What Becomes of the Broken-Armed?

Knamma is what my middle grandson calls me, when his tongue is too lazy for the "gr" sound...lol, and I am a knitting knamma! As you (and Taylor Swift) know, knitters gonna knit, knit, knit, knit, knit...and I've been knitting for the grandkids from the beginning. It started with sweaters for their little, baby bodies before it moved into toys, and these three monsters were one of the first toy adventures for the boys' house, in 2019:

Now that the boys have a dog, sometimes toys are caught in battle situations. While I am no Doc McStuffins, when I saw this poor guy's arm last week, my heart broke a little: 

So, as a knitting knamma does, I mustered the troops (actually a small collection of rubber duck nurses), and readied the operating arena and surgical tools...

You may not know this, but this type of prosthetic surgery is typically done with no anesthesia, so it was really no surprise that the patient wanted to try out that new arm before I was even finished with the procedure.

In the end, the hardest part of prosthetic surgery turned out to be matching skin tones. Just like flesh, yellow yarns come in many shades, and even though I got close(-ish?)...we will always be able to see where I mended that broken heart...errr, arm. (The "nurses" seem quite impressed with my work, yay!)

At least toys are easy to fix. I've come across three broken-heart situations in the last 6 months that I'd fix if I could, but there just isn't enough yarn in the world. Instead, I have prayed for the families of two young dads (Tony and Erik) and one young mom (Mandy), terminally ill and/or taken from their families far too soon. Their stories are not mine to tell, and I only knew one of them personally, but I have agonized through my prayers for friends at the pain these losses have brought.

I've also been reminded that this life is full of uncertainty and things that are out of my control. I am glad to know that there is One greater than me who is in control, and I have prayed that He will watch over these families, weaving his love through their broken hearts and surrounding them with the love of family and friends who point to an eternity of hope. 

If you have lost a loved one recently, or too soon, or ever...I pray that you would lean into faith, call on the name of Jesus, and trust that He is enough. The Bible tells me that He has prepared a place for me, and that there will be no more pain or tears in heaven. I lean on this when I have pain and tears on earth, and I remember that answering his call is something I must do daily...hourly even. 

And now, celebrating like it's the end of a major sporting event for those gone to heaven (some far too soon in my mind), I lift my John 3:16 sign and remind you that "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

Physical life is fleeting, but spiritual life can be an eternity of joy. I hope you will reach for that joy in all things, especially if you are feeling broken-hearted today. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Still Starting Socks!

As we covered a few weeks ago, I (like most people) only have two arms. I also have but two feet (again, like most people) yet I keep knitting new socks.. in fact, I cast on this pair just a few days ago... 

Perhaps it's the lure of single skeins, that occasionally come with too much personality for a whole sweater...

Perhaps it's the lure of a small project that can be worked on literally anywhere (though never in the bathroom, I do have limits) ...

Oil changes take awhile...

Perhaps it's the fact that's socks were my first knitting love! This pair has cables AND tiny, tiny beads, and I LOVED knitting them (in 2009)! 

But the most likely reason is probably that socks wear out...and although darning is satisfying, it's just not as much fun as casting on and knitting a new pair! 

So, here I go, here I go, here I go again...knitting socks and taking names while I get the oil changed.  What are you doing for fun today? 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Movin' On In

If you've been following along, you know that I have a new job, and you probably know that I'm enjoying it! You may not remember that the cubicle I moved into was still occupied by its previous tennants' things for the first three weeks I worked there, which I didn't really mind, but this was the week I actually moved in!

All my pictures, magnets and feel-good office things came with me, and the office is another "home from home" finally! With photos of family, drawings from young friends, and even my favorite magnets, 

I feel settled here. Having some knitted things scattered about helps!

I took special care in arranging the spot where my eyes fall most...

Awwwww!, who ARE those crazy kids?

So many happy things, and I'm doing some parts of my actual job, unassisted now, so all is well. I know there will be hard days eventually, but at least I'll have some joyful things to lift my spirits when they come!

