Here She Is!

Ignore the big person, the star is nestled in his arms. This is my nephew, Mike, I got him when I got Joe. Not complaining - he's quite the guy.

That little sugar plum is Bridget, his third child, second daughter and hereby declared to be my sweetheart. I love Megan (his eldest) and Jason (his doppelganger) but Bridget is going to belong to me. I think it was sweet of them to have a baby for me - a baby they will pay for, provide for and keep - but who belongs to me. Mazel Tov to the happy family and I will be over soon to get my baby (and bring her back when she needs changing.)

In knitting news, I am almost finished with the 'leaf' scarf. I started it a few months back and put it away because it uses size 13 needles and Cascade Magnum yarn which is really bulky and untwisted. It does work up quickly but it also works up heavy. The scarf in it's original pattern is more than 10 feet and I will do that but with a less expensive yarn - not to mention a lighter weight. But it is beautiful and I look forward to the photos. I don't want to spoil it with a teaser. OK, I don't want to mess with it until I have to; that thing will hurt a small child if it falls on them.

I know this will cause some of you to cringe but it's just six months to Christmas. I am using some Etsy guides to improve my store and traffic and this is the time to start thinking about and working on holiday gifts. It makes sense, especially if you are in one of the crafts that require some time. I was going through some books to find something I could point to and say 'gift' and the first thing I came across was an afghan that I started to make a while ago but I am going to start over with a nice chunky weight fiber. I went to the even better organized yarn stash and found I have a ton of this particular fiber so away I go.

Tomorrow, after church, I get to spend time with a couple of my peeps at a new place to knit. I should be able to work on the afghan because it's done in squares with a relatively easy cable pattern. Should be fun!

The Three Graces

A knitting update - I have put a sign up box for my mailing list - I don't expect knitters to sign up - it is more for folks interested in designbcb - buying knitted items. There will also be discounts and giveaways and more information. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please have them sign up.

Also, there are more hats coming off the needle and I am averaging one new per day in the shop. I am up to seven sales for the year - which is really poor - but they've all come in the last six to eight weeks. I've been looking at the stats and the traffic to the shop is up over last year and the last months but it's still a little low on weekly and daily tracks. I think the new pictures with the wigs has improved the look of the site and also because there are items being placed or renewed on the site everyday brings the shop higher in searches.

As you can tell, I've been concentrating on the business side of things. Hopefully, business will pick up.

These are the three graces. My nieces. My brother's daughters.
Eboni is the eldest and I met her when she was two years old and she's a lot nicer than she was then. To be fair, we were new to her and at two years old she didn't want to be around a bunch of new people. Erica shares my middle name and a bunch of other qualities - one thing she has that I don't have is a brain - the girl got a free ride to ASU and just finished or is almost finished working on her Masters' - just like her sister. Anesha is the youngest and I just met her. My brother insisted I met her at some point during my engagement/wedding thing but considering she's thirteen and we've been married fifteen years, I'm thinking that wasn't possible. Then he said I must have met her when I spent three months in AZ before and after my father's death - Nope. Managed to miss her. But not this time we had just enough time to take the picture. I will get to know her better the next time we are in the same place.

Beautiful little women. They and the two other nieces not pictured. Generation next for the women in the family is in good hands.

Happy Birthday, Bridget

I would place a picture of the birthday girl, who's birthday was actually on Friday, but I don't have permission from her Mommy or Daddy. Though she did send me a photo of Bridget next to a photo of Jason on the day he was born to compare how much they look alike. But to be fair all babies look like big wrinkles when they're born. In our family it's just a question of a light wrinkle or a dark wrinkle depending upon which branch of the family tree is bearing fruit.

They say we regret the things we have not done and the birth of a baby does make me regret in small measurement that we didn't get a new one of our own. But Mr. Honey does not know the meaning of regret and has never waivered from his non-desire for babies. He is a great father and an outstanding uncle but he is happy not to have walked down that road.

I watched a movie last night called 'Mother and Child'. I don't know if it was a movie that was shown in theatres - it had the star power: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, S. Epatha Merkeson and Jimmy Smits and Amy Brennaman. It turned out to be a powerful movie about three women and their experience with motherhood. If you have Starz look for it in the movie demand section.

One woman had a baby when she was 14 and her mother had the baby put up for adoption. One woman wants to have kids and she cannot so she is looking at adoption and her husband is with her except when his mother interferes. He leaves her because an adopted baby is not a baby of his own. The third woman was put up for adoption and leaves a very isolated life except she has a POV that is not entirely respectful of the rules. It's a pretty obvious movie but it doesn't stop Annette Bening and Kerry Washington from giving outstanding performances.

Bridget is born into a loving family. She has an older sister who is eager to have her around and an older brother who would rather have a football but can adjust well enough to having a sister instead. My nephew and his wife wanted a family and have gone through some trials in order to bring these little cherubs into the world and they are fun and cute kids who we don't see often enough.

I am happy and excited for her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. She is the fifth grandchild and the second girl. It's still a little weird seeing the little boys and girls I watched grow up have children of their own but that's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it.

Happy birthday, Bridget and welcome to this crazy, wonderful family.

Riding the Rails

So, Christmas morning came and Mr. Honey went off the church as he normally does and I took that opportunity to wrap his Christmas presents. He wanted books - so he received the books he asked for which were financial/economic books so I thought the fun thing would be to wrap the books in the Business section of the newspaper - we need to recycle where we can.

