Family Time

 We had a lovely visit with our daughter last weekend.  I still do not feel up to traveling.  We had planned to travel to visit her and celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary. Then do a little more exploring before heading back home.   

She took morning walks with John. Followed by awesome breakfast conversation.  We did a lot of taking.  Just having the alone time with her was awesome. As usual we were very bad with pictures so none will be posted. 

She did a deep dive into my jewelry making supplies while I napped.  She created a beautiful one of a kind necklace.  I sent her home with both glass beads and pearls. I can’t wait to see what she creates.  The only lesson that she really needed was how to handle the jump rings.  What to me years to perfect took her less than 10 minutes.  She is just so talented and awesome.  

We really appreciated that she took time out of her very busy life to spend time with us.  

40 Years

 What does forty years of marriage feel like?  Well I can tell you that it went by in a blink of the eye.  There are ups and downs. Things don’t always turn out as planned, but somehow we got through it.  There are dreams that had to be put on hold and then tossed aside as no longer realistic.  There were new dreams to be made that tried to fill the void that the old dreams left.  Don’t get me wrong they were good.  However nothing replaces the dreams of youth when everything was possible.  I have a few regrets but many, many more joys in life.  

Would I do it all over again? Yes, with one caveat.  Only with this man at my side. We did not always agree with the mind of an artist versus the mind of science and logic.  Although deep down our core values were the same.  

We were over joyed to have 2 beautiful and thoughtful children.  They are as different as night and day. They loved us and most importantly each other.  They learned to work together as only siblings can.  They did, in my opinion, grow up much too fast. In their opinion not fast enough. They were strong and confident enough to follow their own dreams and path in life.  I am so glad that they allowed us to be part of that life. It is a great privilege to be able to call them our children. They both took us on great adventures.  I think the adventures that they took us on were some of the best adventures in our lives.  

Life as newlyweds was awesome.  Then on to children. Then balancing our core family 4 was very time consuming.  Each child with their own diverse needs.  That was a very hectic period in our lives.  Then caring for some of our elders which made life even more hectic.  It literally took me years to dig myself out of that overwhelmed time of life.  

Now as we contemplate the next forty years together we still have plans and places to go.  Try to keep up with us if you can.  We do know that the best of life is yet to come.  

Good Times

 We have had a special visitor for a few day.  I am trying not to over do it, but of course I am failing miserably.  We are having a great time.  I am sure we will pack as much fun as we can into this time. 

In other news. My feet have made it down to a medium width.  No wonder I was sliding out of some old favorite shoes.  I found a pair I was looking for in an independent shoe store in Massachusetts.  They are a discontinued shoe from the manufacturer. So I was very lucky to get a pair in the color and size I wanted.

I am revisiting my Handspun Sherbet Shawl pattern and knitting it in a lace weight yarn. On US 4 knitting needles.  Yes, I am actually enjoying knitting with this yarn from Queensland.  I am actually very mindful when knitting with this yarn. I picked up the yarn on LYS day at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.  I will release a sister pattern when I am done.  I am so far behind in getting new patterns out of the house.  

Please remember that Monday is a solemn Day for many people in the military and Gold Star families.  This is a day to remember the sacrifices of many good men and women so that we may enjoy our freedom.  Please be extra kind this weekend.  

13.5 Inches

 I have taken in a skirt I wore to my daughter’s wedding by 13.5 inches. The new elastic waist band is 13.5 inches shorter than what I took out.  I can still wear it with flats.  Let me say the altering a 100% silk skirt with a loose weave is harder than it looks.  I would like to thank Vicky at Grandmas Spinning Wheel for the suggestion of using 100% cotton thread in the sewing machine.  It worked out well.  

I do not like the special needle that I needed to use with silk.  The eye was too small for the automatic threader. I had to turn my sewing machine on its side to see the tiny eye of the needle.  This was done 4 times.  The needle did not seem to want to hold the thread in between my short areas of stitches.  

The only decision left is do I hand wash it in Soak Wash or take it to the dry cleaners?  

