Catching Up

It's been a couple weeks since I have posted.  In that time, I finished a couple of projects, made a couple of cakes, had my dh leave for a week, etc.  Now to try to catch up!

I believe I had already technically finished Mom's orange socks, but had not gotten the puff paints to put something on the soles to try to help her not fall & break a hip in them.  I really had hopped to find something that would blend in with the color, but wasn't able to, so just went with white & drew the outline of hearts on the soles of the socks before sending them off to her.

August 1st our oldest daughter, D. finished her last class for her accounting degree!  She first started in college in the fall of 1996, but through life's many twists & turns, it has taken her a while to get to this point.  I believe over the course of it all, she acquired an Associate's degree from 1 college & in total attending about 4 different colleges.  She went from originally intending to get a dual degree is Mathematics Education & Music Education to Accounting.  But in the process there were 5 kids & 2 husbands involved as well!  I know she is finally glad to be at this point!  And this means that all 3 of our children have finally gotten their 4 year degrees!

I finished that up about the 5th or 6th of August, then on August 8th I mailed them after my dh left for his niece E.'s wedding in the Seattle, WA area.  I was also sending the wedding afghan that I had crocheted for their wedding gift to them.  He had a good visit, I believe, with his parents, siblings & their families.  Unfortunately, for the 1st time in 35 years, I had to chose to not go due to being required to report exactly who I was applying to each day for jobs with my unemployment.  Our town just isn't big enough to be sure I would be able to find enough jobs to apply to online or through email to allow me to go & then not being sure how the internet would work (have been in places that was supposed to have free internet, but was never able to connect), so didn't want to take a chance!


On August 17th I finished my Ruby Sangria shawl from the Bat Cat Designs KAL that I had been working on.  I have another on the needles as well though since I realized shortly after starting that the person I had intended to give Ruby to had already been given a shawl in almost the exact same color.  Oops!  So am now working on an Ancient Ruins color.

I had been working on another of Bad Cat Designs KAL's when I had issues develop last year with my right hand.  I have now tinked back to correct a dropped stitch that I had evidently marked when I was last knitting on my Back to the Garden shawl, figured out where I was and am trying to make sure I do a couple rows per day so that I can get it finished in time for Christmas.  I had intended to give it to my oldest daughter last year for Christmas, but then couldn't when I had issues being able to work on it.

There have also been several twists & turns in getting a great-niece's 15th birthday party done.  Originally her parents had intended to give her a Quince bash like they did for her sister last year, but it seems she had some trouble making up her mind about what she wanted exactly.  In the end, we had cake & ice cream yesterday for her 15th birthday, but she doesn't actually turn 15 for another week or so.  The original party date had been 9/1, then it was changed to 8/11, finally to 8/18.
 

 The weather has gotten cooler over the last couple of weeks.  We have still had some 90+ degree days, but as I am writing this, it is only 67 degrees.  I looked over at my female dog & realized that she looked like she was trying to find some way to get warm.  So I got out her sweater & now she is cuddled up in her bed going to sleep!  Usually I only have their fur cut twice over the summer & the 2nd time I don't have it cut as short as the 1st time, but this summer with trying to not use the AC, I actually bought a set of clippers & cut them about every week to get them through the hottest parts of the summer.  And the female has actually lost some weight over the summer because she didn't feel as much like eating.

I'm going to get a break for a little bit on a 2 disk rental that my dh got.  It's corny, not my taste in a movie, which he is watching in the living room because the TV that he had in the bedroom went out and with his hearing loss, I have trouble thinking straight with it on.  He is planning to go visit with out grandson for a bit, so guess I will deal with it again this evening.  Maybe after a nap I will feel up to it more myself.  It was so bad that I couldn't even lose myself in my knitting since I couldn't concentrate.

My son E. has started taking flying lessons recently.  He is all excited, especially since he works in the airplane industry now that he has graduated with his Mechanical engineering degree.  So he calls me & tells me about his progress after each new event.  He would love it if I could bring myself to fly with him at some point in the future, but I really don't think that will happen.  I am terrified of heights, but I do manage at times to go on commercial airlines.  I just can't even consider the idea of going in a small plane!  When I am on a commercial airline I sit in the aisle seat, avert my eyes from the window, try to distract myself with reading, knitting or crocheting - except for take off & landing usually.  Those times are usually done with my eyes squeezed shut as tight as I can, holding my breath & clutching the seat in front of me so tightly that I am sure the person sitting in it thinks I am trying to snatch it out from under them!