Now, over the past few years, Mr. Honey has brought home these beautiful gift boxes from Menard's so we don't wrap presents anymore because the boxes takes it to a new level but I've still been known to not wrap a present. So this year, I wrapped them in the business section and then put them back in the Amazon box they came in and close it back up to make it look like I didn't even bother wrapping them.

When he came back and he said it was time to exchange presents (I didn't prod him too much) I handed him the box and he said, 'No wrapping?' Which caused me to go into fits of laughter which he didn't understand until he sat down and opened the box.

So obviously I was going to take the title of Christmas Prankster.

He handed me a box that was bigger than a box holding three sets of the world's most awesome knitting needles should hold - and he even put a yarn cord around the box as the ribbon.
I open the box and there's yarn! And I said, "You got me yarn, too!' (Notes: 1. You got me yarn. 2. You got me yarn, too, so there better be something else in the box.)

I look at one of the labels on the yarn and I think - "They don't sell this yarn at Knot Just Knits.' Then I look at the other yarn. It's my yarn! It's yarn I already own. I take the skeins out of the box and there at the bottom is a wrapped package - of one set of needles.

OK.

As I put the yarn aside, I see another set of needles buried in one of the skeins.

That's better. So I have two sets of Signature needles. It does not escape me that I have three sets of Signature needles on my wish list but I am happy with two. (After I ask him if he left anything on my wish list and he said no.)They are beautiful and luscious and I have to explain to Mr. Honey why these are the gold standard.

Later that day we are headed to the fabulous Melissa's home for Christmas Dinner. We are outside when I reach into my bag - and there's the third set of needles. He chuckles madly and says he snuck it in my bag when I wasn't looking and considering I was knitting in the morning and using the bag, he was surprised I didn't notice.

So he gets the Christmas prank award.

Mr. Honey anxiously waited for me to use the needles and my next project called for size 5 needles instead of the 8,9, 10 that I have - so I disappointed him yesterday. But today when he walked in the door I show him I had finally cast on with them and again he wanted to know why they were so good and my reply was they move like a car on rails. Handcrafted. Hand polished. Smoother than Tiger Woods both on and off the course. And beautiful color and balance. It doesn't speed up my knitting that much but the stitches are better - they are more even and I have not split the yarn once in several hours of knitting. My hands have to get used to them, my hands started to ache when I started using them but that went away after a little while. I have already decided I need a set of size seven needles for the smaller projects that I do - and I will get that pair myself as opposed to wait for the anniversary gift.

My initial thought is that these are nice needles to have. They are holding the worsted weight yarn I have without any slippage and yet they yarn moves very smoothly. I am curious how they will handle a slippery yarn. There's a definite difference between them and the needles that we're used to buying. If you can get a pair (or three) they are nice to have in the tool box.

I hope your Christmas was great. We had a really good time and last night we went out to dinner with my brother-in-law and they gave me a beautiful painting by Jonathan Green - a Gullah artist. It's was some very nice icing atop a very nice cake.

This is the time of year we start thinking of New Year's resolutions - I am still committed to getting rid of the stash and I've completed seven things this month (I made a cute little bag that just needs a lining) and I have a squares afghan on the needles - the Signature needles. I hope you have a safe and festive celebration - whatever that means to you. And let's all look towards making 2011 something we can share and be proud of!!

Whatever..Whenever

My drool of the day comes from astrid naturals and is her Shea butter soap. Have you ever had Shea butter on your skin or used it on your hair? OMG! Maia sells it in different fragrances and at a great price. Check her out!

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I didn't think I would get around to writing today but it has been really quiet around here - except for now because Mr. Honey is in the kitchen making dessert for us to take over to the Fabulous Melissa's...but the phone hasn't rang and the dog hasn't been barking too much. Pretty quiet, so after clearing out 200 of the 1900 emails I have in my in box and starting a hat to match the gloves and scarflette in the picture, there's room to post.

I have made five things this month - which is a pretty good month - I should actually be able to squeeze the hat in before 2011 hits. The scarflette was supposed to be a scarf but I just didn't want to make it anymore and decided since cowls and little mufflers were in, I could shorten up the length and it would do just fine. I wrapped it around my neck and it was warm!! So, there you go.

The gloves are reversible - you can wear the, with the knit or purl stitches showing. The hat will be a cute hat with a tail and a pom-pom. Then i think I must get away from the blue. Green, yellow, hey, gray's nice. Something must take me away from the blue!

Mr. Honey is sooooo busted. At StitchCraft Wednesday night, Marion and Robin told me they knew what I was getting for Christmas because they were in Knot Just Knits when this man walked in and said to the shop owner that he needed to buy the items off his wife's wish list. I told you a few days ago that there are three sets of Signature Needles on my wish list.

While we were having dinner on Tuesday somehow the conversation came around to knitting needles and he wanted to know why I thought they were so special. He had already purchased them. They were in the house. They are in the house now. Somewhere. They are the precious and I am Gollum. I have not told him I know. I am sure he will want to relay his conversation with Marion and Robin and I want him to have his fun.

But if I knew where they were - I'd knit with them while he was sleeping and put them back. Just like what I used to do with gifts when I was a kid.

Once again, let me wish you and yours a wonderful holiday. I am thrilled beyond measure that there are those of you who will be surrounded by generations - parents, grandparents, siblings and children. You are living some of the most precious memories you will ever have. I look back on those days now and see the wonder and special feelings of love, grace and blessings that go into a Christmas Eve/Christmas Day dinner.

