Knit-a-long

My sister and I are having a knit a long. After attending the Sheep and Wool fest last weekend, we have many, many ideas. We are starting with the Noni Adventure bag in huge form. Check out there web site here. The adventure bag is in their Fall 2006 line. I found it at my local yarn shop. Here is my color choice. I haven't seen hers yet, but when I do, I will post a photo. Does anyone want to knit-a-long? If so, just leave a comment. If not, enjoy our progress.

Separated at birth?

Audrey 1996 Illustration for Ramona 1981

How did they know what Audrey was going to look like 12 years before she was born? This book was pointed out to me by the librarians at our local library when Audrey was about 4, then the book was given to me by my MIL because she thought it looked so much like Audrey.

This is Sam

Emma shared this with My sister and me. She said it reminded her of Sam. Check it out!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4l2UUueH5Q

These are My People

Grandma and her granddaughters and great grandchildren.

Uncle Dick and Sammajamma. Uncle Dick is a true Papa, loving, funny, tender.
This is the hysterical. Can you see the genuine laughter on their faces?




Emma and Maddy. I could just eat her up!

Mother and daughter, My Grandma and Aunt.

An Uncle with his nephew.

Sisters caught in a not so unusual, silly act.

Sam saying his abosolute, favorite word in the whole world!

Cousins in conversation. I'm missing a photo of my cousin John. He was in a couple but they were not good. Sorry John. I think that is everyone.

When we got home, Rachel and I met our Mom and Aunt at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Here are the ladies. Aren't they cute?

We had a good trip. It ranged from hysterically funny to sad. We got lost, took many wrong turns, and exits, while the kids asked "Do you know where we are? Did we take another wrong turn? When are we going to be there?" They were so patient, flying, delays, driving, visiting. They were also obnoxious, making us laugh with their silliness. We visited with our Grandma, our Uncle and Aunt, and had a gathering at our hotel with all who could come. At one point, Uncle Dick stated that this was not right, that Christine should be there. It wasn't right. She should be there with the cousins and her children. It was a moment of unsureness. Did we do the right thing? Was it too soon? Or will there never be a good time, when the two daughters of his brother visit, the gathering of family, bringing with them the reality of loss. So hard. But we told stories of life now and life as kids. We heard of Christine's magic show at a birthday party of John's that we did not know about. After everyone left, Rachel and I cleaning up, we embraced and cried, about family differences yet the importance that we all felt of being together, loss, stories told, our Grandma and her force of connecting us and concluded it was a good trip. Our children saw and heard of their family they know little of and know of the goodness of family, immediate, and distant. And when home, met up with the ladies who have influenced us to be the perfect travelling companions for each other, to laugh with and at each other, to be sisters. And that my friends, was our trip.

Off We Go!

Here we are, My sister and me!

She loves me.

I love her too!

We leave this morning with all children in tow to fly to Chicago area to be with family. Our Grandma has never seen Sammajamma and it's been 3 years since she's seen all our kids. It's the right time to go.

Apple Sunshine, again

Is she just the cutest thing ever? This is where she chooses to sit while I'm driving. Yes, we take her everywhere. Don't worry, we were stopped at road work.

Skirt Love

Okay, I'm delusional. I envisioned lovliness. We would look beautiful, our fabrics piled neatly, looking so... neat, 2 skirts a piece finished, lovely photos of our finished skirts. Not exactly what happened. First off, I hadn't showered in almost 24 hours, and had taught 5 classes, so I didn't look and smell so hot. There goes that vision. Then I dumped my breaking shopping bag of loot onto my sisters table, totally covering her lovliness (and yes, it was lovely). The dogs played, then got on each other's nerves. Apple Sunshine went after Gordy, not a good thing. Sammajamma woke up. We played with the puppie and we played with Sam. As soon as we started, it was time to leave. Ugh. Well, two days later, I have finished my skirt and showered (well, that came yesterday). I will make some adjustments for the next one, but other than that, I am pleased. It will be a perfect summer skirt. I'm not delusional when I say I will be wearing skirts all summer and that will be lovely.

Getting to know you

This has been going around via email with My Handsome Prince's Family, so thought I would share it here:

