Stalking the Grocery Girls (or my year of knitting dangerously)

WOW !!!

Seriously ? Has it been since JUNE ???……Life sure can move in strange directions. There was drama, laughter, illness, depression………and time slipped away. It was so bad when I came back that I had to call my host to figure out how to get into my admin. I will really try not to do that to myself again.

You know, I always thought that depression was feeling really sad………it’s not…..it is not feeling anything at all…..living on a plane of existing and making human motions. I even lost my knitting MoJo in early June. I did not even want to watch any podcasts. I finally MADE myself cast on a pair of socks a couple weeks ago and picked away at one…….and then I turned back to my go-to Youtube channel……The Grocery Girls Knit…… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht63Lc2gX6c&t=4581s This episode is longish…….and it was like a healing balm was applied to my brain. Jodi and Tracie are the best prescription I can think of. At the 1:03.20 point there was a hat and then at the 1:05 point a shawl…..you know how in some movies or commercials they show something and a halo appears and a heavenly choir sings out……….well, that is what happened with that shawl.

I went and bought the pattern and cast on before finishing the podcast. Her patterns are available for purchase at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/jodi-browns-ravelry-store

She writes the easiest to follow instructions. I changed one tiny thing to make the lace sections a bit bigger. I am just letting it take its own journey through my stash of minis. When I am done and block it, I’ll post a ‘Ta Da’ picture.

These ladies are so good at what they do…..encouragement and support of the knitting community…….their humor….well, I have the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy, and Jodi cracks me up every time. They are so real and it’s like visiting with your neighbors or favorite cousins……they are comfortable. I would be such a gusher if I ever met them, which is not likely. I’m such a fan girl.

Sooooooooo, MoJo is back in place. Yay me !!!……..Let’s see….my daughter was in the hospital for two weeks in June, my son in law had shoulder surgery in August and my son just had his second surgery to repair something that went wrong with his first surgery. I had a massive lupus flare-up in July that resulted in a nasty kidney/bladder infection………so, yeah, I’m over ill health and ready to move on for Fall.

Look what came in the mail this week………(yep, I didn’t even buy any yarn all that time….making up for it now).

I’m thinking that mini from Molly Klein might make a great cuff and toes for socks by the Ancient Arts skein…….Life is good !!!

oh, look…………shiny

Koco Java now has new cups with their logo, handmade by Greyfox Pottery….in fact, they have several types of cups. I liked this one.

The weather map is showing a huge storm system moving our way. Now I know there is an actual reason for feeling like someone beat me with a sack of nickels. I have to use two hands to hold my coffee cup……….forget knitting until I limber up or the storm passes.

Yesterday I went shopping for some organizers at Dollar Tree. Of course, I found so much more there. What a fun place to play. Then I went and played at Michaels and bought some more blue yarn for the Lion Brand Anti-Bullying Campaign. http://www.lionbrand.com/blog/end-bullying-hat-not-hate/

My fingers are very stiff. Even having a hard time typing this morning. I know I would not be able to knit for a bit. I have to laugh. My mom used to say….whenever and whatever you wound up with an injury of any kind….could be a cut finger or a skinned knee…she’d say, “Know what’s good for that ? Soaking your hands in hot dish water.”…..for once, I think she would be right.

I wish my superpower was to divide myself into many likenesses of myself and each of us do something……think of how many books I could read, or quilts I could make, or projects I could cast on and knit and FINISH…..then I could truthfully say I had “split personalities”.

I missed my appointment with my VA therapist yesterday. I wrote the wrong week on my calendar that he would be away. I went shopping and treated myself to lunch…isn’t that called ‘retail therapy’ ? It was a good day.

They will be delivering my riding mower tomorrow. My friend, Lizz, and her father got a new mower last week. When she finished her yard, she came down the street and did mine. On her third round of the front yard, she ran over something hidden in the grass. It made the most godawful sound….like a wounded animal and just quit.

My landlord’s helper had been over and left a water key lying in the front yard. Just walked off and left it. Yes, that is how long my grass had grown, and no, we didn’t think to walk the lawn as we were not expecting anything to be in it. She started the mower and it seemed to be working so she finished the lawn with no problem. She did call the home visiting John Deere people and they came and picked it up to make sure nothing was bent….like the drive shaft. All I could hear was my Grandfather Moffitt saying, “No good deed goes unpunished.” They had had the mower a little over an hour. I feel so bad about it.