We can never go back to those days - too many are gone - but the memories mean so much more. I can remember the laughter. I see the smiles. I can recall the moment I was at the 'big' table with the adults. I remember helping Mom get the good china out of the cabinet. It only happened twice a year. And waking up to a house that smelled of turkey roasting, chitlins, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler.

I remember Dad - who I'm missing a lot today - bringing home the real Christmas tree and the whole house smelling like pine and we put those gigantic painted Christmas lights on the tree that would never pass safety standards today and pulling out the green and red tree holder and steadying the tree.

I remember the arrival of my maternal grandparents from Louisiana - Cherry with her chewing tobacco (and Sanka can) and Herman with his pipe. We knew it was Christmas when Granddaddy pulled out his change purse. A quarter was magic.

This evening, after church, I will head over to my sister-in-law's house and spend time with her and most of her kids. Again there will be three generations but this time I will be one of the elders. That's what happens when you grow up.

Make some wonderful memories tonight and tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

No, you didn't misread the title. Merry Christmas it says and Merry Christmas it means. Yesterday was my mother-in-law's 97th birthday. She's been gone for more than a year. Our family usually gets together for Christmas Eve either at his brother's or sister's house. Our house is way too small. But the kids now have kids of their own and there has to be a whole bunch of traveling to one set of parents' to another so we decided to move Christmas Eve to Nana's birthday. So yesterday all the Mr. Honey clan (with the exception of one nephew and his wife who I didn't even notice was missing until I was back home) gathered at his brother's house and boy did we have a time.

it started at 3 in the afternoon and we were back home by 9 but I felt like I partied til all hours. We laughed and danced and ate - my bro in law put a pork tenderloin on the bbq that made the angels hungry.

I cannot believe those little nieces and nephews that I first met some fifteen years ago now have children of their own and those children, for the most part, are walking and talking. It's amazing how that works - especially since I have not aged at the 13 years I've been married.
We continued the tradition of sharing Plotke - which is a flat wafer. You break off a piece of someone's and they break off a piece of yours and you wish each other health, happiness and whatever else applies: I got a great deal of good wishes for my knitting endeavors. My bro in law then had us get together to play 'left, right, center' which he eventually won.

It was the kind of time my mom-in-law would have loved to have been a part of. I certainly missed her last night even as I felt her presence there. It's a happy kind of sad.

And a happy kind of tired.

I Wish You A Merry Christmas

The Prayer Shawl roll continues on...I decided I should show you what I've been up to. Five prayer shawls and one more on the needles. The light colored one on the bottom left was made a few weeks ago and is the only triangle one there will be. I used to make the triangle all the time, but I am enamored for the rectangle one. The four rectangles have all been made with a ten day period - told you I was on a tear. I love the colors. And I love how soft they are and they look like a lot more work than they are.

Mr. Honey's sister is getting the triangle one because she canceled Christmas (well, kinda, another post) and his sister-in-law is getting the prayer shawl on the upper right. (I can tell you this cuz they don't read the blog!)

There are more shawls to come in some really lovely colors and I am excited to see them go from skein to shawl.

You know what else I'm excited about? LIsa's Pieces. Lisa is a local artist and she makes jewelry. She's fresh and understated - which means her stuff has a great 'wow' factor.
Take a look at some of the things I love in her shop: Aren't these the cutest earrings? Y'all know since I chopped off the hair that the ears can't go out naked. Earrings have always been one of my favorite accessories and these are just darling!
My other favorite accessories are pendants and these are also quite cute.










She manages to get quite a lot into such a small area. The pieces aren't so big they overwhelm you, but the designs are such they carry themselves very well. I just love her work. She's been doing it for over fifteen years and she even makes guitar picks! Check out her shop on Etsy.com and see if you don't fall in love with it, too!

I'm going to get back to the knitting now. While I do have that prayer shawl on the needles that's about 1/3 done, I will actually be working on some squares. My secondary project is to make 200 squares and I have 3 of them done. I am hoping I can keep myself interested enough to get through them all because they will make about 4 sampler afghans which should look really nice.

I don't know that I will get back here before the holiday so let me take this moment to wish you and your family the best of the holiday season. Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festival of Lights or whatever the observance of your heart and spirit - I pray that it is everything you wish and need it to be and that it leaves you feeling wonderfully tired and refreshed with the joy of being surrounded by the people you love or being in restful solitude can bring.

My Two Cents About Tiger

Here's the good news: just because you're a celebrity doesn't mean we get to look inside your life and tear it apart.

Here's the bad news: just because you're a celebrity doesn't mean you get to tear your own life apart and then ask that we not look.

Let's say you're a young golfer and before you even step onto a course we've heard from your father how great you already are and how great you're going to be. I mean your dad does a great PR job on. So much so that we actually pay attention and we watch you as you make your professional debut.

And what do you know? Your dad was right. You are good. In fact, you're pretty great. We watch you some more because we are amazed at your talent. Does that mean we get to look into your private life?

No. But you offer us glimpses. Which is your right. You get to make up the rules that govern your privacy. It is YOUR privacy, after all. You shouldn't have to ask me to respect it. You should build the rules that tell me how I should treat it.

OK, so now you know that we are interested in you. In fact, you generate so much interest that companies are now coming to you and asking that you be the face for their product.

Your privacy firewall needs to change.

You are no longer just on the golf course. You are now representing a company. So your behavior and your decisions need to take into account the impact on your life and theirs. Does that mean I now get to invade your privacy?

