Then July Happened ...

When we last left my life saga, we had reached the end of June, the end of my full-time job of 12 1/2 years, and the end of guaranteed income and health insuruance. Well, I had signed up for Social Security and Medicare, but had not yet heard that they were active. So ... only kinda/sorta worried about income and health care. 

To end June in the BEST possible way <insert sarcasm>, The Tim woke up on June 30 not feeling well. You may or may not remember that The Tim is seldom sick - he hardly ever even gets a cold. He took and Covid test, and of course it was positive. Which, if you think about it, was really the perfect way for June to end. Anyway, we had avoided catching it for over 2 years, so I guess we had a good run. He called his doctor, and was given Paxlovid, so between that and being vaccinated and boosted, he was on his way to recovering.

We hadn't made any specific Plans for July 4, so we didn't have to cancel anything, but we usually have our own little picnic, and I figured I'd just wait and see how he felt before getting anything to have or fixing any food ahead of time (i.e., potato salad). 

Fortunately for him, he had milder symptoms - a sore throat, some fatigue, and congestion. And the Paxlovid made a huge difference.

You are likely guessing the inevitable at this point, and dear reader, you would be correct. In spite of my best efforts to avoid interacting with The Tim, our house is only so big. So on the morning of July 4, I woke up feeling AWFUL. And of course, tested positive for Covid. I do not recommend it as a way to celebrate a long weekend holiday - 0 out of 10 stars.

My doctor prescribed Paxlovid as well, and as is my kind of luck with illness, my symptoms were a lot worse. I was pretty miserable for a couple of weeks, though again, the medication and being vaccinated and boosted made a huge difference. I still have some congestion and a Covid cough, and fortunately my constant fatigue is nearly gone. But the coughing, aches, headache, earache, and overall difficulty breathing made me thankful that if I had to end up getting Covid, it was now instead of in the early parts of it. The suffering of those people was unbearable to think about.

So, we both recovered, and then I got to spend the next week or so fighting with my former employer. I received the paycheck that covered my leftover vacation days, except it only covered half of them. When I called to question it, I was told that I had more vacation left than it was the policy to pay for - I mentioned that it was not on purpose, it was because we were not allowed to take any vacation when the number of staff was so low. But alas, I did not prevail. And yes, I could have made an issue of it, but I was just done (which is I'm guessing what they imagine will happen). I "officially" closed that chapter, with no regrets.

In the third week of July, the woman who is one of the owners of the LYS near my house - Loop - contacted me to see if I might be interested in working a couple of days a week in the shop.  Um .... YES! At this point, I knew that I would be getting Social Security starting in the middle of August, but I had still been looking for a part-time job. The LYS job is currently two days a week - Tuesdays and Sundays, and the pay isn't really great - but you know what? After looking for a part-time job for over a year, I'm thrilled to have *anything* at this point. Plus, my commute to work on those two days is two blocks!!! The people are nice, and the yarn is pretty, and if nothing else ever happens, I have this job, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to add on another day at some point.

So, let's review:

Beginning of July = ICK

Middle of July = Better, but still questionable

End of July = YAY!!!

Finances will still be iffy for a while, until we get used to all of the adjustments that need to happen, and my Medicare is still being processed, but progress is being made, and I think it will be OK in the end. Because I really believe that, but also because we have to make it OK in the end, right?? 😊

This, That, and Last Year's Word

Well that weekend certainly whizzed by!  Yesterday morning when I woke up, I just couldn't believe that it was already Sunday - though reviewing the day before in my head, I realized that yes, it was in fact Sunday and the last day of the weekend.  Boo.

Our weekend was a mix of things.  I made a small list of what I hoped to get done, and was able to check off the major things (the minor things are always there, so I don't feel too bad about not doing them).  I always like it when I can do that, but still have time to relax and just enjoy the fact that it's a weekend.  It helped that yesterday was icky and rainy here all day, so I had no desire to venture outdoors other than taking Hammy for some walks.  He wasn't too crazy about getting wet, so he didn't want to stay out too long, either!

I finally decided on my word for 2022, but before I write about that, let's review my success or lack thereof with my word for 2021:

forward

Well, I remember when I chose this word, I was full of the hope and expectation that 2021 would be a year that just went forward for me and for the world in so many ways.  I truly believed that the pandemic would move towards ending, I felt that since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were going to be in office, things would definitely improve, and I also thought that things at work would improve, because I was going to try really hard to make it happen.  Plus so many other things in my life that I was sure would make this word meaningful to me.

So ... this may not have been the best choice for me.  The only thing that actually worked was Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being sworn in, but of course, only after the insurrection. And whereas, they were able to amp things up regarding vaccinations, stimulus checks, etc., almost everything else has been a deadlocked fight, and continues.  And although the vaccine became widely available, it became a whole thing with people and their "freedom" and "Constitutional rights."  So much for the common good.  

There was - maybe two weeks? - where we all were told we didn't have to wear our masks 24/7, etc., and people felt a bit more comfortable, but then of course the Delta variant steamrolled in, and well, here we are.  

And then, of course there was my workplace.  The less said the better.

I did make some small forward moves - I got back into exercise on a regular basis.  But for the one step forward, I went two steps back when I was injured and had to stop.  Then we went back to work 5 days a week, and I ran out of energy to do anything but make it through the day.  Depression had a good year moving forward, but I did not.  

Granted, some things that made me feel like my word was a lost cause were out of my control.  But I never really got myself together to make it work the way I wanted it to, which is the first time that has happened to me since I decided to choose a word for the year.

So I'm moving forward with "forward," and letting it go.  Maybe sometime it will show up for me again and things will go better.  I sure hope so!

Obama understands. 😉

Let's hope this week is at least boring, if not really good!

One Last Decoration, and Hello November!

One last Halloween decoration from our neighborhood:

I look forward to this one every year.  It's actually placed in one of those very large square planters people put on the street in front of their house.  During the day, it isn't there at all - but once it gets dark, it shows up.  It's easily 8-10 feet tall, and I just love it, mostly because I really really want to know how it works.