I think I will try the dishwater cure for my fingers and then cast on another blue hat.

oh, look………shiny

June already. Wow…….so much done this past month. Every month (but especially July 1st) I ask how many of the goals I’ve set for myself have I accomplished or at least started. I try not to beat myself up about what was not done, and celebrate any forward movement made. This morning I celebrated that I woke up on the green side of the grass.

I am completely moved to my new space. All ties severed to the old one except for the return of my deposit. Unpacking and placement of favored objects are ongoing adventures.

She was a Christmas ornament that I fell in love with and keep out all year. I love her confidence.

I have always been drawn to bears and roosters. My son was drawn to pigs. He even named a dog ‘Pig’. We were in a Chinese restaurant once and read the place mats and realized I was born in the year of the rooster and he was born in the year of the pig. The bear…..someone once told me it was my spirit animal.

My neighbors were tossing out this little wooden set. I asked if I could buy it and they said no, but I could have it if I carried it away. I grabbed the two benches and as I am rounding the corner for home, my neighbor on the corner asked if I was taking the table, too. I told him as soon as my friend with a truck got off work and he said, “I’ll bring it over for you.”……..and I met two new, friendly/helpful neighbors. It was nice. I figure a quick coat of paint and a little tightening of the table….maybe an umbrella from Big Lots or WallyWorld and it will be good to go.

My daughter brought over the gift of two porch chairs and a 100 foot hose with nozzles. She said she could hear my plants crying all the way to her house. It is a lovely spot to sit and breathe (and knit).

Getting there. The more I knit with this yarn, the more I like it. I don’t know if I will be able to match it for the second sock or not. If they are ‘fraternal twins’ and don’t match, I really don’t much care…..they are for me.

Lion Brand yarns is having an anti-bullying campaign for the month of June. Knit and/or crochet blue hats and mail to them to distribute to schools. They do not have to be worked in Lion Brand yarns, either. I think I will be working in blue yarn this month. It’s a great cause. My fear would be if you were wearing one of them, you would be a huge target for bullies, unless they get entire schools to wear them. They are aiming for 25K hats….and by the looks of it, they will exceed that number. They have free patterns for hats at their website.

oh, look………shiny

I am fastly coming to the end of my energy. I have one more small load to bring over, one load to take to Goodwill or the Nazareth Thrift Store (they are great and support the Nazareth Children’s Home locally), and the final clean up and drop the keys off. Sounds simple…..but first I have to get the energy to unload what I brought over yesterday……and that is a slow moving process this morning.

Two of my favorite pieces of art by my friend Pam Coffman. They did not make the move unscathed. I will have to get out my wood glue and reset the header on the Virgin and put the nails back on The Queen of Hearts. You have to place her in front of a mirror so you can see the key to her heart is protected by them. I love this. Pam is so talented and creative……..she also did the driftwood seahorse.

Scary catch-all art/guest room…….one of those ‘one pile at a time’ places.

BUT…….the important things are set up and already in use……..

oh, look…………shiny

Saturday….a deep breath kind of day. Today is my son’s 48th birthday…..around 3:22 this afternoon…..How did I get such old children ? I remember it like it was yesterday. It was just as I planned….a warm, sunny May day, a little boy to go along with my little girl. Perfect family.

When my kids were little they would come to me together and try pushing each other out of the way, begging me to tell them which of them was my favorite. I would look at them and say, “You are my favorite son, and you are my favorite daughter.” and then I would get the ….”That’s not FAIR !!!”……… I have no idea what I would have done if I had had a third child.

I am reading Sue Perkins “Spectacles”. She is a Brit comedian whom I know from ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and QI Brit TV series. She really is quite funny. Ali from “Little Drops of Wonderful” podcast was reading it and recommended it. You cannot get this book in the USA. I had to get it through Amazon and it was only available from Britain.

I’ve just started it and she made a very thought provoking comment. She was stating how she had to go through a ton of stuff her mother had kept of hers to write the book and remembering everything, how it was painful to do so. “….to go back and see in such forensic detail and with such unimaginable clarity the person I was, trying to be the person I wanted to be.”

I think sometimes it is painful. It’s nicer and easier to forget, to gloss over the pain. Growing pains. Growing into the person we become. Maybe there are gaps in our memories for a reason, but we would not be that person if we had not gone through the fire, so to speak. The good and bad decisions that outline our lives. If I have to take responsibility for the bad choices, then I claim the good choices, too.

