Moving again

I have friends who say that they just don't even bother putting my address in pen in their address books, as they know they will be erasing it. I even was so bold as to declare that "this will be my last move"...I PROMISE!!! I had friends laugh at me! Imagine....
....BUT they were right I guess...My youngest dd decided almost 2 yrs ago that she would buy a home and let Mom rent it ...that would be her part in "taking care of Mom" as I approached my mid-50's without enough cash for a downpayment of my own...It is sad to admit but true!
Well this has proved to be a bit of a rough 2 years...for several reasons. Job wise, I was working for people who I felt were somewhat unethical and in addition were suffering some serious financial problems. They are still in business and I left on ood terms. I am now beginning to enjoy the fruits of selling new homes (not real estate) and although it takes a while to realize those fruits in terms of a pay cheque it will happen. Meantime, debts have piled up and I must ifnd somewhere more economical to live. I have done so and will move next week. Oh joy oh bliss!
OTOH, "renting" from someone in the family proved to be a rather bad idea. 'nuf said I guess...My youngest DD and I have a rather strained relationship anyway so needless to say, it is better to be out from under and cut my mthly abode payment by half!!

On the knitting front, I continue along on Cherry Blossom, on the 5th repeat of 12 of the last chart! I may have to make that a repeat of 10, I shall see how the yarn holds out...I do have an edging to knit as well.
I do need to get busy on the Sockalatwozer socks, or I will be really burning the needles at the beginning of Sept. That is the problem I know I have time yet...oh I am the best at waiting for the pressure to be self inflicted..yikes

Hope this finds you with no pressure and knitting nice 8" squares in memory of a nice young man. Check out Annie's
blog

Whew, they are gone!

I am almost afraid to admit to having looked forward to T and the kids departing for their home in Japan. Our relationship took a beating again and sometimes I think she expected that I would want to be with the kids all the time.

While any Grama knows, spending time with ones grands is special, I don't like to think that I "have to" or that I do it because I am told "now is convenient"!!

I guess in the unfolding of life, (after all we don't have total control over how it plays out), I have come to the realization that my life needs to be more simple. Both for financial reasons and because loading life up with unnecessary stress is just a recipe for trouble.

So as I prepare for yet another move, to a very inexpensive apartment, I will be off loading "stuff". Getting rid of "things"...to some degree, ridding one's self of concrete "stuff" helps with the emotional simplification as well I think.

Am I rambling..? you bet! Should I be packing? Of course! Will I knit instead? pffft you bet I will!!! I think it is called avoidance..however it will all get done.

I am now on Round 3 of the last 12 rounds on the Cherry Blossom Shawl. Pictures should be forth coming...soon! Anyone want to help me put in a link? For some reason I am having trouble making it look nice by being able to just click on Annie's name when I type it..duh is me...and would like to let you know of Annie's (www.knittygritty.net) co-ordination of knitting squares to become an afghan in memory of Kirsten's brother-in-law whose life, along with 2 of his pals was senselessly ended recently.

Hope there is some simplification in your life today and of course, knitting too! ss

Socks, socks and socks

Need to update Alison on the status of my sockapa-two-zer socks. I am about half way down the foot from a top down pair. I knit socks two on two so I have a pair complete once they are done! I love it and no fiddling with dpn's...or losing them...or breaking them...

I am amazed at the work that Alison does to keep us all updated and sometimes motivated. I know with "Summer of Lace" and Sock knitting and all the other demands we are a busy bunch of knitters and all efforts are appreciated.

Hope this finds you in a comfortable knitting zone and enjoying your day.

I sleep on my side...

and so do my cats, sleep on MY side I mean!! I am "wide of hip" and most always sleep on my side. One of my cats, named by my 8 yo grandaughter Ali as Boots, like the padding or as you can well imagine the heightened view from "up there"!
By the time I got settled last night (later than most nights for some reason), and my "brood" all snuggled where they want to be, I was ready to get out of bed again as they kept shifting...or was it me and they shifted in response to my shifts??

Guess that would conclude they are affected by moods and in particular mine as the only human who lives in this house.
They love it when I settle in for a long leg of knitting in my comfy chair. I think Tipper (the Bichon) can tell that it is a long stint as I settle with my water, my yarn and pattern etc. She has some trouble deciding which "side" to settle in on but nevertheless it is always the side from which I have to remove either my butt or books, knitting gadget bag etc. The cats (the aforementioned Boots) and her sister Socks, soon follow, one behind me usually on the back of the chair and the other on my lap or beside my legs on the footstool. As I said, feel like a brood hen alot of the time but do love the attention and the unquestioning loyalty no matter what the mood.

It is interesting to explore the types of pets we knitters have. Nipperknits suggested to me that the Bichon Frise is the knitter's dog. Apparently many knitters have the little sweethearts as pets. Cats are certainly often found as knitter's pets and we all know of several who make their daily appearance. For some reason pics are not going to work today, in fact I am having trouble linking to Nipper's site as well. Will try more again.

Otherwise, I hope your day is full of knitterly things and pets that love you.

Gettin' your Knittin' Groove on...!

Do you ever just get "in the groove"? I am presently knitting Meadow Flowers Shawl from Knitter's Stash and it is a nice knit, as long as I stay focused on the count...but do you ever notice that when you tire and don't pay as close attention as you should, you knit more slowly and perhaps not as "correctly"?

I know, I know there is no RIGHT way to knit, but I knit the British way and throw my yarn. That means that if I get going quickly and can maintain a nice cadence, if my needles are not inserted too far into the stitch, I can maintain a nice easy pace without wasting time on a technically incorrect or wasteful step! I guess all this blithering about technically "correct" and "proper" stitch makes me a process knitter but I also love the product too so I believe I am a bit of both.

I just know that knitting soothes me a great deal, it allows thoughts to float, ideas to form and takes me a million miles from what is possibly stressful. Otoh, I can think through a stressful situation and gain a different perspective on it while knitting ...and "gettin' my groove on"..!

Hope this day finds you with a neat groove and a restful cadence..

ss