The sweater that never ends

 

This is why I can’t have nice things or get anything done.

That would be my Solstice Cardigan that I have been slogging away on since October.  I’m tired of it and want it to magically finish itself.  I’m almost done with the first sleeve, worked out a few kinks, ripped it out and started again and now I just have about 2 inches of ribbing to complete before getting the second sleeve done.

March 15 – the Ides.  So to continue, I’m now 2/3 finished with the second sleeve.  I can do it!  Photo’s of the completed glorious sweater to come.  It is big.  But cozy and comfortable which is what I was going for.

On to the hat that doesn’t fit…Colorwork, the Sweet Shop’s Mochi Plus Fair Isle Hat.  I used the needle size called for, 9US, and it was very very big.  Even for me.  So, I felted it.  The plan was to felt it to fit me but you know how that goes.  20 minutes later, forgotten in the dryer it will now fit an 10 year old. eye roll eye roll.  But it is really pretty so it will go to Mary’s Place in Seattle to hug a child’s punkin’ head.

And so begins another rainy (actually pouring rain) day of knitting.  Not a bad way to spend the Ides of March.

 

Happiness is…

…a beautiful sunny 44 degree Pacific Northwest day.

A three mile walk along the waterfront with no ‘slippy foot’.

Finishing a pair of socks and having them ready to wear.

Purchasing a new yarn by NanoStitch Lab called Chemical Spill.  DK weight, it will become another poncho/wrap because I have decided that 2017 is the year of the poncho and my ‘signature’ look.  hah!

And a warm cat sleeping in the sun until I accidentally work her up while trying to take her photo, now she has an irritated look on her pretty little face.

Now I’m going to sit and knit for awhile.  My happiness is complete.

I’m anxious…

…and that is interfering with my happiness.  Last night I went to sleep wondering what it must feel like to be Muslim.  And under attack by the Trump administration.  All of the United State’s core values are being challenged and changed.  We are no longer, as of January 20th, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

This is what it is like for my next door neighbor and her family.

She is a single mom of 4 children.  Refugees from Palestine and the turmoil that comes from the conflict between Israel and Palestine.  She works 2 jobs to feed her family.  Her sisters and their families are also refugees trying to make a go of it in the land of the free.  All of them warm, welcoming people who invite us in for tea when we see each other out in the yard.  The women are covered, the men quiet.  Their English is hesitant at times, the children acting as interpreters for all of us.  We laugh a lot and bemoan the fact that we can’t always understand each other.  My neighbor’s father and mother especially wish they could speak English better.

They have the best cooking aroma’s coming from their house.  They pride themselves on having lots of food to feed everyone.

So imagine, since January 20th, the feeling of fear and anxiety they feel over being Muslim.  Imagine how they feel since Trump signed his executive order abandoning refugees and immigrants from Muslim nations.

Imagine how you feel when your child calls you at work telling you, mama, the FBI is at our door.  What should we do.  Someone has called the FBI to say that my next door neighbors are ISIS sympathizers.  She races home to find the FBI searching her home. She is already upset that her citizenship test has been postponed indefinitely.  Her parents in Palestine, getting ready for their annual trip to the United States to enjoy their children and grandchildren are denied access.  They won’t be coming over anytime soon.  Because they are Muslim. And now they worry about the neighbors suspecting them of being terrorists.  How alone they must feel.

So that is why I am anxious, worried and sick to my stomach most days.  My happiness is in peril.  But I’m not Muslim.  I can’t imagine for a moment what it must feel like for my next door neighbor and her family.  All I can do is keep having tea with them, showing them kindness and understanding.  Making sure that they know that they have a safe haven with us if they need it.

Happiness is…

…no more “slippy foot”??

For 11 months now I have had a neuropathic condition in my left foot.  It is a numbness that comes and goes affecting how my foot perceives the sensations of walking. I call it “slippy foot” because I feel like my foot is slipping out from under me when I walk.  It is very disconcerting and has greatly affected my ability to walk with confidence.  I feel like I am falling constantly.  I’ve used a walking stick for most walking because it helps my balance when I feel like I’m slipping or falling.

So for the past week or two I have noticed that I haven’t been having my slippy foot sensation…dare I hope that this condition is resolving itself??  Today was the first day I took a long walk by myself, up and down hills without using my walking stick.  I walked over 2 miles without once experiencing slippy foot.  I’m cautiously optimistic that I’m on the road to recovery.

I was so happy that I did my happy dance when I got home.