We had three trick-or-treaters last night.  I know that there were A LOT of parties for kids in the neighborhood, and the three who showed up at our house live across the street.  It's disappointing that for many reasons, kids don't trick-or-treat anymore around here.  I always loved seeing the costumes.  Oh well.  Another thing that was hanging on by a thread even before the pandemic.

Nevertheless - Happy November!!  It's getting very chilly and very dark around here and now it really does feel like fall is considering a stay.  Today is my sister Nancy's birthday, and the good news is that I tried to call her to wish her a happy birthday ahead of time yesterday, and she wasn't home, so I'm pretty sure that meant that she was celebrating.  😊

My four-day weekend ended up being derailed.  But it started really well, does that count?  The Tim had to work on Thursday, which was our anniversary, so during the day I just read and knit and hung out with the animals, which was lovely.  Then we had a really delicious anniversary dinner from a place we'd been talking about trying all summer, but only got around to now.  We expected it to be good, but it was truly outstanding.  I know it will be a favorite going forward.  

Friday started out well - I was able to get my Covid booster shot!  And I put together some yummy ingredients for our dinner in the crockpot, so I didn't have to do anything but serve it later that day.  Which was just as well, because fairly early in the day, things went downhill.  I got some extremely disappointing news about something that may have meant I could leave my job and its horrible, toxic environment.  Needless to say, finding out it wasn't going to work really killed any of my plans for the rest of the day, and into Saturday.  I did manage to get my hair cut, and that made me happy, but it was hard to recover and get back on track from Friday's news.  By Saturday night, I managed to at least feel resigned to it, and yesterday was OK.  I was able to get a little bit of what I had planned for the four days accomplished, so it wasn't a complete loss that way.  But I gotta tell you, it was REALLY hard to make it into work today.  Sigh.

As far as I know, there are no special or particular plans for this week, which is fine with me.  It's funny, but once our anniversary arrives, I consider it the beginning of holiday season.  Which I just enjoy so much, that I'm particularly glad of the timing this year, I have to tell you.

I hope your November goes well, and that you have a good week.  If you have leftover candy from last night, enjoy it - I brought some as part of my lunch today (I bought one bag, but with only three kids coming by, there was most of it left).  Take care! 

I For One Did Not Mind Wearing a Mask

You know I meant to post yesterday, but I was overcome with a huge case of  Do-As-Little-As-Possible which of course as a lot of you know, is the type of malady that not only can come on suddenly, but one that has no vaccine and no accepted medical treatment.

But fortunately, it only lasted a day, and now I can actually not just write a post, but get motivated to so things, even if they are not major or not of great benefit to society overall.  At least it's a step in the right direction, if you ask me.

Most places in the U.S. at this point are relaxing a lot if not all of their Covid-19 restrictions for people who have been vaccinated.  Tomorrow, the City of Philadelphia will cancel the indoor mask-wearing mandate for any vaccinated people.  I've been thinking about all of these seemingly sudden changes, and deciding how I want to proceed, and while doing so, I realized that once I got over the intial claustrophobic feeling of wearing a mask, I really didn't mind at all.  And so, continuing to wear one - even when the state said we didn't have to - was not a problem for me.  

Then I realized when I sat down to write this post, that it was also Thursday, and have decided that I would make this a Three on Thursday post.  So here you go: Three Things I Liked About Having to Wear a Mask:

*these are all reasons beyond the obvious ones about not getting Covid, or giving it to anyone else, etc.

1. In the cold weather, a mask helped to keep my face warmer; in the warm weather, a mask helped me not feel my allergies so much, since it blocked a lot of the pollen.

2.  I could frown, stick out my tongue, or just place a look of disgust on my face, and as long as it was not too elaborate, no one was the wiser.  It was freeing to stick my tongue out at douchebags with no consequences. 

3.  This one is my most favorite - wearing a mask meant that for the last year plus some months, I have not had to deal with a single random male person of any age telling me to "Smile, honey, it's not that bad," or "C'mon sweetheart, give us a nice smile there."  ZERO OCCURRENCES during the pandemic and it has been the Very.Best.Thing.Of.All.  Granted, if someone had been stupid enough to say it anyway, I could revert to actions described in #2.  But not having to even hear the words at all was the most wonderful benefit.

I would like to think that moving forward, when people have colds, etc., they will decide to wear masks to keep others from catching it.  But I also really liked to think that people would band together during the pandemic to do the right thing, and that everyone who possibly could would get vaccinated once the vaccine was available, so I think I may be the only one saving my masks for when I am sick.  

In any case, at least a lot of people DID wear masks, and I hope for them there were some benefits other than the obvious and necessary ones.  I have to say, for me it has become automatic, so I guess going forward I'll have a new habit to break, at least for every day regular life ...

Just the Best

Well, our trip to West Virginia for Memorial Day weekend is now past, but with some wonderful memories.  Yes, it did feel really weird to be traveling somewhere, but I was encouraged by how people seemed to be wearing masks nearly everywhere, and being careful overall.  Even at the rest stops on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, things felt OK.  That was a huge relief to me, because as much as I was looking forward to the trip, I had some anxiety as well.

We left bright and early on Friday morning.  Our GBS (Good Boy System) was ready to go!

Until he figured we were in the car for a while, it was necessary to pay attention:

But then he was able to nap and therefore be prepared for a weekend when every person around him was busy paying attention to him - that can be exhausting, and you have to rest up, you know.

I took my knitting with me.  Here it is on the table at my sister's house - actually, it's not just *any* table, it is what all of us call the Game of Thrones Table! 😄

Our drive was pretty uneventful - not much traffic, and the sun came in and out throughout the day.  About an hour from my sister's house, it really poured rain, but fortunately, by the time we were unpacking the car, it was only drizzle.  

I seriously could not believe I was getting to see my sister again!  And then my brother-in-law got home from work, and it was hug-kiss-cry all over.  We had them to ourselves for a couple of hours before Amanda and Pat arrived, so that was especially nice.  

