Cleaning Out The Cobwebs

 Today I decided to clean out one of Eric’s boxes. I kept the yearbooks and the pictures.  Threw out the yearly journals.  Also a lot of awards for the best smile and friend.  Birth certificates for his stuffed friends. I did some crying too.  In the end I expected to reuse the box for yarn, but that did not happen.  There were several big cracks on the bottom of the box.  The net result was that I reclaimed 2 square feet of space. I also threw 4 bags of recycling into the recycling bin. That is something to be proud of.  The yarn will have to find another home.

The journals that I save because I thought that they would bring me joy, only made me cry.  The loss can still be raw all these years later.   It still amazes me that a child and later a young man with so many physical and medical issues could bring so much joy to so many people.  

I know all my family grieves him in their own way. No form of grief is bad.  We all move forward at different speeds.  

Yarn Away

 Today was a relatively good day.  I was feeling good after the aspirin and nap.  I was preparing to yarn bomb a friend.  I started out with a mid sized carrier bag and filled it. Then went and got another And filled it too. So I grabbed a paper grocery bag and filled it too. By then I was half way finished and had 2 empty storage tub’s.  So I dumped the three bags in and continue my yarn de stashing .  By the time I was through I was sure my friend would be mad for giving her so much yarn at once. I had filled a 60 quart tub full of knitting and weaving yarn. Much to my surprise she and her niece were very happy. When they picked it up I wished them a very happy knitting and weaving time.  John is also very happy too.

With the progression of the arthritis in my hands and all the hand surgeries my burn through rate of yarn is way down. Long gone are the days that I could knit through 45 quarts of yarn in a month. Let alone 13 ponchos in a month.  With that in mind I am starting to curate my fiber stash and make sure I really want and love the yarn.  To day was a first cut. I still have 6 more weeks of no knitting.  I am pretty sure it will not be a hat a day speed when I restart my knitting. So to that end I will be working on gasp, some projects for me. I have some sweaters, shawls, tops, and socks in line.  I am not sure how much more weight I will lose, but since it has been a steady 10 pounds a year I think I will be able to wear the clothing for a while or at least be able to take it in,  

This will be a huge change from the last 20 years of knitting where 95% or more in any given year was for charity.  I will still do charity knitting and weaving, but it will not be my main focus for a while. This has been a year of many changes and my life has been turned upside down and inside out all at the same time. In a couple of days it will have been a whole year since we lost Eric. I feel blessed that we had him for so many years. It does not seem possible that a year has passed. The world is a little less gentle since he left.  Then just as we were feeling almost normal COVID19 hit.  That turned our world upside down again.  I am not sure what life has in store for me, but a little guilt free me time is in order even if we are stuck at home for the foreseeable future.  

My Mother's Day

Well today was Mothers Day in the United States and all in all I had an ideal Mothers Day. I got to sleep in until 8 am, which is a luxury. We had a very slow morning followed by Dim Sum (Chinese sweet treats) for brunch. Followed by a quick trip to pick up odds and ends at the supermarket.


I do admit that I got a small chink in my armor today at the checkout line. I have not seen many of Eric’s friends from school since they graduated from high school. One of his friends was our cashier today, I am so proud of her; she is at the University of Arizona now. I did forget to ask what her major was; however. There was just enough emotion to make me a bit sad. I am happy for Eric’s friend and sad for all the roads Eric will never travel in this life.

When we got home we watched the movie the Invention of Lying, all in all a pretty good movie. During the Movie I got a quick call from Teri wishing me happy Mother’s Day. I did get a lot of knitting done today, a little on Teri’s blanket, a little on a baby blanket that I keep in Eric’s room, and a little on a lovely Llama and mohair scarf. I know I have multiple projects going, but it is more convenient to have different projects in different areas of the house and car.

John made a lovely salad for dinner and I cut the bread for the sandwiches which we each assembled to our own liking. We watched a little more TV after dinner and I did some more knitting and blogging.

Well it is now time to get ready for bed. 6:00 am comes awfully early. So have a great night and enjoy your families.