1. What is your occupation? Wife, Mother, fitness instructor
2. What color is your underwear? Honestly, I mostly go commando
3. What are you listening to right now? Songs that Speak of the Spirit - a playlist I made of songs that speak of hope, peace, faith, etc.
4. What was the last thing you ate? roast beef, mushroom, swiss cheese panini that I just made for Emma and me
5. Do you wish on stars? no, eyelashes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Never thought of it
7. How is the weather right now? beautiful
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Emma to ask what she needed from the grocery store
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes
10. How old are you today? 43
11. Favorite drink? good coffee. Did I say good?
12. Favorite sport to watch? swim meets but haven't been to one since my girls stopped swimming
13. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes, but I refuse to hide my grey
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? glasses to read
15. Pets? Gus, the designer dog, Apple Sunshine, the princess and Punkin, the Queen
16. Favorite month? July
17. Favorite food? Mexican
18. What was the last movie you watched? The Pursuit of Happyness (yes, it's spelled that way)
19. Favorite day of the year? A day with my family
20. What do you do to vent anger? internally fume, then explode, yelling
21. What was your favorite toy as a child? Can't think of a toy, just playing outside with the neighborhood
22. Fall or Spring? Fall
23. Hugs or kisses? Hmm, both
24. Cherry or Blueberry? depends on what it is. Fresh cherries, yum. Blueberry pie, yum
25. Do you want your friends to email you back? ok
26. Who do you think will respond? I haven't decided who it is going to
27. Who is least likely to respond? see above
28. Living arrangements? My Handsome Prince, Emma and Audrey
29. When was the last time you cried? When Ellen sang on Sunday. That song always makes me cry.
30. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and dry cleaning
31. Who is the friend you've had the longest? My sister
32. What did you do last night? spent it in the car with My Handsome Prince coming home from the eastern shore
33. Who inspires you? My husband and children always inspire me to be a better person
34. What are you afraid of? car accidents and rats (that's why I never go to Elizabeths)
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? All if they are on the grill
36. What is your favorite car or truck? I guess that would have to be the one I'm driving, as long as it runs and is dependable I don't really care, although I really miss my puzzle truck
37. Favorite dog breed? Morhound (hound plus moron, yup, that's Gus) and Chihuahua, of course this will change with whatever breed follows these two
38. Number of keys on your key ring? I'm not going upstairs to count
39. How many years at your job? Wife, 22 and counting, Mother 19 and counting, Fitness instructor 20 and counting, but 6 at the YMCA
40. Favorite day of the week? Any day but Tuesday
41. How many states have you lived in? 2
42. How many cities have you lived in? I've lived in 4 towns
43. How many countries have you lived in? One

Feel free to answer these yourself.

Ready, Set, Go!

Okay, it's Tuesday. My bed is made, I had plain oatmeal for breakfast, delivered the papers, went to Pilates, taught my Seniors, checked a couple things off my to do list, have killer workouts for my classes this evening and am planning a date with my hook, my rug, and a movie. How's that?

Monday Musings

I know Sunday is the official start of the week, but I feel Monday is the start. It's the day when the routine starts again. The day when you can really make the changes that you need to make. The day you organize the rest of the week. Today, the new session started. It WAS (key word here) the day I was jumpstarting my fitness and diet routine. What did I do? Slept in, ate nachos for lunch. Yuck. Can Tuesday begin my week?

Anyway, I'm trying to get my classes together for the week. I've looked at the rosters and see it's mostly the same people so it's time to challenge them and myself. It's time to start lifting, swimming and running again. I've signed myself up for a weight management course so I have a support system to make the right choices. I haven't changed much, but just need that inspiration and motivation to keep this up. It's a lifelong pursuit and anyway that I can achieve it, I will.

This week I need to finish my Love rug, make my songs of the spirit cd, pick up chips at the Utz outlet for 200 people, make a giant pasta salad, make 2-3 pans brownies, help the Prince with his scrapbook page for his Grandma. Those are the big ticket items along with routine cleaning, teaching, delivering papers, cooking, and working nights. And who can forget...OZOMATLI, Wednesday night Baby! "Party people rock the house, party people rock the house!"

I had all kinds of reflections of my time last week. There is no other way to say it. It was sad, terribly sad. My Dad, in his own grief, sick with a virus, was a rock for his brother and performed the ceremony just as he should. I had to call my sister the day we were leaving, just to talk to her, hear her voice, tell her I loved her. And the mystery of life goes on. There are still mornings to rise, meals to make, rides or walks to take, work to do, with a void, a hole, so enormous that it's almost inconceivable, and yet we/they do. My Uncle, his wife, my cousin, Pete, Ben, and Maddy. I wish them peace when they are ready.

I called my elementary schoolhood friend, Karen, who lives in the midwest, to tell her the news. She knew my cousins, lived a block behind them. She, too, had news. Her partner of many years had died unexpectedly shortly after she had seen him. Sad. The tragedy at Virginia Tech hit close to home, also. It was Emma's friend's dorm that was hit. She is okay, but she, too, has an emptiness to fill.

I am home, with my children, my husband, checking in on my father, getting together with family. Life goes on.

