Boo!

These scary things are on my front yard. We’ve been collecting the minions for a few years and the tree is a new addition.  (We have a great fondness for the minions).On the other side are these plastic jack-o-lanterns and real pumpkins.  They are colorful in the day and just a bit spooky in the darkThe light on the wall says Beware!  I love Hallowe’en and Peter Kevin loves decorating outside.  The outside is mostly his.  He asks for my opinion but then chooses what he wants to do.  I’m ok with that since all of the indoor decorating is to my taste.

Life here has been good.  The weather is getting cooler.  I wish my allergies would go into hibernation but some days they seem to be worse than they were all spring/summer.  I’ve been feeling tired and I am starting to think it’s the statin that my endocrinologist has started me on.  My cholesterol numbers are good but she thinks they should be lower because of the diabetes.  I reluctantly took the statin and for the last 6 weeks or so, I have felt lethargic no matter how much sleep I get.  I don’t like feeling like this and I looked it up online.  Sure enough, statins have a few minor side effects but one of them is increased fatigue.

I am going to stop taking it and see if it makes a difference.  I know she is only doing what she thinks is best for me but I don’t like feeling like I have no energy.  There are too many things to do!

Last weekend we took Jamie to Allaire State Park to go to the Flea Market and ride the Oak Creek RR.  The flea mkt was a hit.  He seemed to enjoy walking around and touching all the things (and talking to all the dogs because grandmom would not let him touch them).  Then he heard the train’s whistle.  Not really a whistle at all but an air horn.  Holy moly it was loud and jarring and his poor 19 month old self couldn’t handle it.  No train rides this year.  Maybe next time.

Peter Kevin and I went to Smithville for our 38th anniversary brunch.  It was elegant and delicious as usual.  We walked around a little and then hit the flea mkt of a small town on our way home.  I bought something I’ve never seen before, a wooden folding rocking chair.  It’s small and low to the ground but really clever.  I want to clean it up some and put new fabric on the seat and back.

I am loving our new fridge and now we are on the lookout for a new stove and then a dishwasher.  We figured we should probably get the appliances while Peter Kevin is still working.  I’ve never bought new appliances before the old ones broke down before and it’s been interesting.  I like shopping and examining all of the various models.    And then we look at cabinets and try to decide what we want our kitchen area to look like.  

I got my hair cut last week and I love it.  It’s rather short and I’m thinking of asking Kate to put some color on it.  It’s so easy to take care of.  I do miss my curls but it could be worse.  

Well, off to an All Staff Meeting (not usually very exciting but mandatory).  Happy Wednesday!

Good morning and Happy Friday!  I am sitting at my desk and eating some soda bread I made in March.  I found it while I was transferring the food from the old fridge to the new one.  I always make 4 or 5 loaves and freeze or give away all but one.  We take them out once in a while and slather them with butter.  Mmmmmmm.

Peter Kevin has managed to catch Jamie's cold (you will remember we had him most of last weekend).  This is unusual.  I am the one that usually catches whatever germs/viruses happen to be near.  I have not gotten sick.  My arm is sore from my mandatory flu shot though.

Peter Kevin had jury duty yesterday.  I don't know anyone that says "Yay! Jury duty!".  I have been called for federal level jury duty and local and state.  I don't really mind it but the waiting around to be called or to be sent home is so boring.  Our local court is in a neighborhood I am not familiar with and looks a bit sketchy.  He didn't get called and got sent home at 11:30.  Not a bad thing and he got to rest so he could go to work today.  When you are a contractor, you only get paid if you work.

We have one of those weekends coming up that has no scheduled activities.  We will get the old refrigerator out of the living/dining room and put it into its new place in the downstairs area next to the chest freezer.  It will come in handy during the holidays when I am looking for a large space to defrost a turkey or hold extra cold beverages.  The new fridge is so shiny.  Everything is in its place inside.  I give it 2 weeks before things are all over the place.

I have vague plans to switch out the summer/winter clothes and I want to put up the Fall decorations.  Inside the house, these things are mostly orange and brown.  The girls used to call it "getting out the orange stuff".  Outside, it involves finding placement for the 8' dragon, 10' Hallowe'en tree and 3 3' minions in costumes.  Yes, I am afraid we have become THAT family.  We have inflatable decorations for most holidays (including an inflatable Peep for Easter).

One of the things I like about it is that from now until January, our house will be decorated.  Usually by the time I take down the Christmas decorations, I am tired of all the things on all the surfaces and look forward to our everyday stuff.