I have to say, I do a little better than I did on my 1st flight when my maternal grandmother had made sure to tell me about, if I never see you again......  I had a 3 month old baby & it was my 1st time flying!  We had gotten a special on our tickets that if we drove to Kansas City & flew United, then we could get our tickets for 1/2 price.  The seats that were available were 1st class going & coach on the return trip.  So we had the best leg room going - 1st row, right side of the plane and when the baby started crying, the flight attendant offered to take her with her while she offered drinks!  Gave me a chance to get myself together & I think helped calm D. down since she had to be picking up on my nerves.

Well, I think I will see about getting a bit of knitting done on the 2 shawls I am working on at the moment.  I did get several rounds done of the legs of a pair of socks yesterday during the party, so I am doing good on those.


Have fun & Happy Crafting until the next time!

Graduations, Stress & Friday Ramblings

We have had 2 more events this week regarding schooling.  This time it was 2 of the grandchildren.  Our 12 year old granddaughter had her 6th grade promotion on Wednesday evening and then our 14 year old grandson had his 8th grade graduation on Thursday evening.

I got a very unexpected call on Wednesday that put us in a bit of panic, but now that we have all had a chance to breath, it's something that while it will take a bit to resolve, seems to be manageable!  The grandkids are probably not going to be happy, but I have decided not to go to the James family reunion this year.  I hope to still see my 2 aunts & my uncle soon, but will probably just have to go to see them at a later time.  This requires my attention now more than a trip that I might want to take.

Today started out smelling like it was going to rain, but nothing has happened so far.  There is a breeze though.  It has finally made it up to 81 degrees.  I put a roast on to make bbq beef sandwiches for dinner, which still sound good, but not quite as good as when it was only 70 degrees out!

We are planning a gathering here on Monday of the local kids & grandkids!  I still need to do a little bit of shopping for it, but at least got more briquets & starter fluid last night while I stopped to get the cats & dogs more food.  The cats had been totally out, the dogs still had some, but I figured I would just take care of both while I was at it.

I need to go to the cemeteries either today or tomorrow.  I just can't do it Monday - too many memories to handle doing it by myself.  Memorial Day 1986 is the last day I saw my Daddy alive!  Next Friday is 26 years since his death.  I was almost 27 years old the day he died, which makes it hard to believe that he has been gone almost 1/2 my life now!  In just 5 years I will be the age he was when he died!

Last night - after the 8th grade graduation, the granddaughters & I went to E. & I.'s home for some fun & games.  I. went shopping with me before I got there & so we had an evening of movies, Simpson's Clue, chips, Mounds & Twizzlers!  I. has said that she will attempt to learn Monopoly on Monday while we have our family bbq at our house.  Now to decide if we will do Hutchopoly, K-State, Millenium, Las Vegas, Elvis, Rudolph, Scooby-Doo or Disney Monopoly!  And I may have even missed 1 or 2 that I have!  Can you tell we like to play Monopoly?  E. says he has a Simpson's Monopoly as well & I know that D. & J. have a reproduction original.

 It looks like I. will get a different car within about a week, which I know she will like.  We thought we had a problem on making it happen right away, but figured out a solution!  When family sticks together, that is how it is - a solution can be found to just about everything!  It may not always be the one we want, but it can work!  That is something that my mother never really got the message on when she tried to keep the family divided!

I believe the grandkids leave for spend the weekend with another set of their grandparents today.  I hope they have a great time, but I really hope they don't forget the sunscreen this year or at least to use it!  Last year C. had a whopper of a sunburn!  I think she is like me - I can get a 2nd degree on my back for instance in about 20 minutes!  So I avoid full on sun every chance I get.

Have fun, have a great weekend, don't forget those have served our country so that we may be free & Happy Crafting!

Monday

It's Monday!  A day that most of us don't like to see come around.  I'm not to certain I like it this week!  I think I must have slept wrong last night because today my left arm feels weird.  The area just above my wrist is sore & achy & I don't know why!  Maybe I will get my foot tub, put some warm water in it & try a soak to see if that helps!  Of course, that will be annoying since while I am doing that, I won't be able to knit or crochet, etc.

