Good Intentions

You know when you want to do something but you have a small voice inside your head saying that maybe the time isn't right? I wanted to see my daughter and even though little obstacles were placed in my path, I ignored them and plowed right up the Northeast Regional line to have my visit. And although it is always, always wonderful to visit my daughter, it really wasn't the best time slot for either of us and the stress got to us both. I made her stressed out during an already stressful time of grad school, working, and living in a small Brooklyn apartment during the gray days of February and I made myself sick in the process.

I'm on the return trip now and I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. for my mom's outpatient surgery, and then I have two days of school left in which to close out grades for the first term. And no leave left for the remainder of the school year, should I get sick. Probably could have picked a better time, wouldn't you say?

I put all this in here so that I would give a more balanced account of what was still a good enough trip; good enough in that I got to sit and knit with and talk to my daughter, and that was good. And hugging her was even better.

She won't allow me to photograph her very much and I didn't even try at all on this trip, but I will show off some of the beautiful places she walked with me, mostly in Prospect Park on Sunday. Such beauty so close to such grey, dirty streets is breathtaking.

And here is a selfie of me in front of Purl Soho on Monday while Meredith was at work.

A hat that Meredith whipped up out of the gift skein I brought her:

And the Monkey sock I finished, Kitchener stitched, ripped back, and re-Kitchenered. Painful, but worth it.

And sweet Sinon, lounging while we knit.

All in all, a good enough trip.

 

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So Excited!

Heading north at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to visit Meredith until Tuesday. So excited to hang with my daughter for a long weekend of knitting and chatting. Taking a few days off work to recharge my batteries, especially after this tough week. I broke out in a terrible itching rash on Tuesday, went to the doctor on Wednesday and was diagnosed with an allergic reaction to an antibiotic I took the first week of February. I had no idea a reaction could be so delayed! I am on a course of prednisone, antihistamine, and oatmeal baths and thankfully am recovering nicely as of today.

Melissa and I went to one of those paint your own pottery places on Monday for my birthday and had such fun.

I am such a fortunate woman.

 

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February Days

We celebrated my stepson's birthday last week. Andrew loves the big cookie "cake", so I made one for him after work. It was pretty easy but unfortunately I rushed the decorating stage so it looked like a child did it, but he loved it anyway.

 

Finally started my first Monkey sock and it's moving along at a good pace. The pattern is clearly written and I can see why so many people have made them. The bright lime is a nice pop of color during this gray month.

Melissa is volunteering at our community farm market, and I think she's adorable, don't you?

Steve and I went there for brunch yesterday to celebrate my birthday. He got Red Flannel "Hash" made from beets and red potatoes. I eat there at least once a week, which is how Melissa became interested in volunteering there. The food is local and fabulous and the atmosphere is the best. There are a lot of regulars so it feels very homey.

There is also local music most Sundays, which I adore. I sat and knit after we ate and talked to a few folks who wandered up to me to talk about knitting and crocheting and crafting, as you do.

And of course, there was cuddling with Gracie when we got home in time to watch Downton Abbey. I watch it the old fashioned way, on PBS Masterpiece Theater.

And since I'm off today, Melissa and I are hanging out and crafting together. All in all, a wonderful birthday weekend!

 

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Mom

Happy Birthday to my youthful mom:

Hard to believe she is 74; she goes to an exercise class five days a week and can run circles around me. She was just diagnosed with early stage DCIS, a very treatable form of breast cancer. And as is typical for her, she is facing it head on with her indominitable spirit. In fact, her first question was, "How soon can I go back to exercise class after the surgery?"

So proud to be her daughter.

 

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Not a False Alarm

Our snow prediction was pretty close to being accurate. While we didn't reach the one foot mark, we did get an impressive eight to ten inches, which was enough to send us home early on Tuesday, and cancel school for the rest of the week. Consequently, tomorrow will be the first day I will be out of sweat pants or pajamas in almost a week. We were so fortunate not to have lost power at any time, so it was a very nice winter break, and it came at the sweet spot between first and second semester! So I'm all rested and ready to meet my new group of students.

I spent my time reading, baking, putting out birdseed, and knitting, with the majority of time spent reading.

 

 

Here are a few of the projects I worked on:

Cedar leaf Shawlette, in Lisa Souza Polwarth Silk

A baby sweater for a coworker's baby boy

Oats cowl, using some Cascade yarn I bought at a Super Bowl Yarn sale last year

A wash cloth using a new-to-me rice stitch.

And of course, I spent a lot of time cuddling with Gracie:

 

 

 

Now, it's time to get everything together for tomorrow. Hope I can make it five days in a row!

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