Cousins

Today I watched my kids with their cousins. I watched them all hunt for Easter eggs, with my two sharing a basket. They kept others occupied while we hid, too. I watched (or rather, heard) the oldest and the youngest have a screaming competition, and turn the younger, grouchy screams to laughter. I watched the middle one tenderly care for the puppy. I watched the girls gather together on the couch, eating their candy, and also take up one corner of the table to eat together, my two gathering their girl cousin to them. We talked of how much they enjoy being together, despite the range in age from 19 to almost 2. It's a wonderful, family relationship. May the Circle Be Unbroken.

We were like that growing up. We were a pack with our cousins. There were 7 of us growing up together, and just like Sam, another came along later. By that time, our family had moved from the midwest to the east coast, so we did not watch him grow up. We spent weekends at Grandma and Grandpa's house, eating cinnamon rolls, carving pumpkins, wearing Easter masks or cowboy hats or whatever holiday/prop was on hand, going to dog shows, the circus, helping Grandpa over at the church, or just hanging around. We always wanted to sleep together in G & G's room, with the roll away cot and I guess someone on the floor and a few in their bed (we kicked them out and they slept on the pull out in the tv room). Grandma would tell us stories and rub our backs. When Mark and Christine moved in our neighborhood, literally two blocks away we were estatic! Mark and I were 6 months apart, Rachel and Christine, one year. Now, one of our pack is gone. Daughter, Grandaughter, Sister, Wife, Mother, Cousin, Friend.

My sister and I grieve. We spend a lot of time on the phone wondering when is the right time to make the trip? What do we do for the family? How do we express our sadness? We talk of our father, our uncle, our Grandma, her husband, her children. We just talk. I'm so thankful for that. I will travel with my father this week to Illinois to attend the funeral.

I was gathering songs for my Songs that Speak of the Spirit cd and came upon Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter". I cried. It spoke to me of my Father, but even more, my Uncle, and know the words are true "There could never be a Father that loved his daughter more than I loved you."
If you leap awake

In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second

You can't remember where you are
Just open your window

And follow your memory upstream

To the meadow in the mountain

Where we counted every falling star

I believe the light that shines on you

Will shine on you forever (forever)

And though I can't guarantee

There's nothing scary hiding under your bed

I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever

And never leave till I leave you with a sweet dream in your bed

Chorus: I'm gonna watch you shine

Gonna watch you grow

Gonna paint a sign

So you'll always know

As long as one and one is two

There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition

It's just like goin fishin'

You cast your line and hope you get a bite

But you don't need to waste your time

Worryin' about the market place

Try to help the human race

Strugglin to survive its harshest night.

-Paul Simon

Let's Play Top 10

1. Lucinda Williams concert. Wonderful venue, small sit down theatre, very intimate. Great performance, despite the fact that she had to start two songs over. Such a perfectionist in performing yet looking so uncomfortable on stage. She makes herself vulnerable. It was a great evening with a friend. Bar hopping in the 'burg, lovely dinner, great music, how could it be better?

2. A conversation with my sister about effort. It's making me realize that the source of my own, Whatever, funk, is the lack of my own effort. I'm just going through the motions. It started about others lack of effort, with the classic Why should I bother if no one else cares? and then the lightbulb went off. I realized how hard I worked last year and how much it paid off.

3. Not necessarily top rating but top in memory. The Anders Osborne show I went to that he did not. Bummer. Got our money back, had a good time with Tasha and my Prince, but we were so looking forward to listening to Anders jam and he did not.

4. Puppy, puppy, puppy! AppleSunshine has been so much fun! Neither I nor the Handsome Prince or even Audrey thought much of getting a puppy. Now that she is here, she is so much fun. She is personable, friendly, small, smart, and starts puppy classes this Saturday.

5. Keep up with the Joneses. My neighbor totally finished her quilt. Need I say more.

6. The emergence of spring. Rebirth and regrowth. Remember these? They are budding and flowering!

7. Emma made a school decision.

8. Audrey conquered a fear and auditioned for the Ensemble. Now it's just sit and wait.

9. I finished PT, thank goodness and am feeling better but not quite whole.

10. I can't even come up with 10. Isn't that pitiful?

To Do Today

I had a long list of things to do today. Instead, I slept in until 7, taught a killer cycle class, and came home and cleaned out my truck while Emma cleaned out her car. The day is bright and the time was right. Plus, her car was TRASHED! Mine is so small it doesn't take much to trash it or clean it. I guess now I'll tackle the long list.

Prom Night

That's what some of the soldiers call it. At a promotion ceremony I attended yesterday, the buzz was "Are you going to prom?" "See you tomorrow at the prom." So that is where we are going tonight. Last year we took social dancing lessons to prepare for this event, only to discover there really wasn't an opportunity to use what we learned. No foxtrots, no swing, and just some minor slow dancing. I've practiced this week and I'm sure I'll get the Handsome Prince to dance with me after a couple drinks. Recently a note went home from the high school about inappropriate dancing. That's what we should have learned, dirty dancing. teehee. What a scene we would make.