Nope. But you have agreed to become more exposed. You are now on the t and v and radio. You do more interviews because the company wants the exposure they're paying you to get them. So while I still don't get to peek into your private life, you need to make the adjustment that I'm going to look just a little bit harder.

Let's say you get married. A marriage is a private and personal contract and that contract has to be made with your circumstances in mind: your wealth, your job, your public exposure. You need to make an agreement with your spouse about how your circumstances will not bring harm to your privacy - which now includes her and any little cubs that you have.

So, does being married mean I get to look into your private life?
Absolutely not.

Then you decide to take yourself a girlfriend...or a dozen.
Now, that doesn't violate your personal privacy agreement. It does, however, violate the privacy agreement you made with the companies you agreed to represent if you have a morals clause and it definitely violates the privacy agreement you have with your wife because most marriages do come with a pretty specific morals clause about keeping yourself only unto them.

So, the only agreement that has not been broken is the one you have with the girlfriends.
Does that mean I can pick apart your private life?

No. But your wife can. She's now free to come after you with a golf club in public - after all, the deal is over. You broke it. She's no longer obligated to keep anything - except mebbe some of that lovely money.

Your business partners can, too. After all, you put them at risk for losing the money they've already paid you in advance that might not be made up because of the decision you made. They can publicly or privately decide to dump you or decide to stick with you long enough to look at the profit margins.

None of the above puts you in danger of me until.....

your girlfriend(s) decide to break her/their agreement with you and send your texts, emails and voice mail all over creation. Then you can ask for all the privacy you want and I will agree not to talk to you...

because I don't need you. I have your texts, emails and voice mails. Thanks. It's not your privacy; it's your girlfriends' business that they're willing to share. It just happens to be about you. But, hey, I respect your wanting to get your family life together and I won't comment at all about the only reason you want to is because you're caught. That's all your business. And I am nothing if not respectful.

But I'm going to talk with all those women who are willing to talk to me. And you don't get to say anything about that. You set the rules, you broke the rules. We're all now walking through the broken pieces picking up what we can. You have the right to ask for your privacy but don't be surprised if I don't respect your lack of self-respect.

You want your privacy back? You will now have to make an agreement with me. You will promise to live the most boring life you can except when you're on the golf course. And I will agree to grow bored of you and leave you alone except on the golf course. I will, of course, push that. There will be stories and rumors but if I can't trace it back, they'll die down. But you will need to be consistently boring. Don't parade your family around in public to show me what a happy family you are. Just go home and be a happy family.

Oh, and it would help if you won your next golf tournament. Make it the next two. And speak with the tournament directors and the PGA and make it so the announcers on the t and v can't talk about....you know. And should you win and you have to do the post interview, have them make it clear that the first reporter that asks about...you know...will end the interview for everyone. If you win the tourney and they can't talk to you about it then they'll keep each other in check.

But you need to keep yourself in check first.

The Last Generation

My sister sent an email out to us that the hospice people were giving my aunt a week at the most. She sent it out yesterday afternoon. Last night she and my brother called to say my aunt had passed. When I was growing up she and my cousins lived two blocks away from us.

She was the last. Now in my immediate family we no longer have any fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, grandfathers or grandmothers. Of course we are parents, aunts, uncles and two of us are grandmothers but there's no one left above us.

I remember when my mother died I whispered that I was an orphan even though my father was still living. Four years later, my sister asked me to come to Phoenix because Dad's mental health was failing and she had taken off more sick or vacation days than she had and she wanted to know if I would come. I had left Xerox the year before so I was free to come and I flew in to Phoenix on December 2nd. When I entered my Dad's bedroom, he was getting dressed - to look at him you couldn't tell he was sick but the voice inside my head said 'he won't make it to Christmas.'

Over the next few weeks, I could see what my sister meant by his mental health failing as he was moody, sad, upbeat and changeable. One morning he was sitting at the bar isle in the kitchen with his cousin when he keeled over and crumbled to the floor. Gone. Just like that. On Christmas Eve.

That left my aunt. My dad died in 2000 and I didn't speak to my aunt for a long time until my cousins were here for a family reunion. I actually didn't attend the reunion but Mr. Honey and I were at the zoo and happened to run into my cousins. One of my cousins admonished me for not keeping in touch with my aunt. She told me how they stayed in touch with my parents and the least I could do is stay in touch with my aunt who missed talking to me.

It made no sense to point out to my cousin that staying in touch with my parents wasn't a hard thing to do since they lived in the same town and went to the same church and did things together while I was in Chicago. Made no sense to say it because it made no sense that geography couldn't be overcome with a phone or an email. So I started calling and emailing. And the first time I spoke with my aunt in over five years, she broke down in tears and said over and over how good it was to hear my voice.

Yes, I'm an idiot but she forgave me by not admonishing me and I could tell from the conversation it wasn't even on her mind. A few months back my cousin thanked me for being consistent in keeping in touch even though I didn't get to speak to my aunt every time I called and not all the emails were returned. I am grateful she yelled at me.

Of the three girls and one boy that made up my mom's sibling group, Bay was the one who got the sense of sass and humor. I remember one time she was in the car when she was stopped by a police officer. We all knew Officer Gunn (yes, his real name) he lived down the street from me. He came up to the car and said to her. "Mrs. Patton, you didn't come to a complete stop at that sign." Without missing a beat she answered, "Officer Gunn, the sign said 'stop' not 'stay.'"

