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!

Ups ⬆️ and Downs ⬇️

This has been a week of ups and downs, but nothing too dramatic. I've finished up a pair of socks, a test for a friend ⬆️. They turned out really well, even if they aren't as snug as I like, but that's because I was a bad tester ⬇️ and ignored the instruction to use fewer stitches! Lol...

I received a lovely gerbera daisy plant the week before spring break, with pink flowers, and it was beautiful! ⬆️ But I forgot to ask anyone to water it while I was gone...and though I'm trying, I'm not sure I can bring it back. ⬇️

I'm starting to feel a little sad that I'll miss my 40th high school reunion this summer ⬇️, but I'm enjoying rifling through the memories as I chat with our Facebook group! The Muse was a literary publication produced each year that I was in high school. I even had a couple of poems published way back when. ⬆️

Finally, the weather here doesn't feel very spring-like today (except for the rain, which all the "experts" agree will bring flowers next month), it's quite chilly and gray. ⬇️ On the other hand,  there are only 14 days until Summer fun at Cedar Point starts! ⬆️

Whatever your ups and downs may have been this week, I hope you are dwelling on the ⬆️s, and making the best of the ⬇️s, because that's the best way to "just keep swimming" through this life...like my little friends at work.

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! 

You Know How You Know

You know how you know that you’re becoming your parents? Or your GRANDparents?

Thank you, Julie, but it has nothing to do
with the knitting-chicken mug...lol!

Well, I’ll tell you that I have had a revelation this week. It went a little like this:

Sweetie (after walking into the local warehouse club, needing, well he is never quite sure what we need, but he sure does like this place): Babe! Check out the coupons!
 
Pretty (poking through stacks of summer clothes on display, far too early): Yeah? Any good ones? Like for things we need?
 
Sweetie: There are lots of them! Do we need toothpaste?
 
Pretty: Not sure. Don’t think so, we each have a tube that’s not even half empty.
 
Sweetie (dejected): Oh.
(Then, with more interest): What about dryer sheets?
 
Pretty: We DO need those! Is there a coupon?
 
Sweetie: No. But we usually get the store brand…so it’s like a coupon…WHAT ABOUT TOILET PAPER? There’s a $2 off coupon, but we don’t really need it…but we have the space to store it. I just put up that shelf!!!
 
Pretty: Just because we have storage doesn’t mean we need to fill it. And won’t we save more if we just don’t buy it at all?
 
Sweetie: But what if there’s no coupon when we do need it?!? I mean, it’s a bargain. It’d be a shame to turn down a bargain, and the only way we actually lose money is if this warehouse-sized package of toilet paper outlives us…and I’m only 58!
 
You see where this is going? Yes. We bought the toilet paper (and some other things) and we used some coupons, but not for the dryer sheets. Our storage shelf is fuller than it was before this trip, but it could be full of worse things than toilet paper. Besides, if I didn’t give in here, how would I explain all that yarn in storage? 

Lol…Knitters, don’t lose your heads! I know, it’s different…after all, I don’t flush yarn. I knit sweaters and other things, right? Right.

I think that’s all I’ve got for today, except that I did take a break from the yarn to make some cookies, too…yummm!

I hope you have cookies and a stash of toilet paper and yarn that [probably] won’t outlive you.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

PS - By the by, if you are making roll-and-cuts,

and these are your leftovers, you win.

Recovering (?) Type-A

Quick! Name something that comes back to "bite you in the butt" in life! I'll start...

PERFECTIONIST PERSONALITIES!

You know what else starts with P? That's right, Pretty starts with P, and Pretty has a perfectionist personality PLUS. As a recovering type-A (am I recovering though, or just continually backsliding?), I make mistakes then berate myself pretty hard on a fairly regular schedule. It's partly rushing (because I love a finished task), and partly doing too many things at one time (I'm doing this and this and this...might as well do that too), which is not an equation for perfection, but failure. It's like being impatient to finish a hand-knit sweater, maybe because I also want to finish the matching socks and bake some cookies, so I convince myself that a mistake isn't a mistake until I've bound off a sweater that has three sleeves! 

Special Note: This knitter, like most knitters, has only two arms. Thankfully, that is also true of the sweater she is currently working on...

Still, there is evidence all over my world of the mistakes I've made. Some of my blunders were bigger than others, and I am most thankful for the ones I have owned up to, shared with appropriate people, and learned from. 

I am thankful that I had another opportunity to learn to slow down again this week. Error Ahoy! Believe me when I tell you that I am not continually thankful for this mistake or any other, but in hindsight I am hopeful that I have learned from it. In this moment, what I am always thankful for is the people God has surrounded me with. The ladies in my Bible study have prayed for me as I floundered through the week, and they brought me back from the brink of feeling badly and beating myself up to admitting guilt and working through it. Ultimately, there was nothing I could do (this time) to fix the flub, so I admitted fault and apologized profusely while I prayed and knit my way through it, almost finishing sock 1 of a new pair as well as the progress on the sweater. 

