Jesus SAVED Us!!

It's true! For those of you who need visual proof in the power of Jesus, look closely at this photo. That tiny pitcher on the baseball mound? That is Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo. And when my friend Lisa and I went to see the Phillies play the Cubs this past Wednesday, Jesus saved us from losing another game! (And for those of you wondering, Jesus is regular-sized - I took that photo from our seats.)

It's been a rough few weeks for our Phils, but on Wednesday they beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2. And my fave player, Kyle Schwarber, hit a home run which I am sure he did because he heard I was there. 

😂

Lisa and I try to go to one game together every year. We text a thousand times every day, but generally only see one another this one time. We've been friends now for about 25 years, since we were co-workers. She left to give birth to twin boys, and I moved to other jobs. But we always kept in touch. And she is the one that met my niece Amanda ONCE, and immediately added her to our text chain! The three of us are the ones keeping each other accountable in our exercise routines.

Lisa is hilarious just in general, but she is also one of those baseball fans, that knows *everything* about each player. I swear if you asked their shoe size, she could answer immediately. She's also really impatient with them. Whenever they win, she is on cloud nine, but when they lose and/or play poorly, she texts me: "Sell the team." So it was a really fun afternoon, and though it was warm it wasn't humid, and we were under an overhang, so it was especially nice to be out of the direct sun.

Apparently, the person that Lisa bought the tickets from is a regular, and part of a group that are always there for afternoon games. When we first got there, the two guys behind us asked "How do you know Brian?" And a bit later, when a young woman and her friends arrived, she said to me "Are you Brian's wife?" to which I responded that was "that bastard's ex-wife and he lets me have tickets for one game a year." She looked slightly surprised, but I doubt as much as Brian will be when she asks him about his ex-wife! They were all a fun group of people though, so it made the whole game even more enjoyable.

*****

A bit later this morning, I'm headed out to get my hair cut. I'm trying a different place in my neighborhood, so wish me luck. I like the person I usually go to, she is very nice, but the last few times I've gone, she has just been on autopilot, and not really tried anything I want to try. Plus, we are getting to the time of year when I want my hair short all over, and she doesn't want to do it that way so that I don't "look like a man." 

So I'm trying out a different place, which is slightly more money, but if I can get a haircut even close to what I'd like, it will be worth it. 

I just hope I don't go there hoping for a cut like this

And come out looking like this:

*****

This weekend, it is of course supposed to rain at least some of the time. Tomorrow we are headed to the No Kings protest here, but that is our only specific plan for the weekend. Since our weekends are generally pretty quiet and uneventful, we'll likely need Sunday to recover from doing something out of the house on Saturday! We always joke that, if we are like this at our current age, if we are lucky enough to live to be 80 years old, we'll only be able to do maximum two things a week, so that we have time to recover!

Whatever plans you may have, I hope you can enjoy your weekend. Even if you also get some rain, at least a lot of the plants and flowers are enjoying it, right?

Fitness, Falling, Friendship

I think I mentioned last fall that my friend Lisa, my niece Amanda, and myself had created a little fitness challenge group on our text chain. We started slow, and then each month would switch up part or all of the challenge. Each day we did some sort of exercise/movement/effort, we would text when we were finished and encourage each other. 

The accountability has kept all of us going, and we are still doing it! We are all realistic - for instance, during the holidays, we allowed ourselves some grace, since we knew that each of us would be busy with work, holiday plans, etc., and each of us managed to keep going. I'm really proud of us.

I had a hiccup at the beginning of October, though. 

Substitute "walking" for "running" above, and this could easily be me. After a week of rainy days, we had a beautiful, sunny, fall day. So I took myself out for a nice long walk outside. It was glorious, and I had walked quite a distance, had turned to head home, crossed Washington Avenue in South Philly (if you are local you know Washington Avenue, it can be harrowing), and then ... 

Well, I *sort* of remember someone saying, "Don't worry honey, I'm a nurse, I've called an ambulance. Oh dear, look at her teeth." And I *sort* of remember a paramedic asking me how to contact my husband and being with it enough to give him my phone to call. But mostly the next thing I remember is waking up in the Trauma Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. 

Yes, I'd fallen. Just like years ago when walking the dog. PLOP and then waking up and remembering absolutely nothing about it. Last time, I had lots of bumps and bruises, and had broken a tooth and my glasses. When they had scanned my person for interal injuries, they had found the kidney cancer, which turned out to be a good thing because I could have it dealt with before it got really bad. But overall, it was a terrible fall that hurt, nothing more.

Many tests, many doctors, and many tellings of the story over, the closest they could come was that I had had an episode of syncope. Gradually, I managed to regain confidence and went along with my life.