The entire weekend - until we were leaving on Monday, of course - it was really quite cold (40s Fahrenheit overnight, 50s-60s during the day), and either somewhat rainy or just overcast.  The only down side to that for our group was that it was just too cold to sit on the porch, which all of us love to do.  Hamlet kept walking to the door as if to say, "Now?" and one time I let him out so he could sit there, but he didn't want to miss anything happening inside.  We still barbecued on Sunday afternoon, which actually was fine because it was the best day weather-wise of the weekend, so we got to start the summer outdoor cooking season after all.

One night The Tim and I treated everyone to dinner at a Mexican place that was relatively new in town.  The food was wonderful, and again, it was weird to be in a restaurant.  But also again, a place where they were paying attention to things, so it was a fun evening.  

Amanda and Pat - I talk about them a lot, but don't know if I've ever shown a photo of the two of them.  So here you go, from the Mexican restaurant.

When we were getting ready to leave and go home, Amanda said she would meet us at the car, because she had to make a quick stop.  We all assumed she was stopping at an ATM or something, but no, she stopped at Five Guys Burgers to get a hamburger - for Hamlet!

Needless to say, when Hamlet saw that Pat had something for him, and then it turned out to be a WHOLE HAMBURGER, his trip started to look better than ever!

Sunday morning, we headed to Perkins for pancakes, etc., because all of us need lives because even though we can make pancakes and such at home, going to Perkins is a treat for everyone.  Here is the group, masked:

And then, once the food arrived, the masks were off!

(P.S. The Tim is in this photo, and showed up when I edited it.  I have no idea why he is cropped out above, but rest assured, I have gotten grief about it!)

So we had a lot of fun, laughing, eating, drinking, watching TV, and playing ridiculous games.  Some of the group made sure to get their workouts in, and Mary Ellen (my sister), Amanda, and I had many very important discussions over tea and wine.  

Hamlet pretty much got non-stop attention and so much more to eat throughout the day than he ever gets from us!  And as The Tim said, some of it was MEAT - he was probably thinking "Thank God, *these* people know how to eat!"

The trip home was again uneventful, with pockets of traffic and lots of sunshine - you know, because we were travelling, not wanting to sit on the porch or anything like that ...

A wonderful surprise when we got home was seeing how big the baby mourning doves are!  They look like baby birds now, instead of cute baby alien beings.

 

I'm so glad we were able go on our trip and see at least some of the family.  It was nice to travel a bit, nice to have a change of scenery, but really nice to just hug and kiss everyone.  We had so many laughs and it was so relaxing that you were almost able to forget that anything like a pandemic was still happening.

I hope we will all remain safe and healthy after our trip.  Everyone made an effort, and all of us have been vaccinated.  I just wish people would not find reasons not to get the vaccine, so that all of us could just enjoy being. 

Oh - and for those wondering - Hamlet has been sleeping almost non-stop since we got home.  When you are that popular with people, travel is fun, but terribly exhausting! 😉

Exhausted

Friday, Friday, Friday, I am so glad you showed up at last!  This has been one of those weeks when even though most of it was OK, one big bad thing happened to me at work that has left me emotionally and physically exhausted.  It annoys me that one specific event can control you for a whole week.   So I am especially glad that it's Friday and the weekend beckons so that I can relax and push the restart button.

At least Pip bounced back from his vet appt yesterday.  I dropped him off at 2:35 for a 2:40 appt (you still can't go in with them), and expected them to call in about half an hour or so to say he was ready for pickup.  By 4:00, nothing.  So finally I called and asked if he was ready, and if he was OK (because of course I was imagining that they found something seriously wrong), and they said they had been trying to call us since about 3:15!  The problem was, they had transposed the digits in the phone number, so no one at the wrong number was picking up (and they would have probably been really confused if they had).  GAH.  Anyway, I picked him up, he is fine and all is well.  But I feel bad, because he was probably wondering what was going on and why I wasn't picking him up.  The good news is that he came home, ate his dinner and continued on as if that whole blip never happened.  I need to be more like Pip!

Clearly this a.m. he is just sleeping all of it off.

(It kills me when he sleeps like this!)

So I think all of us are ready for the weekend!  I told The Tim that tonight we should celebrate with some martinis when he gets home since we all need this weekend more than usual.  He agreed, so that will be fun.

Other than that, I have an appt for a haircut first thing tomorrow morning.  And I'm hoping to get started on cleaning up the garden and doing some planting this weekend. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice, not too hot and not too cool, so that will work perfectly for me.  Right now, I don't have a lot to plant, because I wanted to see what else I needed once I got the stuff I have in the ground or in pots.  

Here's a tip for you: Asters.  They are native to the U.S. and at least in our case, they have been doing really well!  I bought one aster plant two years ago, and planted it, and now it has taken over 90% of our front planter!  I'm hoping to transplant a few into the actual garden and see if they work there as well.  They are such happy flowers, and even better, bees like them.  

(from last summer)

My other specific plan is to make some granola, which I might do today.  The recipe I use is this one from Clara Parkes old blog.  I make half of the recipe for the two of us, and it's plenty, trust me - last time, I zoned out and made the whole recipe and we had granola coming out our ears after a while!  But I can attest to it being an excellent recipe, so if you are inclined to do so, give it a try.  The best part of it is that it can bake while you are working, or cleaning, or doing whatever because once you start it, it needs very little other action on your part.

And as you probably have guessed, there will be knitting and reading involved, no matter what else does or does not get accomplished!  Right now, I'm trying to finish both the pair of socks I'm knitting (I'm on the foot of sock #2), and my Advent Throw (I just broke into mini-skein #24), and at this moment at least, I'm determined to finish them before starting anything else.  That could change, since I'm itching to cast on two other projects, and I usually allow myself three projects at one time.  We'll see.