I still have a few things to bring over and have started the long examination of what I HAVE brought to my new direction, but for this morning it is a deep breath kind of day.

Oh, look………..shiny

Wow……..two crazy weeks. Moved in with the help of family and friends….could not have done it without them. Just have a counter full of books and some fabric left to bring over. All the heavy lifting was done by others, to whom all the credit, thanks, and love goes.

Bought hibiscus treelets….my daughter was my gardener/planter. I love plants in any shape and color. Plan to have a lot more on the wrap around deck.

The deck is huge and will support plants and family get togethers and coffee in the morning and evening…..and knitting. It is so quiet here. I can actually hear the birds all day. It’s delightful.

Packed up all my yarn, but managed to start a new pair of socks. It is Zitron Art Deco German wool. It is a self-patterning yarn and feels quite rustic to the touch. Not buttery soft like most of my yarns. It will be interesting.

Someone made themselves to home. She was very happy when I started bringing in her favorite things, but she took to this new chair and hassock (did someone say yarn storage ? ) like she thinks they are her own.

I about died laughing when my grandsons brought over my washer/dryer set. She likes to play ‘fetch’ with bottle caps…..I guess this was her secret hiding place…….

There were a ton more under the washer. I wondered why she never had any out to play with, now I know.

So, getting settled. Getting used to the quiet (the first night I kept waking up….no trains, no traffic). The house is wonderfully composed. I feel like the fat lady who took off her girdle……I can just spread out. I have a sewing room and an art room/guest room, along with a huge living room/family room and a small front ‘parlor’ that mostly has a comfy couch and books, books, books.

Life is good…..

oh, look……..shiny

What a crazy week. Last week it was just knitting as I went….life ticking by….and a house came open in the little town where my family and friends live and I thought “why not check it out ?”…….and I got it. I’m already moving my quilting and knitting stash over. I’m so excited….I couldn’t do it without my friends and family….and friend’s family…..such a relief. Such a great space, too.

I gave the house a present of three flower pots this morning. There is a huge wrap around deck that I can picture myself sitting on and knitting and having coffee in the morning. A wonderful space for having family and friends over to eat and laugh. I’m excited…if not a little blown away. Not a direction I thought I would be going in this week…..but, hey, I’m up for it.

I’ll have a sewing room and an art room, a huge open, airy living room that opens on the deck in the back…..did I say I was excited ?

So, I got my one sock done and the second one a good way towards the finish line…….

And some of the yummiest yarn and bag came from Jodi Brown of Mrs Brown’s Bags (on Etsy)…she is one half of The Grocery Girls……it smells so good……..the colors are so vibrant….as much as I love the yarn above (like knitting with butter)….I am casting on something for moi with this new yarn ASAP……..

Lizz didn’t like the picture I posted……no one ever likes their own picture…….but she won’t let me take another one…….she and her daughter and I are going to the movies tomorrow to see the original ‘True Grit’, maybe she’ll let me take one she approves of. Who has a ‘best line’ from that movie ? My favorite is:
“This is the real article. It is a double-rectified busthead from Madison County, aged in the keg. A little spoonful would do you a power of good.”
“I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains.”

I know it is originally from Othello, but it’s classic ‘True Grit’. Will love seeing it on the big screen.

Well, a little packing, a little knitting…..a whole lot of chocolate……….

Oh, look…………shiny

I met with my friend, Lizz, at Koco Java’s yesterday to knit and chat. I have been a member of Instagram for years, but never posted, and she taught me how to upload pics to my account there. That’s a rabbit hole I never wanted to tumble down, and now I have. She says she has created a monster.

I realized it was my third day in a row of peopling. So unlike me. We sat and knitted and chatted in a safe, friendly place. I even had my back to the room for half the time there, which is HUGE for me.

Remind me to tell you the story of my niece soon. So this is HedgeHog Fibers ‘Primrose’ colorway….but it’s more like bees on crack to me. I love this soft, buttery yellow that isn’t quite showing up to its true loveliness here. It makes me think of what would happen to bees if they were beamed up in the teleporter badly.

