getting sidetracked...

...which really isn't all that hard for me... squirrel! Dang, saw new yarn and well, you know how it goes. New yarn+new projects=continued un-monogamous knitting. Happily, the slouchy tam got done before the new yarn arrived. Sadly, the new yarn arrived before I got the the teddy bears started for my three lads!

So what sidetracked me? Sock yarn called Time Traveller and I knew I had to make me some Doctor Who socks! Really... who wouldn't for that matter! I will console myself with the fact that I have the yarn for the teddy bears safely tucked away... that was another squirrel moment when I decided to make these little treasures. Looked through a knitter mag and there they were. Sweet Shelley enabled me by lending her mag for the cause. I had get a better handle on all these "oh look, shiny" moments or I'll never get anything done in time for Christmas. Wait, I never attached a completion year to the Christmas bear knitting...

Oh, SQUIRREL!!!

M... K... F.....

Here I sit in my hotel room... choosing not to attend the conference sessions just yet... in my new Fluevog's musing on my next knitty projects. I just finished another test knit for the Heart Sister... yes, socks again but these are oh, so pretty and perfect for fancy shoes for those fancy parties looming in the next couple of months.

Yes, Christmas is looming for me and while I may have a few presents done I still have a few more to do. That's the problem... there's a new god-daughter and her sisters to knit up for, gorgeous alpaca yarn that's calling out to me to knit up some shawls, hand dyed treasures screaming at me to make a wee tunic top... so much yarn, so little time.

And the battle begins between my head that knows what it needs to do to get the Christmas gifts ready and the heart that just wants to play. I'll do a little compromise. Make a toque with some colourful yarn on the three hour bus ride today... then buckle down on three important teddy bear knits for the grand-nephews and three important knits for the god-daughter and her sisters.

Good things do come in three's, but... Must. Knit. Faster.

Gratefully grateful...

Time for the usual things to be thankful for... family, friends, food on the table and a roof over the head. While I am thankful for all of that, here's what really makes me smile...

Programable thermostat, circular knitting needles, Ghirardelli chocolate, covered cat-litter box, french press, vay-cay knitting, fresh roasted coffee, MacBook Pro (thanks Steve), fresh bread, merino yarn, my Heart Sister and her patterns, iTunes, cheese, Guinness, blue sky, smell of autumn on a misty morning, hand dyed yarn, Grantie status, Cat-Mate's purring, knitting by the ocean, time-warp TV, air miles, Ravelry, online shopping, Alpacas, farmer's markets, knitting on a plane, saskatoon pie, Muppets, sourdough bread, comfy knitty chairs, voting, Girl Guide chocolate mint cookies...

I love my family, my friends and all that I have but sometimes I do forget the little things. We get bogged down on what we don't have or what's going wrong that we sometimes forget the everyday things in our everyday world that is right. This Thanksgiving... lets be grateful for those everyday moments that make an ordinary day great!

I miss your blog...

... At least that's what a knitty buddy told me. Made me wonder... did she miss my ruckus ramblings... my preachy prattling... my kooky comments... pics of my precious projects?  I must admit... I was a wee bit flattered. Then it got me to thinking just what it is we do to find the positives in our lives when the world around us is crazy town. I haven't been writing for a while because of all the crazy town stuff going but it's when I feel least like doing it that it's even more important that I do. It's a way of releasing inside the negative and finding a creative way to search for the positive.

I had been so scared for my heart-sister that I dared not write...  about her, her designs or my test knitting for her. I didn't want to write... just knit, for in my wee mind if I stopped knitting her designs the worst would happen... see, crazy town! On the bright side... lots of gorgeous projects completed and some of them are even Christmas gifts! You heard me, Christmas knitting and it's not even November! Now there is a positive... four gifts done and ideas for others. Another positive... heart-sister will be around for a good while to bother me with designs to test up and long chats about family antics! I can bother her about all my orange knitty projects... my favourite colour but her least!!

I guess we find the positives in little things... simple compliments, gentle teasing, shoulders to lean on and loving words... spoken or written. It may be crazy town but we're in this together... may as well enjoy the ride with panache!

what to do... what to do...

I'm having a stay-cation... you know... a vacation where one stays at home. Very restful and very much needed. I never understood the folks who always claim they can't get away from work to have a proper vacation. Really.... you think you're that indispensable? 

Well, the hard part for me is not about taking time off but what to do while taking time off. This was one of the few times that I never went anywhere... I stayed home. It was kinda odd at first. I wanted to fly somewhere... anywhere. I just wanted to be on plane with passport in hand, wondering down streets and enjoying lattes at a sidewalk cafe. Well, didn't happen but what did happen... a few lattes at my favourite sidewalk cafe, wandering down streets looking at local wares, going to ethnic food markets and doing my favourite thing... deck knitting!

One can have a great rest while discovering new things at home! I rested, I discovered, I latte'd, I completed a pair of socks, a shawl and if I had 3 more days off... would've had my second shawl done. I felt more productive away from work than at work... huh! Next time tho... I'm going somewhere that's gonna require my passport!!!!

Discombobulation...

Every so often life throws a curve ball that can just discombobulate everything in your world. Exactly five years ago this month I travelled to Ireland alone while running away from a horrible curve-ball moment. That moment changed my world forever! No, not the horrible curve-ball moment but my journey to my heartland moment. It opened my heart with new friends and new experiences which started the healing.

Curve-ball moments force us to rethink our world. Sometimes those curve-ball moments frighten us to our very core... sometimes they help us redirect our energies. My heart sister was delivered a curve-ball of all curve-balls but through the fear she re-directed her energies to not only healing her body but to designing incredible knitting patterns. The joy they bring to Meagheen as she sees her designs come to light is also healing. As we both continue on our journey we are stronger for the curve-balls that have been thrown at us... but the best gift... our love for each other!

Five years later and no longer discombobulated... well, maybe a little but I think that's just me.

San Francisco Treat...

Are you old enuff to remember the little jingle for Rice-a-Roni... I certainly am. And after learning that Sweetie arranged for a wee get-away in San Francisco for a week in June, that jingle has been playing through my mind to distraction. That and what to wear! That is... what to make to wear! So... without distraction and in less than a month, I whipped up a shawl and some socks, designed by my heart-sister Meagheen. It's like Christmas last minute knitting (better start sorting that now to avoid Christmas Eve panic knitting).

If only I could be more focused in other things in my world. You know the usual... be more kind... be less frenzied... exercise more... worry less... ack! The list goes on. Maybe it's because in my knitting I can actually see progress from the get go... exercise? Well, that's another matter. Don't get me started on the worry bit... how will my great-nephews cope with the education cut-backs? Will my dear heart-sister be strong enuff for the next phase of her treatments? How long does Mum have to wait for her knee surgery?

My knitting, like the Rice-a-Roni jingle, is my distraction and like any good vacation... both are necessary for my soul. So, with my new shawl and socks it's time for a wee distraction from the real world. All the worries and frenzy will still be here when I get back but maybe, just maybe, the distraction will have calmed the mind enuff to get through it all with a little kinder heart.