When I'm 64

Hello again. Believe it or not I write all the time, just not here. But today seems like a good time to record a few words as it is one of those impossible to absorb days, my birthday. My 64th birthday. Who knew that when the calendar said I was 64, my brain would keep saying something like 40? (Which is weird because my child, who in my mind should still need help to cross the street just turned 36). 

Nothing makes sense anymore. I should have suspected something when some years ago the backs of my hands started to resemble the backs of my mother's hands. The skin was softer, thinner and the veins more prominent. I didn't mind that too much until the age spots appeared as well.  

For years I understood, intellectually, that time takes it toll on the human body, and parts of me have been sliding south for some time, but that early morning, post shower, bright sunlight, eyeball to eyeball look in the mirror is not for the fainthearted.  

You Mean You Only Need One of These Things?

     Way, way back, many years ago (I think we were still using quill pens to record our patterns), I was a crocherer. I made lots and lots of afgans (ripple, granny-square, you name it), baby blankets, scarves, even crib toys; everyone got an crocheted gift for Christmas or their birthday.

      I don't want to brag, but I may have been responsible for the growing number of joggers and/or runners in our town. (Sample conversation: "Do you think we can outrun her? You know that crocheted stuff is pretty light.") Just kidding, I loved the crochet years. I even remember carrying my precious son home from the hospital in a crocheted baby blanket. (I still have it, somewhere. I'll probably give it to him as a gift someday)
     However, over the years, I gave up the crochet hooks to move forward with other things like soccer mom assignments and, heaven help us, field trip duty. Sometimes I missed craft work, so I tried pottery (Mom, isn't it supposed to be round?) and embroidery (damn, those holes are tiny).
     Then about ten years ago, my boss (a woman) introduced me to knitting. I was sold. There was scarves, There were more scarves. There were even more.....well you get the picture. Again, I don't want to brag, I don't have any pictures of those really early scarves, however there are some very warm homeless people in our town. (They asked for donations; what was I to do?)

Here's a picture of a pretty early scarf

      This finally lead to the golden years. I became an accomplished knitter. Once scarves became an everyday (read: boring) thing, I fell down into a hole named SOCKS! I will have to expand on sock knitting at a  later date. (Too many stories, too may socks) I have knitted just about anything that I wanted to knit. I have even done some test knitting for knitting designers (again, stories to follow), but I decided that I wanted to go back and learn how to crochet again (you thought I'd forgotten my subject, didn't you?). And this time I wanted to learn it properly.

     When I learned to crochet, I learned from a right-handed person to didn't know how to teach left-handed one (me). So I learned "the wrong way."  So, last February, I took a class at Stitches West call How to Learn to Crochet Left Handed. Yay! 

Here is my second attempt at a crochet attempt at a project. Great book.

I haven't given up knitting, but I have made a promise to myself that every five (or so) projects will be a (properly done, or course) crocheted item.

Return to the world of yarn

 Wherein We are Covered in Fiber

Yes, I'm still out here in the world of yarn fiber and animal hair. (Actually they're the same thing aren't they; I just find one more annoying than the other) I remain the partner/resident sharer with several animal types and one human. Work continues reluctantly and knitting breaks sneak in wherever possible. (Any day ending with a "y" for example)

My Shawl that Jazz with Blue Moon yarn

Actually, now that I've retired, and my husband is still working away, knitting is working. I keep up with projects that I've promised to people to various charity projects, but most of my projects are of the fun variety, like the shawl pictured above and the cowl below:

This a cowl made with Canon Hand Dyes mini skeins. The neutral gray is a Plucky fingering.

Knitting and writing, that is the new me. (With the occasional heavy-duty cat-hair rolling in my spare time).
See you in the pet goods supply aisle.

Sonrise, Sonset (I know...just humor me)

