Knitting

This is the only thing I can knit recently. It's a top down cardigan that has no seams, and is basically just stockinette after the increases at the top. I'm holding it together because it'll have a button there and will fit properly. People say to beware of patterns involving a model tugging at the piece or sitting all twisted funny because it means the piece doesn't fit right somehow. This one will when it's done because my friend Frances did a class on finding your measurements and gauge and general sweater magic. It requires little thought at this point, which is what I need in a knitting project right now. I have awful knitting ADD and several projects in progress. I have a list of things I want to get done by Christmas, and I would be working on them, but I am on a bad knitting spree. I'm going to blame the full moon. I was working on a little shawl, but I made a mistake in it somewhere. I'm not going to take it out because of how many stitches are involved, plus it's for me and I'm okay with some imperfections. The shawl mistake was followed by a hat oops.

Yesterday, I was working on Nathan's Cobra Commander hat, and goofed on the color change somehow and ended up with black where I should have put red. I have to take out about an inch of it to get back on the right track, even though he assured me he would still like it if I just kept knitting. I'm going to fix it tomorrow at the yarn shop because I'm not very good at undoing and repairing, and there's always a better knitter there who is willing to help. So, today I'm just going to work on my cardigan and read some. I also have to do the typical Sunday stuff like grocery shopping and laundry to get ready for the week. We have in service this week, and then school begins, so I have to get back to a somewhat regular routine again.

Is today over yet?

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Back to School

Tomorrow is the first day of in service for my school. We have three extra days for specific training in dealing with kids with behavior problems. And the surprising part is that I don't dread going back. I've had a great summer, but as it comes to its closing point I am okay with it. Last year at this time I was so nervous because it was my first year at this school. Then it flew by, and I am pretty convinced that this year will be about the same as far as that goes. Some of the same students will be returning, and we'll get new ones of course. No day is ever really the same and it keeps things interesting.

Home Again

We got back into town Saturday night and I slept better then than I had at almost any point during the trip. I say almost because I had a great fever nap on one of the days. . .I think it was Friday. Nothing major, just sinuses. I had a great time away. The hotel we stayed at was right on the beach, and the view from our deck was all sand and ocean. We all got along, which is surprising to me because it was his mom and step-dad, his three nieces, his nephew, he, and I in one hotel room. Now, it had two bedrooms and bathrooms, mind you, but it was still close quarters. I like his family and didn't expect to have any disagreements, but traveling had always been an issue in my previous relationship. In fact, our most hellacious arguments usually occurred when we were away from home or when we got back from somewhere. Looking back on that makes me sad because vacations should be happy times. And now they are.

Yesterday Nathan took me to my mom's because my car decided to die in the parking lot of a local coffee shop that I stopped at on the way. He was really sweet about it even though I woke him up to ask him to pick me up. The three of us had lunch together. My mom had cooked boiled corn, stewed squash, field peas, and bacon. Truly good, Southern cooking. I now fully believe my mom likes Nathan because she invited him to make a plate to take with him. I picked up Jeff, and she said he had done just fine. He and Gypsie, mom's dog, got along well after they adjusted to each other. I was relieved because Gypsie really dislikes other dogs.

Today I spent most of the day at the yarn shop. I loved being back there with my friends and all the yarn surrounding me. I'm working on a shawl which is mostly done in garter stitch, with some lace detailing on the bottom, and a row of loops. I don't like the loops, so I'm going to change it to picot and see how it goes. I think it will look better because the lace section had triangles, not circles. Patterns are just suggestions after all. Tomorrow our county is promoting a "Twenty on the Twentieth" to get us to spend money to help the economy. My twenty will be spent there on a new pair of needles, size 1. . .and maybe some sock yarn. I have enough yarn for the big projects I need to get done before the holidays, but you can never have too much sock yarn in the stash. I would have worked on a sock at the beach if I had brought my needles with me, but I only had my size 6 circulars. When I was discussing what to knit on the beach, one of my friends said I could do socks on the beach, which lead to a serious Beavis and Butthead moment. I actually still think it's funny. Heh, heh, heh, meh, heh.

thoughts on family

Today was my great-aunt Hazel's funeral. She had been in the nursing home for some time now. She went through hip replacement about a year ago and went downhill from there, and she had pneumonia about six weeks ago which just made things so much worse. At the funeral, one of my cousins, Katie, sang beautifully. I didn't even know she could sing. I saw my cousin Sara's six week old daughter, as well as her older two. I had never met them before, and they're so cute. They have the longest hair, just like their mom. I realized today just how disconnected we are.

If I had to tell you any of my cousins' birthdays, I couldn't. If you were to ask my mom's favorite color, I'd tell you mauve since she used to always pick lipsticks in that color, or maybe green because she likes to garden, but I don't really KNOW. I talk to her on the phone everyday and go to her house at least once a week, so it's not like we don't communicate. With distant family, I think it was different when I was a kid, at least on my mom's side. I can remember big family meals for Thanksgiving and on Sundays different relatives would usually visit my grandmother, who lived across the street. But then people who were the "glue" of the family started dying, and things changed. Relatives on my dad's side would come down, too. There were just fewer it seems, and the two sides rarely all got together. There wasn't a feud or anything so dramatic. It was just scheduling.

If I ever get to have children, I doubt they will be very close to their cousins either, because I don't think any will be close to their ages. My cousins have already built families of their own, and I think one is planning to have another at some point because she has two boys and has told her grandmother she wants a girl, but she's the only one I know of who is planning to have more.

Speaking of kids, Tina and I are going to get to see our friend Keli's baby tomorrow. I'm so excited about that. She was born on Father's Day and weighed almost six pounds, so she's still tiny. Tomorrow, I also have to finish some last minute things for vacation so I can take it easy Friday. I think we're leaving around 2:00 am Saturday, so I picture napping some on Friday.

for the birds

I'm trying to decide what to take to knit during our beach trip next week. I think I've decided on a lace scarf since it's lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of space. I can cram lace in a small makeup bag and throw it into my purse. I'm almost finished with the purses I'm crocheting for Nathan's nieces for this trip. Here's a picture of the last one in progress. It's going to have a drawstring at the top when it's done.

Not related to needle arts, but I wish I had been able to get a picture of a crazed bird earlier. That bird's nest beneath the deck now has hatchlings in it, and mama bird does NOT like it when Jeff (my dog) and I are on the porch. She was in a tree across from us and flew straight at me. She swerved at the last second, but I squealed like a little girl because I thought she had me. We went into the house shortly after that.

I'm wondering how easy it will be to sleep tonight. Not because I'm afraid of dreaming about birds attacking me, but because of the fireworks people are shooting. Does it make me anti-patriotic if I dislike fireworks? (I don't really see how it could, considering most of them are made in China.) I guess I like to look at them, but the noise gets old quickly. Especially when people start shooting them early.