One weekend soon, we have to clean out the rec room area.  We use it as a basement, mostly for storage.  I also have to clean up the craft room.  It is a disaster and it get on my nerves if I have to go in there for something.  I think I'm going to have to do one of those things where I set a timer for 15 minutes and do it in stages.  Otherwise, it will never get cleaned up.

Well, that's about it for my part of the world.  Once again, I have managed to prattle on for a full page without saying anything.  But, since it's Friday, here are a few things I am thankful for this week:

-cooler temperatures

-crock pots

-soccer games on television

-sneakers

-trees that change color and evergreens that provide some of the only color all winter long.

How about you?  What are you thankful for?  Have a great weekend.

This is what the sky looked like as I waited for the train this morning.  It never got really nice (nor did it get dark and stormy).  It was just a cool, cloudy day.  Very,very nice after the hot, humid weekend.

You know how you have vague plans for your weekend?  Grocery shopping, swapping out the summer clothes, cleaning out the craft room (which has become the “I don’t know where to put this so I’ll put it in here” room), yardwork, etc, etc.  Our weekend plans mostly went out the window.  Thursday night, my sweet, innocent grandson poked his father in the eye.  He scratched Patrick’s cornea causing him great pain.  They went to Urgent Care on Thursday night and by Friday morning, Patrick had a red, swollen, very painful eye.  I left work and took James so they could do what they needed to do.  He is young enough to need constant looking after and Kate had her hands full with Patrick.

So, twist my arm reeeaaalllly hard and make me take care of my grandson!  Jamie ended up spending most of the weekend with us while Kate and Patrick got his eye sorted.  We had things that had to get done and things that could wait.  We went shopping for a new refrigerator.  There is nothing mechanically wrong with our current one but we have not liked it since we bought it 12 years ago.  It was a quick purchase when our old fridge broke and it was what we could afford.  

The new one comes as a result of a surprise bonus from work.  It didn’t pay for the entire fridge but about 1/3 of it.  We were able to decide what we wanted/needed and spent a lot of time looking online before we went out to the store.  And we took James.  He enjoyed the day.  He opened every refrigerator on the sales floor.  We chose a french door refrigerator with 2(!) ice makers.  We use a lot of ice.  


It’s being delivered tomorrow.  It means I am taking another day off, and will have Jamie with me as Kate takes Patrick back to Wills Eye Hospital to get checked.  I don’t mind the day off but I am going to be stretched tight when it comes time to take off the time at the holidays I usually take.

Saturday we took James to Johnson’s Corner Farm to take a hay ride and pick a pumpkin.  Unfortunately, the line was so long, and he is so little, it would not have been worth it to stand in the line.  We walked around and with all the things he could see and touch, what did he choose to play with?   The mulch.  We chose several pumpkins

        Of all shapes and colors.  Some of them will get carved.  Some we’ll just save the seeds and plant them next year.

It was too crowded to easily shop in their farm store so I got some blueberries so James could have a snack.

We came home exhausted and hot and dusty.  There was DinoTrucks on the television and chicken fingers and french fries for dinner.  It’s part of the beauty of being a grandparent.  I don’t worry about his eating healthy for every meal.  I just feed him what he likes.

Saturday night we had to make sure he was asleep before we put him into the porta crib because he can climb out of it now.  He’s tall and strong for an 18 month old child.  We all watched the movie Babies (if you’ve never seen it, watch it. It follows 4 babies from different cultures from their birth to their first year) and James finally fell asleep hard enough to be picked up and put in the crib.  He slept through the night and we got up early Sunday morning and did some of the other chores we had put off.  The bed linens got changed and the laundry got done.  The rest of the groceries were put away and things were generally cleaned up.  We collapsed into our chairs when Kate came and took James home.  

And today was Monday and the week starts all over again.  I have groups of Temple Univ. students coming to my group this week.  They will be with us for 8 weeks.  They’re rec therapy majors and for some of them, this is the first time they’ve met individuals who have mental illness.  It is an eye opening experience for them and my group loves it.  I think they get tired of hearing my voice all the time.

Tonight we are making pizzas on naan bread.  I hope it’s as good as I imagine it will be.  I can hear Elanor upstairs laughing.  I’m going to go see what’s so funny.  I could use a good laugh.

Deja vu.....