What lifts your spirits on the hard days? If it's knitting, keep some handy!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

PS - I also received the new Mochimochi Land book this week! What fun!

Holidays and Snow Days!

Last week was a good week. Super cold, yes, but such a good week! My first weekday minor holiday (not Thanksgiving, Christmas or 4th of July) from work was Monday, and I celebrated with sweet rolls, fresh from the oven!

Because it was so cold, many schools also had "Snow Days" (cold days? temps down to -8°F) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and students stayed home. Do you know who also stayed in, eating sweet rolls while working from home? This Pretty did! 

Holidays and Snow Days are the best!

While I enjoyed not having to drive to and from work, I also found that I missed the interactions with my new co-workers. I was glad to get back into the office on Thursday, and I pulled this mug out of the kitchen cupboard there to celebrate my return.

Being the "new guy," I'm not sure if the mug might actually belong to someone, so I dutifully washed and returned it when I was finished, but not before using it as a photo prop for mittens!

One of my goals last week was to finish that second pair of double-knit mittens. I didn't make that goal by the end of my work week (turns out I take fewer breaks while working at home...well, fewer knit-breaks anyway...). But it looks to my like mitten #4 will probably be complete today!

Another reason I didn't make better progress on the mittens was this test knit,  which I'll post more about on Instagram when the pattern goes live. 

The rest of this weekend will be full of boys! These three giant personalities will be coming for a sleepover tonight, amd we can't wait! 

I'm never sure where the fun will take us with these three, but I know we will have fun, and I can't wait!  I hope you also have good things to look forward to this weekend. 😉

For now, I suppose I'll sign off. After all, I gave cookies to bake and pictures to take, but I'm glad we've had this time together. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

It's a Good Day!

Today is a good day. The sun is shining, spring-like temperatures are on the horizon, and I've already been productive as part of a church project making Peace Crosses for our community. (I'm not in any of the pictures, but I took them all, so that proves that I was there! If you were also there, thank you! It was only an hour, but the work was restorative and fun!)

Also, I've nearly finished the requested red and tan scarf, and now I mostly need to decide on fringe or not. I'm leaning toward not, as I'd probably have to buy more yarn for fringe...but the jury is still out. 

The socks are coming along. I've made a pretty significant error on the cuff of sock 2, but since these are purposefully "wonky" socks, I've just done a quick repair (that doesn't hide it at all), and moved on. We'll see if anyone ever gets close enough to my feet to find it. Might be bad news for them, if they choose to point it out...lol!

Got a LOT of pictures from the newly-minted teenager recently, as she just did a class trip and then had a birthday the next day! These girls just keep growing, and  I am excited to hug them in person on an upcoming visit we have scheduled!

And the boys are still keeping us on our toes! So active, and with the sun peeking out more and more, we are outside and moving with them as much as we can! My quiver is full of these joyful, young people, and there are days that I cannot get enough!

There are also days that I just need a nap, which means balance is the name of the game. I am getting over a fairly significant cough, so still taking it a bit easy as that abates. Have any of you parents and grandparents figured out that perfect balance? If you have, please send the formula! I want to do ALL THE THINGS, but there are simply not enough hours in my days...still, today is a good day. 

What are you up to today? Is the sun shining, or is this a cozy up with cocoa, a movie and some knitting today? Whatever you are up to, I hope that today is a good day for you, too!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Best of...Church Secretary Edition

I like to say that I was made to work in a church. Some have told me that I'd make a good pastor, but my ambition is administration, and I really love organizing all the little details. I love my job, and I am thankful most days.

Besides the people, friendship, shared faith and spiritual growth, some of the best things about working at church are: 

Getting there first...

Beautiful reminders of God in his creation...

Finding a place for leftover flowers...

Having a lovely backdrop for photos...

And notes from a "secret edmirier" in the collection!

Along with the chaos that is a church office, these things all keep me grounded, and I love them! All this and knitting...!

What's keeping you grounded these days? 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit on Good Health!