Knit One, Purl One: A Knitter's Mantra

I love to knit! Anyone who knows me is not surprised when I pull a skein of yarn and some needles out of my purse or bag when sitting for any time longer than five minutes. I always have a project but not always a purpose.

My knitting needles sat idle for many years when my children were in sports and school activities. I never had much time to sit, let alone be creative. About four years ago I picked up my needles again and have relished our time together since then. It is not uncommon for me to come home after a day's work and sit down with a cup of hot tea and pick up on my project where I left off. Very little relaxes me more than that. Just sitting down for a length of time is a struggle for me so I believe the old saying "busy hands are happy hands."

I love making children's clothes and hats, afghans, and adult sweaters. Aran knits pose a challenge for me and there's nothing more I like than a challenge. I will rip out half of a sweater if I make one little mistake. Perfection is a must in my work. I take great pride in my goods. My knitted works are usually gifts for someone, seldom do they end up in my house. Steve often asks, "Who are you making that for?" I usually don't have an answer, it's just fun to make something new.

I would never want to know how many hours I put into each piece because I would be astounded. If I charged even minimum wage for a fisherman's wool sweater the cost would be prohibitive. These are labors of love and the cost is priceless. What amount can you put on something that soothes your nerves, gives you time to think, alleviates the ADHD tendency in me, and results in gifts to give to friends? Call if you need anything. This long, cold winter has helped me add to my inventory.

Fabulous Hat

Every once in a while, a fashion might strike my fancy. Although I'm not really into the whole fashion scene, I am impressed when I see someone pull something off that fascinates me. Today, it was Aretha Franklin and her fabulous hat.

When I first saw it, I thought, "Man, how great is that!" She is such an impressive enough woman with her strong, decisive voice and spirit that she hardly needed the hat. But it sure worked for her. What pizazz. I didn't know that hats like that were even made any more. What a great fashion statement.

I remember my grandmother and her hats. She never went anywhere without one, especially if you were going out. It didn't matter if it was to the grocery store or church, you wore a hat. I still have some of those hats hanging in my house or tucked away in those antique hat boxes. They make me smile when I see them.

Maybe hats will come back. If I could look as good and carry off hats the same way that Aretha can, I would be at the mall tomorrow.

I've Been For A Walk On A Winter's Day

The Mamas and Papas used this phrase in one of their more popular songs, California Dreaming. For those of you who have never heard of the Mamas and Papas, they were a very popular, folksy kinda group very famous during the 70's.

Football playoffs were on TV and I wasn't interested. I didn't feel much like sitting and had little to do in the house. Going shopping meant I would spend money so I was looking for alternatives.

As I looked outside, I noticed that it had just begun snowing and there was no wind whatsoever, temperature 27, very warm considering what we had been through last week, and so a walk seemed in order to clear out the cobwebs. After donning mittens, a goose down coat, scarf, and my Uggs, I was set to conquer Old Man Winter.

It was glorious. I was alone in the world with snow softly swirling around me. There is a calmness and peacefulness that comes with a walk like this. Sounds are exacerbated, small motions by animals scurrying through the snow are easily evident, and one can get lost in their own thoughts. Before I knew it, I was one mile away from home and not in the least bit cold. Other than the evening beginning to settle, I had no reason to begin the trek home but alas, daylight leaves quickly this time of the year.

I drug my feet in the snowdrifts, tried to see if I could stay atop the deeper ones, sometimes falling in but high boots prevented me from being distraught about that. I looked at tracks in the snow and imagined the animals who had also made this journey, wondering what their intent might have been. Our dog accompanied me part of the way but got tired of my meandering and went about his own pace. I decided as long as I could see the lights of the farm I would make it home safely.

All good things must come to an end but the calmness and tranquility will stay with me for quite a while. God and I worked out a lot of things during this walk. I had no set agenda to talk to Him about, but we visited nonetheless. What a special gift to be given a day like this. It's ours for the taking and free. If that isn't a gift, I don't know what is!

CICOHAGT

For the past I don't know how many years, a group of teachers and those connected with education have met every payday at a local coffee shop, which is every two weeks. We span a wide range of ages, from the teacher who is in his second year to those of us with well over 25 years of experience. We aren't all teachers at the same school, though at one time most of us have taught with someone else in the group.

We visit about things that educators would tend to visit about. We share family stories, vacation plans, and ways to save the world. But mostly we just cherish each other. At 6:30 in the morning, we depend on our friends to help us wake up and get us motivated until the next payday and we meet again.

Last year we gave ourselves a name: CICOHAGT: Committee In Charge Of Having A Good Time. Kind of hokey, but it gets us through. We have enjoyed our visits so much that we will drive through rain, snow, sleet, and -23 degree weather to have coffee. As a matter of fact, we have gone to a weekly meeting, every Friday, to share and commiserate with each other.

So, if you're ever in town, awake at 6:30 on a Friday morning and you have nothing to do, drop on down to Innkeepers and join us for a cup of coffee. No admission needed. A new person just means a new perspective, which we always welcome.

How Cold Was It? It was so cold......

I nearly froze to death. Minus 27 here on Thurs. night, a new record low. Who comes up with those numbers? I always did have a challenge when it came to math and negative numbers, but I understand these numbers real well. They are extremely "negative."

My students were asking me at what point it is too cold. I hated to tell them we were there but I explained to them that at minus 40, a person could spit and it would be frozen before it hit the ground (I would already be frozen and wouldn't even have the chance to spit!) Then I was telling them about Barrow, Alaska, way up north, where the daily HIGH temperature since the beginning of winter was, hold your breath, minus 31. The average HIGH! And I think I have it bad. They passed an unwritten "law" of sorts in Alaska this winter that said students could go outside to play during recess at school if the temperature was above minus 20. I guess they got tired of staying in. Looks like they got to go outside for recess today!

You know, when you think you have it bad, there is always someone worse off than you. Case closed!