It will be October soon and my thoughts are already turning to Hallowe’en.  It’s one of my favorite holidays.  I have decorated my office window with some friendly looking guys.  The best part is that when you walk down the hall, you can see my window.  It’s very popular.  I have had an office to myself for 2 years now, since my office mate retired.  I cleaned out years of saved papers and got a new floor lamp so I don’t have to use the 

                                                                                                              Overhead lights.  They buzz and it drives me crazy.  I bought the witch’s hat for myself from a crafter on Etsy.  She is in the Ukraine and I am glad I thought to order it in August because it came last week, plenty of time for me to put together a costume for Hallowe’en that is work appropriate (and comfortable.  Mustn’t be uncomfortable all day at work.)  I found a tunic with stars stenciled across it and a cartoon witch’s broom.  The best part will be wearing my hat.  

I know I haven’t written a word in almost a year.  I don’t want to bore you with a long explanation of what I have been doing and why I didn’t keep you all informed.  I’ll give you some bullet points:

-I stopped coloring my hair and started dyeing it in rainbow colors.  It’s now naturally a silver/white color so the blue and purple and red and green and yellow show up brilliantly for about 2 weeks and then they fade.  They look pastel and rather pretty as they fade.

-my grandson is 18 months old and cute and very smart.  I am glad to be the grandmom and not the mom for this kid.  He is a handful.

-Pk has a job as a contractor for a company that monitors/manages the electric grid for several states.  The commute is a long one but they pay him well.

-I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes after a blood test showed a glucose level of 853 (which put me in the hospital in intensive care for 3 days).  I have lost 50 pounds and have been trying to be more mindful of my portion sizes and what I eat.  I learned a new phrase, “insulin dependent diabetic” and also learned how important those 3 words can be.

-I will turn 62 in a few weeks and the word Retirement keeps cropping up in conversation.

THAT is an interesting topic and everyone has their own idea of what that should look like.  Me?  Well, my retirement will be the pension my employer has for me and my SS payments.  If I put off retiring until I turn 70 (sounds really really old but it’s only 8 years away), I will collect a significant amount more each month.  My job can be mentally exhausting but it is a desk job and I could easily work another 8 years.  I like what I do even if it means most of my day is spent entering my client interactions into the medical records database.  I HATE EMR.  

My family is all well at the moment.  Well, Patrick has a scratched cornea courtesy of his son.  He is in quite a bit of pain today.  Hopefully, he will rest some tonight with the pain meds they gave him and tomorrow will be a better day for him.

I continue to knit and spin.  I am spinning some quivit that I got for Christmas last year.  I also have 2 sweaters in progress for myself and one for Jamie.  I finished a sweater for my nephew’s 4 yr old daughter and their soon to be born daughter.  I am really a process knitter.  I enjoy the feel of the yarns and the look of the rows piling up to form a garment.  I knit slow but I am very ok with that.

We will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary in 2 weeks.  I have no idea what we are going to do.  They have been far and away mostly good years.  There were some tough times but we got through them and will get through the ones to come.  One of the good things about being long married and knowing your partner is knowing your partner.  I know I can disagree, sometimes strenuously, and while we may never see eye to eye on a subject, we can still discuss it and can agree to disagree.  And I know the love is there. 

My little corner of the world remains pretty much the same.  I’ll be getting “the orange” decorations out at home soon.  It’s always exciting to me because it is a signal that the holidays are fast approaching.  The weather is all over the place, 90’s one day, 70’s the next.  There have been gorgeous sunny days and there are some leaves just starting to turn color.

And to end with, here is a shot of my hair done rainbow colors by my daughter Kate.  I love it like this.  It is fun and I figure I’m old enough to do what I want with my hair.....and it’s only hair.  Since Kate is in school now and has an 18 month old toddler to keep track of, it’s harder for her to find the time.  I wait until she’s got some time and let her do what she wants.  I am never disappointed.

How are you?  Are you doing anything new and different?  Finish something you’ve been working on?  Start some new grand project?  I am feeling the pull of lace knitting.  It’s been a long while but I have so many wips now.  I really need to finish a few more things.

Have a peaceful weekend. My intention is to get back into regular writing, but we all know what is paved with all those good intentions, don’t we?  


 

November (already)

Hallowe’en is over and Fall is underway here in the northeastern US.  The warm weather kept the trees from showing off until this week.  Just as we begin to notice them, there is a storm that blows them off the trees.  Such is the weather in these times of climate change.  It was 75 degrees yesterday and today it will be 20 degrees colder (and windy!).  