I'm sure that all of you in the U.S. saw that the CDC has said if you are vaccinated, you can stop wearing masks except for a few specific instances.  I like that we have moved along enough that they feel it can happen, but I'm suspicious, because I think that now, people will just say they are vaccinated even when they are not, since it's being done on the "honor" system and so many people have no honor.  The Tim pointed out that it's on them, not on us, and I know he's right, but I guess it just seems sudden.  It will be interesting to see what the City of Philadelphia decides to do, since we have always had different restrictions, even from the rest of Pennsylvania.

I'm just glad that I got my vaccine and that The Tim will be completely vaccinated at week from tomorrow.  We've done our part, for ourselves and those around us. 😃

(I do have to admit to being somewhat disappointed that we'll have to go back to people-ing again.  Sigh.)

Have a good weekend - I hope you have a chance to relax, and to enjoy something you want to do - if nothing else, take a tip from Pip!

Good Things

Hello, Friday!  You certainly took your good old time getting here, but as long as you show up, I'm happy.  

Not that this week was terrible, but there were enough ick times along the way that having the weekend break is even more welcome than usual.

But there were definite highlights.

Hamlet had a wonderful day for his birthday.  

Here he is in the morning, before we went out for our walk.  He is kind of giving me the side-eye, because I had just promised something special if he stayed put, and I think he is doubting my veracity.  But he did get a treat after this, so we both kept up our end of the deal.  He got more treats throughout the day, and he got brushed and fluffed up, some nice long walks, and some special food for his dinner.  Ending the day with "Happy Birthday" being sung to him (which he LOVES) and getting a new pull toy meant that he has had to do some extra resting ever since, there was so much excitement!  😀

This next photo should give you some idea of the next good thing I want to tell you:

LOTS of snipped ends of yarn - yes, I finally finished the knitting on my sweater!  I wove in the ends, and today plan to give it a quick soak and blocking.  I tried it on and it fits *exactly* the way I had hoped it would.  I can't wait to show it to you!

The next good thing happens tomorrow actually, when The Tim will get his second dose of the Covid vaccine!  In another couple of weeks we will both be invincible (well, you know what I mean), and that will be wonderful.  

Extra wonderful, because it means we will be able to see some of the family.  For Memorial Day weekend, we are headed to West Virginia to my sister and brother-in-law's.  If you have read my blog for any length of time, you probably recall that the Memorial Day weekend is usually one where everyone descends on them for a weekend and a huge picnic.  Well, of course that didn't happen last year, and the year before, we were unable to make it, so it's been two years since I've seen them in person.  This year, still no big event, but they are both vaccinated, and my niece Amanda and her husband Patrick are also both vaccinated, so all of us are headed home for that weekend.  It will be so wonderful to see everyone - we haven't seen Pat and Amanda for over a year - and still be safe.  I'm actually glad that there will just be the six of us, because all of us are very careful people, and I think having the smaller group will make it easier to adjust to visiting and traveling again.  

I'll believe it all when I see it/do it, but it's fun to think about until then, right?  (If not slightly nerve-racking, but so is everything these days.)

And that's about it from here.  The weather here in Philadelphia is supposed to be rainy and cool this weekend, so I may have to adjust some of my plans - there's no reason to try and clean out the garden when it's raining and windy, for instance.  But that's fine, I am good at doing both anything and nothing ...

For those who celebrate, I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day.

And no matter what else you do, I hope you have at least one moment this weekend when you are as happy and content as Pip is in this photo from the other day, where he was sitting with The Tim. 

Enjoy!

Reunion Weekend

This past weekend was a big one in our house.  First of all, The Tim was able to get his first vaccine shot on Saturday morning, which was a big deal for all of us!  Vaccine eligibility opens up today to everyone in the city 18 years older and above, but he got a notice at the end of last week from the Dept. of Public Health site that his turn had come up.  So he made an appt for early on Saturday, and now in two weeks he'll get his second, and by the end of May we will both be safe for public consumption! (Well, vaccine-wise at least.)

Also, on Saturday, Hamlet and I walked over to Washington Square here in the city so that the woman who raised Hammy as a puppy could see him.  Her name is Robin, and we have been friends on Facebook for a while, but had never met in person.  She was going to be in the city for a tour of Independence Hall with a group of other puppy raisers (and puppies!), and wondered if we could meet during the lunch break, since it has been years since she has seen our boy.

As it turns out, Hammy's dad, Spike, was her dog.  He sired A LOT of puppies for the Seeing Eye Foundation, and Robin has been a puppy raiser for a long time, and she happened to get Hamlet as her 7th puppy to raise for them.  The way it works is that the puppies are given to preapproved raisers, who bring them up until they are about 18 months old; then they go the Seeing Eye headquarters in Morristown, NJ, to see if they can make the cut as service dogs before being matched with someone.  Those who don't make the cut are returned and or adopted out as pets, so everyone has a happy ending.

Well, as we entered the park, I heard someone say "Hi Hammy," and he went NUTS with excitement!  I really think he remembered her voice.  He was so thrilled and so excited.  We sat and talked and visited for almost the entire hour, Hamlet got treats (I'm sure the highlight for him!), and I got to hear lots of puppy stories and stories about Spike.

This is a photo that Robin took when we first sat down and Hamlet was with her.

I have to say, that face gets me every time.

And here is one I took of them having a conversation.

Robin is really wonderful, and a whole lot of fun, as I had suspected from many of her Facebook posts, and I'm so happy that she and her puppy - or as she called him her "granddog" - had a chance to reunite.  

Once she had to rejoin the group to go home, we headed back to our house as well.  I took a few more photos since it was such a lovely day.

Here is Hamlet right before we left the Square:

Then we headed down to Pine Street, so we could walk past Pennsylvania Hospital and I could get a photo of him there.

That is the original building of the hospital, the first one in America, founded by - say it with me - Benjamin Franklin.  The building is beautiful, and of course behind the main building are the add-ons making it a huge, modern, city hospital.  Sometime I'll have to tell you about the inside, and the original parts of things.

