All better!! Thanks for listening!

It's safe to read again. I feel much better today. I just can't get used to being a prisoner and being scared I'm going to die from all this stress. Life is very difficult and some days are harder than others. Besides which I love this man and it's devastating to watch him be destroyed by this horrible disease.

A picture of my Traveling Woman Shawl made of Fiesta Boomerang. btw I fixed the curling edges.

A fuzzy baby hat made of Erdal Eyelash and a darling but sleepy baby.

HOT

I really do not like this heat. I get all sweaty and itchy when I go outdoors. I have enough trouble with my own personal power surges to spend any "quality" time outdoors right now. It's dash out the door, check the tomatoes, dash back in. My talents lie more indoors: cooking, knitting, singing and playing, etc.

Bryan took Richard yesterday morning for an over-nighter. I've been cleaning all day. Saturday I rested and played. It's hard to even clean when he's here because he follows me around so close and wants to help but...doesn't help even when he tries.

I really need to get rid of some of my "stuff". (Not knitting stuff or music stuff but other stuff.) I seem to have too much furniture for the size of our house but I have several antiques that I absolutely love and the rest of the furniture is necessary for sitting upon or eating upon, so I'm sort of caught between a rock and hard place. (How many of us still eat at the table or do you just trot your plates to TV trays in front of the you-know-what? I'll bet we're not the only ones who do that when it's just the 2 of us!) Anyhow, back to subject, with 2 families living in one house, it's a challenge. We get along just fine but we are crowded. That's okay, I'll really miss them when they leave.

I cut up an ice cream sandwich for Carter the other day and he stared at it a bit (didn't recognize it) picked it up dropped it and said "hot!" which makes sense if you think about it. He knows hot cause he burned his fingers on the iron awhile back. He has learned to jump up in the air and both his feet actually leave the ground at the same time. He's been working really hard on learning that. I don't remember all this stuff from my own kids. Either they're too old, I'm too old, or I was just too busy to take note of these exquisite little moments.

I finally got control of my Forest Canopy Shawl and it's coming along fine now. I can work on it in a group now but it took a while. Yesterday I was at Gourmet Yarn in the afternoon and had to laugh. There was a big crowd and everyone was pawing through the bags of Noro Sock Yarn both Kureyon and Silk Garden. The colors are so absolutely beautiful it's almost impossible to resist it--and I didn't. I brought home 1 skein of S8--greens and blues for probably socks, and 2 of S264 which is turquoise-y and light brown-ish and blue and who knows what other colors are in there that I can't see yet but the whole things looks like my sister so I think she'll be getting a scarf for her birthday or Christmas. It was really funny, Sandy and David were trying to put price stickers on the lables and they couldn't keep up with us. Linda P. came by with Nina and it was good to see them and hear a little bit about camp, but she was headed home for a nap and a ballgame--at the same time I think! Polly was there and Liz and Karen and Martha, and some others but I don't remember who all. I've got to take some pictures and post of my new stuff and projects.

I watched "The Other Boelyn Girl" last night. Good movie but what a terrible time to have lived--royalty being so difficult and all. English history is facinating. I've always enjoyed the Phillippa Gregory books even though uit's been a while since I read them. I'm planning to watch "Knocked UP" this afternoon. I saw the "Waterhorse' a couple weeks ago and it's really cute. I finished "1st. to Die" by James Patterson-wow. I've ordered "@nd Chance" now-I think I'll need to read the whole series. I'm reading "Final Notice" by Jo Dereske a Helma Zukas, Librarian mystery. They're pretty entertaining.

I am so aggravated that Guild was cancelled this month. I coildn't go last month but I can this month but now I can't cause we aren't having it. I should have just invited everyone over to my house!

For now, I think it's lunch time-guess I'll go see what leftovers I have in the fridge! Then possibly nap time if all goes well! toodles, Anita

Out of my mind.....

Well, hello. It's been a while since I posted. Seems to be a really busy life but when I try to think of what all I've been doing....I can't. So, I don't know what I've been doing but I've been really busy doing it!

A couple weeks ago I was reading one of the yahoo groups I subscribe to on lace knitting I think and a discussion of a 12 step program for lace knitters came up. Someone then made this comment "12 steps? I thought it was 3 steps--buy yarn, knit objects with deliberate holes in them, do it again---or something like that. And it made me think "we" (knitters/crocheters) need a step program. So "borrowing" the comment from that person, I think this works...at least for me.