October was a good month.  Pk and I celebrated our anniversary and had a lovely dinner talking about us and our lives and our dreams.  You’d think after 37 years we’d have run out of things to say but we haven’t.  One of the perks of a long relationship is that you can sit quietly without talking and it doesn’t feel awkward.  But there are always things to share.  Peter Kevin is the first person I think of when I hear something funny or sad or profound.  And thanks to technology, I can share it with him immediately.  

Tomorrow I will be 61 years old.  I keep asking myself, “How did that happen?”  In my mind, I don’t feel like a senior citizen but my white hair (well, right now it’s rainbow colored but the white is there) gives me away.  And the achy joints on a cold rainy day remind me that 18 is a long way in my past.  But I like myself more now than I did when I was 18.  I am more comfortable in my (less stretchy) skin.  I’m more likely to speak my mind, something I didn’t always have the confidence to do at 18.  I am more patient with people but say less patient with time wasting.  I am increasingly aware that I have lived more of my life than I have left (I’m pretty sure I will not live to 120) and things that cause me to wait and wait and wait make me irritable.  

For my birthday, I asked for some cashmere yarn from a kickstarter company in Mongolia.  I got enough to make a sweater and chose this one

.  It’s called Amun.  I have natural cream colored yarn and my pattern but realized I don’t have needles.....isn’t that always the way?  Amazon to the rescue.  They will be delivering them today and I can start on it.  I have been playing around with the pattern with some needles that may actually be the right size but since I always have trouble using the needle sizer (I can’t tell if the needle is supposed to slide through the hole or be stopped), I’m not sure.  The pattern has german short rows and I’m not familiar with them.  I like the fabric it’s making though.  It’s a bit extravagant but (this is me rationalizing it) I am a slow knitter and will get hours and hours of pleasure out of knitting it.  I’m still working on a sweater for me but I’m at the “just keep knitting around and around to make the sleeves and body” part of it.  It’s mindless.

Jamie is growing by leaps and bounds.  Literally.  He got used to the jumping chairseat we got for him and he just jumps up and down for long periods of time (his grandfather cannot keep up with him).  This is what they do best

Peter Kevin seems to be the only one he just falls asleep on.  Aren’t they precious together?

Life is good.  This is my favorite time of year.  What used to be the long slow slide into the holidays has now become the steep slope.  Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away.  I am going to try a new apple pie recipe today to see if we like it.  The sun keeps trying to peep out from behind the clouds, my neighbor’s trees are a gorgeous copper color and are waving in the wind.  Peter Kevin and I are heading out for breakfast at a diner and then to Lowe’s to look at some holiday lights before they are all gone and then to Walmart to buy a new crockpot. (Our last one was rendering suet out in the garage and got knocked over.  Yes, it was an ugly mess.  All that liquid fat just poured out all over the cement floor).

What’s on your agenda?  Do you fill your weekends with errands?  Do you give yourself time to recharge or are you always busy?  I will make sure I get time to decompress and recharge.  My job is not physically demanding but it is often mentally and emotionally demanding.  I usually find some peace in a quiet time with the spinning wheel or a knitting project and a good audiobook.  Last night we relaxed and laughed watching WKRP in Cincinnati.  It’s very dated but the characters are familiar and loveable.  

And now we are heading off into the Fall morning.  Have a good weekend and don’t forget it’s the end of DST! (I get an extra hour of birthday!)

It’s October

What is a blog for?

I have been thinking about this for a while as I thought about whether there is any reason to continue to write and share in this space.  When I started, I used the space to talk about my knitting.  I was brand spanking new and was so proud when I finished anything (especially my first pair of striped socks, you’d have thought I invented them) that I had to share it with folks who would get it.

I talk about my family and what they mean to me and things we are going through.  This allowed me to get opinions and ideas from other people and look at things a bit differently.  Someone once said it was like getting together for a nice cup of tea and having a chat.  I like that idea and wish I could do that more often.

I guess it’s been like an edited diary that I have used to document events and share them.  “Edited” because I have always felt that although this is a place to talk honestly, there are some thoughts that should be kept to oneself.  Just because I think it doesn’t mean I have to say it.  

And now here I am.  Not much has changed.  I am still a knitter who likes to try new things and learn new things.  I have been spinning more and using my handspun to make things.  I am slow and don’t work well with deadlines.  I don’t do contests (like SockWars) anymore, I don’t promise anything I may not be able to finish.  And I don’t push myself to work quicker.  I’m older and have more patience.

