Awesome!

I've recently become aware & enamored of the website 1000 Awesome Things. People, there are some seriously awesome things going on out there around you. Here are some of my awesome things for today:

• Christmas albums from my childhood: John Denver & The Muppets, The Chipmunks, and Charlie Brown. AWESOME!


• Not one... not two... but THREE colleagues brought me samplings from their Thanksgiving tables. AWESOME!


• Someone told me they liked me today. AWESOME!


• I saw pictures of my sister's baby belly going up against my dad's beer belly for supremacy. Made me laugh and laugh. AWESOME!


• I ripped back a scarf that I've been knitting for two years, off & on, because I wasn't 100% happy with it. I'm retasking the yarn for something else. I wouldn't have attempted such a thing just a few years ago. Gaining new skills & confidence in something you love to do? AWESOME!

I know there's more, but having this many awesome things rattle right off the top of my head is pretty cool.

Go check out the 1000 Awesome Things website. I bet you'll recognize lots of their awesome things.

I Got Things To Make

I need more time. I got things to make! In no particular order, they are:

• Socks for Sam, in trade for a lace shawl he's making me. Lace. I hates it, Precious. He likes it & rocks at it, so we're swapping. Clever!


• Baby stuff for my not-here-yet nephew. I'm thinking blanket & socks & hats & maybe some legwarmers to go with the onesies.


• Groundhog's monkey. Kinda stalled on that.


• My Halloween costume. There's a definite due date on that thing; either have to get to work or revise my costume plans.


• My Christmas knitting stuff. Holy cats, Christmas is just a few weeks away. That hurts.


• A sweater. For me. I freakin' love sweaters & have yet to make myself a single sweater. That's pitiful!


• A beet for Dwight Schrute. Yes. We're making beets for Dwight. No, that's not weird. Really, it's not.


• The cashmere scarf. Really need to decide if I'm continuing on with it as a scarf or frogging it and making other things with that yarn. I'm pretty OK with the idea of frogging it: Re-knit all that cashmere? Really? Yeah, twist my arm. :P~

Crossing the Finish Line

Yesterday my husband, an avid runner, registered for the Philadelphia Distance Run. This is noteworthy because it's his first race since 2006, when he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The short version is that rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable autoimmune disease where the body's immune system turns on itself & attacks joint tissue; people living with RA can be treated with different medicines that mask the symptoms, but the disease's progression can't be stopped... only slowed.

(He's been writing first-person accounts of his experiences with RA on his blog; have a look if you're curious.)

I won't ever forget how helpless I felt watching him try to live a "normal" life while in so much pain, or how awful & cruel it seemed that something he loved so much - running - was next to impossible for him due to his traitorous immune system. I won't ever forget how at times it seemed so hopeless that he'd ever feel better, and that a simple thing like getting out of bed or using the stairs could be done without pain. It was terrible to watch him flinch in pain when someone shook his hand or inadvertently stepped on his foot. It was tough to not hold my beloved's hand as we walked down the street because that caused pain at worst or discomfort at best.

Most of all, I won't ever forget the first visit we made together to his current rheumatoligist. The young male doctor reviewed Tony's charts & past RA prescriptions and announced it was long past time for more aggressive treatments. He was so confident that Tony would start feeling better under his care, but I was skeptical; Tony had suffered for so long that it seemed unlikely that this man - no matter how confident - could make a difference through medicines. When Dr. Rheumatologist stated in the same visit that he saw no reason why Tony wouldn't be able to run again, I started crying. Hard. It was too much to hope for, that Tony would get back so much of his life *and* also be able to pursue running again. I didn't want to be greedy; I would've settled for days without him being in constant pain. I can't speak for him, but I bet he felt similarly.

Now, here we are. It's taken time, but Tony's running again. It's incredible... the best icing on the best cake. He'll cross the P.D.R. finish line on Sunday September 20th 2009, and I'll be there - crying with joy - as he does it. On Monday the 21st, I'll send a note (with a picture of Tony crossing the finish line enclosed) to his rheumatologist, thanking him for making a difference.

Auntie

What does one do when one is overflowing with happiness?

One tells the internet.

So, Internet, you should know... I'm going to be an Auntie! My beloved sister & her fantastic husband are expecting their first child. I can't wait to support them however I can during their journey as parents.

I also can't wait to spoil & love the hell out of my future niece or nephew. ;)

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, 2009 Edition

I bought more than I wanted to this year, but I blame two factors: a) this was the first year I waited in line to get into The Fold [the vendor who sells Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Socks that Rock] in the morning when the stock is most plentiful, and b) I'm a sucker for rich, saturated color.



