Baby Snuggles and More...

It's been a whole lotta busy, with not much time to sort my thoughts lately. Not that I haven't had thoughts, I have. But I haven't had time to sort them out. So, rather than mucking up a bunch of words and pretending I have something profound to say, let's just look at a few pictures of why I feel so busy...and full of joy!

Baby snuggles. I mean, who doesn't 
love baby snuggles?!?

Nothing like a pot of fresh veggies and pasta in Summer!

Middle grandson, full of energy and distraction!

Warp speed in one photo! (With one extra kid,
who is not even related to me, lol!)

Oldest grandson, who has no idea why I
took these three photos! His Great-
Grandma will love this one!

Couple of tiny gnomes, for a couple of great
co-workers, even though they are leaving me.
It's been fun working with you, ladies!

So, there you have it. A few random photos that show the busy, the joy, and just the tiniest crumble of stress from the last week. Even with the stress, because we all have that, it's been a pretty good week! I hope yours has, too. 

Who knows? Maybe I'll have something of substance to say next Saturday. Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell, right? Why not come back to find out? Until then...

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

I'm Waiting

The waiting is the hardest part. 

Waiting for that last arm.

Waiting for a dinosaur friend.

Waiting for the weekend.

Waiting for a special little boy to love you.

Waiting for the water to splash up to your face.

Waiting for that cold, sweetness to hit your taste buds.

Waiting for the ground as you slide down the playground pole.

Waiting for Pop Pop to make you smile...then BOOM! There it is! 

The smile...

The friend...

The hug...

The moment of discovery that a new toy has been created just for him!

Waiting might be the hardest  part, but these moments are definitely worth the wait!

I hope you are also finding joy that is worth the wait this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Young (at Heart!)

Well, Happy Saturday, blogiverse! What's going on with you? Pop Pop and I have been having fun with busy, busy boys this week!

And lots of knitted toys!

Whether it's at our house, or at their house,

...these tiny people continue to steal our hearts each time we see them!

And they keep requesting specialty items, like BI-I-I-I-IG Rainbow Elves (which are underway, by the way!).

Then they take out all the toys they can get to, 

...and leave my knitted pig naked! Lol...

Brings us back to when the girls were little, 

...and when our own kids were small and taking all the toys out at every opportunity! Kids bring such joy to a home, and to life in general. Make no mistake, they also bring hardship, heartache and long nights of worry, and they stretch you to places you never thought you would go...but in the end, they bring joy unspeakable as you watch them grow and eventually venture into the world on their own. 

In our case, those little people we created have ventured out to find the loves of their lives and give us the loves of our lives in these 5 youngsters we call grandchildren. For all the gray hairs our kids provided us in their first 18 years, our grandchildren are giving us silver linings to the clouds we might otherwise lament over. I wish the same for all of them: Allen, Jess, Christy and Aaron. May you live long and happy lives and be blessed by many years of spoiling your own grandchildren!

For anyone else reading the blog today, I wish you the same. Stay the course, and play with the kids whenever you can. If you don't have kids/grandkids, play with nieces and nephews, volunteer with church kids (even the gangly pre-teens, they are hilarious)...I promise they will keep you young, or at least make you feel a bit younger! 

Please note: If you are over 40, have some NSAIDs at the ready. Playing with them keeps you feeling young at heart, but the joints will ache later...lol!

If you're a knitter, make them something fun, and they will love you forever.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

My Left Foot

As I have aged, I have noticed certain...things about myself. For instance, I have one slightly sexy foot. Please Note: This is still a family-friendly blog, and I promise not to deviate with this post...but I do have one foot that is definitely more attractive than the other, which gives me pause when I take sock photos. 

When I started sock knitting, I would routinely pop my newly finished socks onto my feet for photos without a second thought. Somewhere along the line, however, arthritis has settled into both of my big toes, and my right foot is no longer capable of the standard "pretend-this-foot-is-in-a-stiletto" pose. I won't show that foot off, not in a sock and not out of a sock, so you'll just have to trust me. But I will show you my sexy, left foot.

Before you rush in to comment that this is neither a very sexy foot, nor is that a stiletto, please know that I am in possession of these facts. But my left foot is definitely my best foot, so I'll keep it forward...

...or I'll pose it awkwardly sticking straight up, while I lie on the floor for the best angle...

...and then I will agree with you that yes, sometimes knitters are weird. Lol! But having just watched The Greatest Showman with some of my favorite knitting friends last night, I will embrace my odd because this is ME!

You know what else is me? Photos. Shameless photos of next generations. Generations who have two sexy feet (for now...I think arthritis runs in some of our families) and beautiful smiles that I wish I saw more often...

...and generations who still smile easily (even despite the pre-teen status of the very tall one on the left)!

Yes. This is me. This is Pretty. Knitting and taking pictures of people...and of tiny knits, occasionally arranged into sculptures with the help of my current favorite 7-year-old!

You may be right...I may be crazy. But I just might be the lunatic my family and friends are looking for! The lunatic with one sexy foot. (Sorry Mr. Joel!)

I hope that you and your sexy feet have found your place to shine and the people who celebrate you, even though they may not understand or agree with all of your opinions and oddities. If that sounds like a pipe dream, I encourage you to find yourself and then find your "tribe," the village that will love you and let you be you!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Apparently, gnomes love bananas!

Surviving the Letdown

What do you do after an awesome week at ZK2022? How do you handle the letdown after a 6-day sleepover with roughly 150 other knitters who love yarn and needles (and crochet hooks, and fiber, and the internet) just as much as I do?

Well, if you get a text from your daughter on Sunday afternoon, about halfway between Rochester, MN and Cleveland (while you are in the thick of Chicago traffic), I suppose that means an impromptu trip to your favorite amusement park! Yes, after much laughter and yarn acquisition

the thing to do was certainly a day in the sun with these cuties 

So excited for all the rides!

Grammy and Pappy came too!

Pop Pop helps him buckle in.

Everyone but the baby in this photo...

There's the baby!

Giant Ferris Wheel...so high!

Perfect end of the day...

Cotton Candy Coma!

And one last turn on the Merry-Go-Round.

before planning what to do with all that new yarn!

By the way, I've already started knitting up some of the minis I acquired at Woolapalooza (some Nomsters and Tiny T-Rexes are first)

and now I am planning for some Gneutral Gnomes out of some of the new stash of minis (see those greys and off-whites bundled in front of that stash photo at the front of this post? Mmmmm!). It's going to be a fun knitting year, that's for sure!

If you're looking to really keep the excitement up, you schedule a tiny procedure for pain management the Friday after returning home, and hope it doesn't impact the holiday weekend too much. Lol...for those who knew I was going in for a Lumbar Epidural, I'd like to report that I am ok. It wasn't what I expected, and the procedure kicked me in the...back ...hahaha!, but I am feeling better today than yesterday, and I hope to feel better tomorrow than today. Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts!

Having said all of that, I'm going to sign off here and take another nap. I hope all my US friends have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend, however you may celebrate, and that all of you have a nice weekend where you are. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!