Thanksgiving

 We are back home after a brief visit with our daughter and son-in-law for Thanksgiving.  We had a delicious and delightful dinner with my son-in-laws extended family.  Many did not recognize me after a 50 pound weight loss and a few years between seeing them again.  

Speaking of weight loss. I am now in another smaller size. Right now my body is going through a let’s lose inches phase before the next round of weight loss.  I just can’t seem to lose inches and weight at the same time.  

I started unpacking and had had an early breakfast.  Right now I can’t decide whether to take a nap or finish unpacking and start the laundry. I also have to go shopping to restock fruits and vegetables.  Now that my tummy is full a nap seems more prudent right now.  

TTFN

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.  

In A Rut

I have to admit that I am still having a rough patch right now. Although going away for the Thanksgiving weekend to hang out with Teri and Tej helped a lot. I loved their new couch.  As soon as I sat down I was sleeping. I am sure I needed the sleep as the general comments were that family members have not seen me sleep so much in years.

I am still trying to deep clean the house 5 minutes at a time. I need to do another Bookman’s run. I have a whole lot of errands and all the time in the world, but none of the energy. People tell me that this will take time.

I did get the loom warped tonight..my only plan for the design is to use up the yarn currently on the shuttle’s. I got a little over 3 inches woven tonight. I also got the bead out to make some earrings.

A Pleasant Weekend

My younger brother and his wife came out to visit us this weekend. It has been a very nice visit. A little eating,whom am I kidding a lot of eating. Some nice walks. Also some shopping. A visit with the Konecky’s and Mary Gavin. We also picked out gifts for my nieces, they are both great girls so how could I not want to spoil them.

The house is still too quiet. I also did exactly 5 minutes of Zenning.  The old 5 minute rule is great. You would be surprised if you really try.

Family Time

We had a great weekend with Simiglen of Instagram fame and his family.   Yes, my younger brother is great barbecue chef.  If enough people ask him, I bet we could get his secrets for a perfect steak and fresh grilled salmon.  By the way he is just as good with grilling vegetables.

I was able to give his kids new water bottles to help their quest for a better future for our planet. I was a little disappointed that we were not able to find Tucson sweat shirts, just because we have summer temperatures in the 100’s  does not mean that visitors don’t want to bring home a sweat shirt.  Oh well, I will just have to look for them and mail them.

Eric did enjoy the company but did a lot of sleeping.

A Great Thanksgiving Week

I had the pleasure of spending part of Thanksgiving week with my lovely daughter and her husband and his family. I had a wonderful time. Thank you Teri,Tej and family. I also got a great picture of Teri too.

Today I spent the day catching up. My to do list is not done, but there is always tomorrow.

Busy

It has been crazy busy around here lately. Eric had about a week and a half where he went to program everyday. I did get to relax and get a lot of cleaning done. I also found that with adequate sleep I got my creative mojo back. So a lot of projects were finished too.

That at all went sideways this morning at about 3:30 this morning. I managed to get a total of 1 hour of work done before Eric care took over my day. The good news is that he is now feeling better.

Even though I am trying to move and do more my arthritis seems to be getting the better of me now. Not even hitting the 50 pound weight loss point seems to be helping. Although I can now claim a smaller dress size. So since December of 2009 the totals are down 50 pounds, 4 dress sizes, 2 shoe sizes and 6 inches off my rib cage. The way this was accomplished was by giving up anything with high fructose corn syrup, aspertame and any other artificial sweeteners. I am also moving more.

Things That I Am Grateful For

In no particular order here are some of the things that I am grateful for.

1. My Family
2. My friends
3. Team Eric
4. Being ambidextrous, it comes in handy when one hand won't work right. Yes, I am sometimes that annoying person who changes hands in the middle of a meal. It is taking a whole lot longer for my hand to heal than I thought it would.
5. Being 4 inches slimmer since I gave up all high fructose corn syrup and aspertame. The inches come off more slowly than they went on. Bah humbug.

