This Love of Mine

Didn't I say I was a purse knitting fool? I also told you I was making a purse and I knew her name was Carly. And here she is!

Goodness gracious, I love knitting. It kind of snuck up on me when I wasn't looking. I mean I remember why we started the group and I am sure I've told the story somewhere in here before, but who knew it would turn into this great and wonderful thing?

Do you know, there were times when I was constantly thinking about knitting? And it was very specific. I remember sitting in the choir loft at church, thinking about knitting with Lion Brand Thick and Quick yarn - in the Pumpkin color. I can see it in my head clear as day. Finally I did knit with it and so that part is gone, but I still think a great deal about knitting. I've been known to obsess about something and then it disappears off my radar screen but this has stuck with me - so much so that I have now incorporated it into trying to make a living. And not just on the shop. (I love that yarn, by the way. It takes a great deal of arm strength to knit an afghan with it because it's so thick and heavy. It could harm a small child should they run into it.)

I do three things with some degree of skill: I write, I knit and I sing. And it has taken me this long to realize I can and should use these skills for the enrichment of body and soul. (This is yet another reason why youth is wasted on the young.)

Well, I don't know what to do. I don't have any pending projects. Everything has been completed; the needles are empty. I do have an idea for another purse. This one a little bigger than the last three. A tote bag with different kinds of handles and I'm thinking of buttons. I am also ruminating on a purse with a flap with a beaded band. I also have some writing to do for a couple of clients. So, I guess I do have stuff to do.

And to top it all off: It's the Cubs season opener today!

It's a wonderful life.

Ahhhh - Baseball is Back!

Baseball is back on the menu here at The Knitter's Restaurant and with it comes a conundrum.

I love the Cubs (which right away means no matter what sins I commit on earth, my place in Heaven is secure.)

I love knitting.

I love knitting while watching the Cubs.

So far so good.
But my team is not part of the Stitch and Pitch program that goes on across the country. Instead the teams that participate are the Brewers and...sigh...the White Sox.

I could:
Participate with Stitch and Pitch in Milwaukee, but they are playing the Nationals that day and as much as I like knitting, Milwaukee, and baseball - who would I root for if I went? Part of the fun of going to a game is to get into a friendly interaction with opposing team fans while sharing the joy with like minded strangers. There'd be no other Cubs fans there - except Joe - and I see him all the time.

I could:
Knit at Wrigley - I've been known to do that. I don't know if you're supposed to or not but when they've checked my bag, no one has discovered the knitting needles and the yarn. But I would not be officially participating in Stitch and Pitch.

I could:
leave my knitting at home for the games (6) that we will attend at Wrigley this season.
Hahahahahahahahaha - Y'all know I'm kidding. I can't go to the corner without my knitting.

Personally, I'm a bit put off that my team doesn't have participate. We have a huge knitting group in Chicago that has over 500 members and most of them are under 30 - a perfect Cubs demographic - though I will never see 30 again on this side of creation. Perhaps with the sale of the club this is something that will change. I don't know if they've ever been approached to participate, but I certainly don't mind asking them to consider it.

Really, all I want is my sports team to acknowledge my sport - and I am willing to pay the ticket price (and the vendor prices) for them to do it. Is it too much to ask? I'm not even asking for a World Series Championship. (Which I am certain would signal the four horsemen to mount up.)

Perhaps I should not victimize myself. If this is something I believe, I should find Chicago area knitters who feel the same as I and we can storm the castle de Wrigley and try and get them to participate.

Yes, that's it.

As The World Turns

This has been an emotional week - heck, it's been an emotional few days.

The phone rang around midnight a few nights ago and it was the Life Alert people. My mother-in-law's alert button had gone off and when they tried to speak with her; there was no answer. So Joe got up (he had to be at work at 5) to go see what was going on.

Long story short - she fell, fractured her femur and had to have surgery. She's 94.

A friend of mine was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer a few months back and we were thrilled to find out it wasn't pancreatic cancer at all. That victory was short lived because it was stomach cancer and it claimed her life Friday evening. She was in her early 60's.

My nephew's wife had her baby. A healthy baby boy - Jason Ellis.

It's the baby that brings it all in perspective. The cycle of life is such that we start out young and helpless; learn to be self sufficient and independent (if we're lucky) and then come back around to the end older, wiser and with no regrets.