1. Buy yarn

2. Knit / crochet

3. See steps 1 & 2

Now if we could just come up with an acronym--something catchy--like AA, ACoA (where I spent some time working on issues) people would look at us with respect or perhaps awe that we were addressing our issue (not problem) head on! We could get buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc..... or maybe not. just mindless thinking...... is that an oxymoron? "mindless thinking"?

Okay, well! Richard and I had a disastrious Sunday. I woke up with a migraine, took a Zomig about 8:30 and laid down and didn't wake up until 2:30! My tablets have never knocked me out like that before! But at least the headache was gone. I found Richard still in his pj's, hadn't had anything to eat all day long and was bent double with pain. So I get us both dressed and head to the emergency room (for the 2nd. time since Feb. with this problem I might add) and finally after a ct scan they figured out he has a hernia--oddly enough in the exact same spot he had one repaired 5 years ago which (the anesthesia) triggered the Alz ( anes.--alz) a little known bad combo. Anyhow, now he's got to have another surgery tp repair the repair and this is not good news cause the anest. could increase his dementia. So I'm kind of reeling here.

RANT APPROACHING...sorry, can't help it: Allright, I do have help. My kids and sister and mom try to help me as needed but ultimately it all boils down to me! I have to make the financial, medical everything arrangements for both of us (I finally did our taxes yesterday) plus work full time. I want to laugh hysterically when people say "are you taking anytime for yourself?" and SMACK them when they pat my arm and say "well God doesn't give us any more than we can handle". (I had to go talk to my minister about that one! and she said it was okay to smack them---not really but she agreed with me) So it often doesn't feel like I have any help at all. I do seem to get a lot of advice...like I need more "I need to" things for my already never ending list. End of rant

Yesterday I finally surrendered Richard's driver's license. I think that was possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to do--take away his freedom. Today we're going to get him an official state id card. Here's Carter and Grandpa (Richard). They're very close.

Someone reading (a college English teacher!) my blog awhile back told me I should publish our experiences. I'm not sure that I'll ever try that, but it did make me think I'd try to journal some of our experiences.

On The Needles: still working on the Lady Eleanor entralac. I sure enjoy knitting this project, but it is taking a long time. Course I do take time out to work on some socks and a scarf and some other things.

Toodles and thanks for reading! .....Anita

not so easy but workable

Well, having a blog is about as hard as I thought it would be. Seems as if there's never anything cheer-y to write about. It's been a busy week in Lake Woebegone--oops that's a different group! (and probably under copywrite protection) But it's still been a busy two weeks.

My husband, who has Alzheimer's was stopped for running a stop sign and as a result his driver's license has been revoked. Hell hath no fury like a man who isn't allowed to drive. And guess who he's been taking it out on?? The Dr. add Naminda to his meds and I think it's staring to kick in, his mood has improved a little bit. But it's heart-breaking to watch this disease do it's dirty work. The good news is: Safe Return works! The policeman called them who called me and I went and picked him up instead of him being taken to a hospital or the jail. I highly recommend it if you are in this situation. And I feel pretty good that if he wanders off that he'll be returned to me. Okay on to other things...

Like knitting. I'm working on a comfort shawl of Berocco Foliage for a friend with cancer. In the interest of speed I'm using a drop stitch pattern but it's turning out much better than I thought it would with that pattern, and size 13 needles.

Here's my finished Multi Directional Scarf of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn and size 5 needles. Pattern from Simpatico Yarn in Texas. I love it and have received many compliments.

Okay next are the socks I've been working on for quite some time. They are of Regia Kaffee Fassett. I plan to finish them someday. Pattern is knit2, purl1 all the way down. Something simple, dare I say boring? which might be why they're going so slow. who knows?

Moving right along is the Heartbeat Sweater from Just One More Row made of Schaefer Laurel colorway Henen Hays. I'm finding this patterna bit of a challenge but think it will be worth it.

Hopefully soon I'll figure out how to place pictures and text so that they aren't so far apart!

And last but not least is another multi directional scarf of Shaefer Miss Priss Clara Barton.

Okay, maybe one more picture of the birthday boy-Carter.

Good way to close an entry. See you later!