All of that to say this: Everyone makes mistakes, and errors are almost always inconvenient. Nobody died, so it could be worse, and isn't that a good place to sit? As long as I can say, "It could be worse," I know it's probably going to be ok. This is true all throughout life, whether it refers to my mistakes or the consequences of another's actions, and I have been in situations that I don't think could have been worse...but most of life is somewhere between "Great!" and "Can't-Get-Worse," so that's where I live best. Could it be worse? Yes? Then it's going to be ok! Maybe not "Great!," but that's what a recovering Type-A needs to know...it doesn't have to be perfect. Sometimes ok is truly OK!

Are you like me, a straight-A student that can't let go of that one B in 7th grade, or the mistake that she made last week? Or are you gentle with yourself because not one of us is perfect? I hope you tend toward the latter, as it is a kinder and gentler way to treat both with yourself others. If you're struggling like I am, I hope you'll hop up onto the bus. When we struggle and grow together, we all get a little further down the road. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good health!

Well Done, Me!

Last week, I talked about loving each other well, since none of us really knows how long we will have to love. So this week, I thought I'd talk a little about how we value ourselves. Do we take a moment to say, "Well done, Me!," when a task is finished well...or do we linger over the mistakes that made the task take longer than we think it should? 

When I finished the colorwork portion of the body of this sweater, I took pictures so I could step back and land the appropriate "Well done, Me!" before moving onto the monotonous, monotone of the main color. I did not seek out that place where I messed up the pattern, and had to rip back to fix it, so that place is a bit more stretched and uneven. But most knitters know that those stitches will even out in the blocking, so why kick myself now? I'm past that place, so I moved on...and I did that well.

"Well done, Me!," I said when I reached the length to start the hem ribbing, and I tried it on to be sure...

"Well done, Me, indeed!," I said, even though this pose in the powder room mirror is a little flashy and shows off my flabby arms. 🤪 It's going to fit well, and I'm going to love wearing it, so...Well done, Me!

I hope my grandson had a good "Well done, Me!" moment after his basketball game today too! Even though his team did not have the winning score, they all play better each week, and he is quite the little athlete! 

In this world, we will all have critics, and those fools* will quickly let us know how we don't measure up, because not one of us is perfect. Rather than focusing on those messages, let's be kind to ourselves by focusing on what we've done right. Let's focus on who we are striving to be and live as though that is already who we are!

Remember that you were created in the image of God. He created you and me, and He has prepared us for good works, even though he knows that all of us will make mistakes. Some of us will make bigger mistakes than others, but He continues to love us. Celebrate that as you strive to be the best you that you can be, and don't forget to pat yourself on the back just a bit when you're on track. What's something that you can celebrate about you this week? 

Well done, You!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

*Autocorrect changed whatever word I had used here to "fools," and I left it. Critcs can be fools...

Young Blood

Hard topic today, because I wasn't ready a few weeks ago...

This morning, I asked Alexa to define young blood, and she replied, "Young blood typically refers to youthful people. It can also apply to fresh, revitalizing ideas or vigor."

This answer made me curious, so I followed up with a question about the science of young blood, and I learned that there is some scientific evidence that young blood contains molecules that may have rejuvenating effects, including "specific proteins that can improve cognitive function and skin cell regeneration." Who knew? Well, I suppose the scientists did! 🤣

Before we go any further, please know that I have not fact-checked this AI response, and I'm also not researching cosmetics or fountain-of-youth products! The thing that prompted me into this rabbit hole is that my cousin passed away on Christmas day, just a few minutes after she and I had been texting holiday greetings...but I don't feel old enough for that to have happened. I still have young blood, don't I?

Teresa (DeLuca) McQuay is not the first person I've known to pass away from among my peers, but she is the first of this cousin group to pass on to the next life, and it makes me so sad for her kids, her brother...and also for me. 

Teresa was 59, and I've known her since 1968, when I was born. Neither one of us had regularly been referred to as "young" in many years (unless you count time spent with our moms!), but I would venture to guess that, like me, she wasn't feeling like she was old. I mean we're not as young as we were in 1973,

or 1982, or 1997, or even 2003,

but we're certainly not OLD!, and it feels unfair that she would have to leave so suddenly, without having the opportunity to meet any grandchildren that may come along. Wasn't 1983 just a few years ago? 