The discussions will begin on what to do about my mother-in-law. She has lived on her own for thrity years at least and up until now has done just fine. But she is at the point where she doesn't want to leave the house much and her hearing aids aren't aiding much..and now the fall. She will resist assimiliation - and she should. But she cannot be alone any longer. She will give a good battle; but it cannot be one she is allowed to win. The independence and self-sufficiency have gone.

Kathleen was a woman of great dignity, faith and privacy. I was glad to be welcomed into her fold and even then I was not in the deep circle. Close enough that she would call upon me to sing when she needed a first soprano and I had the good sense to know when I was being honored. We spoke a few months back and we talked about the last time we sang together at the Chicago Temple United Methodist Church. She wanted me to sing at the service of another friend and I was stuck in DC by bad weather and could not. It is a shadow of a regret.

And baby Jason who is his own little miracle. His folks had been trying for a second baby for some time and turned to a fertility specialized and here he is. He arrived a few days after his due date and had to be induced. I still say he was late because he is a male and would not ask for directions. But here is his - a representation that there are always beginnings in all things.

The dog hurt his leg again - he's an English Setter and eleven years old. He still thinks he's a puppy and thus will not take it easy. Because he has hurt his joints, the arthritis will begin to set in. His full cycle is starting. He is a wonderful dog and we have to start talking about what we are willing to do for him and his quality of life. Though that might not be a discussion to have for a few years yet.

And did I mention the Cubs are going to the playoffs for the second year in a row? Being a Cubs fan is proof of faith...or at least of suffering. No regrets there.

The emotions turn - as does the world. Will the wonders ever cease?

I Got Nuthin

Happy September!

I love firsts and I love first days of months that start on Monday. It's a quirk. Anyway, I have uploaded all the projects I've done. I've gone through all the photos and I got nuthin left. I do have some projects on my needles. Cai, my earthtone afghan is closer to the finished line. There are five strips in total and I am about to complete the 4th one. The baby blanket for the nephew arriving in a few weeks is on the needles. I have not touched it since the day I cast it on and worked on it because I will start a new project about every ten days or so (it's on my schedule) but I only work on one project at a time. So, when Cai is done, I will pick up the baby blanket and work on it. I have the second Travis Wrap to work on as well but that is still in my mind and I haven't even selected the yarn for it and according to my schedule, a new (as yet unknown) project, will come to life within about a week.

So, it's the start of a new month...and I got nuthin'. I am working on Cai to the tune of about a square a day so it should be done in about six days. That will depend upon the work schedule, of course, and the times of the Cubs games because time stands still for the Cubs. (Die hard since 1969!)

I need to stop blogging and go the store to get bathroom cleaning supplies - don't envy me my glamourous life-you, too can live this way if you choose!

The Cubs Fan's Lament

It's just the spring season and already we see things have got to change.

First - sorry Neal Cotts, but I don't see you making the roster. I don't know what it is that makes you so hittable, but the north side of town doesn't seem to be doing you any good. I don't know how you did when you were on the south side - cuz I don't like the White Sox so I don't know if your performance is supposed to be why you were traded or why you were picked up and you don't seem to be made for the National League. You are still a much better player than I'll ever be, but I've never aspired to be a major league pitcher or someone would be writing the same things about me.

Second-The Giants seemed to be stealing bases at will against Cubs pitching. Two things that will throw a team off their rhythm: walks and steals. We need to improve on both. Throw a ball over to first base every once in a whiel. Look over at a runner so his rhythm is thrown off. Geez!

Third-Derek Lee can do no wrong, and you're sexy even with the beard - but lose it, please. The closest I will ever get to you is in my dreams and I can't even dream of rubbing up against that. Well, I can, but it's uncomfortable. So, sorry, I don't care how cold it gets here in April, you need to shave it off. I'll help.

Fourth-Naming rights to Wrigley Field? I'm almost certain there's something in the Bible saying it's a sin. It's got a name: Wrigley Field. And it's a darned good one.

The Cubs are 1-3 and they've shown they have some 'fight back' in 'em, but they should have never been as far behind as they were. Hopefully, they will get the losses out of their system and bring all the wins with them when they come north in about a month.

I feel so much better now.