Then we headed around the corner, to one of my favorite things in the city.  This is a water trough next to the original hospital, where people used to be able to water their horses; it's now a planter, but otherwise looks the same as when it was first constructed.  I couldn't get Hamlet to face me, but nonetheless:

The landscapers were actually nice enough to wait until we finished before getting started with their planting (I'm sure they are used to variations on this theme).  I also took a closeup so you could see the quote engraved on the trough, which is one of the most wonderful things of all, in my opinion.

******

Sunday was spent by Hamlet resting (he was zonked out!), and The Tim just taking it easy (his arm was sore, but nothing else).  So the kitties and I decided to follow their example.  I finished a book I was reading, and did some knitting, and Hamlet and I had a lovely walk in the neighborhood, along a street where all of the flowering trees were starting to bud, and the flowers had started to bloom everywhere.  

Probably one of the best weekends we've had - I know it was for Hamlet, at least!

Here's hoping this week will be kind to all of us.  Have a good one!

An Overdue FO Post

I hope the day is a nice one wherever you are.  It's sunny and supposed to be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit today here, so it truly feels like a spring day!  Of course, that also means I'll have to have tissues handy, since I'm sure my allergies will be saying, "Yay, it's spring, let's really drive her crazy!"

Anyway, I wanted to share an FO that I actually finished last month, but forgot to post about.  And since this blog is as much to document my projects as it is anything else, I wanted it to have it's turn in the sun, so to speak.

TA DA!  Finito!

Project:  Stripey Kerchief

Pattern:  Polkagris Kerchief, by Kate Davies (Ravelry link)

Needles:  US size 3

Yarn:  Milarrochy Tweed, in the Hirst (natural) and Lochan (navy) colorways

Modifications:  None

Notes:  As I mentioned in a previous post, I knit this to replace my Silk Kerchief, which I loved and wore to the point where it started to just fall apart.  Since the pattern is no longer available, and I was not able to retrieve the patterns I had saved on my previous computer, I had to find something else.  I thought this pattern might fit the bill.

This was a VERY quick knit, and if you know how to do kfb (knit in the front and back of the stitch) increase, you're good to go.  I knit this in a week, and it only took that long because I also worked on other projects.  I like the way it turned out, and think that the straight lines in the middle are a cool feature.  

Of course, now that it's finished, I haven't had a chance to wear it, and I just put it away until next year.  It's either been seriously cold, requiring a long scarf, or a temperature where something around my neck would just be too warm.  So I'll be thrilled to see it next winter, I'm sure.  Then I will be able to determine if I have the same love and devotion to it as I did to my Silk Kerchief ... 😉

*****

Another week is underway, so hopefully it will be a good one, or at least not a terrible one.  I have a dr appt later this morning, and another one on Wednesday afternoon, but besides those and of course being back at work after my week of vacation (😭), I don't have any other obligations that I know of at the moment.  I am hoping to get a couple of small projects finished that I planned to work on last week, but that were left alone since I ended up not having the mental capacity I had expected to have.  

And I also just realized that the first weekend in April - which is only a couple of weeks away - is Easter!  I guess I just assumed it was later in the month, and boy was I surprised ... I hadn't really thought of it since I knew I wouldn't need to prepare for our usual company.  This will be the second year we won't be having Easter with my niece Amanda and her husband Pat.  Oh well, NEXT YEAR OR BUST, right???

Observations From a Birthday Week Vacation in the Second Year of Covid-19

As you may or may not know, I have taken this week as vacation from work.  I usually try to take time off around my birthday, because why not?  Last year, I had planned to do so, but then we were sent home for "two weeks, probably" after March 13, so I was home anyway, without any work that I could easily do, working from home.

Anyway, this year I have been working in our building on Tuesdays and Thursdays since this past August, and of course working from home (as much as I can in my job, which is a challenge), so I decided to return to my tradition, and I also decided to take the entire week as vacation.  I have the time available to me, and really - where I am going to go anywhere soon?  

Since this is the last work day of my vacation, I thought I would share some of my observations from this past week.

OK, this first part is something I've thought all of my life, but this past week has only made me a firmer believer:

1. WHY are Americans so stingy with time off?  First of all, generally most people don't get a lot of vacation time, or holidays off, and then when you actually want to try and take that time, you're looked at like someone who just ate a baby!  I know, I know - the Protestant work ethic, American productivity, blah, blah, blah.  Excuse me, but that is just a way of justifying the crappy treatment most people receive from their employers.  You ask for even a day off, and it's like the company will dissolve because you are not there - even if most of the time, your presence is either not acknowledged at all, or you are generally dismissed as unimportant.  God forbid you take time for YOURSELF - I mean, they're already being so generous, what with evenings and weekends for your interests.  And yet, in other countries, where people have been receiving much more generous amounts of time off, somehow it's all still standing in spite of that.  I know some people LOVE their work, and love to be at work, but Work Is Not Life.

2.  This week I had two meetings scheduled related to my work.  One was with the person who is our new supervisor, who also happens to be the CEO of the place.  This is until our current supervisor comes back from sabbatical, or at least that's what they are saying.  In any case, we are not allowed [seriously, not allowed] to reschedule our meetings with him (he can, we cannot).  And this one was for a "Performance Discussion," which is what our annual reviews are now called. (Puh-leeze.)

So, OK, I figured having to go to that meeting on Tuesday morning was something I could do and then go on with enjoying my time off.  WRONG.  Nope, after being told in the meeting that he could not figure out why I was still employed because he saw no reason for my position to still exist, and that I would need to amp up my goals in order to continue to have a job - well, let's just say that threw me for quite the loop!  And as you may imagine, ruined my happy mood and mental health big time.  So much so, that just yesterday afternoon, I started to talk myself out of worrying about it since I am supposed to be on vacation.  And once again - when your time off is not really time off, that's just not fair.  If we had not been doing Zoom meetings all year, I would have not been able to meet with this guy during my vacation - the meeting would not have been possible (trust me, I would have claimed to be in Lichtenstein or someplace if I had to).  But no, since we could meet, we had to meet.  I was also supposed to meet with the consultant hired at work so that she could advise me on being more of a team player.  That was supposed to be yesterday.  I sent her an e-mail saying something had come up unexpectedly and I could not possibly do it until I was back at work next week.  (Technically it was the truth - bad mental health had come up - but even so, I decided I needed the rest of my vacation to be free from work stress and so that meeting was just not gonna happen.)  Jesus Christ in a dress, is there no escape from work anymore???

