15 Monday Jun 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts, Writing
In every out-thrust headland,
in every curving beach,
in every grain of sand
there is the story of the earth.
[Rachel Carson]
The photo is Battery Buchanan at Fort Fisher. Only part of this North Carolina costal fort remains. The rest has washed into the Atlantic. One of the last battles in the Civil War was fought here. We toured the fort the day we visited friends on the beach near Wilmington. Lovely place. I’ll write more when I return home.
08 Monday Jun 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts
If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection
to what we want to get out of life that we give to
the question of what to do with a two weeks’ vacation,
we would be startled at our false standards and
the aimless procession of our busy days.
[Dorothy Canfield Fisher]
Ah. A road trip. I have a feeling that an eight year old boy and a grandmother might be the best possible traveling companions. I’m looking forward to a week of driving through Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina. We’re off to Grandpa’s then to Uncle Jamie and Aunt Bev’s. Hope to visit on the beach as well.
26 Tuesday May 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts
Every child comes with the message that
God is not yet discouraged of man.
[Rabindranath Tagore]
My two youngest grandsons are only three months apart in age. Michael (left) is the oldest. I’d love to see them play together but Cole (right) lives so far away. They both are such jolly little lads.
14 Thursday May 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts
Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.
[Alex Haley]
Michael is 18 months old and his brother, Joshua, is 8 years old. I don’t need to mention how old Grandma is, but she loves these lads and their new photo.
05 Tuesday May 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Knitting
I love to create miniature items.
I can test colors and patterns
without launching into a six month project.
[KMM]
The photo at the left puts the hat and mitten photo into perspective. Elizabeth is an eighteen-inch Magic Attic doll. Her outfit is knit using Shetland jumper-weight wool and size #1 or #2 needles. The Knickerbocker pants have tiny buttons at the knees. The long socks have lace clocks on the sides. The vest border was knit using mitered corners and a stitch pattern. I built a long opening in the back of the pull-over sweater so that I can dress her without pulling her clothes over her head.
Over the years, I’ve knitted several outfits for this doll. Fingering weight yarn works well. There have been times when I tested a pattern idea on an outfit for Elizabeth then went on to make it into a people-sized item.
Elizabeth has her own guard dog, Toby. He has two jobs, guard dog and lap dog. When he is a lap dog, he prefers it when I knit socks, mittens, hats or doll clothes.
Elizabeth with her guard dog, Toby
03 Tuesday Mar 2009
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts
A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer,
bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier,
the past forgotten, and the future worth living.
Here are the birthday photos of Cole with his mama and daddy. I didn’t get to NC for the celebration, but was there in spirit. Just imagine, three cakes.
09 Tuesday Dec 2008
Posted in Favorite Things, Thoughts
Christmas is a time when you get homesick—
even when you’re home.
[Carol Nelson]
Cole Smith is my youngest grandson. He thrives in Wilmington, North Carolina. His folks sent me these photos yesterday and, being a grandma, I had to show them off.
14 Tuesday Oct 2008
Posted in Favorite Things, Knitting, Ongoing Projects, Thoughts
Life is like a coin.
You can spend it any way you wish,
but you only spend it once.
[Lillian Dickson]
I’ve been spending life enjoying myself thoroughly. Our October is unusually warm so I’ve taken every opportunity to drive with the top down and, of course, with a grin on my face. It is great to have white hair and drive a sports car. I’m obviously so far past mid life that nobody could suspect me of being in crisis. I get broad grins and thumbs up in return.
I spent time in one of my favorite places last weekend, New Harmony, Indiana. A group of knitters met at the Barn Abby for a retreat. The folks from Atkinson Farm Yarns in Vincennes, Indiana even brought a selection of yarn for us to browse through. The weather was perfect and the crops on the farms looked like they were right out of a James Whitcomb Riley poem.
In addition to my day job (which is so much fun I can’t call it work) and exercising at Curves, I’ve been teaching knitting classes at Sarah Jane’s Yarn Shoppe. My little buddy, Toby, takes me for walks and we join friends and family for yummy suppers. There is a point to all of this—choice.
I could stress out as I watch my retirement savings evaporate. I could watch political shows on TV even though the campaign has gone on a year too long in my opinion. I could worry myself sick over how other people spend their lives. The question is, would my stressing out change one thing for the better any more than my gripping the arm rests keeps an airplane in the air? Of course not. So, I voted early—for me, the campaign is over. I found the off button on my TV, and filed my depleted quarterly financial report away. Choosing to be delighted changes a lot.
31 Sunday Aug 2008
Posted in Favorite Things, Review
Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
[Groucho Marx]
The Guernsey Literary and
Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and
Annie Barrows
The Dial Press, 2008
Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, was occupied by the Germans during most of World War Two. For five years the islanders lived in fear, danger and deprivation while they were out of contact with the rest of the world. By the time they were liberated, they were abused and starving but they had forged enriching friendships out of their hardship and need to protect each other.
This novel is a good example of fiction presenting facts in a more effective way than non-fiction can. The reader is absorbed into the experiences of the characters, and remembers the historical experience with more than a precise memory of facts.
The story is told in a series of letters between a young writer, Juliet Ashton, in 1946 London and her close friends in addition to the members of the literary society on the island of Guernsey. The letters are witty, charming, engrossing and satisfying. The story is so well written that it may become one of those durable books that is read year after year and rediscovered each generation–a book that could become a classic.
29 Sunday Jun 2008
Posted in Favorite Things, Other Favorite Sites, Review
Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.
[Mary Schmich]
I confess. While I should be knitting on the foot of the toe-up sock so I can post the heel instructions, I’ve been doing some summer reading. Here are links to sites for three of my favorite authors: Robin Pilcher, Susan Whittig Albert, and Debbie Macomber. I have out of town guests coming later today so I’m afraid it will be later in the week before I get to the heel. Meanwhile, I need to get laundry running.
Knitting, writing and other joys 