I still have a dozen things otn at a time and that’s ok.  Usually that includes 3 or 4 pairs of socks, a shawl or scarf, a blanket or a sweater for my grandson.  Yep.  I am a grandmother.  James was born in March and has quickly become the second man in my life.

Being a grandmother has been such a joy.  We have Jamie days on the second Sunday of every month.  We pick him up in the morning and then keep him all day.  He usually falls asleep on his grandfather and they nap together.  He is beautiful and brilliant (of course) and just a happy little boy.

I have also grown all the hair dye out of my hair and now have snow white hair.  Snow white until Kate gets to work with the hair colors.

I have done this all summer and have had such a good time with my rainbow hair.

It fades out to pastel colors and is gone within a month.  We have a date for this Saturday.

My cataract surgery was a sucess and my vision is pretty good, as long as I’m wearing my glasses.  I have managed to lose 45 pounds and my diabetes is under good control.  I miss being able to eat what I want when I want it (and as much as I want) but I have felt so much better and that is worth it.  I do eat sweets, just fewer and if I am going to eat the carbs they have to be GOOD carbs!

My family is doing well.  I’m pulling out the decorations for the holidays.  First Hallowe’en and then Thanksgiving and then Christmas.  Only 12 weeks til Christmas.  I have a few presents planned and will hopefully get them done.  I am not that ambitious but I do like to give handmade gifts.  My latest handmade gift was a baby surprise jacket.  What a fun pattern!  I used Lion Brand Mandala and while I liked it for it’s durability, I’m not sure I like the way it feels when it’s knit up.

I got the buttons on amazon.  

I’m still working at the same place, and still like my job.  It keeps me on my toes.  In a month, I’ll be 61.  How weird is that?  I am getting to be a Little Old Lady and I am ok with that.  Next week Peter Kevin and I will celebrate our 37th anniversary.  We are lucky and we know it.  We have a life that brings us joy and what more can you really ask for?

Watch this space.......

Good things are bound to happen.

It’s been almost a month and while it has zoomed by, it’s been full.

A week ago, I had the cataract removed from my left eye.  I get to tape the lovely plastic device to my face at night so I don’t inadvertently rub my eye as it continues to heal.  I have 20/20 vision in that eye now!  As a person who has worn glasses since I was 7, it’s remarkable.   I have a small cataract in my right eye but that one will wait.  The vision in that eye is 20/50 and is correctable to 20/20. In about 2 weeks, after my eye has had more time to heal, I will get new glasses and be able to see clearly for the first time in months.

Look at that grey hair!  It was sorely in need of a good cutting so the day after the surgery, I got it done.  It felt so much better.  And there’s almost no color left in it.

This is right after we left the hairdressers.  She always dries it with bangs but I mostly push them back.  I love my hair color.  I like it short.  It makes me feel a bit more modern and less old-lady-like.  If my mother were alive, she would be scolding me right now.  She colored her hair until the day she died.  She thought women should never let people know how old they are.  Well, I am 60 and this is what 60 looks like on me.  

We’re going to a “sprinkle” for Kate this weekend.  It’s a small baby shower.  She is nearing the end of her pregnancy and will be very glad when it’s over.  This baby is very active and has managed to kick Kate hard enough to send her to the ER with pains.  Could be a good soccer player coming into the world!

Peter Kevin is still looking for a job but El had an interview today at a local store.  Fingers are crossed for her to be successful.  

I’m home today because it’s parade day in Philadelphia after the Eagles won the Super Bowl last Sunday.  They expect 3 million people to crowd into the city today.  Since I normally travel into the city for work each day, all of these people would make that commute difficult to say the least.  I opted to use a vacation day.  There were lines out of the  train stations and around the buildings today.  And they stopped selling tickets last night so some of those people may be disappointed.

That’s City Hall in the background.  (Full disclosure, I did not take the photo.  I found it online and borrowed it). Look at all those people! My brother and his wife are huge fans.  He’s been waiting for this his entire life.  They are the people who paint their faces and go to games.  We are not football fans in our house.  We watched the game on Sunday and it was exciting enough to keep our interest. The only game we watch regularly is the Army/Navy game.  So going to the parade was not something we even considered.  I’m content to look at the crowd from the comfort of my living room.

Today, I am going to do some knitting and smell the stew I’ve got going in the crockpot.  It’s a beautiful day.  Sunny and cold.  Not a bad day for a parade, or for sitting with some hot coffee and watching the world go by.