This last weekend was one of those times when I felt like a grown-up. I was surrounded by family and friends; we were witnessing one of life's eternal, unchanging ceremonies, and I was wearing high heels. This (the high heels part) only happens when something truly important and out of the ordinary happens.
I wonder why we celebrate some events by altering ourselves into something (someone?) so different from the everyday. I can't complain too much, I was complimented many times for looking wonderful which, I suppose, made it all worthwhile. (Thank you hair and makeup people!)  However, it's possible that I looked the way I did because I was part of an amazing circle of love and joy which happens all to rarely in life.
My son married the woman he loves. I now, officially, have a daughter.
They have been together for some years, having met several years ago while they were both attending college (Go Bears!). They have since graduated, found jobs, and settled into a life together. She became a daughter to us in all the ways that mattered; we shared holidays and vacations, inside jokes and some dark times. And I finally got to buy a few "girlie things" for Christmas and birthdays. This is because my son is my only child.One of the most striking things, for me anyway,  is that both he and his wife are "only children." I don't know anything about the odds for it, but I wonder how many times it happens that only children are attracted to each other. I do think (in all modesty) that if you met them, you wouldn't realize that they were "onlies." Neither of them act like it; they don't display any sense of "the world revolves around me" I've seen in some only children.
I was thinking about this "onlyness" (if that's a word?) this weekend when I watched and talked with the wonderful, caring people who make up the supportive circle of friends created by my son and (now) daughter.  It was a joy to be swept up in the excitement of wedding weekend--I was immediately accepted as "one of the girls"--and revel in the humor, love and support on display. It was a stressful time, making sure everything happened at the right time, but the most important thing for everyone was to take care of each other. No one complained, no one tried to take center stage, no one got angry; they all worked to make the day a beautiful one and were moved to tears when their turn came to share a blessing during the ceremony.
I am so truly blessed; not just by having a loving son and a new daughter. I also know that they understand why it was so important that we were all dressed like grown-ups. It was because that's who we are; especially for this eternal, unchanging ceremony of life.

Silver Threads and Golden Needles

I just recently reconnected with an old friend by way of Facebook (yeah, I may have to have a talk with Betty White about this to explain to her why Facebook does have some value). It has been delightful to reminisce about the past with my friend as well as bring her up to date on what my family has been doing the last few decades or so. (Can time really have passed so quickly?) 

When we met we were both young marrieds (okay how about just younger, or I will feel ancient)  starting families and having adventures together. Our husbands were in the military at that time which brought us together as friends faster than we might have otherwise because we learned to depend on each other. The "guys" were gone much of the time, so we coped in various ways: we got to know our surroundings (this children was before GPS, so sometimes you just have to go the long way), we took some classes (otherwise known as "how I know that I should never ever try to make my own pottery"), she taught me how to crochet (I can still crochet a border around a knitted blanket!) and we did a lot of growing up. (I know I did anyway).

As it has been a few years since we last saw each other, I found myself trying to sum up my life over the past couple of decades. Have you tried to do this recently? If you have a family member who sends out "Christmas letters" (and I do) (I also enjoy reading them, don't misunderstand!) imagine trying to put together twenty or so of them in a couple of pages, from an increasingly faulty memory. (And yes, I didn't want to linger over some the the less than glowing parts). Fortunately there is a lot of Good Stuff: happy family (loving husband with good job, wonderful son with beautiful fiancee), lovely home filled with happy animals situated beside a peaceful river (want to throw yourself over the side yet?). Anyway, I won't go into the Bad Stuff right now, as I spent too much time with it when it was happening.

But looking backwards can be a gift of sorts; as the memories don't always present themselves in a organized fashion, I discover new "threads" to follow through the memories. (Do you see the knitting analogy there?) Something that didn't make any sense at the time about a choice I made. (Sorry, I didn't mean to make this sound like a college essay). Mostly what I noticed when I started trying to explain what happened to my family over the past couple of decades was (warning: Cliche coming!) how fast it all went by and yet how long ago it felt! (Okay those of you on the right side of the room will take the first part and those of you on the left side of the room will take the last part. Papers will be due tomorrow)

I want to add that reconnecting with an old friend (sorry,not old, just older) is a delightful thing. Most people don't react by becoming all broody like me (isn't broody a great word?).  I could now show you a picture of a knitted project or animal, would that help?

And on my left...

I thought that I might introduce you some of the others who share my house (we don't say pets anymore do we?). I love having lots of non-human types running (or mostly sleeping) around the house; especially once my son grew up and moved out. Having animal companions is much like having kids around, except they never grow up, rarely learn from their mistakes, and don't move out (except for that last time which we won't talk about right now).
I've had as many as three cats, one dog and two hamsters at one time which completely maxed out my husband and, probably, the hamsters. One morning I came downstairs to find the hamster cage open and only one of the  hamsters inside. Hamwise was a terrified little bump hidden under his bedding, but Frodo was nowhere to be found. I should mention at this point that they weren't just hamsters but dwarf hamsters--about 3 inches fully grown. Several of the throw rugs were scrunched up against the walls and the cats (remember there were three) looked tired. We looked for that hamster for two days, taking the sofa apart, going through all the closets with flashlights, even unzipping all the cushions. Nothing. We created a bucket with food in it and a little ladder going up the side and waited another day. Nothing. I gave up and started trying to decide how to move on (they're just pets, right?) I sat down at the computer to e-mail my friend my sad story (my laptop is generally on the dining table--you know, where the action is) and heard a weird noise, kind of scratchy, next to my foot.