This is from the summer when I was relying heavily on my buddy Stick

Reflections

Yesterday was amazing. Inspiring. Hopeful. Peaceful!  It was a bright sunny day In Seattle.  Friday was rainy and today is rainy but yesterday was perfect.  Mother Nature smiled her sunny smile on us.

I was so happy to have been able to participate in the Womxn’s March on Seattle yesterday.  The sea of pink hats and like minded individuals and families was awe inspiring.  We want a good future for the next generation, we want peace and inclusiveness, we want a government that believes in doing the right thing for ALL people living in the U.S.   We want to be able to hold our heads high in the world and not cringe when someone asks us about our President.  We want to move forward in the area of human rights and not backwards to darker days.

NAIROBI, KENYA – JANUARY 21: Women gather to support “Women March” held against President Donald Trump in Washington at Karura Forest in Nairobi, Kenya on January 21, 2017. (Photo by Bryan Jaybee/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Demonstrators carry placards during a rally in solidarity with supporters of the Women’s March in Washington and many other cities on January 21, 2017 at the Place de Trocadero in Paris, one day after the inauguration of the US President Donald Trump. Protest rallies were held in over 30 countries around the world in solidarity with the Washington Women’s March in defense of press freedom, women’s and human rights following the official inauguration of Donald J Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America. / AFP / ERIC FEFERBERG (Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

I want to thank the world for joining us in our protest.  Seeing photos from around the world, their hopes for the United States, the solidarity, made me feel humble.

Pink umbrellas and pussy hats

Happiness is walking into Bartell’s Drug store (my favorite drug store) in search of 2 pink umbrellas and finding exactly 2 pink umbrellas.  No more no less.  Just the right number I was looking for.  My sister and I are marching in the Seattle Womxn’s March on January 21st and because this is Seattle the chances are very good that it will be raining.  We will be proudly wearing our pink pussy hats and want them to stay dry and perky  lol.

I love the color pink!

Our mother and her mother loved pink.  When our mom was in her 80’s she lived at an assisted living facility a few blocks from my house that she dubbed “the institution”.  It is a really nice “institution”.  Anyway I can still picture her waiting out front in her very care worn pink sweatshirt for me to come by and pick her up for an outing.  Usually to Bartell’s.  That was her favorite store too.

So here I sit knitting lots of pink and reflecting on our mom.  Kate and I think she ‘arranged’ for the pink umbrellas to be waiting for me at Bartell’s.

 

My stomach hurts…

…just finished reading the news for today and I feel sick.  I still keep wanting to wake up from the nightmare that is Trump. Becoming our next president.  And his cabinet of evil doers.

Happily I get to go to work  this morning at All Wound Up and have a little yarn therapy!

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Happiness is…

…a Saturday full of energy and dance.  If I had this much energy I could conquer the world. Well, I least my house anyway.  Hip Hop is so much fun to watch!!

Olivia in the center on her hands,  I’m pretty sure I can do that.  Hah!                                 

Olivia sporting the blond hair, lol, she’s the only blond on the team this year so it’s really easy to find her in the group                  

Olivia in some kind of supported cartwheel like move

The Pussy Hat pile grows, I will be glad to not knit pink for awhile after this project is finished…but it is knitting for a cause and that makes me happy!

 

Happiness is where you find it…

Like a bowl of yummy Minestrone soup – in this instance, made by my man.

Having lunch with friends.

Working in a yarn shop and touching yarn all day.

Living with a cat.

Making pink hats for the pussy hat project.

Plaid flannel PJ’s.

A good night’s sleep.

And another Winston Churchill quote – “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

 

I’m not sleepy…

…I wish I were but my insomnia will rear it’s pesky head tonight so I thought I’d write a couple of words about the Netflix series “The Crown”.  I am loving the portrayal of the Queen by Claire Foy.  What a raw deal King Edward gave her when he abdicated the throne.  Her life was forever changed.  Prince Phillip is a whiner and I don’t like him so far although I do like the actor who plays him.  But most of all I really love Winston Churchill and John Lithgow is brilliant.  Plus I learned something, I didn’t know that he was an artist and also that his “official” portrait was so reviled by he and his family that it was destroyed.

Embed from Getty Images

Anyway, I read a bit about Churchill  online and now I must go to the library and find a biography and immerse myself.

Here are a few Churchillian quotes that I really like:

•       Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
•       If you’re going through hell, keep going.
•      You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Good night. zzzz