, for me, is an escape from the anxious thoughts and feelings, and also a welcome (though temporary) distraction from the hard things I have to, but don't necessarily want to do. 

Whatever your thing is, I pray that you will enjoy it in good health, and I thank you for stopping by today. As for me, I'll just be over here, enjoying my family and Knitting in Good Health!

Soctober is for Socks!

I kindof wanted to start this post with something about struggling through life, because those posts tend to get more reads...and, what can I say? I like to be popular! But today's post is all knitting, and Socks are the theme, for sure! (FYI, I did fall out of bed last night, so there. There's the drama, and I am fine.)

Socktober is the time of year that knitters knit socks. Socktober also has a more noble purpose (click here to learn about donating socks for the homeless before winter), but this post is about the knitting. I's about my knitting, my sock knitting, to be super-specific. I had a goal to do three pair of socks this month, and I am doing pretty well. I finished a pair for Peanut that I had started at the end of September...

...and I knit a second, smaller pair for Sweet Pea...

These were fun, because I had the girls pick out yarn on their last visit, so I know they will both like the colors! Also, we are planning to visit them in the next couple weeks, so I will bring them and actually be able to see how they fit, for future planning. 

My next pair will be fun because these will be my 2020 Christmas Socks! I try to knit myself a pair of Christmas socks every year now, and I only wear these from Thanksgiving through Christmas...so far, I have 10 pair, and this will be pair number 11. I have three yarns to choose from in my stash:

I already have a pair of Poste Yarn socks in this color (Jollyville), and I think I bought it for a hat/scarf/mitts set...but I can't remember if I had patterns in mind. I do have two skeins of it, so I probably had a plan.

The Destination Yarn is Destination Yarn!!!, and I love all her colors and bases. I especially like this one because it is subtle in its Christmassy-ness. I love how Downtown Holiday Lights captures the dark of the sky and the streets as you drive downtown to see lights in December!

And the Cascade Heritage Wave, in color 513 Holidaze, was an add-on to my Jollyville purchase a year or two ago...and it really is not captivating me today. (FYI-I am not sure when the sock yarn drops at Simply Socks Yarn Co, but there is typically a sizeable, group order at the Annual Knitters' Christmas Party the first weekend in December...bwaaahahaha!)

Anyhoo, I chose the Destination Yarn, and look how pretty it is with my morning coffee today...

...and in the sun while I wind by hand! 

...and all "caked up!" 

And now I am ready to cast on! I have chosen a pattern with a traveling stitch that should show off the colors as they play in the variegated skein, and I am excited to cast on my Prairie Spring socks while I join in some Zombie Knitting Network (ZKN) fun on the internet this afternoon. I'll check in with my progress next week, and maybe some drama to up the readership. Lol!

Until then, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

People Are People, Wherever You Go

We are all ________________.

Fill in the blank, please.

I have been watching, and listening, and my heart hurts.

I know that I am not alone. This is how I fill in that blank:

We are all people.

Despite the color of our skin, we are all people.
Regardless of our sexual identity, we are all people.
Independent of our political affiliation, we are all people.
Creationists, agnostics, scientists, we are all people.
Introvert, extrovert, ambivert, we are all people.

We are all people, and as such…
…we all have value.
…we all have feelings.
…we all have things to say.
…we all have lessons to learn.

…we all have a responsibility to one another.

We are all people.

I have friends, both in person and online, that I do not agree with. I do not publicly “call them out” when they state their opinions, because we are all people. Each of us is entitled to our own opinion.

I have friends who are hurting because someone has or is publicly calling them out, trying to make them feel “less than” because their ideologies do not line up. Somehow, someone has decided that it is their responsibility to “correct” others who have different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and opinions. This breaks my heart.

I have been ridiculed…sometimes overtly and sometimes very subtly. My opinions, my emotions and my convictions have been discounted…sometimes by people I care deeply about. This does not give me license to lash out.

I have heard that hurt (adjective) people hurt (verb) people. But why?

Whatever happened to “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”?

Whatever happened to “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”?

Whatever happened to “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.”?

Ok, that last one is a little silly. But still, it applies.

Are you lonely?

Are you feeling unheard?

Are you weary of the unknown in this season of pandemic?

Are you weary of the unknown in this season of elections?

Are you weary of the unknown in this season of social unrest?

Well, so am I. What can we do about it?

We can recognize that we are all people.

We can respect each other, even when we don’t agree.

We can refuse to add to the hate, the hurt and the sense of helplessness.

Refuse to speak disparagingly about the good someone has done because they made a mistake somewhere along the line.

Refuse to discount everything a person stands for because you don’t agree on one point.

Refuse to be bullied into hateful behaviors. 

You have a brain.

Do your own research.

Decide what you stand for.

You do you, but please don’t hurt anyone else.

We are all people. Let’s live like we know that.

Maybe it will help us make the world a kinder place.

If not for ourselves, for our children. And our grandchildren.

We are all people. 

Thanks for stopping by, people. 

Knit, Live and Love in Good Health!