This time, however, the results were much worse (well, OK I didn't have cancer again, but ruling that out and moving along). I had fractured my nose, shredded the septum, and all of my top front teeth had been pushed back into my mouth. Plus of course cuts all over - my knees were shredded, I had serious cuts on my face - and bruises to give me "color." 

That night, a maxillofacial surgeon came to my hospital room and with the help of his resident, pulled my front teeth forward again and put them in temporary braces. Those were on for eight weeks. 

The next afternoon, an ENT surgeon got my nose back where it was supposed to be on my face, repaired the septum, and placed splints in my nose to keep it in place until it healed.  That took 4 weeks until the swelling abated, and 4 weeks until the splints were removed.

After that nose surgery, I was allowed to go home. THANK GOD. I had to sleep sitting up for two months, but I was home! I missed four weeks of work, and could not wear my glasses for those four weeks. Which meant not only could I not knit, but I couldn't read, or even watch TV that well. 

In late February - again, after many many tests for heart issues, neurological issues, and any other issues anyone could think of - I had a cardiac loop monitor implanted in my chest so that any irregularities could be seen whenever they happened, not after the fact. 

And really, I'm doing OK at least as far as anyone can tell. So that's good.

My fitness check-ins became the "today my neck doesn't hurt as much" variety, but Lisa and Amanda still kept me in the text chain like I was exercising as usual. Which really kept me going, you know?

And gradually, I've upped my activity and gotten back into the swing of things. 

But I do have to admit that this time around, it is taking me longer to regain my confidence when I am outside walking or bicycling. I do it, and fortunately nothing terrible has happened, but since my injuries were so awful, I tend to worry I'll fall and hurt myself again, or worse, not make it across a street, but collapse in the middle of one (for instance, if I had collapsed while crossing Washington Avenue instead of after crossing, I might have just been a goner. Yikes!)

Lisa and Amanda are not here in person, BUT they are not only helping to keep me inspired to keep moving, the fact that we still check in with each other is a kind of comfort, since I know if they didn't hear from me, and didnt know ahead of time why, they would check with The Tim. 

Still though, I'm now hyperaware of where I am and if people are around or not.

But I'm getting there. I'm still doing my best to keep fit, and my friends are doing it with me. I have something in my body that will immediately alert the doctors if something happens, what exactly happens, and hopefully why.

My hope is that it never happens again, and never that the monitor never has to report anything. In the meantime, all I can do is keep going. And I hope this will encourage you to find one or two more fitness friends, to both get you going and keep you going. You won't regret it. Ever.

*****

Don't forget - you can ask me any question you may have (even related to this story) in the comments of this post! There aren't many questions at this point, so head on over and add yours, and I'll answer them all on Monday, April 24.

In the meantime, have a good weekend, and if (God forbid) you are like me, try really hard to remain upright! 😊

Kindness

(From the comic strip, "Mutts.")

A few years ago, I chose "kindness" for my word of the year - actually I chose it two years in a row.  Because I found that telling myself to consciously be more kind was good practice, and I hoped that by using that for my word two years in a row, it would become more of a habit than something I needed to remember to do or to be.  And to some extent, I've succeeded, though admittedly, I could probably keep it as my word for the year and never reach the place I would hope.  We are all human though, so we can only try our best.  

I cannot tell you how much all of your kind comments, notes, snail mail cards and letters, and small gifts have meant to me after posting about losing our sweet Hamlet.  Loss makes you feel so terribly alone, and when your friends surround you with kindness and love, it doesn't make the hurt less, but it does provide comfort.  And when many of those who are the kindest are people you actually either barely know or don't know in real life, it makes you realize that friendship is it's own kind of love.  So thank you so very much for *your* kindnesses to me, and by extension to The Tim and the kitties.  We are still in shock, but we are also grateful for so much, in particular that for Hamlet, the end was quick and not a lingering, painful time.  True, it makes it a bit harder for us. because we were not even thinking it would happen anytime soon, but I would rather we had to deal with that, than him having to be sick or worse for any length of time.  

Please know that if I have not responded to you, it's either because I don't have your e-mail address, or because I have not gotten myself together enough to be able to write snail mail notes yet.  But I'll get there - know in the meantime that your thoughts were received with gratitude.

I would have written all of the above at some point anyway, but was prompted to do it now by a couple of things I saw on social media.  A young man (we'll call him Dr. S.) who worked in the Entomology Department while he was a master's and Ph.D. student managed to successfully defend his thesis last year, and very fortunately obtained a teaching position at a nearby college.  This guy is truly one of the nicest people I have ever met - I guess you could say his mother raised him well (his father apparently died when he was about 6 years old).  He is friendly and personable, but also really caring.  Whenever I was on medical leave due to surgery, or illness, I always received a note or an e-mail from him, saying that he hoped I was doing better, or that he missed talking to me, etc.  And he is the kind of person who you know means it, and is not simply saying it because it's the right thing to say.