Ready to move on? Sorry, you guessed it, it was Frodo crawling across the floor towards my foot and in perfect health! We have no idea where he had been for three days or how he survived, but there he was, looking fine, if a little dehydrated. I should also say of all the hamsters we had, Frodo lived the longest, nearly three years (Hey that's a long time for a dwarf hamster). However, after that experience with Frodo, we decided not to replace the hamsters after they "moved on." Cats and hamsters just didn't mix for us, especially since we got a younger, friskier cat after that.

The hamsters were purchased from a breeder, but the cats and the dog were all acquired either from our local animal shelter or an organizaion that rescues animals. Therefore, as mentioned in a previous entry, you don't know exactly what you are in for, and animals come to you at various ages. The cats we have adopted have been everything from eight weeks to several years old. It doesn't much matter to me, and I really think that the animal picks you out anyway. They take one look at you and think, "Nice socks. I'm going home with her!" (Again, sometimes it's a misfire. Sigh!) One of our more recent acquisitions is Angel (pictured above, looking deceptively angelic). He has been with us almost two years now. I don't have feelings one way or the other about black cats; Angel was just sitting there in his cage and asked me nicely if he could come home with me. He then climbed in my lap and declined to leave. At the time we had two other cats, so I couldn't bring his brother home with us (a deal I have with my husband, something about maximum occupancy). However, last year, when we had an opening (don't ask, if was very painful) we went back and got Raisin.

No, they're not the same cat. Look at the whiskers. Raisin is smaller and has white whiskers on his right side. See?

Angel and Raisin were rescued from a storm drain under a fast food restaurant as kittens (I know, I know). But they have a happy home now and they love being together. They especially love to race up and down the stairs at night after we have gone to bed; it sounds like a herd of elephants. You can understand why the dog hides in our room.

Right Back on Track

So as I was saying...last year. Sigh! I can't believe that I let a year go by without writing. Well, I can. And it's not like I can say that nothing has happened in the last year to write about. Mostly, I guess, I just keep saying, "I'll write about that tomorrow, at Tara." (How many people get that reference now do you suppose? One of the many things that remind me of how old I really am. Oh, and how old you are too, so stop laughing)
I read several knitting blogs on a regular basis and become upset when they don't write as often as I want them to, so it's funny that I don't put more pressure on myself to write in my own blog. Of course, no one actually reads this one, but anyway. During the past year I have gone on an amazing vacation to Scotland and have had my only son become engaged to be married next year, and most importantly done a lot of really beautiful knitting. (Tongue completely in cheek!) Well, knitting is what I do the most: I think a lot about patterns and yarns, I plot and dither about which project needs the most attention RIGHT NOW. Walking the dog, making a meal, and even planning a vacation are worked around my knitting schedule.
One of the biggest events of my past year was going to Stitches West in February with my friend Barb. We went down for two days sniffed the yarn fumes (you know that contact high) and hung out with our peeps. We also took a class this time: it was called something like How Do Your Socks Get Color? with Elise Duvekot. She wrote the Knit One Below Book. We learned the knit one below knitting style for socks and had a great time by making what someone in the class called "turbo-sized Barbie socks" with contrasting vertical stripes.
(Oh and I also bought a little yarn. However, and I did point to out to both Barb and my husband, each year that I've gone (this is my third year) I have purchased less yarn than the year before. If I just keep going for about thirty years, I won't buy any at all. Hah!)
I did buy enough yarn to make my first sweater which I am currently working on. It's one of the simplest patterns I could find: knitting from the top down with ragglan sleeves, no seaming, and a wrap-style front. How much simpler can you get? I got this recommendation from the Yarn Harlot in her blog (told you I read a lot of blogs) when she was asked about her favorite sweater pattern: Knitting Pure & Simple #263. I'm using Dream in Color Classy in Absolute Magenta. I've had help from my LYS Yarns on First here in Napa, since I can't hold the sweater and measure myself at the same time; not enough hands. I'm past the point of putting the sleeves on waste yarn (yay!) and working my way down the body.

Finally, I've done some more Test Knitting for Anne Hanson (knitspot) which is always exciting and leaves me a little breathless. She had started a sock with an intriguing twisting boxy pattern that I really liked, so I wrote to her about it. She asked if I would like to test knit it, and, of course, I said I would love to. The finished pattern is called Chicklets; I knitted them in Blue Moon STR mediumweight colorway Dragon Dance. Anne was pleased with them and I was too; it's a great pattern and a very quick knit. You should check her shop for it as well as her other sock patterns, if you haven't already (what are you waiting for?).
Have I overwhelmed you enough for now? I really, really promise to write again (this year!)