We had a great time! I felt beautiful, my Handsome Prince was, of course, Handsome. We danced a lot. Even got a foxtrot in there. We did see a couple doing the dirty dancing thing. They were good! There is definitely something about couples who dance together regularly. There is rhythm, intimate knowledge of each others bodies and how they move. There was a couple at New Orleans Jazz Fest that had a bizarre dance that did with each other with hops, head ducking, etc. We saw them 2 years in a row. You couldn't help but notice them. They had been dancing like this forever and felt comfortable. Maybe we'll get there someday.

A Heart for Sunshine

I have not made it to the post office. Sorry Sunshine! But your heart has been finished for quite some time. My neighbor loved it. It is needle felted roving onto off white wool. I love the heart you made for me and will treasure it for I know what is behind it. I know about keeping the hands busy while the head and heart worry. I'm getting back into my creative groove.

Everyday Inspiration

Some time ago, I had been tasked with a 6 week Adult Sunday school session on Everyday Inspiration. I wish I had taken it more seriously, but typical to my nature, I procrastinated. I should have done more research on line and in the blog world because I know there is a wealth of information, ideas, and opinions. . Anyway, I didn't. Let this be a lesson. We are focusing on passions, hobbies, and professions. Exploring the relationship between our spiritual life and our creative life. How we are inspired, inspire others, how the spirit moves within us, around us, and through us and our creativity. If you have any definite thoughts on the matter, leave me a comment. This will be going on for 6 weeks and can always use new ideas and material.

Today was our first presentation. She was a painter from our congregation. She spoke of creating, and how it truly is the spirit within her. She had examples of her work, inspired some conversation on paintings, and gave us a little watercolor lesson. It went well, though not exactly what I had in mind. I have five more presenters that I can coach. I have it pretty well lined up. This week was a painter, next week - a carpenter. From there on I have a teacher who runs a one room schoolhouse in Baltimore, a quilt artist, a photographer, and an ordinary, elderly woman who has lived her life to the Glory of God.

So, let me ask these questions:
What do you create? When do you create? Same time everyday? every week? How does it make you feel? Excited, calm, peaceful, agitated? What does it give to you? How do you give back? Do you have a spiritual connection to your creativity? What inspires you? Do you have stories or quotes that inspire you? Feel free to pose your own questions or answer other questions. Thanks.

Project Day

Today was supposed to be project day at my sister's house. She invited some people over to work on whatever they had to work on. I have a heart for Sunshine I needed to work on. Well, after 3 beautiful spring days, we got snow and ice today, plus a nasty headcold. I stayed home, from work and project day. I snoozed, watched "The Holiday" (I sure do like that Jude Law. Who can forget that expression when Inman finally finds his way to Ada. ) and got a much needed mental/physical health day, so all is not lost.

Spring Fever

Gus must have gotten spring fever today. He r-u-n-n-o-f-t! (Remember Oh Brother Where Art thou?) I looked for this dog for 3 hours! The first hour, I wasn't concerned. By the second hour, I was getting a little concerned. After all, he is no spring chicken and he had surgery on his leg last year. I was terrified he would run till he couldn't run anymore, or get confused, or hit, or anything! I walked the farms and yards, I drove down driveways, both of which can be scary around here. There are peope with NO TRESPASSING signs and shotguns. I discovered things in my neighborhood that I had no idea existed. And my neighbors in back are pigs! Anyway, the buddy boy had taken up with a much younger Rottie and by the time I found them (and they had covered miles) they were hanging by the pen of two chows. He must have had to prove himself still manly after hanging with a princess chihuahua. He was a little worse for wear, so I have him a Rimadyl, called him a shithead, and burst into tears. How was your day?

Apple Sunshine

Sounds like a hippie name, doesn't it? It's the name of Emma's new best friend. Someone who won't stand her up for breakfast, who will keep the weekend free for her that has been planned for months, who will always be happy to see her. It's been a tough change for Emma, hopefully this new someone will make things a bit brighter.

Calculated Acts of Kindness

Africankelli is starting this up. I believe this is her second year. This is something I try to do but am not always regular. I want my kindness to reach to those I do not know. I really try to be a cheerful, helpful person at the Y all the time. I see all kinds of people everyday. I smile and say hello. Occassionally, I'm approached by someone I don't know who feels they can tell me something. I listen and we go our separate ways. Lately, I've not been putting myself out there too much, so it's a perfect opportunity to participate in CAOK. I bought a card for a fellow PT patient, whom I don't know or speak to, but I know is having a particularly bad time. In watching her, watching My Handsome Prince, and Lil' Sister, I want her to know that this, too, shall pass. I hope it gives her a little boost. I've also sent my sister a little boost which will arrive tomorrow. She's the best!