3.  Moving on from the ugly stuff, in truth, I am really glad I took a week of vacation.  Even though the weather has been not that great, I have enjoyed being able to be at home and [for the most part] not have work crap hanging over my head.  I have been reading, knitting, and being lazy, even if I had other plans that didn't end up happening.  (Admittedly they might have, had I not been so depressed/upset/thrown off for a couple of days, but there you are.)  Would it have been nice to be able to go out to breakfast for my birthday?  Yes, but since I hadn't planned on it, there was no disappointment there.  And I like being at home and on my own schedule.  So although there were no particularly special plans for the week, it's been a good one.

4.  I had a *very* slight reaction from my second Covid vaccine shot.  I felt fine for the rest of the day when I got it (this past Monday), and then overnight that night I woke up with chills and a low fever.  I felt a little bit crappy when I woke up on Tuesday morning, but by lunchtime I was fine.  I'm absolutely sure that whatever the reaction is, it's still better than coming down with the virus!

5.  This morning we had an "international" kind of car trip, stopping at a few places.  First up, The Tim wanted to go to the Asian market for some things, so we stopped there first.  Then we stopped at the Italian bakery where they have ZEPPOLES every year on March 19th for St. Joseph's Day, so we'll have those for dessert tonight.  Then on the way home, we stopped at a Middle Eastern lunch place where the make the absolute best grilled falafel sandwiches ever!  We brought things home, put away what needed to go into the fridge and enjoyed our sandwiches.  It's been years since I've had one, and I am happy to say, I was not disappointed.  So we're definitely eating well today.  😀

I can promise you, we got only one for each of us.  Such a treat, and so worth it!

All of which means that the good news is, that vacation week is ending on a good note, which is how it should be.  And I'm grateful for that, since I'll have plenty of time next week for other feelings and frustrations.

Here's hoping that your week was a good one, or that if not, it's ending on a good note like mine is.  Have a good weekend, and remember to try your best to enjoy whatever you can, whenever you can!

Oh Excuse Me? You're Upset That the Clocks Moved Forward an Hour??

Well, imagine what it feels like to wake up and realize that for you, it wasn't just an hour, but a YEAR! 😉

Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, a lot of places in the U.S. turned our clocks one hour ahead ("spring forward").  This always causes a lot of whining and hand-wringing, and frankly it really doesn't bother me one way or the other, just the same as in the fall when we turn the clocks back ("fall backwards").  But this year, *my* clock sprung forward a year overnight from Saturday to Sunday!  I went to bed at the age of 64 and woke up at the age of 65!

Yep, yesterday was my birthday - YAY!!!  On Friday, this card arrived in the mail from a friend of mine; when you press the little sound button at the top right, it plays a meow version of Happy Birthday, which is hilarious.  

It was a lovely day, and I really enjoyed every bit of it.  The Tim, the kitties, and Hamlet helped me celebrate and though it was my second Covid birthday, that did not mean it wasn't a good one.  And I heard from friends and family with good wishes, so even if once again we couldn't really go anywhere, it really didn't matter. 

It was especially nice, since on Saturday we had worked on cleaning up the house and because it was in such a state, it really ended up eating most of the day.  So having yesterday to purposely relax and just do whatever we felt like doing was extra luxurious.

And after last week, where I spent a good portion of the week fighting with a migraine, I was happy that it happened earlier in the week rather than later.

Of course, this guy turned 9 years old last Thursday, so we also had a little party then:

I told him that this whole coming week was Koodle and Ma Birthday Week, so we can keep celebrating.  I'm continuing my celebration today by heading over to Penn very shortly and receiving my 2nd dose of the Covid-19 vaccine - and trust me, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that getting a vaccine would be considered a continuation of a birthday celebration!  

Strange days, indeed.

I hope your week goes well.  Mine should be good, because I took vacation all week, and other than a meeting I *have* to attend tomorrow morning for about 45 minutes, I don't have to think about or deal with work at all.  That in and of itself is another gift ... 

Friday Funnies - A Year Later Edition

Remember when we were all so innocent that when things closed down, we thought it would just be "a little while?"  I remember a year ago tomorrow, March 13, we were called into a last-minute meeting at work to say that we were being sent home due to Covid-19 rates rising, and we would be quarantined "for at least a couple of weeks, but maybe as long as July."  And I can remember thinking that being quarantined until July just sounded like crazy talk!  

Mona Lisa understands.

Oh yeah.  😏

Have a good weekend, and remember that hope is actually on the horizon.  Finally, the light is coming closer!

Random Thoughts for a Friday

How has your week been?  Mine was fine - nice and uneventful at work (thank God!), pleasant enough weather, and some good reading and knitting.  It's really been a nice, ordinary, quiet, and unremarkable time, and that feels like something that is different than usual.  

Which means that I have been thinking my random thoughts.  Which means I'm going to share some of them.  Which means you have been warned, so if you get to the end and think "So?" - you have only yourself to blame!

• You may have seen this image or versions of it over the last couple of days:

  

This is from Fibre Space, in Alexandria, Virginia, where Madame Vice President Kamala Harris stopped for a yarn purchase.  I knew that her stepdaughter was a prolific knitter, but apparently Kamala (which I like to call her, because I'm sure we'd be good friends) is a crocheter.  This pleases me in the most ridiculous way.