So the other day, when he posted this on Facebook, I was not surprised at all:

A student asked to submit a paper a day late because...

She was "overcome with joy and excitement and cannot focus!" because her family's "first child of the next generation was born!"

You can take the whooole week,

congrats

!!!

-- COMMENT: Very kind. My son asked for an extension bc of severe anxiety and a total cloud fail when he submitted a paper and got a “no”. Always be kind.

And there you have it - the difference a small bit of kindness can make.

Now I know that there are always people in school, at work, in life, who try to take advantage and always ask for special consideration.  I don't think they deserve to have exceptions made for them, though it often happens anyway.  And I'm sure a lot of professors would have told the girl whose family had a new baby that it was wonderful news, but you still need to meet the deadline.  I think the fact that Dr. S. not only gave her the grace she requested, but then posted about it happily on social media shows the kind of person he is and wants to continue to be.

Then there is the other professor, mentioned by a current colleague in the comment.  I'm sure this professor has heard several excuses leading to a request for an exception, and are probably pretty savvy at fishing out the fakes (or maybe I am giving them a benefit of the doubt that they don't deserve).  But I think the larger problem here is that for people who have never dealt with true, often crippling, anxiety, it's not a legitimate excuse.  Most people see it as a temporary feeling and something that you can easily "just get over."  Sometimes, it is.  Mostly - at least in my case - it's not.  Oh I am still able to function for the most part, but not really in an optimal way.  I wish more people understood how seriously true anxiety can affect a person.  And I hope down the road, my colleague's son will not only have help with his anxiety, but find a more considerate professor.

In short, as she says at the end of her comment, "Always be kind."  It means more than you'll ever be able to understand.

Again, thanks to all of you for your kindness, especially in the last couple of weeks. 

The Box

Yesterday was a looooong day.  I left the house at 6:45 a.m. and returned home at 7:15 p.m.  I really thought I'd never get home, you know?  Anyway, when I finally walked in the door, The Tim met me, and he didn't say "Hi," "Good to see you," or even "Go to hell" - nope the first words he said to me - in a reverential tone - were "The Box arrived today."

Magic Christmastime words:  The Box arrived today."

The Box:

Inside The Box:

And, the piece de resistance, what is inside the bag inside The Box:

You may be thinking that yes, it looks like we got some cookies in the mail, and you may also know that we bake cookies ourselves, so what is so special about The Box?

Well, about 25 years ago, I worked with a woman who I can truly say was one of the oddest people I've met in my entire life.  She is just ... odd.  Nice enough, but not a warm personality, extremely direct, not overly social, and could never be accused of being friendly overall.  But she is smart, and pretty funny in a sardonic way, and she loves cats.  At the time we worked together, it was (surprise) in a library, but that was her second career.  She had originally trained and worked as a professional pastry chef.  After years of doing that, she decided she was burnt out and switched to working in a library.

Through no real understanding of mine, she decided I was an OK person, and would talk and joke with me.  Then she started bringing in her baking experiments for me to try ("by the time I'm finished, I don't want to try it, and ____ [insert husband's name] doesn't really care, so you are my taste tester").  As I'm sure you can imagine, I was more than happy to try her concoctions.

After a couple of years working together, her husband died (which is sad anyway, but they were both a lot younger than me, so that just seemed extra sad).  She worked about another year longer, and then remarried her late husband's best friend, and they moved to Maine.  His mother still lived in Philadelphia, so they would come to visit here about two or three times a year.  Each time, this woman would e-mail, and we would meet to have coffee or something.  Which seemed weird to me, because again, I never really felt like we were actual friends, more like agreeable co-workers.  But, it was always nice to see her, and catch up and hear her stories about her new life in Maine.

But the really crazy thing is that beginning the year she moved to Maine, and every single year since, The Box arrives at the beginning of December.  It always contains three different kinds of holiday cookies, some old favorites but always a new recipe, and a chatty note from her, catching us up on things.  Now I know from working with her all those years, that she sent Christmas packages to her mother, her sister, her niece and nephew, and of course exchanged gifts with her husband.  Apparently we were added to her list.  Again, through no actual effort on my part or even awareness that we were so ... close?

I have to say that even though it surprises and puzzles me, I do enjoy it, and hearing her update every year, and realizing that I must have actually been someone she decided she likes.  

The Tim, however, has decided that his life is given new meaning every year when The Box arrives.  One year, it got to be late in the month, and we hadn't received it.  He wanted me to contact her and ask if she was sending on that year!  I nearly fainted when he suggested that - I know he was [sort of] kidding, but still ...  (Just so you know, it did get to us - she had just gotten behind on her baking!)

