Calvin & Atticus doing what Poodles do BEST!
BACKYARD COOKOUT
We had such a wonderful visit with friends this weekend – and it occurred to Gerry and me that we hadn’t actually BEEN to anyone’s house for a cookout type thing since we left NJ! I don’t actually think we’ve been to anyone’s house…
It’s hard for Gerry to get around, hard to feel 100% comfortable anyplace but home (and not even here most of the time…) But in preparation for the BMT he’s coming off of his meds one at a time, and I think he’s a little more serious about the pain meds, so he was feeling good enough to go out to a friend’s house in Woodbridge for some grilled burgers, poodle running and kid playing!
A bonus of the blog is that I get to meet a lot of nice folks – like my new friend who has a daughter who was born just a few weeks before Max. The three kids had a GREAT time together, playing games, playing with Angel, the white rat, and playing dress up (yes, my kids are still up for a good session of dress up… future costumers?)
Mostly it was just nice to see Gerry able to get out and be part of the WORLD. I know how isolated he feels, so this was really great for him. I could tell, though, after a few hours he was so exhausted that the pain was creeping into his bones and we had to hit the road.
Atticus had a blast, though! It’s been a long time since HE’S had a chance to interact with other dogs (I’ve been bad about getting him to the dog park – bad owner…) and he was very happy to see Calvin & Daisy. We all loved seeing them running around – but not as much as we thought they would!
Seriously, though, I have seldom had such a delicious hamburger. Yum! We brought dessert – ice cream cake from Izzys (see, Heather, you had an impact!) And everyone was glad.
WEEKEND KNITTING
Second, I spent a good part of the weekend knitting. Just sitting, knitting, and thoroughly enjoying what was coming off my needles.
It’s true that I knit a lot, but finishing the VK shawl was more embroidery than knitting. My weekends for the past few months have been spent mostly running errands (grocery, menards, target, etc.) but this weekend I knew that I needed a break.
I can feel a bit of a head cold coming on – actually, it arrived on Sunday (which is partly why I didn’t blog this weekend) so I thought I should just rest, rest, rest. And what goes better with resting than knitting?
I have a head scarf thingie I’m working on – a tube worked in lace with a colorwork pattern on either end based on the lace pattern. A cowl? I keep thinking there’s a better name for it out there…
It’s moving along beautifully – it’s for a book by Donna Druchunas which makes it more fun to knit. The lace pattern has a LOT of twisted stitches in it, so it’s not as easy to memorize as other lace patterns I’ve worked, but it’s still a lot of fun to do.
I’m using Artyarns Silk Rhapsody for the colorwork, and Silk Mohair for the lace section – both are dreams to knit up.
Once this is finished, I have a new kind of chair seat I’m working up in lace for Shannon Okey – I was so excited to find the right frame at an outdoors shop this weekend, so I can move along with that project.
CANOE
We just dropped Hannah and Max off at Phalen Lakeside for a week of canoeing & kayaking camp, with some archery (Hannah’s VERY excited about that!) Gerry went along, and we got there SO much more quickly than I thought we would that we were 20 minutes early! Gerry insists that he wants to be able to pick up the kids if I’m ‘in the middle of something’ – but I worry about the driving with the pain meds. And – truth be told – he does, too.
It is absolutely amazing to me how many wonderful park activities there are here at a very reasonable rate. We’ve discussed our present situation with the parks folks, and they’ve been kind enough to offer us a discount for the weekly camp that Max and Hannah attend so that Gerry and I can be free to get to the doctor and make other appointments when we need to.
BOOK IDEA?
I have a few book ideas that I’ve been kicking around, but they seem distant to me. Books to be written by a different person (or perhaps this person in a different time…)
But I very much want to get something going – so my mind races even when I want it to calm down.
On my mind these days, most of all, is Gerry & the family. Our present, our future and our past together. Outside of this layer are my friends, internet friends personal friends, kids friends, long-distance friends, casual friends. Surrounding the whole universe is my need to find some way to record and express what we’re doing now, how we’re dealing with Gerry’s illness & our newness to MN. I keep trying to find some kind of grace – logic is impossible and faith escapes me – when I think or write about this.
I want to be able to return the good feelings to those who have been so kind to us, but I can’t even find my keys (and it’s driving me nuts*) let alone send “thank yous” to everyone who deserves one. Well, not yet. Maybe someday. I have a plan for that, but it’s down the road a bit…
So as I’m mulling all of this over, plus my gut-wrenching desire to be designing more than I am, I think I’m going to try to put together a collection of sweaters & accessories for friends. Who knows if it will be a book, or even a set of knit-able patterns. But it will help me focus two overwhelming needs; to knit and to show gratitude. If I can bring something out of that, then that would be grace.
*paging St. Anthony… Please notify me if you’ve found my keys! That is all…