• Last night for dinner, The Tim made the pasta dish that is all over TikTok apparently (I really don't pay that much attention to TikTok unless someone I know sends me a link, but apparently someone sent him this one).  Our verdict: It was yummy, but at least for us, a bit too salty.  We love feta cheese, and use it regularly, but for whatever reason, either the particular block of cheese we used, or the combination in the recipe of ingredients made the dish taste particularly salty.  We have gotten out of the habit of adding salt to our food (well, The Tim has - I never really was a salt person to start), and so when we come across something like this, it tastes like we have consumed a salt lick!  We might try it again, with the usual kind of feta we have to see if that changes the outcome.

• I had requested this for Christmas, and ended up receiving it for Valentine's Day.  The Tim said he ordered it early in November, but with the mess that the mail service was at holiday time last year, it didn't arrive until the middle of January.  No matter, though.  I put it on the table next to my side of the bed.  And I have to say, it's cheaply made when you look closely, but when it is turned on, it is So.Very.Pretty!  It gives me such joy to see it, and even when lit in an otherwise completely dark room, has a pretty glow that is comforting light, but not too much light.  At the time, it was on sale for $19.99, and as much as I love mine, it's only barely worth that price as far as the quality of it.  But oh how it brings me joy!

• I had a stunning realization the other day, and that was that I realized one of the things I missed the most during this pandemic was lipstick - ???  Now, I have to qualify that by saying it's not like I am a lipstick fiend - I have a few, and they are all colors that I like and think look good on me.  I would always put lipstick on in the morning before I left the house, and then it's not like I reapplied it all day.  But I always felt that it gave me an extra pop of color to get started.  I stopped putting it on when we all started to wear masks, because a) you can't see it, and b) it just smears off on the fabric of the mask anyway.  But the other evening we were getting ready to have a Zoom session with my niece and her husband, and I decided to put some on for that, and only then did I realize how much I missed wearing lipstick!  Odd but true.

• We have recently been watching Lupin, and enjoying it so much!  Both of us enjoy thriller/mystery/crime stories, and this one is really appealing.  This one is not necessarily anything new or vastly different, but it's fun to see the sights of Paris, and the premise is a good one.  There's even part of an episode where the protagonist inadvertently reveals who he is, which does not generally happen.  We recommend it, if you have access to Netflix.

• Today is apparently National Unplug Day, when we are all supposed to unplug from computers, phones, etc. and give ourselves a break.  I am clearly not doing that, but mostly because I don't overdo any of that, to be honest.  Particularly on weekends, I may only check online stuff once or twice a day.  But I know for people who a glued to their phones and other screens anyway, the pandemic has only increased that, so I hope for some it will be a beneficial thing to try.

And that's it for now.  I hope you have a good weekend.  I have no specific plans, just some ideas of things I'd like to try and get done.  But no specific deadlines or anything like that.  So I'm looking forward to just taking what comes and enjoying it.

I looked up a quote for the day, and this came up, so here you go:

"No one is perfect - that's why pencils have erasers."

Not a bad thing to keep in mind!  Take care, and I'll see you next week.

P.S. to friend and reader Alison - I hope you and yours are OK, I heard about the earthquake in New Zealand.  It sounded as if overall things were under control, but I hope that's really the case.  Take care!

New

Goodbye to this:

"They were careless people.  They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 

********

Hello and welcome to this:

We turn to the Lord to receive these, our brothers and sisters, into eternal peace and to comfort all of those who grieve the loss of a loved one.  Let us with one heart, commend those who have died from this virus and all of their loved ones to the providential care of the One who is the ultimate source of peace, unity, and concord."

-- Wilton Cardinal Gregory, of the Archdiocese of Washington, at the Covid-19 memorial, January 19, 2021.

Hope has returned.

FO Friday - The Last of 2020

I know that plenty of people have moved on from 2020 big time, but I still have a tiny bit of housekeeping to do before I can completely get into the new year.  (And frankly, it seems like it's still 2020 in lots of ways in my opinion.)  In any case, let me share with you my final FO of 2020.

Project:  Christmastime Shortie Slipper Socks (Ravelry link)

Pattern:  From my brain, based on a vanilla sock

Yarn:  Plymouth Encore Worsted (top sock = Christmas Red, and Peppermint; bottom sock = Christmas Green, and Candy Cane colorways)

Needles:  US size 5

Modifications:  I've made three pairs of these for The Tim, but the only modification I did for me was to cast on fewer stitches.

Notes:  I saw how much The Tim liked and wore the pairs like this I had made for him, and I decided to use some of my Encore stash to make a pair for myself.  I can attest to the fact that these are cozy and warm (we have hardwood floors with rugs here and there, so the floor is always cold in the winter).  They also wash up with no problem, and as a matter of fact, I just threw this pair of mine in the wash today, after wearing them all week.  I know that next year when I get them out, they will bring a smile to my face.  

If you have any interest in making shortie slipper socks, I would encourage you to do so, especially if you are using worsted weight yarn - they truly knit up so fast that you have a pair in the time it would take to knit one sock (well, at least if you are me) of a fingering weight pair.

And thus endeth my knitting for 2020.  I finished these on December 22, and decided that rather than start something else, I'd just continue working on the sweater I've been knitting through the end of the year, and start something new on New Year's Day.  The nice thing about that decision is that I made a lot of progress on the sweater!

Due to the fact that I was at home most of the past year, I did manage to get a lot of knitting accomplished, which was at least a good thing in a year where so much else went wrong.  I'm glad that I found a way to do something useful as well as enjoyable at a time when it was hard to find an outlet for so much sadness and frustration.  Not quite lemonade out of lemons - too much else happened - but a way to keep my mind from sliding too far downwards.

Perspective on 2020

Well, to hear everyone else talk, the entire universe is anxious for 2020 to be over, and people are already celebrating today as much as tomorrow.  

Not me.  I think it's disingenuous to write off an entire year as terrible, because first of all, if you can do that, it means that you made it through the year.  Secondly, I don't want to live my life focusing on only what comes next.  If you only live in the future, you miss the good in the present.

(Also - remember people who kept saying "Oh my God, I can't wait for 2019 to be over - bring on 2020!  Well, watch what you wish for.)