And so now you know the story of The Box.  This woman's mother-in-law who lived in Philadelphia died a couple of years ago, so they don't really come to town anymore.  Nonetheless, every year, I get her update in a long, newsy letter tucked inside The Box.

And The Tim finds his Christmas miracle as well.

Rain, Sorting, and Ick - A Weekend in Review

I must agree with this pup.  But just as I'm sure his day went on, and hopefully improved, mine will too. 

It was an odd weekend.  Not terrible, just ... odd.  Saturday was a major rain day here in Philadelphia.  I mean, it POURED for the bulk of the day.  And it was windy, too, so if you never looked out the window, you might have thought you were on the English moors of Wuthering Heights.  The good thing about that is that I used a good chunk of the day to review/organize my stash and knitting supplies.  I found some things that had been given to me over the past year that I just wasn't loving, and nowadays if I don't love something, I tend to give it away or donate it.  I have finally gotten my stash to the point where what it contains are things I am keeping on purpose because I plan to actually use them.  Over the years, I had bought so many yarns "just because" that when I decided several years back to be ruthless and realistic, I was left with a stash that was mindful.  In the past year, a few people have given me yarns that they found in a relative's belongings, and passed to me 'since you know how to knit.'  And that's fine, because I have the distinct feeling that if I didn't take the stuff, it would be trashed rather than donated.  But it was almost all things that I either don't like (yarn with stuff in it - you know, like buttons, etc. that make it "artistic") or that I just know I won't ever use.  Since we have a women's shelter in town that has a knitting group, I like to pass that stuff on to them.  According to the person who runs the group, the women get excited to have things that are new/different to them. 

Anyway, I got those things together, as well as some extra needles and notions and got them ready to drop off.  This also served to get the whole room in better order, a bonus for sure.

We also watched some shows and movies during the afternoon and evening.  Every year, we try to make an effort to watch some movies that are nominated for Oscars in one category or another.  So far this year, we've seen "Marriage Story," "The Irishman," and "The Two Popes."  Eclectic, no??

Sunday it wasn't raining, but ugh.  I woke up with all kinds of aches and pains, and for a good part of the day, gastrointestinal issues.  I didn't feel terrible, but I didn't feel good.  So I mostly stayed put, and the good thing is that I got very close to finishing a pair of socks I'm making for The Tim as a Valentine's Day gift!  I have just a couple of inches on the foot of the second sock, and then the toe, and they will be finished.  This makes me happy because now I don't have to worry about them being finished in time.  It also means I can start on a test knit I'm doing (who AM I?) for one of the ladies who runs Nice and Knit.  Then in March, my friend and former Rosie's co-worker Andrea and I are having a sock knitalong.  We are going to try the Clark Socks by Jaclyn Salem.  I'm looking forward to it!

One funny thing about us having a knitalong - when we worked together at Rosie's, every time we'd see a pattern that we liked, or a new book/magazine arrived, we'd find something we both wanted to make.  We would spend time choosing what yarns to use, and discuss it ad nauseum.  Do you know how many things resulted from these various knitalongs?  Zero.  :-)  So it will be fun to *actually* cast on and get going this time ... 

I'm feeling better today (of course, it's a work day, right??), and hoping that this week at work will be as uneventful as possible.  We are in the near-end stages of a renovation of our workspace, and it has been horrific.  Theoretically, this week should be quieter.  We'll see.

Anyway, here we go with another week and the last one in January at that.  Let's hope it's a good one!

Now You Know

I have to tell you that I got a big charge out of your responses to this post.  As I said at the beginning of the post, most people have at least one or two interesting stories about their lives or family members.  And in the case of children, I think most of them assume that all families are like theirs, until they go out in the world more and realize that perhaps that is just not the case.  I *may* have spent a lot more of time realizing that than others I know ...

In any event, the first story is true.  I did in fact learn the knit stitch from the lady across the street whose house burnt down when the dryer caught fire.  She thought it might be a good way for me to entertain myself while I was home sick.  And I did find it fascinating, even if there was no additional time spent with her to learn more.  No one in my family at that time was crafty at all (though later my mother would become an expert in counted cross-stitch), and that was one of my first introductions to the kinds of things you could do to create fabric.  I didn't get another chance to even think about learning to knit for 30 more years, but alls well that ends well, right?

As for the second story, I had the opportunity to do so many things I would have never been able to do thanks to Rosie's father, the mobster!  Of course, he was always so nice to all of us kids, and though we knew he was "famous," we largely didn't know details or care, as long as he was able to pay for all of us to go to movies, plays, concerts,the circus, etc. in style.  Rosie and her younger brother knew at a certain point all about their dad, and I can remember once in school that our teacher was going around the room asking what our parents did at their jobs, and Rosie - rather than saying whatever "legit" business her father had - responded, "he takes care of people who get in his way."  Most of the rest of the kids in the class had no clue what she was talking about, and the teacher quickly moved on, but I found it hilarious because via my parents (who knew lots of shall we say, "independent businessmen," and were not ones to use euphemisms with us), I knew just exactly what Rosie's dad did for a living.  About 20 years ago, he died of cancer, which always seemed ironic to me.

