Quiet Weekend

The girls left our house on Tuesday, and they left town to go home on Wednesday, which means that Pop Pop the Great

Pop Pop the Adored

has once again been relegated to the mere status of Sweetie the Very Loved. (Yes, I love him. But I don't climb all over him when he comes downstairs for work every morning! lol!)

This is not a bad thing, but it is a little lonely and very quiet in our house since Wednesday...which means there has been more time for knitting! Since I have finished the Black-and-White, Black-and-White sweaters,

complete with bright buttons (buttons of my choosing, not hers...Sweet Pea just wanted to eat the buttons!) for the little one,

now I can focus on some mindless knitting for a couple of good causes! Booties for babies yet to be born were first up on my needles, and they are so cute that even Black Cat is protective of them. 

There are other things almost on my needles, too, and I'm still working through the depression stuff, but I am doing ok. I think (and some studies have confirmed my suspicions) that knitting has benefitted me, both mentally and emotionally. Knitting that is mindless gives my hands something to do while I think and pray. Knitting that I have to think about gives me a break from all the deep thinking, replacing big decisions with "Knit, knit, purl, purl, knit 2 together,  yarn over, purl, purl...," well, you get the picture. So I have plans for some lace, some socks, maybe a couple hats and some baby gifts for babies that have barely let their mommies even know that they are coming. 

My life is not perfect, but I am content. I am content to live and to knit and to get through it all with a smile and a bit of kindness for those around me who also experience the love, joy, strife and sorrow that define the human experience. We're all in this together, let's do our best to get along, and we will all get through it together! (If you'd like to learn to knit your way through, I'd be happy to teach you...the calming, centering properties of this hobby far outweigh the frustration of learning a new skill!) Are you with me?

Thanks for stopping by today, and Knit in Good Health!

No Boundaries

In a world of baby gates and outlet covers, our granddaughters are learning the wonderful truth about grandparents this visit (and every visit, really!): 

With grandparents, there are no boundaries.

Much to your parents' chagrin, grandparents will let you have donuts and pop tarts for breakfast, every day even...

Grandparents will put the pool and kiddie toys in the front yard, early in the morning...

Grandparents will take you on an impromptu visit to a horse farm, just because it was mentioned in an afternoon visit...

Grandparents will let you play with indoor toys outside...

Grandparents will drive an hour to Amish Country for lunch, stopping to let you see the ducks and feed them right out of your hand...before and after lunch!

And grandparents will think this is funny:

Yes, that is hilarious! Even when I was the one putting her to bed, and I had to put her back to bed 4 times last night, it was still funny! (As long as no one gets hurt, and she did not.)

"Who are you people???," Dollface and Mork have occasionally asked since these angels came into our lives. "You never let US do any of that stuff!"

As a bonus thought, and because this is a knitting blog, I will add that if your grandma knits, she may even make you a magical sweater with a kitty that is sometimes there...

...and sometimes not!

And you can pick out your own buttons!!!

By the way, there is a red ladybug, an orange heart, a blue flower, a pink circle and a chicken. Yep. A chicken...no boundaries!

Well, I've got some baby-wranglin' to tend to, friends, now that she is uncontainable (in the pack'n play anyway) so I'll sign off here! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your Saturday's a good one!

Knit in Good Health!

One Thing After Another!

Hello, Blogland! I have so many things to tell you, but the girls are in town, so my time is pretty limited... As a matter of fact, at this very minute, I am hiding in the basement to write, because typing is very, very difficult with two darling girls climbing over me, or begging me to play! It's been one (wonderful) thing after another for their visit! There has been doll-housing with Pop Pop,

Sliding on the slide,

Knitting (complete with OOPS!, she's a real knitter now!),

Board games with princesses,

Walks in the neighborhood,

Walks in the park, where we saw birds, 

And learned about birds, 

And walked on the funny gravel...

There were even rides on the toddler express!

Yesterday and today have been an absolute heat wave, here in Northeast Ohio, and this is how it went with the girls...

Sweet Pea: It's so hot!

Sweet Pea (sees her sister): Do you want to play?

Peanut: Well, I guess we can go for a ride, if you want...

Sweet Pea: Wait a minute...this is not what I thought you meant!

Sisters. It is what it is, isn't it? 

Yes, it is hot! The weathermen and women tell us that this is just the right time of the year for a heat wave, and I know that winter will always come back, so I am doing my best to not complain. After all, who can complain with such cuties about??? 

Stay cool, friends, and thanks for stopping by! Knit in Good Health (and hopefully with very few "OOPSes" of your own)! 

30 Years Later

Last Saturday morning, I posted about my 30th high school class reunion, and I was nervous about it...like really nervous. I wasn't nervous about seeing the school, or standing in that gym where I so often claimed cramps so that I would not have to face that kickball to the face again (yes, that happened. I was that girl, with masking tape on my nose piece after gym class...lol!)

I was mostly nervous about crowds, because I generally am. Even though I don't usually have trouble talking to people, the thought of being in a crowded situation makes my stomach turn. As it turned out, I did have moments of feeling totally overwhelmed. There were more classmates who came out to this neighborhood bar and grill to catch up than I had imagined there would be. (I hear they stopped counting at 120-something...or 150-something...in the evening, and about 50 came out for the morning tour.)