In the overarching sense of time and this past year, of course it was tough.   And heartbreaking.  And frustrating.  And in so many ways, not good at all.  I don't know anyone who wanted the Covid-19 pandemic to happen, or who wants it to continue.  I'm not talking about that, because that is something that required a whole 'nother level of thought, behavior, and caring (or none, if you are certain people who shall not be named here because we all know who they are).

But guess what?  People still had birthdays.  Babies were still born.  Things could still be funny.  You were free to keep loving your family and your life.  Even at the worst of times, being around to experience all of it was better than the alternative.

At the beginning of the year, I choose the word "Attend" as my One Little Word.  Not in the sense of attending a party or a concert or whatever.  In the sense of pay attention, attend to the world and your life.  If anything, the lockdown and the pandemic only helped me with all of this.

When dear friends lost loved ones to Covid-19, I was able to feel their sorrow and do what I could through words, prayers, and actions to help.  It likely didn't help that much, but paying attention to their grief gave me the chance to know that they needed love and friendship more than ever.

Because none of us could really go anywhere, I learned to pay more attention to my everyday surroundings.  I noticed the true sweetness of not just my husband and our pets, and how we all *attended* to each other, but how the world outside, in our garden, or our neighborhood all attended to each other.  The birds sang no matter what, the squirrels chased each other up and down and all around for God knows what reasons.  Geese and sea gulls still flew past, making noise and headed someplace where they felt they needed to go.  Bugs and insects still flew around, to plants, flowers, and into the dirt to do all they things they need to do (even mosquitoes, my archenemies, goddammit!).  I spent more time walking around than ever before, *attending* to more because I wasn't involved in so much else that didn't and shouldn't really matter so much.

I appreciated the nice days when I could get outside for a nice walk.  I despaired of all the rainy days (there were way too many around here, while other places that needed it got none).  I still hated heat and humidity, and still wish(ed) for a decent winter with some snow.  I celebrated my birthday the first weekend of shutdown, and found ways to celebrate everything else as time continued.  

I learned that I disliked certain things and certain people even more than I believed I did.  (I won't go into that here, because a) you probably can guess some things, and b) knowing the others won't change your life for the better.)  I found truth in the feeling I always had that if I could ever retire, I'd be pretty darn content (nice to know, but unlikely to happen anytime, especially anytime soon).  It was frustrating to not be able to just say, "I think I'll go to ____" tomorrow and be able to do it, but it was/is rewarding to know that not only am I not sick from Covid, but that hopefully I didn't contribute to anyone else getting it.  

And don't forget - we voted and got rid of Donald Trump - a true highlight for me!

Don't get me wrong, it will be nice to be able to see my family who are all out-of-town sometime again, or spend a day at the shore in the summer, or even just decide that I'll walk into Center City and meet a friend for lunch.  But I have to be perfectly honest - I'm not sorry that the world slowed down and even if forced, other people had to start "attending."  

To paraphrase one of the songs from the musical "Wicked"

Who can say if I've been changed for the better ... but because this happened ... I have been changed for good.

Congratulate yourself because you made it to today.  Let yourself be sad for the losses, and happy for the good, no matter how small.  Thank whatever/whoever you believe in that 2020 is on its last day, and you are here for it.  Do it today, because when tomorrow comes, this will be the past.

Enjoy your New Year's Eve - drink a toast to this past year, and then look ahead and drink another one to 2021.  We can't know what it will be, but we'll all be there anyway.

"Until Then, We'll Have to Muddle Through Somehow"

Happy Christmas Eve!  One of my favorite days, filled with joy, anticipation, bustling around (though granted, this year, the "bustling" is at home), and thinking of those you love, both here and otherwise.  I am writing this post not just for myself, but also as the final entry in sprite's 2020 Virtual Advent Tour.

Whenever I hear the Christmas song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," I think of two things: 1) the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis," where the song debuted, and 2) those I love, both here and gone.  I think it is one of the most bittersweet songs, period, whether or not it is Christmastime.

I don't know if you have seen the movie, but one of the main aspects of the plot is that a family has learned that they will be moving from their St. Louis home shortly before the 1904 World's Fair that will be held in St. Louis.  This sends various members of the family into a tailspin for several different reasons.  One of the family members (played by Judy Garland) sings the song to her younger sister (played by Margaret O'Brien).  The part that *always* gets me are these lines:

"Through the years, we all will be together,

If the fates allow.

Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow.

So, have yourself a merry little Christmas, now."

THIS.  None of us is guaranteed another Christmas.  *Every* Christmas is, unfortunately, someone's last one.  And that always hurts.  In my family, both of my parents were people who loved this holiday, especially my father.  Through many years of slim finances, questionable living conditions, and uncertain futures, Christmas was still special.  They have not been here to celebrate for a while, but nothing can take my memories away.  

More importantly, what and who is here today, right now, is what is important.  If you are reading this, you are here.  You may be missing someone, but you are here, and this is Christmas Eve.  Even if you are by yourself, you are here and you can love, and feel, and enjoy, whether or not anyone else is around.

People always say, "If I'd only known ... " Well, none of us knows.  We have right now, that is all that is certain.  It's Christmas Eve, maybe not like before, definitely not lilke ever again.  If you are feeling sad, I wish you joy again soon.  If you are feeling lonely, I hope you know you are loved.  If you are thinking it's all ruined because you can't do what you usually do, you are sorely mistaken.  Don't feel sorry for yourself.  Be glad that those you love are doing OK, and that to some extent, it's because of you and your actions.  

Muddle through.  Have a very merry, happy, loving Christmas.  Because in the end, it's your decision how you want this to be, and how you want to remember Christmas 2020.  Make it a memory of love, and one where you may have been inconvenienced, but in the end it was all OK.

That's all we can do.  It's all we should do.  

I hope you can move beyond your own self and your own feelings to enjoy what is happening and what you are doing for those you love.

So have yourself a merry little Christmas, now.