My challenge to you you is to find at least 5 things that you are grateful for and share with everyone.

Cars, Cows and Planes

I have been very busy over the last few days being the 3rd driver. This was not my plan, John got sick so I left him home with the sick boy. Eric is better and at program and John needs a few days to recoup.  My plan for the weekend was going to be spinning, knitting and possibly weaving if I fixed my loom.  The the opening at the Domengis Art Gallery.  

So Friday morning I left for San Diego to Teri's place. I stayed the night.  The kids loaded the moving van. I was not allowed to help. I followed the kids, they were driving the u-haul truck and I drove Teri's car.   We stopped for lunch at Brent's Deli in Northridge, California. If you are in the area and have not eaten there it is a must.  With big eyes I ordered the chopped liver appitezier and a cup of mushroom bar.ey soup.  After I finished the chopped liver and fresh rye bread I had no room for the soup and cancelled the order for it.  

We decided we were too tired to drive, so being the worlds rudest sister I called my brother Glen and asked if we could stay the night at his place.  We had a nice talk and caught up on things.  I find my sister in law Marla so amazing, she not only runs her own graphic arts business but keeps up with the driving for my 2 active nieces.  The girls have just grown so much since we last saw them. They are fantastic parents.  

Sunday was the last day of driving to Northern California. We drove through what was once the most productive farm land in the country, too many fields sat empty covered with tumble weeds.  Now if someone could figure out a way to get all those big piles of snow from back east and drop it on the Sierra's or in the almost dry lakes things might get a little better.  We have a national highway system, why can't we have a national water system. Harris Ranch had lots of cows. Yes I said that there would be cows. We arrived at our destination and the kids unloaded the u-haul.

Monday I flew from the San Jose airport to San Diego. I then picked up my car and drove home getting in at about 8 pm. A very long day.  At least I did not have to hit the ground running.  

A Day Off

I had a very good day off filled with a few chores and lots of naps.  In between naps I did the finishing work on 2 rag rugs and spun 3 skeins of art yarn. I did not find time to rewrap the loom for the next rag rug. 

Tomorrow I plan on hanging around with my sister KK who is visiting from Los Angeles. So far it has been a good visit. Today she enjoyed relaxing at Starpass.  

What Makes Us Good Mothers

With Mothers Day just over in the United States it brings yesterday's encounter even more revelant.  It always amazes me that whenever people learn about Eric and ask if he has any siblings.  When I say yes, the look I always get is should I ask her about her other child?  Some people start out by asking if they are in the same day program. Other just want to know if she still lives at home too.  Yet all are stunned to find out that Teri is a Copyright Attorney in California.  Like how is this possible?  

Motherhood gives each mother a unique opportunity to interact with each child as an individual. I have found that both my child are very unique. My children are polar opposites.  My job as a mother has been to help Teri and Eric each reach their unique potential in an optimal way for their learning style.  

Since Eric was about 6 months old I have always stressed to Teri, that Eric is her brother and not her responseability.  I have always stressed that mom and dad are responsible for the care of both Teri and her brother.  That Teri's job in life is to be the best possible Teri possible, even if it meant leaving Eric behind at times.  In that endeavor Teri has exceeded what I thought was possible.

Each child has made my life so much better in their own unique way. Eric has helped me learn patience. Teri has help me learn to dig deeper for the answers, although on technical issues I am quite sure she hates the line "wait until your father comes home".  Eric has helped me find the time to knit 100's of warm winter items for kids in need. Teri has taken me to England and Italy, which were life time dreams of mine. I would still like to go again and explore some more.  It is not possible now.  Eric has taken me to our nations capital and explore all the history, something that I have dreamed of doing.  Yes each has given me so much. 

I guess in my own meandering way I am trying to say thank you to my 2 increadable kids. They along with John have made my life so rich. For that I am very thankful. 

Family Time

I am enjoying family time. Teri is here for Thanksgiving. I am sad that the time is flying by so fast. 