I will say that I really don’t feel like I have really lost that many inches or that much weight.  I am wondering if that is because my weight loss stalled when I got sick in mid February? I am getting really tired of being sore, out of breath and almost nonexistent energy.  I still am open to borrowing someone’s magic wand.  

Although I am knitting more. I am not getting as much knitting done as I thought I would.  Today’s finish project will be featured in a new knitting pattern.  This will come out as soon as I can possibly get it finished.  

TTFN

Mother’s Day and More

 I had a good Mother’s Day.  John gave 110% compared to my bodies 10%.  The day after our 40th wedding anniversary will mark the 3 month mark in dealing with my current health issues.  I am so over it.  If anyone has a magic wand that they know works and is willing to lend it to me, I would really appreciate it.  Otherwise I will be sitting around waiting for my body to get its act together.  My mind is already starting to go to the I have got to go and do things mode.

I have learned this week why a lot of anniversary jewelry is in multiples of 3.  The answer seems very simple if you give it a quick think. No, the answer is not 49.  It’s yesterday, today and tomorrow.  I just realized tonight that the piece I got for our 20th anniversary also has 3 stones.  It is a very nice sediment.  

Tomorrow’s  plans include finishing up a couple of sewing repairs. Finishing 3 dog pillows.  The folding up the sewing room for a while.  I bet once I have everything off the floor, I can convince Roomba to vacuum it a couple of times to get the light stuff off before we bring in the regular vacuum.  Between making jewelry, winding yarn and sewing the floor hangs on to a lot of lint.  Then a good dusting and vacuuming one more time.  I never know when that floor will be vacuum again so I might as well do it a couple of times.  

In knitting news I will have another pounder scarf done this week.  I think I have my birthday present picked out. I just need to talk to one more friend before I can order it.  

TTFN

After 49 Months

 I know that I don’t do a lot of driving around town.  I do have definite proof now. This was my odometer reading as I was leaving home today.  Yes, the light was red and I was stopped when I took this picture.  I finally hit 12,001 miles after having my car for 4 years and 1 month.  I was being to wonder if this day would ever happen. Considering that this is the average 1 year mileage milestone for a car in the United States is 12,000 miles, just wow. 

Now the real question we are all asking at this point is….Does the legendary driver…you know her by her moniker….The Little Old Lady from Pasadena drive more or less than I do?   

In other news I have picked out a new e-spinner today.  It spins as well as any drop spindle that I have.  I can compare it to a Forrester, Golding or Bosworth.  I did not think that was possible. Now I just have to pick out the wood and accessories for it. Since it has scotch tension I will have to see if John will be able to print me more bobbins or order more with the wheel.   Think that after chores tomorrow we will discuss wood choices. I initially thought that having very hard wood would protect it in falls. Not so much.  Apparently the dynamics of hard wood, it would cause it to split. Where’s a softer wood would just dent a little. John thinks the best choice is not to be klutzy around the e-spinner. I will show pictures once it arrives.  I will think about a battery for travel too. 

Recovery Might Be Possible

 I felt better today than since the middle of February when this whole thing started. I still kept things easy and took a nap.  I am going to bed early too. 

I Over Did It Today

 Today, after a very slow start to my day, I  cleaned out half my closet.  I managed to fill a large box for Goodwill that John will have to take in.  I then hung up the new shirts.  Then proceeded to go through the other half of the closet rack.  I pulled out clothes that I will never wear again and added them to the Goodwill box to make it even heavier.  Pulled some clothing out that I think will now fit. Then sorted the clothes into light and dark wash.  Then I did one,  just one load of laundry by myself.  It is now drying in the garage.

Apparently some of my clothes thought it would be a fun idea to get longer with out telling me   So one of my favorite skirts witless have to have the waist sewn down to make it shorter. Because of the design it, can’t be hemmed.  I did a brief search and could not find it in a petite size  they only come with a 36 inch long skirt which is now too long. Sighs.