 My parents, sometime during the late 1940s or early 1950s

And so that leaves the third story, which by now you know is not true.  It was, however, a story that my mother loved to tell people, "to see how goddamn stupid they are."  Of course, growing up, we learned immediately that being gullible in our house meant that you would be tested every minute, and I still think that is why I am not an automatic believer of most people.  When I was in college, my mother worked in the Development Office of our school, and so many students who would have part-time jobs there would come up to me and say, "Wow, I didn't know your parents used to be a nun and a priest, that's crazy."  At first, I would set them straight, but after a while I didn't care enough to do so because most of them didn't talk to me otherwise, ever.

To paraphrase the opening of this show, "There are a ton of stories like this in our family.  These are a few of them."

Leo Tolstoy is quoted as having said, "All happy families alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."  I'm not sure what he would have said about mine ... 

In Which The Tim Gets One of His Christmas Wishes

This will always be one of my most favorite Christmas photos.  Every cat we have had has had to be in a photo with Rudolph, but I was lucky enough to catch this instant when it looked as if Jetsam and Rudolph are kissing.  :-)  I miss my Jet so much, but this makes me happy even so.

Today is the December meeting of our crafting group at work.  I brought in some cookies to share, and hope that more than just myself and my co-worker show up.  It's a hit and miss thing - one month there will be three of us, and the next time, twenty people show up!  I didn't bring in a whole lot of goodies, but at least made an effort.  One of the other members also usually brings a treat (her "craft" is baking), so I'm hoping she'll be there too.  It's a nice break in the day, even if not a lot of people are able to fit it into their schedules.  Quite a few of the people who have been laid off (excuse me, "restructured") have been in the group since the beginning, so I hope they can come today, since it might be the last time we'll get to hang out ... our institutional holiday party was mysteriously cancelled, due to "scheduling issues" which all of us take to mean that the administration didn't want to have an event that might turn into a farewell party for the people previously mentioned.

Anyway, we should have a good time - I'm looking forward to it.

I apologize if I've told you this story before, but I at least find it amusing every year.  About three jobs ago, one of the women I worked with was a former pastry chef who had chucked that career for one with "regular" hours.  She was simultaneously the oddest person and one of the funniest persons I've ever worked with, and I was one of the few people she never seemed to be feuding with (and I have no idea why, but it really doesn't matter in the end).  Her husband died from melanoma, and shortly after that, she married his best friend who lived in Maine, and moved there.  On occasion, if she came back to town to visit family, we'd meet for lunch or coffee, and frankly, I was always a little puzzled why she went out of her way (clearly I'm really good at friendships ...).  But every single year, at the beginning of December, we would receive a large box from her full of various types of fancy - and extremely delicious - cookies.  For someone who seemed to truly dislike most people, it was always a compliment, but a puzzling one, since I guess I never really "got" our relationship.

Anyway, last year, we didn't get the box until the second week of December, and The Tim (who can't even make an effort to remember her name, calls her "Your Cookie Friend") was quite put out that they arrived so late.   As of the end of last week, we had not received the box yet and frankly I was surprised I hadn't heard his "concerns" about it.  This past Saturday afternoon, as he was taking a nap, our mailman delivered the Box o' Goodies.  When The Tim woke up and asked if we'd gotten any mail, I said, "Well, you'll be relieved to know that your cookies have arrived," and he responded, "Oh I'm so glad!  If they didn't get here this weekend, I was gonna ask you to ask her if she was sending them this year."  OH.MY.GOD.  I would *never* do such a thing.  But now I've decided that if I happen to finish my journey on this planet before he does, he will not be likely to ever let this woman know ...

Now also keep in mind, if someone else said something like this, he'd talk about it non-stop.

Go figure.

What a weirdo.

Report From Last Week

Well, I didn't mean to be incommunicado for so long - I didn't even realize until today that it had been a week since my last post!  I'm guessing that you all managed to survive nonetheless, so that's good ...

Since I couldn't come up with anything even close to ten things for this week's Ten on Tuesday, I decided to tell you about the highlights from my birthday week.  Due to a clerical error at work, I suddenly had five days of vacation I didn't have before - however, the catch was that I needed to use them before the end of March, or I would lose them.  The thought of LOSING vacation days is a complete anathema to me, and since I was planning to take my birthday and St. Patrick's Day off anyway, I decided to use last week for my five days.