In No Order

In no particular order the following got done over the past few days.

1.  Eric brought in 27 pounds of tabs to the Tucson Ronald McDonald House.  Our goal for the year was 20 pounds. Eric now stands 37 pounds. Way to go Eric.  If you are in Tucson you can drop your tabs off at the Tucson JCC.  If you see me on a regular basis I will still take them. 

I just cast on hat #15 out of 30.  I am going through yarn much faster than I thought I would. A big thank you goes out to Barbara M. For her wonderful pattern. 

Eric has gotten into waking up at 5 am. So I am a bit tired by the evening.  

A lot of projects got finished in the craft room including positioning pillows for Eric's day program. 

If fiber is a _______ to spin, then it is equally bad to ply.  

If you are wearing my hand me downs that I shrunk out of, you have no right to call me fat.  It's a shame that the person who made the comment does not read this blog. 

If you want me to teach you to knit, you have to let me have time to show you how and explain things. In other words stop talking long enough for me to say something.  

I am the luckiest woman alive.  I have Great kids.  A wonderful husband.  The best friends a person could ever ask for.  With that my ramblings will stop for the evening. 

New Rules

While I was out tonight the guys tried to change the rules of the house. The original rules were.

Rule #1 Mom is always right.
Rule #2 If mom is wrong see rule #1

We have been living with those rules for a while and they seem to be working out just fine in my humble opinion.  Well not so much with the guys. Here is the change that they wanted.

Rule #1 Mom is always right.
Rule #2 The world revolves around Eric.

Not that we don't spend a lot of time with our lives revolving around Eric already, I was just not ready to give up Rule #2. So I came up with a compromise.

Rule #1 Mom is always right.
Rule #2 If mom is wrong see rule #1.
Rule #3 The world revolves around Eric

Just looking at that I think they need a further revision.

Rule #1 Mom is always right.
Rule #2 If mom is wrong see rule #1
Rule #3 If mom is not around Dad has the right to claim rules # 1 and 2 as his own.
Rule #4 Teri gets as much parental time as she needs. Teri has the right to claim this as needed over Eric's needs from 1 parent at a time in person. Both parents if necessary by telephone.
Rule #5 The world revolves around Eric.

Eric must have gotten wind of the rule changes that I will propose tomorrow, because I had to stop in the middle of writing this to give him a breathing treatment. When I told him of my counter proposal he signed a vigorous no. I will have to see how Teri and John like these changes. I still do try to run the house in a democratic fashion. Eric likes to think that he is the king of our little place in the sun. I think I like the golden rule better. Whom ever has the most gold is the ruler of the kingdom.

Well it is getting to late to think about they whys and wherefores of the new rules tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving & KAL Clue #2

First of all I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be grateful for this year.  We are all doing very well in our chosen endeavors. Eric is enjoying his day program very much. Teri graduated from Law school and passed the California Sate Bar exam on her first try. Teri will be sworn in to the California State Bar next month. Her chosen field is Intellectual Property Rights and Privacy Law. John has had a very good year at work. My spinning, knitting and designing are going very well. The house is almost totally zenned and just a few spots are left.

My wish is for everyone to have a happy, healthy and fun holiday season.


KAL Clue #2

Row 5. Slip 1 stitch purl wise, Knit 1,( knit 2 together, yarn over)* follow this pattern until the end of the row end with a knit 1.

Row 6 Slip one stitch purl wise, knit across.

Row 7 to 51 You have 2 options.

Option 1 Slip 1 purl wise and knit across for the entire pattern.

Option 2. Slip 1 purl wise and knit 1 purl 1 across. On subsequent rows purl the knit stitches and knit the purl stitches. Always start every row with a slip 1 purl wise.  This will give you a seed stitch.

Happy Holidays

I would like to start by wishing everyone a Happy Holiday no matter which holiday you celebrate this week. May you enjoy your families and enjoy the fact that we have all made it to this season.