Would people remember me? Would I be able to recognize old friends? 30 years is a really long time, and not many of us still look like our senior picture!

Heck, I think I didn't look like my senior picture by the time I graduated! I did let that perm grow out, and I stopped wearing shoulder-padded blazers a short time later! lol! But it was super helpful to have those photos on our shoulders as we approached classmates. As it turns out, a lot of people knew who I was right away, something about living in a house right in front of the school made me a bit infamous...either that or the kickball incident! Some I remembered only by name, and some only by face, and there were even some that I barely recognized at all! Still, I slapped on that name tag, stepped out of my shell and just started talking.

After all, one thing we know about Pretty is that she has LOTS of words!

I didn't take too many photos, I was having too good a time to think about that, and I am pretty awful at the art of selphies... But there were many who did, and thanks to them all, I have had about a week of constant Facebook updates with photos and memories.

What a nice change from the news and all the icky that is in the world right now. Photos of old friends and new, and some new memories to file away until I see some of these wonderful folks again. 

I didn't realize how many still live in or near the town I graduated in! My goal for the next couple years is to try to connect with more of those wonderful folks in person when I can. :) Of course, just this past Wednesday, the girls showed up for another visit, so there isn't much time for socializing outside the family for the next couple of weeks...but I am not complaining! I love these sandwich-swiping,

show-stealing, girlies so much!

It's good to have them back in town! It cuts down on the knitting a bit, but even that is ok. There is still knitting, including that black-and-white, black-and-white sweater, requested by Peanut and currently on my needles. (As I tried to figure out how to jazz up the black and white a little, the illusion became less elusive!)

Thanks for stopping by, friends! Be ready for more pictures of the cutest grandkids I ever did have, and Knit in Good Health!

Peeking in the Window

This is the window I sit next to with my coffee on the average morning. Today is no different. I woke up early, because I can't help it. It is Saturday, so I got dressed, brushed my teeth and started a load of laundry before I made my coffee. Again, standard operating procedure. Also standard operating procedure, at least when this window is open, the cats have beaten me and my coffee to my favorite spot...lol! 

I know why they like it here. This is a great place to listen to the birds sing, while quietly watching what is going on in the neighborhood. Here you can find out what the sky looks like, what the air feels like, and what the day sounds like...here I am almost outside, but there are no bugs, and this is a definite bonus. This is definitely a perfect place to pray, to think, to write and to knit, and this morning, I am taking advantage of all of that. 

Today is a busy day for me. Later, I will be attending a couple of gatherings to commemorate my 30th high school reunion. I won't lie, this makes me a little nervous. Because I have been very transparent online, both here and on several social media sites through the years, this cannot be like when my parents went to a reunion. Although all of these people may not know my whole story, some definitely do, so I could never get away with putting on a fake self and making up a wonderful life.

Please don't get me wrong. I do have a wonderful life. But just like George Bailey, I often feel stuck in this life. My job is not glamorous. As a matter of fact, my current job isn't even permanent, and I have recently experienced some failure in the job department...but I do have a job. My body is not perfect, not even close, but I am mostly ok with that. I enjoy walking, I even tried running some years ago (which was slightly disastrous), and I like to exercise, but I also like bread, pasta and most other food. :) I mean, I love veggies and fruit and all the good stuff too, but I will occasionally eat a donut...maybe more than occasionally even. On top of that, I am generally too lazy to bother with makeup. On a good day, I use a moisturizer with sunscreen. So, I am 48 and frumpy, but I am also pretty genuine. This is my real life, baby!

One more thing, my family is not perfect. My relationships are not perfect. Some might even say that none of it comes anywhere close to normal. But here's the thing: normal is just an ideal. My normal might be your idea of "one flew over the cuckoo's nest," and your normal might be my idea of insane, and that's ok. The bottom line is that I am ok with who I am. I am Pretty. I am 48 years old, and I am not perfect. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and I love him so much that I can't stand it, even though we have broken each other's hearts over and over through the last 29 years. I have two great kids, all grown up (one has given me two beautiful granddaughters), and they are not perfect, but we sure do love each other in this family!

Do you know what is perfect? Even with all this imperfection, and all of my shortcomings,  God still meets me where I am. Even though I occasionally suffer a crisis of conscience, or a wavering of my faith, his mercies are still new every morning (Lam 3:22-23), because his faithfulness is so great. So, here I will sit each morning, at the open window with the cats, my bible (or bible app), my coffee and some knitting. I will thank him for gentle breezes and bird songs which remind me that each day is a fresh start, full of promise, regardless of yesterday's failures. I will knit and pray, and I will thank God for his wonderful Gift to me. 

Do you want to see what I'm knitting this morning? (It is a knitting blog, after all!)

Two sweaters, for two girls I know. Not twins, but still close in age. I'm using yarns leftover from some twin knitting you may have seen in an earlier post, and I am pretty much ecstatic with the results! I can't wait for fall, to see all the little ones in their sweaters...I love kid knitting! 

As I finish up this post, it is about 8am. I've been up since 6, and I am well into my day. I hope that your day is a good one, and if I went to high school with you, I hope that I will see you at some point during the day today. In case I won't be seeing you, I hope that your day will go well, and that you are content in this life, even if it is not perfect. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and enjoy as much of this life as you can) in Good Health!