It was amazing.  Not in any way that is thrilling to report, but it felt like a nice long time, and I found that I was sleeping better, not having anxiety attacks, not stress-eating - you get the picture.  What a lovely break it was, you know?  I just wish I had more vacation time in general so I could do it more often.  But I enjoyed it while it was there!

My birthday was lovely, if a little weird.  First of all, it turned really cold, and rained pretty hard all day long and into Tuesday morning.  Ick.  The Tim was not able to take the day off with me, which in and of itself was not a big deal, but he had to work inventory at the bookstore, which had been scheduled months ago, and no one was excused.  So he worked from 4:00 p.m. on Monday until about 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning!  As a result, we went out for a lovely birthday lunch instead of dinner, and had birthday cake before he left for work.  Then on Tuesday, he slept for a while (obviously) and then had to work the closing shift that night (3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.) - so I was on my own for most of Tuesday.  But I got a lot of reading done, got a haircut, and hung out with Dug and the kitties. Very nice.

Thursday I made a batch of Irish Soda Bread, which turned out particularly well.  I also met a friend whom I seldom get to see for lunch, and we had such a great time catching up!  She can really only meet during the week until about 2:00, and not on the weekends at all, due to being the primary caregiver for her husband, so we don't get to talk in person very often.  We had a lot of laughs and some pretty amazing food.

Saturday, it was St. Joseph's Day, so we headed to Termini Brothers in South Philadelphia to get a couple of zeppoles.

SO YUMMY!!!  (We had ours that night with a cup of hot tea.)

After that, I stopped at Loop to see the spinning exhibition they were having.  I am fascinated by spinning, and would love to know how.  They are having a three-Saturday spinning class since there was so much interest, so I signed up.  I sincerely doubt I'll ever become an amazing spinner, but I would at least like to know the basics.

Then on Sunday morning I met with another friend for coffee and some knitting.  After which I went home and watched a couple of March Madness basketball games.  Some of my favorites were already out of it by Sunday, but some advanced, so it was a good day overall.  :-)

Now of course, it's back to the usual, though Easter is this weekend (how is it here already?), and my niece and her husband will be visiting from Baltimore, so I have something to look forward to; plus, I am trying to come up with designs that are actually doable for me for the Inappropriate Easter Egg decorating that will ensue.  I have lots of ideas, but since I am not too great at drawing, I end up letting most of them drop by the wayside.

I hope someday that I will have the chance to take an unexpected, nice long break again.  Sometimes not having all kinds of things planned for every minute makes the time even more enjoyable, you know?

Finally, a huge THANK YOU for all of your kind birthday wishes!  I so enjoyed reading them, and it was a lovely bright spot on such a rainy day.  Thank you thank you thank you!!

The End of a Love Affair

Just so you know - this is a long post.  :-)

**********

When The Tim and I moved to Center City Philadelphia so many years ago, we were thrilled that we lived within easy walking distance of so many places and things we liked to do.  Our neighborhood is only a short distance away from all kinds of fun and interesting places, and even if we don't patronize all of them, we are happy that most of them exist.

We moved into our house in December, and after the first of the year, I was walking home and noticed that a yarn store had opened, and it was only a few blocks away!  I went in and looked around, and there were so many beautiful colors and textures.  And the people there were so nice and welcoming, and mentioned that they would be providing knitting classes.  That was extremely exciting to me.

You see, when I was in the eighth grade, one time when I was home sick from school for a few days, Mrs. Regele from across the street came over with a ball of bright red yarn and knitting needles.  She cast on some stitches and taught me the knit stitch.  It was so much fun, and I knitted a very wonky-looking, very long scarf.  Sadly though, by the time I had used up all of the yarn, she and her family had moved away.  I didn't know anyone else that knit and could show me what to do next, so that was that.

Fast forward to being an adult, living in Oak Park, Illinois.  Once when we were at a local strip mall for something, I noticed a Lee Wards (anyone remember them?) with a sign offering knitting classes.  I signed up, and for 4 weeks learned how to cast on, knit, purl, and cable (still one of my faves), and bind off.  I bought some yarn, and made a scarf for The Tim, a scarf for my mother, one for myself, a baby blanket for my then new niece Annie, and a pillow for my sister Mary Ellen.  Each one was mostly garter stitch, but they were all exciting to make, and filled with love for the recipients. I do recall that when I made the two pillow pieces, I had no idea how to join them, so a friend of my mother's did the finishing for me.  

Then we moved to DC, and I didn't know anyone who knit, and it really didn't occur to me that there were yarn stores - you know, other than just places that sold overall craft supplies.  But we had a busy life and I didn't really think at all about knitting, except occasionally when I would see a sweater I liked in a store and wish I could knit sweaters.