That being said, I am a little melancholy this year. As you know Eric has had a lot of tough health issues this year, which have left me exhausted. I can report on the good side that Eric has slept 5 yes count em 5 nights in a row. Yes miracles still do happen. With just the 2 of us eating tonight I will not be preparing the huge festival meal. First I don't have the energy and second we can not eat that much. I have instead spent the last few days really cleaning and there is a large visible difference. Today I even let roomba have the run of most of the house, he did a good job but did not have enough juice to make it back to his docking station. I would also like to say that roomba still does not like Eric's hoyer lift. I also gave scooba a work out and plan to do so again tomorrow in another part of the house.

With all that being said I still prefer huge holiday gatherings and the formality of the the order of the holidays. It is my hope that when our daughter finishes grad school we will again be able to have nice family holiday dinners. It really does not matter the location as long as we are together. Well I have to go put the finishing touches on dinner.

Happy Holidays to All and to all a very festive meal.

Almost Done

I have made remarkable progress on the hat for Eric's camp counselor It is almost done, I have it on 3 double point needles and doing a decrease at the beginning of every section. I promise that I will take a picture of it while I am blocking it. I have also learned that you can block a skull cap on a size 3 soccer ball for that perfect finish.

The best news of the day is that we will have 4 more days with Teri this summer. Well what I mean is I get 4 more days with Teri; and Eric and John will get their first 4 days with Teri. We have a flexible plan in place for her visit. We will go to Savers, which is a great place to buy clothes. Bookman's for a shopping spree. Mayco's for dinner one night. The rest is up to Teri.

I would like more visits with Teri, but we raised her to be independent and she is doing a great job of moving forward in life. I am so glad that I can say that she is my daughter. Well it is getting late and I know that it will not be an early bed time for a few days, every minute counts when your children are all grown up and you only get to see them a few times a year.

Have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Just a Short Post

Our holiday company is all safely back at home. They even manage to get through last Sunday’s earthquake on the drive home with only a few bumps along the way. The house is back to clean. Knitting has commenced again. Sewing is soon to follow. I think the washing machine and dryer are talking to me again after running them for almost 24 hours straight after company left.


I would like to wish my Mom a Happy Anniversary of her 39th Birthday; she is ageless just like the great Jack Benny who never got older than 39; himself. Just like when I was a kid I sent her a handmade gift this year. I really hope that she likes it.

This post won’t be long today, Eric had his 4th bad night in a row and my hands took the brunt of his not feeling good last night.

Have a great day and enjoy your families.

Valentines Day

Well it is Valentine’s Day today. So I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful day. I would also like to wish all of you who are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year a Happy New Year. We are having a very low key day today. John and Eric took me to Miss Saigon for lunch today. I had a wonderful chicken bun which is a salad with cucumbers, rice noodles, curried chicken, and lettuce. I f you are ever in Tucson Miss Saigon is a must go to. We did miss Teri on this very family orientated day but I am sure that the books are much more important right now.
I will conquer the laundry monster while Eric does his breathing treatment and then make a quick antipasto for dinner. John got some wonderful looking strawberries for desert so I guess that I will not make the brownies I was planning on...darn. I hope to have some knitting time later today. I can only work on small projects in the car while John is driving and I really want to make some headway on Teri’s blanket. Not that it will be done by the end of the Olympics. On the side is a picture of tone of the yarns that I am using.

So have a good evening and enjoy your families.

Fab Break

We had a fabilous winter break with Teri and she has arrived safetly back at school. I am trying to work off the 3 pounds I put on and am half way there. Did I mention that we went to all her favorite places and ate out a lot. we also stopped by all her favorite desert spots, some like Frost more than once in a week.

Just waiting for my phone to charge so I can finish packing. I am soloing out to see my family for 2 days I hope to have fun with everyone. I have not seen them for 1 year. It will be nice to leave work behind for 2 days.

I have packed 2 skeins of sock yarn so hopefully I will have I pair done by Monday afternoon.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your families.