I woke up at 4 AM today. Not in a panic, not in a funk, but in that grey area. It could go either way from there. Into a downward spiral or back up into action and living. I remember a cartoon strip, “Rose is Rose”, where the mother, Rose, fell into a well of despair and couldn’t get out…..so she drew a colorful mural on the inside wall of the well. I don’t think it is those deep despairs that get to you as much as the tonal grey areas of mild depression that you don’t even realize you are in until you aren’t…..when you emerge into a joyful, sunny day and look back and realize you’ve been treading water or going through the motions without emotions.

My sleep time is a series of naps I think. I went back to sleep around seven after knitting for awhile on my socks. Then I got up and made myself go out. Lizz had some lavender for me to add to some rice sacks that I am making to use for physical therapy…..hotten them up in the microwave and put them where my neck and back hurt. Lavender is a nice, soothing touch. Making them this afternoon. Not sure if I want to sprinkle the lavender into the rice or sew up a few five inch squares of them and stick the squares in the rice.

Time to move a little………

oh, look………..shiny

It’s that kind of day…….A green shake to start it off. I think my doctor may be correct in saying he thinks i have SADD, along with a myriad of other goings on. It is a cloudy, dank day and I’ve teared up twice this morning. Sooooooo, extra vitamin D, a green shake, a little action (run the cleaner, recyclables to the site, go to the bank…..have a lovely cup of coffee and knit with Lizz at Koco Java’s for a bit)……action is always better than inaction for depression and anxiety, even if it is in baby steps like throwing in and doing a load of laundry through to the folding and putting away stage. I saw a meme the other day that cracked me up…..”Laundry: washed and dried ….one hour…..folded and put away…..seven to ten business days”.

Yesterday was the last of @starryeyesali April vlogs. She uploaded it today. Now who will I have a cuppa with and start my mornings off with a smile ? It has been lovely getting to know her and her family through little bits of their daily lives. She and they are so charming……and of course, a knitter. At least she’ll be doing her regular podcasts.

Speaking of which….WTH is wrong with Youtube ? I know I have ‘subscribed’ to maybe….maybe….about 40 podcasters. I went on the other day and it said I had 928 subscriptions……..WHAT ??? So I started down the list and cracked up……some are anime, some are cooking, some are cars, movie trailers, musicians I have never heard of……like they were added by a toddler on crack (or my cat on crack). For the past few days I have been going through and destroying the delete button. I’m down to 500 and it’s insane.

Look what lovely yarniness came in the mail yesterday, all the way from the UK……from the delightful Amy Florence of Stranded Dyeworks. I ordered it from her shop….she is an amazing indie dyer.

I cannot wait to cast on some lovely socks. I have never used Aran weight and will have to go into the rabbit hole of Ravelry and see what recipes they have for that yarn. It’s a little heavier (but not a chunky) weight than worsted. I’m sure anything you can make with worsted can be done up in Aran.

Oh, oh, the sun just stuck it’s head out for a second. Maybe if I’m quiet and make no sudden movements, it won’t run off. Can you run the cleaner in slow motion ?

oh, look…………shiny

It’s a tea kind of day. My friend, Ali, from “Little Drops of Wonderful” podcast, sent the tea when she sent the pin from her podcast to me last week. It was a wonderful lift to the week. I loved the tea and ordered a box on Amazon. Lately tea has been giving me heartburn, but not this tea.

I did a really what could have been a wonderful Youtube moment if someone had filmed it …..falling over the cat, over the foot stool, crashing into my knitting table and finally ending up halfway onto the couch and the floor. This was last Monday. Have been wearing a brace all week on my arm, but really think I whip-lashed my whole body…at least on my right side.

Have not been able to knit or type until yesterday. Was able to finish my BFF’s socks and work a little on my Knitweave scarf…..amazing how much I missed being able to knit. My cat is such a toddler. She was racing around and then laid down just behind my feet when I was not paying attention. Sometimes I think they are little psychopaths, plotting our demise.

Now I want to cast on a pair of Jelly Roll socks…..shorties with two curling rims…..something new to try.

This is Ali’s little pin. It says ‘You are a Little Drop of Wonderful”. I have been watching her April vlog…..video log of her everyday life in Kent, UK., and went back to watch some of her early podcasts. She really is a delightful person with a lovely little family. You should check her out, if for nothing more than English life.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXWQfl7WmeumzOYfKZwhT0g

I have used my hand and arm enough today and can hold a book with my left hand. Going to go finish reading the story.

oh, look………shiny