So when I saw that Rosie's Yarn Cellar (then called Sophie's Yarns) was right near my house, and they offered lessons, I decided to sign up.  At that time, you learned to knit by knitting a sweater!  (As time went on, they started with smaller items and more basic instructions.)  It was exciting, puzzling, frustrating, and completely addicting.  Lisa Myers, the owner and instructor, was an English Ph.D. who was an amazing knitter, and had decided to leave academia and open a yarn store.  No matter how many times I had the same question over and over, or needed the same help over and over, she would be there, answering and fixing.  If it drove her nuts, she never showed it, and she truly believed that if you wanted to knit something that had a technique you didn't know, you could do it no matter what.  (And I have to say is that, to this day, my knitting limitations are all mine, all in my head.)

I spent way too much time there, bugging Lisa and other staff with questions that I now know were usually very basic, and I have to say, often just kind of stupid.  But the help, encouragement, and friendliness there made it such a wonderful place to be.  There was yarn, needles, classes, other knitters, books, so much to learn all of the time!  Over the years, I spent many happy hours there, even when [most of the time] I would buy nothing, or just something like a stitch holder.  Never did I feel any less important to the shop than those buying hundreds of dollars worth of yarn.

A few years in, Lisa asked me if I would be able/willing to fill in on weekends when people called out sick, or couldn't be there, since I lived so close.  I was *thrilled* that she asked me, and though I didn't feel like a very accomplished knitter, wasn't too worried, because I knew the other person working with me would probably know more.  

A few years after that, they needed someone to work on Sundays, as one of the usual people was no longer able to do so.  I was fortunate enough to be able to do that, and even eventually teach some classes.  I was bus captain a couple of times for the annual trek to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  I learned a whole lot more about knitting, yarn, and was enveloped in a universe that I would have never known about.  Rosie's has always been there for me.  When I quit my job a few years back, Lisa arranged for me to pick up more hours so that our finances would not be completely desperate.  

But after Saturday, September 5, Rosie's will no longer exist.  For a myriad of reasons, Lisa made the difficult decision to close the shop just a few months shy of its 20 year anniversary.  

To say I am sad is an understatement.  I am person who gets extremely attached to things and places, and I have been very attached to Rosie's.  It has given me not just a hobby, but a skill that has taught me to be patient and more persevering than ever.  It has given me confidence in my own abilities.  It has allowed me to meet some of the "knitterati" and count them as personal friends.  My world has been exponentially expanded, personally and knitting-ly (I know, not a word).  This blog (which is read by tens of people on its best day) would probably not exist if someone I'd worked with early on didn't keep saying, "God, Bridget, you need a blog if you want to connect with the knitting world!" A lot of people that I think of as good friends are those I met and/or worked with, at Rosie's.

It's also going to be hard for me to convince Dug that we can't go inside any more.  He loved going there, and I have actually had to remember not to walk past there when it's not open, because he just parks himself at the door ... On Sundays, all I'd have to say is "Wanna go to Rosie's?" and he would jump up ready to go (and Dug *never* jumps up otherwise).

Fortunately, there are other yarn stores in Philadelphia (a few from Rosie's alums):  Hidden River Yarns, Loop (also right near me, they are gonna be sorry!), Yarnphoria, and The Tangled Web.  They are all great shops run by nice people, and I'm extremely grateful that they are here.  

But you know how it is - you never get over your first love.  :-)

Thank you Lisa, for changing my life for the good in more ways than I could even count.  I am happy to have you as a friend, and wish you more than the best always.  

I'll still be knitting, and forcing you read about it sharing projects and other ramblings with you, so I'm not disappearing.  Life does go on, after all.  It would just be nicer if the universe did things MY way ... yet, the universe never even asks me for my opinion.  Go figure.

The Kindness of People I Know in Real Life

Remember a few days ago when I wrote about the wonderful socks that my blog friend Lorraine knit for me?  That was the first post I wanted to write to let you know how lucky I felt - and feel - to have people who care and take the time to show it.  Personally, I long to be more like that, and really want to try to be.  But most creative things I do take me a long time to finish, and I usually spend more time wishing I'd make something than making it.

Anyway, I digress.

Someone I've known for a long time, since we met when working many years ago together at Rosie's, is Carol.  As a matter of fact, I saw the very first yarn she ever dyed and made into a scarf for a fundraiser at her kids' school.  Now of course she is a famous yarn dyer and knitting designer, and knitters all over the place know who she is.  We don't get to see each other all that often, but we are in touch a lot, and trade insults all of the time on Facebook.  Even if she was only an everyday knitter like I am, I would love her, because she is hilarious, caring, and shares a lot of the same social and political views that I do.