Apparently my body thought that I did too much work today and let me know in no uncertain terms that this will not be tolerated right now. So after some rest I made a very light supper of scrambled eggs and mixed vegetables, with fruit for dessert.  

After dinner we watched some television.  I spent most of the night perfecting my left handed knitting skills.  I have to say that I am getting faster and my stitches more even.  I am working on a pounder scarf while we watch television.  I currently have 3 pounder scarfs in progress.  One for television, one for knitting with friends and one by the computer.  Not to be remiss, I also have 3 shawls in progress, one hat and 3 scarfs. I should really work on finishing some of the projects so I can start casting on more projects.  I can’t manage to do one project from start to finish right now. I am just a bit scattered and out of focus.  

TTFN, I am calling it an early night. 

The Last Resort

 Today a decision was made out of necessity.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know that I am not a fan of fast fashion.  I was born into a generation of children who learned to take shoes to the shoe maker until they could no longer be repaired.  Clothing was handed down between siblings.  Sometimes even friends and neighbors.  Buttons were routinely mismatched if like me you were at the end of the hand me down chain.  Holes patched if needed.  However clothing was made to last like my Kitchen Aide K5A which I bought in 1978 from Fedco. I spent a whole paycheck on the mixer.  It is still working and on my kitchen counter.  The store I bought it from is long gone.  They no longer offer parts to repair it.  To get a comparable mixer I will have to go to the top of the line with a larger bowl.  The first washing machine we bought lasted 25 years, you are lucky to get 5 years now.  

I am digressing. All but 4 of my summer T-shirts were bought before COVID19.  They are beginning to show their age.  Most I no longer wear, but keep for emergencies.  I have tried all my usual clothing stores and there were no T-shirts to be found.  So we went to a store that is in my humble opinion the essential fast fashion store.  They did have a lot of 100% cotton T-shirts.  I started looking and got a few to try on.  Most fit and looked ok. The difference between fast fashion and mid range fashion is the fit.  John went through the piles of shirts and even picked some that I had purposely left behind.  Some looked really good.  He does have a better eye for what looks good on me even when I don’t.  I even did the unthinkable for be, I bought shirts with patterns instead of just solids.  With solid shirts , I can rotate them through many different seasons. With patterns there is a tendency to go out of fashion. I also shopped in the regular sized clothing section.  Not a single plus size T-shirt in the mix. Yes, I am bragging, but I worked very hard to get here.  

After a quick stop for lunch I promptly fell asleep for over 3 times the amount of time we spent shopping. That would be about 3 hours of sleep. So tomorrow I will pull out all the old shirts and decide which pile they will go to rags or Goodwill.  Then I will carefully go through today’s purchase and decide if there are any that I really don’t need or want. Hang up the keepers and bag the returns.  

Right now clothes shopping is very stressful on my body. This compromise worked out well even if the shirts don’t make it past summer.  It is taking a long time to heal from the March 1 weekend.  I am inching along in my healing.  

TTFN

It’s Nice to Have Friends

 A friend of mine who just happens to own my favorite soap shop in Tucson, gave me this beautiful saguaro cactus soap for my newly remodeled bathroom.  It looks wonderful in the handmade soap dish that I bought there a while ago.  

This is not a paid advertisement.  This is a personal request that you just might consider supporting a small business owned by a woman.  I have been buying my soap at Tracy’s shop for years. Did I mention that Tracy makes the soap herself? In my humble opinion, supporting small businesses in the community has a positive effect on the entire community.  

Tracy does put together awesome gift baskets and bags.  With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations coming up this would be your chance to get a great gift and help support the local Tucson economy.  

Artemesia is located at 6538 East Tanque Road, Tucson Arizona, across the street from Trail Dust Town. In the same plaza as my favorite Local Yarn Shop, Grandmas Spinning Wheel, which is also a woman owned shop. 

If you can not make it to the store in person you may use the website Artemesia There is a large selection of soaps, bath salts, lotions and scrubs for both men and women.  If you have dry skin most soaps have moisturizers in them.