Hmmm, no. I guess not, but that cousin bond can be strong. Some even compare it to a semi-sibling-style relationship, or mention that cousins are our first (maybe forced) friends as well as family...which is not wrong. (If you can't tell from those 80s photos, Tre was a bit of a rebel. She was Sandy at the end of Grease, while I was Sandy-fresh-off-the-boat...but we were friends!) While we hadn't talked often recently, when we did, we laughed over many shared memories of our childhood and teenage years, and we celebrated the women we have become. 

Just a few years back, in 2021, almost all 8 of us cousins got together to celebrate one of our parents, Aunt Mickey, who passed away during the awful year of Covid.

We talked, and we laughed, and we remembered together, as you do...it was so very good...and the bond was still there, as she grabbed my hand for the photo. 

Memories of late-night gab sessions when she stayed at my house...

 

Memories of holiday photos taken on the front porch, or in front of the tree, with Grandpa Joe's little camera (not instant, you got one chance at the "right face"... did you choose well? We'll find out when the film is developed!)...followed by cookies in Grandma's kitchen...

Memories of running around Euclid, while Tre and I stayed at Mary's house in the summer...

Memories of board games, and sleepovers, and shocking (at the time) truths between cousins...

All these memories add up to a life, no matter how many years it lasts...so I'll keep making more, but (sadly) not with my cousin, Teresa.

Zach, Ricky & Kylie, Rich, Tony, Patti, Kim...she was amazing, wasn't she? Keep her memory alive in your hearts, and her legacy will continue to bless you, and your children and their children, for generations to come. 

Blog friends, treasure your loved ones as long as you can, for none of us knows the hour of our death. Love one another well, whether your blood is young or old, and your legacy will be love. 

Thanks for stopping by, and for listening...and Knit in Good Health. 

Back to Life...

Back to reality is coming! I've recovered so well that I'll be heading back into the office next week, yay! I know it's time because I'm getting tired of knitting....Lol! Not really, but my carpals are tunneling on my 4th pair of socks in as many weeks, so let's get my fingers typing again for relief. 

I've also made 15 sweaters (they were little) 

and 5 gnomes (who advised my knitting).

I'm thankful that I have a desk job I can get back to, and also that I'll be able to get the Christmas decor down in my cubicle before Easter! I'm sure my coworkers will appreciate that, too!

Just to be clear here, I know that going back to work will wear me out, in a good way...and my knitting productivity will suffer. That's ok. I am so looking forward to using my brain for more than counting and seeing my work friends. They probably miss me too, how could they not, right? 

All that said, there will still be knitting, for sure! I currently have plans for a new sweater.  I would have started it already, but I'm banned from lifting heavy yarn bins to get the yarn I want for the Do Ewe Yoke? sweater by Zanete Knits!

I have yarn colors themed to Daisy Jones and the Six by Fan Girl Fibers.

After buying the minis, I launched a mad search for the main color to use with it. I settled on an off-white tonal by Leading Men Fiber Arts. I'm sure I'll have more to say when I finally ask Sweetie to do the heavy lifting.  

In the meantime, as one final hurrah to my time off, Sweetie and I are headed to Amish country for some shopping and a delicious meal-not-made-by-us on this snowy day. 

Is it snowing at your house today? Or are you at the beach? Wherever you are, I hope you are well, and that you know you are loved. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Halfway There, and more...

Ooohhhhh, we're halfway there... (IYKYK)

Halfway, plus one block, not yet attached...

Afghans are long term projects, and I'm making good progress, but this one has been a bit of a slog. Metaphor for life? Maybe...after all, I'm a little past halfway there in this life, too...but it's all good. I've got purpose. 😁

Some blocks are difficult, requiring apologies and multiple repeats of rows...and some blocks are easy, just hit auto pilot and go! The super-fun blocks are the best ones though, and I'm happy to report that we are on one of those now. 

You can never know how long the fun will last, though, so I'm hanging on to enjoy the ride. When we got the next hard time, holding onto the joyful memories will get me through. 

Whichever block of life you're in, I hope you've got some joy in the reserves tank to get you through. May you all keep your peace and love and joy close at hand, friends! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Jello gummies for the
5-year-old's party!

All the Summer Fun!

This has been my summer! I mean, there have been other summers, for sure, but this has been one of the best! From season pass visits to one of my favorite places...

... to time with family

... to the knitting

... even to a little straightening up, going through 4 years of greetting cards received

... this has been a really good summer, and I've made the most of my time off! As we get ready to wrap it up, Eric and I had dinner and took in some shows at the park last night. 

The Singin' SeaGals, shakin'
their tail feathers...lolz!

Harrowng High Diver Elain dove from a
max height of 80 feet! It was amazing!

My last week will again be spent with family, and I'll bet there will be photos for next week's blog! For now, the boys are on their way over, so I'm going to wrap this up! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!