Photog Friday - Hope

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

Big Red is Home!

My truck, known as Big Red, is home! And it works! And it's been detailed so there aren't any old, dirty gummy bears in the carpet or old french fries between the seats! Wahoo!!!!

That Didn't Take Long

Wow, that didn't take long. I had a great phone call with my friend and now I feel human again!It was one of those phone calls where we talked about everything and nothing and it was apparently exactly what I needed. Thanks special girl!

Photog Friday - Courage

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." - -Ambrose Redmoon

Car Repair Update

As you may remember, a few days ago I whined about my car needing repairs. I still don't have my car after 2 and a half weeks. Just to recap, the first mechanic who took my engine apart literally had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. Then another mechanic put it back together, though it still wasn't working right. Another (we are on mechanic number 3 at this point) took my engine apart again. Guess what? I just found out that he got fired. Why? He failed his drug test! OMG! Now mechanic number 4 is trying to put the engine back together after druggie mechanic took it apart. I need a drink.

L-o-n-g Weekend Update #1

Monkey Boy has been gone from the house 7 minutes and he has already called home. He wanted to talk to the dog!

Happy St. Pat's

Photog Friday - Beginning or End?

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." - Ivy Baker

Parking Problems, Really

Yesterday I was whining about the fact the teacher certification exam is Saturday in Savannah on St. Pat's. In it's infinite wisdom, the government of the Great State of Georgia realized that it screwed up with scheduling, two days before the test. They let me know with this spiffy email:

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE MARCH 17TH ADMINISTRATION OF THE GEORGIA ASSESSMENTS FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF EDUCATORS (GACE).Please be advised that traffic may be heavy and parking may be limited in the Savannah area during the weekend of March 17th due to St. Patrick's Day festivities. Please allow extra time for travel and arrange to carpool or be dropped off and picked up, if possible. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.Illegally parked cars may be towed at the owner's expense.Please do not respond to this email.

Gee, thanks.

It's a Boy!

My friend, who has recently started her own blog, and her husband have been going through the legal process of having her husband adopt her son from a previous marriage. As of yesterday, the adoption was complete! Be sure to stop by her blog and congratulate her. Thanks!

The 'new' Daddy, the forever Mommy (who would want me to tell you that she was pregnant in this photo!) and K-man.

It's Just a Job

I had to run a bunch of errands today including getting a new sticker for my car tag. I waited patiently in line and when it was my turn, I cheerfully asked the lady behind the counter how she was doing. She totally went off about how bad her day was, how a million little things were annoying her and so on. I looked at her and said, "Do what I do. Tell yourself over and over again that's it's just a job. It doesn't define you. It's just a paycheck." She actually reached out, took my hand and told me that she really needed to hear that! And she wasn't being sarcastic! I was so shocked. I mean, when was the last time that someone at a tax office touched you! She showed me a photo of her kids and told me that I reminded her that they were important and the other stuff was just noise. Wow!

Walks

I love walking with Monkey Boy. He's at that age where video games and music are far more interesting than spending time being under Mom's feet. Not that he's antisocial, he's just distracted. So one-on-one time has become more special to me.

Here in my part of the South, it got up to 75 degrees today. I asked Monkey Boy if he wanted to walk on the beach. He said yes as long as we didn't walk too far (Soon-to-be-ex makes him go on 4 mile walks and wonders why Monkey Boy hates to go on walks) and I agree. Words pour out of Monkey Boy when we walk: girls who have flirted with him, girls he likes, details of the latest episode of his favorite show, play by play info about the soccer game he played at school, what he had for lunch, his observations about the jellyfish he saw on the sand and so on. I love connecting with him in this way. He runs up and down the rocks at the edge of the beach, trying to beat his best time.

On the way back from the beach we walk past some clovers. He looks for a four leaf one and ponders what will happen if he ever finds an eight leaf clover. Would it result in an entire week of perfect luck?

As we cross the road to our home, he puts his warm hand in mine for a moment, letting go to race through the gate to pet his puppy. He shows me the latest karate move that he has 'invented.' As I open the door, he pretends that he has used magic to open it. All is right with my world.

Update from the Knitting Retreat

I've been busy recovering from a lovely bout of strep. I'm still not up to par, but I able to sit upright for more than 30 minutes at a time. Last weekend I went to a knitting retreat in Boone, NC. It was wonderful!!!! It was hosted by Baskets of Yarn which is located in Charlotte. Betsy, the owner, is a joy. We stayed at Appalachian State University in the Broyhill Inn. This was a great place to have the retreat because: (1) Everything was provided for us in one location: food, room and classrooms, (2) the location was beautiful, and (3) it was only 2 hours from a major airport. I was really impressed with the classes offered. My favorite was the Noni Night Garden Felted Evening Bag. Here a picture of it completed. I have one more flower to finish and then I can felt mine and put it together:
I also really liked the Chimera Coat class. I learned a better way to increase than I had been using and how to knit two sleeves at the same time. I really like the yarn we are using. Is Lana Gatto's Chimera. Here is the pattern picture and the colorway I picked:


The one class I wasn't totally thrilled with was the lace class. The yarn we used was an amazingly fine mohair. While the yarn was gorgeous, it was a challenge to work with. I found myself struggling with the yarn instead of focusing on the lace knitting.


Of course the best part of the retreat was reconnecting with my knitsibs! It was so great seeing Jodi, Linda and Melissa. They are so much fun! I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. As soon as I picked them up at the airport it was as if we had never been apart.


My roomie was Melissa. She is so amazing. She's funny, cute and brilliant. Check it out: She's an engineer at Motorola. Her divorce was final a couple of weeks ago so we could lick out wounds together. One night we were sitting in our room knitting and listening to tunes from my iPod and I swear I could hear her thoughts. I looked at her and said, "Don't you feel like we are back in college?" She squealed that she was just thinking that and I told her that she must have been thinking REALLY loud! Here's me and my roomie:


I can't wait to go back next year! We are trying to find another retreat to go to in the fall. And Melissa and I are talking about going on a cruise together. Life is good.

Photog Friday - New Doorways

Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, March 4, 2007

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." - Helen Keller

Felt Like Felting

I have made my first felted item and I love it! It's also the first purse I've ever knitted and the first time I've created my own design. Happy dance! I made it with Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes. At just $1.99 a ball, this yarn is amazing. I knitted this single stranded with #8 needles and it is gorgeous. I worked with some wool over the weekend that was about 3 times the price and had to be knitted double stranded and still didn't felt as well as this.

I have the Sweetest Kid in the World!

Monkey Boy is the sweetest kid in the world. He was just watching an episode of "Full House" where Danny, the father, goes out on a date for the first time. The girls weren't too excited about it and were trying to find a way to get their dad to cancel it. Monkey Boy said, "You know, Mom, if you want to go out on a date once you and Dad are divorced, it's OK with me. I just want to you to be happy." This from my wonderful 10 year-old-boy.

I'm all verklemt. Talk amongst yourselves.

Photog Friday - Discovery

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

* Sorry this was a few days late. I was out of town.