Knitting the Blues

Thankful Thursday

A big part of me is thankful to have a theme to post about.  Done.

Oh, alright.  I'll try to come up with something else, let's see.......

I tried throughout the year to keep up with Thankful Thursday along with one of my favorite lovers of blue and tea and teapots, Rhondi of the blog Rose Colored Glasses, but keeping up requires consistent blogging, and I was less than consistent.  I should admit to not actually knowing Rhondi personally, but her photography is lovely and her home is even lovelier, I would love to live there.  Her blog is something to be thankful for.  (That's number two for those who are counting, namely me!)

I'm also thankful for lessons that I keep needing to learn and those who gently remind me.  One person in particular reads this blog, another does not, but I am so grateful to have those people in my life.  I'm working toward being thankful for the circumstances that encourage growth, but I am a work in progress on that score.  Hey, just the awareness is a step, right?  Baby steps.

There is much written and spoken of Gratitude Journals, and I think they are great things, but I was introduced to a variation on that theme:  Best, Worst and Ordinary.  It is similar to a gratitude journal in that you reflect and keep a daily record of the best, worst and an ordinary thing that occurred during your day.  After listing them you apply a "long-term positive meaning" to each.  Everyone has their own little angle for this, but the idea is to milk each event for the best possible meaning you can.  For example:

• Best:  Heard great news from a friend who was struggling with something (of course in my own journal I would be more specific) and has had a significant improvement.
  LTPM:  Even on a day when I am finding it difficult to come up with a great "best" for myself, I can live and feel vicariously through others "best" news and have it really make my day.
• Worst:  Three ceiling leaks in the game room my studio.
  LTPM: Here there are different ways to apply LTPM.  I can be oh, so thankful that there are only three and that two of them were over the floor, while only one was over furniture.  I mean, it could be worse.  I could be thankful that there aren't leaks in the ceilings over all the rooms in my home.  I can be thankful that I have the resources (well, to be honest, that resource is Pete, but you get my drift) to repair them.  I'm grateful that two of the leaks, while close, are not dripping on my sewing machine, any fabrics, fiber, yarns or my spinning wheel.  When it comes right down to it I am thankful to have a home with a game room studio that needs repair.  So many have so much less.
• Ordinary:  Oatmeal for breakfast.
  LTPM:  I have oatmeal every single day for breakfast.  It is a very ordinary breakfast, and while part of the reason I eat it is because it is one of the few things that I can eat, thanks to my food sensitivity issues.  Luckily, I love oatmeal.  I am really lucky that one of the things I can eat I actually love and it is really easy to eat it mindlessly, swallowing it while barely tasting it and forgetting how much I really do love it.  All I have to do to get it is get in my car and drive to the market and then, get this!  I like the old-fashioned kind and it cooks in 2 minutes and 33 seconds in my microwave.  A MICROWAVE!  People!  How awesome is a microwave!?  AND!  I can cook it and eat it in THE SAME BOWL!  That means I don't have to wash.a.PAN!  That is a heck of a lot of positive out of one ordinary bowl of oatmeal.  Seriously.

So, the idea is that over time even the most negative thinker can have a total shift in perspective.  Try it for a few weeks, you'll see it happen.  There are days when I can barely narrow down a worst only because I LTPM myself into thinking whatever it is that seemed so horrible just isn't that bad after all.  I mean, everything can be worse, even blessings.  Looking back over time you'll see that the worsts often turn into the bests and the things that you thought were the best often have their own little negative things attached.  You just never know at the time they are actually occurring.  I really hope you try it and I'd love to hear what effect it has on your outlook.

2010. Seventy-one. NaBloPoMo.  4/4.  I'm also grateful that even on days when I am so sure I am too tired and have nothing to say that in the end I manage to come up with something.  Sometimes, I start with nary an idea and after a few minutes I get going like an energizer bunny and then find I have to edit it all down to something that doesn't ramble on for days and bore the hell out of everybody.  Okay, I'm sure I do that anyway, but y'all are nice enough not to mention it. For that, I am also grateful.  

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for, among a bajillion other things:

• Blue
• Wool
• Blue wool
• That I can knit
• And that knitting can give pleasure to others.  I like that part.
• And the knitting has brought so many people in to my life that I might not have met through any other thing.
• And the internet, which allows me to share that knitting with those people that get it, because as much as my family tries, they are just not that into it.

• Pattern: Hamamelis Shawl by Kristin Kapur of Through the Loops*
• Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Moody Blues
• Needles: size 5
• Cast On: March 29, 2010
• Bound Off: April 4, 2010.
• Blocked and finished: April 5, 2010
• AAAANNNNDDD Bound Off and Blocked Again: April 23, 2010

Blocked again?  What craziness is that?  I just love to block so much that I thought it would be fun to pull out the bind off, rework it and then block it again.  Truthfully, against my better judgement I worked the bind off that was written in the pattern on larger needles than the shawl was knitted and it was a hot mess.  It took me a couple of weeks to give in to that truth, but I finally faced the music and ripped it out to bind off again using my usual suspended bind off on the needles I knit the rest of the shawl on.  Much better.  It was all so curly and wavy, ick!