While I was recuperating from surgery, she posted a few pictures of square she had cut out to make a quilt, mentioning that she was making it for someone special.  The squares were so pretty, and some quite whimsical.  I've seen her quilts in pictures before, so I knew it would look amazing once it was finished.  I was also jealous of the person who would be receiving it.  A week or so later, she posted that it was in the mail to the recipient, and I thought "Oh that lucky person."

Never, ever, ever, did it even cross my mind that the person she was making the quilt for would be ME!  But a few days later, a nice, cushy package arrived.  The return address was Carol's, but I still didn't expect to find a quilt inside.  But I opened it up, and there was one of the best quilts I'd ever seen, and she had chosen fabrics that seemed to be made for me.

I've tried on more than one occasion to photograph all or parts of it, without any kind of success.  You can get the idea of it, but I have a dinky little digital camera and no real skills, so the things I wanted to be able to show you, I just could not capture no matter how much I tried.

Carol has been nice enough to grant me permission to use the photos she took and published on her blog when she wrote about making the quilt.  So now, you can see what it really looks like.  Take a look:

 Cut out squares

 Arranging the squares

 Look at the variety!

Finished quilt

 Folded quilt with awesome turquoise binding

 !!!

The back

I still cannot believe that someone made me a quilt - and as you can see, it's not a teeny tiny one, it's quilt-sized!  And as if that was not enough, she also enclosed a skein of her Black Bunny Fiber yarn and a hat pattern* - I mean it when I say that I was pretty overwhelmed by the contents of the package.   I see the quilt every single day, and it makes me smile, and feel so happy that I have a loving friend like Carol.  Everyone should be so lucky, you know?

But please don't tell her I've gotten all grateful and mushy here, because that might just ruin the whole relationship ... ;-)


*I will show you the yarn and hat pattern once I have rearranged my stash and it is safe.  Right now, the patterns and yarns are tucked deep into a closet, since the Koodle has recently decided that destroying both is the most fun thing on earth.

Cross-Pollination Friend

A friend of mine has stated on more than one occasion how she enjoys the "cross-pollination" of friendship on Facebook.  And regardless what you think about that particular social media, I happen to agree with her.

Though I was hesitant to join, when I did, I ended up enjoying "talking" with people I don't get to see enough, and since I hate talking on the phone, it was a way to touch base, even if we didn't say anything IMPORTANT.  One of the things I really enjoy is the live commentary by my nieces whenever an awards show is on TV - they give The Fug Girls a run for their money then, and it is truly hilarious!

And, as implied by the title of the post and the first paragraph, you end up "meeting" people through your other friends.  Someone makes a comment on a friend's update, or expresses an opinion that you agree with, or think is funny, etc., and often it turns out you become Friends on Facebook.   It's weird, but also fun.

One of the people I met through my friend Carol is a woman named Kristi who lives in Massachusetts.  Kristi sounded like she was a lot of fun, but also truly thoughtful and caring.  She is dealing with her spouse's Alzheimer's, but does not let it define her.  The really cool thing was getting to meet her in person last year, when she visited Philadelphia for a weekend.  She was even better in real life.

Recently she took a trip to Iceland, which I think must be a trip that you'd never, ever forget.  From her pictures and descriptions it sounded wonderful.  When she returned, she sent me a message asking for my mailing address, since she wanted to send me "souvenirs."  I was expecting a postcard, or magnet - you know, the type of thing I would send someone.  And I really didn't care what it turned out to be, because a) someone was actually being nice enough to think of me, and b) it would come in the mail - a package!!

Then it arrived, and I could not believe the wonderful things that were inside - I felt really overwhelmed and excited.  And I am finally getting around to posting about it.  (And next, I need to write a proper thank-you note. Ahem.)

There was a keychain:

A mini-Icelandic sweater, with a little sheep charm! (Bad photography by yours truly, of course)

Really cool postcards:

Aren't they the best?  I am especially amused by the giant cats next to the buildings.  And the middle one is from, er, here.  (She said she decided she would spare our mailman but just including it in the box!)  I can truly say I never expected to even know such a place existed, much less have a postcard from there and write about it on my blog ...

But there was still one more thing:

This tea towel actually made me squeal with delight!  All kinds of sheep doing all kinds of things.  Every time I look at it, a different one is my favorite - for instance, today I am loving the sheep holding the barbell in the lower left-hand corner.

What a nice group of souvenirs right?  It still makes me smile to think that Kristi sent this package to me.**

In conclusion, I have to say that I don't think I would ever have known her except for Facebook and cross-pollination.  For all of the annoyances and issues with social media, you can actually get to know some amazing people.

And if you are like me, you spend too much of your daily existence around less-than-amazing people, so knowing the other kind are out there is golden.


**This package also made me realize that I am a crappy souvenir-buyer.  Sigh.