Without her here, my sister, the eldest grandchild, becomes the matriarch of the family. I kidded with her about that last night and asked her if we needed to call her something else. "Ma'am"she said. "start saying ma'am."

Without her here, I don't know where the anchors are. My sisters and brothers and I are close and my sisters and I are especially close so I guess that's where I will look - but it's not the same. We always had someone in that last generation to turn to. But now it's us. I'm one of the youngest, so we should be here for a good long time to assist the next generation - except none of the last generation made it to 80 years. Bay came close at 77, my father at 72. The generation before that made it to the 80's.

I've marked the next reunion on my calendar and I will make sure my brothers and sisters do the same. I have cousins I've never met in person on my Facebook page and we keep tabs on each other. And I've learned a valuable lesson about keeping in touch with family which I will remember. I am looking forward to meeting them next year.

The good news is now that generation is complete and together in whatever Heaven is and I'm certain that if there are stop signs in heaven she'll come to a complete stop, turn off the car and stay.

The Wedding

Still don't have a photo of Robert & Laura but what else is new? There was a very cute, touching moment. Let's set it up with starting at the rehearsal:

Laura was practicing the vows and she and her mom started crying - during the rehearsal. We all laughed and said they were getting it out of their systems and they would be fine the next day when it really counted. (Why doesn't it count during the rehearsal? I mean, it happened the exact same way - one would think it would count. It was said in front of folks and the promises were made. Just something to think on.)

Anyway, we got to the big day. I was nervous singing (my music shook for the first few bars - something my music director was happy to point out to me.) I digress. We got to the part where she was saying her vows - this time for real - and she broke down in tears - I mean they could have used that water in a California brush fire. Tears were everywhere. She barely got out the first line and she had to stop.

The minister told her to take her time. Her mother, from her seat, called out 'Just breathe, honey.' We called the Kleenex folks for backup. The service came to a halt while we waited her out. And while she was pulling herself together, she squeaked out, clear for everyone to hear:

"This doesn't mean no!"

That knocked us all out. It took another moment or two, but she came through like a woman who wasn't going to leave without her man. When it came time for Robert, he had to hold a rather tight grip on his tear ducts as well but he came through without another rain delay.

After the service, when I saw them in the narthex, I walked up to them and said: "You know you'll need a lawyer now."

Cuz I'm supportive like that. I said that to Mr. Honey when we were at the altar. And he looked at me and said: 'That won't be necessary.'

For Robert and Laura, for Lily and Jeremy - I pray it won't be necessary for them, either.

033104

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

I'm going to delay the Top Ten list for one day because today is my mother's birthday. She would have been seventy-nine years old. The one thing I miss most in the world is having a parent. Both of mine are gone and I'm sure I would give a lot to have one of them here.

My mom and I spoke every week - every Monday to be exact. Even if we spoke at different times during the week, Monday at 10:00am was a fixture from the time they moved to Phoenix to the night before she passed.

Did I ever tell you the story? Mr. Honey and I were newly engaged when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April. The doctors told her she probably had about six months to live. Which meant she might not make it to her birthday - and she definitely would not make it to our wedding which was set for May of the next year.

My mother, very calmly, informed her doctors that she had a daughter who was to be married next May and did they have any idea how long she'd been waiting for that? She would not be missing that wedding day.

Mr. Honey and I offered to move up the wedding day and even offered to have it in Phoenix. She said no - keep the date, keep the place. We told her we would provide whatever she needed medically - special chairs, nurse, whatever.

She said there would be no need. She would be fine.

The six months passed..then the seventh and the eighth. The doctors did a routine scan to check the progress of the cancer...

It was gone.

They redid the scan.

Gone.

I made her send me a copy of the report so I could read it for myself. It said they could see no evidence of the cancer. That was in December.

She walked into my wedding under her own strength and you had to look really hard to see that she had been sick. She didn't even lose her hair with the chemo. She kept her promise.

She started feeling ill that winter and another scan showed the cancer had come back and spread through her body. I spoke with her on a Sunday night and she sounded just fine she said she knew this was going to end her life but she thought she had a long time to go. I didn't. But I didn't want to share that instinct with her. If she thought she had a long time, she had already proved the doctors wrong. I told her I would call her tomorrow for our regular chat.

The next day, a little before ten, I reached for the phone and something told me I didn't need to call cause no one was home. So I didn't call. When I got home that evening, Mr. Honey told me my father had called me. I called back and he told me 'Mom was gone." Talking to my brother, Mom collapsed a little before ten.

Mom and I talked about her service. She planned the service. She and my niece went to the cemetery and picked out the spot she wanted. She took care of most of the details and paid for everything (she even got a discount for my father's eventual service.) We talked about what she wanted to wear. She picked out everything but the scripture and songs - she let us do something!

During her service, her pastor turned to me and said. "She stayed for you. She wanted to be at your wedding." She never asked to be cured - though she would have taken it, I'm sure. But she told me she wasn't worried about me any more. (She loved her some Mr. Honey and he loved her.)

My Mom taught me a lot of things. My best and my worst lessons came from her, but I can honestly say she was a great Mom. She developed a sense of humor that I don't remember her having when I was younger. She was loyal to her family and faithful to God and the best thing she ever said to me was that she raised three of her best friends. (There were five of us - three daughters - sorry, boys.) How cool is that - to have your Mom think of you as a best friend?

Happy birthday, Mommy.
I miss you so much.