Clockwise, from top left:

1. Meadow Medley Dragon's Stash superwash sock yarn - 1 skein
2. The Barefoot Spinner superwash sock yarn - 2 skeins
3. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock, Mediumweight - 3 skeins of mill ends
4. Tess' Designer Yarns Supersock & Baby - 2 skeins
5. Still River Mills Cashmere - 1 skein
6. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock, Lightweight - 6 skeins
7. Gale's Art roving sampler pack & a drop spindle - I think the spindle had a name of its own (trindle?); it was designed by a high school physics teacher to spin longer. The shaft is black wood, the center bead is wooden, and the edge beads are pink glass. This is my first foray into spinning, and thus far... I'm finding it more difficult than expected. :)

Upcoming things

I feel a need to list out what I have going on in the near future.
* Neko Case show this Friday
* Ten-year anniversary next weekend
* ladies' weekend in the Poconos the last weekend in April
* Maryland Sheep & Wool festival the first weekend in May
* town-wide yard sale & a wedding the second weekend in May
* family wedding in Atlanta the third weekend in May
* friend's comedy show in NJ the fourth Saturday in May
* Memorial Day weekend
* my birthday in June
* friend's wedding in the Catskills the first weekend in August

Pshew! April and May will be busy.

Ray at the Tower Theater

Saturday night, I saw Ray LaMontagne & his talented band play at the Tower Theater outside Philadelphia. He was fantastic just as I expected, and he played a really good mix of songs from all three released albums. I also found a new group to enjoy: the opening act, The Low Anthem, was right up my musical alley; I already bought the three albums they have available in the iTunes store.

What I *didn't* like was how jerky so many people around me were acting. Talking through songs, taking many flash pictures, shouting at the band during songs rather than just between songs, repeated trips to the bar for more beer... ugh. There was even a fight of some kind that disrupted one of the slow-tempo songs (my favorite one, naturally). A fight! At a singer-songwriter show! I mean, I could understand & overlook a fight at a rock show, but his music just isn't that way. There's no mosh pit at this kind of show. Grr. I know, I know... You kids get off my lawn!

Oh well. I had a really good seat (~6 rows back from the stage, in a curved section, on the aisle so no one was directly in front of me) and the sound seemed really good to me. At times, it was fiercely difficult to be there without Star, but I'm glad I went.

Friday night is Neko Case's sold-out show at the Keswick Theater; that should be another excellent show.

Springtime Socks

I finished the first of a new pair of socks for myself; I didn't use a real pattern but instead used a recipe that'd fit my foot & a cable stitch pattern from a dictionary. It's probably the most complex & prettiest sock I've made yet, and I can't wait to design more. Next up will be a pair for Mom for her birthday & Mother's Day; I think I'll create a design instead of using a dictionary or a pattern.

Side view:


Top view:


Close up:

Another way in which the internet is odd

Those of you who know me realize that I have a... thing... for knitting. Love it. Seriously, love it. Love it so much that I read all I can about it when I'm not actually doing it.

There's a lady in the knitting world known as the Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee); she's been described as the "Michael Jordan of the knitting world" so non-yarnies can get a sense of how wildly popular she is with the yarnies.

Anyway, I've been following her blog & books for years. When I started reading her blog, her nephew Hank was young enough that she was knitting him dragon mittens. Now, Hank has just turned nine.

This fact is relevant to my blog post's title because when I read that Hank was turning nine, I thought to myself "Wow. I can't believe Hank is nine already."

How odd that it would make me stop & pause for a moment that a kid I've never met and never will meet is older than I expect him to be, and that I remembered when he was wearing dragon mittens. I mean, I have moments all the time where I'm struck by how mature & grown the Young Sir is, but that's to be expected. I live with him!

But to pause because Hank's turned nine? AND, I'm not the only one! I skimmed the comments for the post where Stephanie mentioned Hank's birthday, and lots of people were struck by the same thing.

Is the world really this small now?

Here I come, Maryland

I've been wavering about taking the delightful & comfortable & super convenient bus from Rosie's Yarn Cellar down to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival this year. Should I go at all? It's not like I need more yarn. Do I want to take the bus, which leaves before the nighttime parties start? I mean, last year I missed the Ravelry nighttime party and was sad. Some Pantsers are talking about getting together at Rhinebeck, which I haven't attended yet... should I go to Rhinebeck instead?

Screw it. I booked my seat. I love going to that festival, so by gosh... I'm going. I'll deal with Rhinebeck decisions later. Maybe it'll work out so I can go to Rhinebeck for the whole weekend & go to nighttime parties there.