I have a feeling it could be related to the fact that I am also annoyed a bit a the moment!  A family member had asked before the weekend if it would be all right to stay here last night so that we could spend some time visiting while they were in town & they wouldn't have to pay for a motel room.  I said yes, just asked that they not come until after 5 pm when the grandkids usually go home.  So since my dh was busy working on his vehicle & didn't want to take the time away from that to drive C. home for me, I called my oldest daughter to ask if they could come pick her up from me instead.  So J. arrived to get her & I started organizing dinner for 4.  The family member never showed up & hasn't called or texted to say they were not coming!  I sent a text this morning & so far have not heard anything back.  I know that this side of my family don't share my feelings of setting a time for when you will arrive & then sticking to it.  I don't know where the difference ever came in since we were all raised in the same home.  I feel doing so is respectful of the other person's feelings, time, etc.  So while I am not one to arrive way early for something, I usually try to arrive within a few minutes of when I say I will be somewhere.  If it is to a job, then I try to be there 3-4 minutes before time to start work.  I think that might come from in the past when we weren't allowed to clock in until 3 minutes before our scheduled time.  But I also know I did it as a young teen.  I was a child that dealt with bullying.  I had very low self-esteem as a result of this & when I got to Jr. High (they call it middle school now) I had it timed as to when I had to leave home to walk to school.  If I was at the stoplight waiting for the walk light to appear when the 1st bell sounded for class & everyone started entering the school, then I would have just enough time to get across the street, up the stairs & into my seat before the 2nd bell sounded.  I think it was 5 minutes.  But I didn't want to stand outside with all the other kids & risk being made fun of or beaten up & this was my way of coping.

It's the end of another year of school in our area this week!  Last Thursday 2 of our grandchildren were involved in an end of the year band concert.  Our grandson T. is finishing 8th grade.  Our oldest granddaughter A. is finishing 6th grade.  Both play brass instruments.  At the time they each started 5th grade in other school districts, the band was the only option for this type of activity.  This school year they have been in a school district that has both band & orchestra.  This is the school district that I went through when I was in school.  I had played the viola for a short period of time.  My own children went to the district that I now live in that is a neighboring district to the one I attended growing up.  The district my children went through only had band & it is the district that my grandson attended when he started 5th grade.  Then they had moved to a different district by the time my granddaughter was starting 5th grade.  At the time each of these grandchildren started band, their family had some financial issues that might have made a difference in them being able to participate, so I made the decision to be the one to buy them their 1st instrument.  After buying the 1st, then I feel to treat all grandchildren alike, I need to continue.  Not all people agree, but my feeling is that I don't want any of the grandchildren to feel that someone else is my favorite - if anything, I want them each to feel they are my favorite, if only at the time I am with that child!  Anyway, we have 2 grandchildren down & 3 to go at this point.  The new district that 3 of the grandchildren attend has students starting band or orchestra in 6th grade now instead of 5th.  And I believe that is the same for the other 2 granddaughters.  So that means, I don't need to buy any this year!  And no new grandchildren will be starting band this next fall.  But the 2 that are in band, had a joint 6-12 grade concert last Thursday evening that we attended!  I had the though while listening to them that I wondered how many of the parents & grandparents that were there were people I went through school with.  I know my daughter D. mentioned that 1 of the band directors was someone she had attended college with!  This wouldn't even be a thought if I didn't live within minutes of the same area I moved to when I was just 2 years old!

On May 12th our 2nd child graduated college with his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering!  That same day a 2nd child's spouse graduated in a different state from medical school.  This was his 2nd time graduating & he is off to his end career!  We stayed close to home, spent time with in-laws & attended our child's graduation.  I made 2 cakes for the family for this - the mortarboard cake is a devils food cake & the white cake is a sugar free cake with my fil in mind in particular.  My in-laws were only in the area for 2 days, so we tried to spend as much time as possible with them.  While doing this, we realized we had 4 generations of my dh's family in 1 place at 1 time, so we decided to get some pictures of it!

I took a break from the computer & had a nap.  My mouse wasn't working quite right, my arm was hurting & I got frustrated.  Now everything seems to be working better!  Left-overs for dinner since the company never arrived yesterday, so that makes that part easy!  I think I will just have a quiet evening with some needlework & TV.  Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Have fun & Happy Crafting until the next time!