The Bird

To follow up on the bird that flew into the house on Thursday.
I thought it would be a good idea to have Duke (the dog) scare the bird into leaving the house. But Duke was grossly uninterested in the bird. I don't even think he bothered looking at it. All Duke wanted was to play outside.

I thought, I'll go get my haircut, leave Duke with the bird, he'll get interested in the bird and when I come back, the bird will be knocking on the door to get out. Nope, went to get my hair cut, was back in about 45 minutes and the bird was in the kitchen window and Duke was at the door saying "I still want to go outside. and oh, when did we get a bird?"

The bird was in the kitchen and I was trying to figure out what to do when I prayed to God to help me out. As soon as the prayer was over, the bird flew into the living room where I was and sat on the t and v. I went into the dining room and opened the french door that leads to the outside and I waited outside for the bird to get a clue.

Then the phone rang. I thought maybe it was Mr. Honey but it was Mike, my music director, saying he needed to be picked up at the train station so we could go to the rehearsal. I picked up the phone and took it outside with me and as we were talking, the bird flew from the t and v to the back of the easy chair and finally out of the door.

Thank you, God.

The wedding was lovely and there was a really touching, funny moment, but it deserves its own spot, not one shared with a stinky bird and uninterested dog in my house. So, I will share that moment with you later. But let it suffice for the moment that it was a lovely wedding - a far cry from the 'just do something on the beach' they were talking about having. It was traditional and lovely. And they did some really fun things at the reception I'll tell you about, too!

God is good.
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What Passes For Normal

I think things are returning to the regular kind of crazy.

Mr. Honey is having a play date with some of his guy friends. I am rejoicing in this as it has taken me about 15 years to get him to go play without me. I remember asking his good friend Bruce to get him out of the house - not that I was tired of him - but because I wanted him to have his connections like he did before me. Bruce asked him to go some place or another and Mr. Honey's first response (according to Bruce) "Can I bring Bev with me?"

Sweet.

Today they are going to do some decidedly male thing that has to do with the Santa Fe speedway and cars. Bruce just purchased a 1930-something something and now he and the boys are gonna go scratch and grunt over other old cars.

I'm happy for them. In the meantime, I've done the bling shawl. I cannot tell you how soft this thing is except to say it's really soft and it's a nice size as well. When I finished it, I thought I should have put the sequins on the top edge and it would drape around the neck and down. That's certainly an option should I do this again, but I rather like it now that I see the photos. It can be pinned at different places for a wrap, shawl or poncho look. Of course it's on sale at designbcb.

I'm working on the stained glass afghan and if I work diligently it will be done today, this weekend at the latest.

Here's almost everyone of the Cotton clan from my nephew's wedding. Missing is my sister's husband (he's on assignment in Liberia.) My sister's son (he's in Maryland) and her daughter (living in Israel); my eldest sister in AZ who couldn't get the time off and her kids and my eldest brother's three kids. But here are the rest of us - eclectic, eh?
Mr. Honey is to the far right - but you knew that, didn't you?

I'm gonna need prayers and good thoughts. The back pain hasn't completely left and it seems like it's cramps from you know, that time, except that time hasn't come for a couple of months. I'm gonna have to suck it up and go to the doctor cuz this is really uncomfortable!
And on that nice note, I'm gonna go drink some water and buy some sneakers!
031904

The Precious

This is Jeremy and Beth. Beth is his Momma. She and my brother were a year ahead of me in high school so I've known her for a long time. I haven't seen her in a long time before the wedding (though we are Facebook friends.) One of the great joys of the day was seeing her again. (Considering we live less than five miles apart, it goes to prove how big and small the word is.) When she walked down the aisle at the wedding I turned to my sister and said, "She's always been beautiful." And she is. Beth is stunning.

And she gave me something to think about that I must share. Here's what happened.

I was saying my good-byes and she asked if she could see the wedding afghan. I, of course, said yes, before I realized I had placed the gift on the gift table which meant it was no longer mine to show off. Luckily, Lily was standing close to the table and we walked over and we asked Lily if we could look at the afghan. We were looking at it when Lily mentioned she might have to use it because the evening was a little chilly and her gown was strapless and Beth said:

"No, you don't use this." She said in that way that all knitters (heck, all crafters) love to hear their stuff talked about. Like this is something special.

And here we are at a knitting crossroads. Is it a precious object or is it functional? And who gets to decide? Do I decide because I made it? Does Lily decide because it was made with her in mind? Don't even ask about what Jeremy thinks - he won't even care. How often does it happen that we make an item with a person or purpose in mind and that person uses it differently than we imagined? Do we think they're clever or do we feel a little put out?

I didn't say anything in response because Lily and I started talking about the colors but it does make me wonder about how we think about what we make and what others may think about what we make.

I love that Beth said that. I love the idea that someone thinks it's special enough to preserve.
I also thought Lily would snuggle with a good book with the afghan wrapped around legs.
I also thought the afghan would look good at the foot of the bed.
I also thought it would make an interesting tapestry hung on the wall.
I also thought they would hide it until such time they knew I was coming for a visit.

I'm good with any of those option - even the last one. And I have come to the conclusion that it is up to Lily and Jeremy to decide. It's a win-win. I gave them something from my heart and spirit - I've gotten my Ya-Yas and now they can decide the value to their heart and spirit. I think that's how it goes.

Which side do you land on? Is it precious or functional?

BTW, Susie got a kick out of Mr. Honey buying the Glad storage bags to use as the gift bag. We did not use that. I took a trip over to the Container Store and purchased those zipped bags that sheet sets and blankets come in. It gave a nice, professional finished look. In fact, I am going to ship afghans and blankets from designbcb that way. I felt really good about the presentation - but I'm always glad to give Susie a good chuckle!
030804

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Niece and Nephew

Here they are: Mr and Mrs Cotton-Schmidt. It's a strange and wonderful thing to think I saw this little creature when they brought him home from the hospital. I have fed him, changed his diapers, took him on outings with just the two of us even disciplined him once in a very great while and now he is grown up and has a wife of his own and who knows, I could be asked to babysit his child one day. (Which I will do because I can return the kid, spoiled, at the end of the day.)

In truth, I don't think I've ever seen him happier than he was on Saturday. You would expect a couple to be happy on their wedding day, and they certainly were, but knowing some of what he's gone through, I was grateful that he was happy. That he could find his own happiness. I am grateful he knew it was out there for him to find. And he did find it. Lily is very lovely inside and out. She is a great compliment to him and a great partner for him. She'll keep him in line.

I wish my parents were here. My father would be happy because Jeremy is the first son of a son. My mom would be over the moon because she loved her some Jeremy but she would be thrilled because Lily is the daughter of a minister. So where Lily couldn't keep him in line; Jesus will take over.

There are other photos to share from the wedding including the crazy family I come from (and Lily is now stuck with) and photos of Mr. Honey and me but for right now, this is still their moment.

This Week's Chicago Top Ten Week of August 31

Yes, you want to know about the wedding and I want to tell you all about it. The first thing I will say is: I forgot my camera and the camera phone just wasn't hitting it. But my sister and sisters-in-law took lots of photos and they promised to post them on Facebook and in an email so I will have them shortly. It was a beautiful day and I am thrilled for Jeremy and Lily. So, we should have some pics soon to share!

But today is the day for the Chicago Top Ten (tell you what, I'll give little wedding details with each choice.)Here are the ten artisans who have managed to catch my eye with their goodies. In no particular order, here are the ten I'm drooling over this week:

Saks Fifth Avenue bag by Ninestories
This bag would have been great at the wedding. As it was, I was a fashion don't cause my purse didn't match my outfit.

Sterling Earrings by Dalkullen
I wore diamond earrings at the wedding but these would have been a great match as well.

The Versatile Shrug by verionicarileymarten
This is a shrug that can be worn in different ways. Of course, I brought knitting with me. But you will be happy to know, I did not knit at the wedding or the reception. I knit in the car on the way to the reception so part of the falling leaves afghan can claim to be a part of the wedding day. It can also claim to be part of a backyard bbq - the afghan gets around!

Blooms Tote Bag by Camillestar
This is another bag that would have gone with my outfit (I wore black) if I wanted a more casual but still classy look.

Suncatcher by Glass Cat
What a great idea! I love the idea of this suncatcher. I have to admit to adding it to my favorites list!

Welcome to the new followers we picked up over the last few days. I look forward to getting to know you and your blogs/shops. This week I want to give a shout out to Dianne at The High Plains Knitter. Not only does she knit very well, she also encourages and lifts up other artisans.
Take a moment to read her blog and see some of the artisans she features. Dianne has inspired and encouraged me on more than one occasion and I appreciate her willingness to share her faith and her craft - which all comes from the same place!

Black Citrus by Dirtybusinessbathco
It looks pretty and I bet it smells pretty, too. (Not a surprise, the wedding colors were blue and white. Lily saw the afghan and said I got the colors just right! Yeah, she's a keeper.)

Sans Partridge Earrings by leavesofglass
Get it? They look like pears but they don't have the partridge in the pear tree? Sans is French for without...I don't mind that they look like pears, but when I first saw them, they looked like two big kisses. Either way works for me.

Abacus earrings by The Bureaus
Her very first day on Etsy and she makes a favorite list. I don't care who you are, that's got be great karma!

Chicago by reneeleonestudio
Always interesting to see your city through the eyes of another. Even two Chicagoans will have a different perspective.

Pearl Neck Piece by Girlwithahook
It looks like a piece of knitted jewelry. People who crochet well make really beautiful items. I should really try and get better at it. Yeah, that's gonna go right on the to do list.

Aren't these great works of art? I think the theme is simple elegance. Kind of describes the wedding yesterday. It was done in Spanish and English and I cannot wait to show you all the diversity that comes in this branch of the family. I don't understand how there could be folks in the world that believe it isn't right. There cannot possibly be that much laughter and love in something wrong. God doesn't work that way.

Wedding Day!

Today is the day my nephew is getting married. I was with my brothers and one of my sisters, two nephews and two sisters-in-law until about 12:30 this morning. Talk about synergy, they are staying in the hotel where I spent the night before and my wedding night. Things have come full circle.

The bags Mr. Honey brought home cannot be used as gift bags because they have big-ass GLAD written across them. So they make great storage bags, but not gift bags. I looked up the bags I wanted and found them at two stores - one close to the house, so I tooled over there yesterday to find they have them on line but not in the store. The place that has them in the store is down the street from the hotel where my family is staying so we will shoot over there before we meet up for brunch. Hopefully I will find them in stock or I am going to have tie up the wedding afghan with a pretty bow and stick it in a gift bag.

I don't have photos yet - but I am taking my camera with me and I am hoping to take photos - I have been given that order by my eldest sister who could not make the trip - she said to remember all the details but I'd rather have some pics or the blog - you should see the folks I've been talking about - including Mr. Honey.

Remember I said yesterday was going to be a good day? It was. I still think about the troubles but they are nothing compared to the joys and it should be the joys that run the river. It is a joy that there is a technology that brings family from Colorado, Arizona, Maryland and Illinois into one place in just a matter of hours.

It is a joy to find two people who are so excited about finding each other that they want to say to each other and the world: This is my beloved. This is the one that I choose to be with no matter how long my life lasts. No matter what paths open before me. No matter what my past has been. This is the way I will go and this is the one I trust my pain and my happiness to. This is the one who's happiness and pain I will take into my hands and treat them with care.

It is an special joy to understand those feelings because you feel them yourself and have someone who feels them with you and for you.

Let other people be ugly if they choose to be. That's not my problem.
Hope springs eternal.
It's going to be a great day.

All Systems Go

Y'all know what this means. It means I'm going to try and logic away something that probably doesn't have a lot of logic behind it.

Like why it's July 17 and it friggin' freezing in the house and we don't have the air conditioner on. We do have some open windows to let in the fresh air - but it's supposed to be fresh summer air. You know Summer? Change the first vowel and that's what we're supposed to be doing - Simmer(ing). I cannot explain why global warming causes us to be cold.

I can't explain all the recent interest in Mr. Honey's Old Chevy. Did I ever tell you the story about his Old Chevy? It's so..male. When Mr. Honey and I started dating the subject of cars came up (I have no idea how - I was driving a Pontiac Sunbird - no one talks about that on purpose) but Mr. Honey mentioned he drove an Old Chevy when he wasn't driving the company car. (I could care less about what cars men drive which is why I'm not sure how this conversation came up.) Anyway, I was out with some friends who knew him and I mentioned I started dating him and said, "He mentioned the strangest thing. He wanted me to know he drove an Old Chevy. Like I care."

The two of them practically threw themselves on the floor laughing. (Yes, this has something to do with knitting; just wait.)

When they finally came back to their senses, they informed me the 'Old Chevy' was a 1965 Corvette convertible. Oh, yeah, that's funny.
When I asked Mr. Honey about it he said - with a straight face - "I didn't want you to like me for my car."

So now, of course, I hate the car. He has drained it of all fluids and taken off the tires and the car sits covered in the garage. He has not driven it in eleven of our thirteen years of marriage. I mention every year how he should get it back in driving condition and take it out for a spin or sell it. But he hasn't seemed interested in any of those three things.

But everyone else loves it and no matter what function we're at someone will slide up to me and ask me if I can get him to sell them the car. My usual answer is "If you have a buck 68 in your pocket right now, you can take it home.' Would you believe NO ONE has managed to have $1.68 in their pocket?

But two people have been seriously pressing Mr. Honey to buy the car and he asked me if I could sell it to either his brother or his best friend. Both of whom have cleared this pending purchase with their wives and they are ready for the bidding war to begin. And my answer?

Absolutely not.

I bet you're not as surprised as he was. Here's how the conversation went:
"WHY NOT?"
"Duh."
"What duh?"
"Do you want to sell the car?"
"I'd prefer to keep it but I haven't driven it."
"OK so you sell the car to your best friend or your brother both who we see on a pretty regular basis and how are you going to feel seeing your Corvette brought back to life and if you want to drive it - you will have to ask their permission?"
"That would be weird. I'd like to fix it - it just hasn't been a priority."
"You wouldn't be doing the work yourself. How bout this? Get the car fixed. Drive it yourself and if the thrill is gone, feel free to sell to whom you like. Until then you cannot sell this car to anyone you know."
So now, he's interested in getting the car repaired and driving it himself. I haven't been able to get him to consider that for eleven years. I can't explain it.

So what does that have to do with knitting?

I have to start yet another knitting project:
I can't explain that either.


020604

Gimme, Gimme Some Loving - This Week's Chicago Ten!

I want to give a shout out to all the hardworking artisans in Chicago but there's only so much room - even in a blog...
So here is the first of what I hope is a weekly thing:

The Chicago Ten

This is a listing of ten items from Chicago artisans (these are all from Etsy) with items that appeal to me. Click on the link below to be taken to the item that has captured my attention!
Even though knitting is my passion, I am in awe of those folks who can draw or bead or do any of those things that create so much beauty.

In no particular order:

Puck55
PetitOlseau's
Ellie'sOO
Crochetgirl
SarahKatherineGreen
CamilleStar
FullenStar
ariyamastudio's
diffractionfiber
deersweetheartstudio

Any major city is going to boast local artisans and if you do a blog, I encourage you to give a shout out to some of the local talent in your area. You show love to both the artist and the folks who might be looking for just the right present for someone or themselves. (Need I say it - Christmas is just around the corner!)

Generation Knext

So I wrote Quin's Mom and asked if Quin was interested in learning how to knit and I was upfront saying I had no knitting heir to keep the tradition going. She wrote back saying she did not know how to knit and her Mom knew how to knit but didn't do it a great deal.

Then she said Quin was awed by taking on the responsibility of being the knitting heir and he was willing to learn how to knit. His grandmother (who lives in the area) will show him the basics and then the next time I see him later this year, I can show him more advanced techniques.

Of course this warms my heart and I know my little nephew. He will want to get this down just right and do the best job he can of it and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he were to be very good at it. I am controlling myself and not getting ahead of the game - it's just he is a rather creative soul and he likes sports. I consider knitting to be a creative sport so I am hoping for the best.

I won't see him for a while but I will let you know how this all pans out.