This is my pensive look.  I'm wondering what the heck else there is to say about this shawl.  The pattern is well written and would be a pretty easy beginner lace pattern.  You should go get the pattern and knit it.  It is on sale right now!  *All of the Through the Loops patterns are on sale until the 17th.  That gives you more reason than just my recommendation to hop on over and get it.  Acer is on sale, too!  I've wanted that pattern, now is the time to get it.  How about Ulmus?  There's another one I've been putting off getting.  Well, I'd better check my downloads to make sure I don't already have them.  I've made that mistake before!

This is my second finish for 10 Shawls in 2010.  I've finished a third and as I said earlier this week, I am currently working on shawls #4 and #5.  Some people are way finished for the year.  By double.  Some people have a lot of knitting time.....

This last photo is closest to the color.  But not perfect.  Oh well.

2010.  Fifty-Five.  55.  First a five then last a five.  With no fives in between. With no anythings in between.  Just Five.Five.  No fours.  I think I might be a little overtired.......

Thankful Thursday and a Meme.Because I am a Lemming.

Thankful things for this week:

• I found two bathing suits that I can actually live with.  And be seen in.  (But not until I've tanned up a little bit).
• The sun outside my window at home, it has been a while.
• The ocean view outside my window at hotel.  Even better. (no, I am not at Hampton Beach).
• Erin got good news that made her happy.  Excited even.  It is good to see that.
• An empty seat next to us on our flights. 
• Blue fibers and yarn and the people that dye it.  It made my stash diving for vacation projects so much fun!

And the meme.  I answered these questions on Wednesday evening, so they will seem a little outdated considering the ocean view I am currently thankful for.

1. Explain what ended your last relationship.
   Let's just leave it at me, and that can mean so many different things depending on the relationship.  Just ask that last cookie I ate!
2. When was the last time you shaved?
   Today, because you can't be hairy when you hit the beach!
3. What were you doing at 8 a.m. this morning?
   Sipping a hot beverage whilst deciding what knitting should accompany me to the BE-each!
4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
   Packing. (for the beach.)
5. Some things you are excited about?
   Sand, salt water, sun, temps in the 70's, the knitting projects I'll be trying to keep sand out of......
6. What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O?
   I like 'em all, I just don't actually EAT them. I miss them.
7. Your prom night, what do you remember about it?
   That I went to the movies with a small group of friends that included the guy that I turned down when he asked me to go with him.
8. Do you have any famous ancestors?
   I'll get back to you on that one. I'm sure to find one once I research my family tree.
9. Last thing you received in the mail?
   Netflix.
10. How many different beverages have you had today?
    One. Unless you count Metamucil!
11. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines?
    Yes. And I am surprised at how unusual that seems to be.
12. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
    I have no memory of doing it. Yet.
13. Any plans for Friday night?
    If Pete has his way, Cuban food. Near the beach.
14. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
    Well, overall I prefer getting beach hair to ski hat hair. Just sayin'.
15. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
    Who hasn't? Between you and me, I would eat the caramel even if it isn't as good as Poppycock. That was back when I ate sugar. Ah, the good ol' days.
16. Do you re-use your towels after you shower?
    For what? (That is just my jab at the question. What you really want to know, I'm assuming, is if I use my towel for more than one shower. I do. So does Pete. We are mostly a three adult household with a LOT of towels. In one week Pete and I will use two towels and Erin will use ALL OF THE REST OF THEM! I think I am going to throw them all out and force her to re-use hers.)
17. Describe your keychain.
    Just the tag that came on the key when I got it, describing how to use the remote starter.
18. Where do you keep your change?
    If I told you.... just kidding. Two tea tins in the closet in the t.v. room. I seperate the pennies, and I am not sure why because I usually use one of those change machines when I turn it in for bills.
19. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
    Does it count when they are all under 18 and I am kicking off a fundraiser? Then November.
20. What kind of winter coat do you own?
    I have a few, but my favorite is a down parka by Ralph Lauren. It has a hood with a faux fur trim and a light blue lining. I love this jacket and have had it for years. I am starting to lose the fight when it comes to the stains though. Bummer, that is a really warm jacket. I won't need it tomorrow......

2010.  Forty.  Tired.  But at the beach!  yay!

Thankful Thursday

I've not been thankful for the last couple of Thursdays.  Well, that isn't entirely accurate, I've had things to be thankful for, but I haven't participated in blogging them because it would have taken time away from the ALL KNITTING, ALL THE TIME!* vibe I had going.  So today, while no different thanks to a new project with new yarn that is gorgeously and stunningly blue, I'm taking a break from ALL KNITTING, ALL THE TIME!* to share some things that I am thankful for or about.

• The fragrance of my experiment with bulb forcing filling the house.  While the bulbs are only kind of making it, they are making my home smell like spring.  I prefer spring to funeral home, but you get the idea.
• Four seasons.  Or, depending on how you look at it (like my way of looking), three and a half, but still.  In New Hampshire we are blessed with lots of beautiful changes.
• Sometimes gratitude helps me deal with the not so good, so today and everyday I remind myself how thankful I am that my husband has a job.  A job in which we are both sacrificing a bit for him to keep, but a job and that is what is important, right?  RIGHT!
• Tomorrow is the last day of our last high school Spirit Week.
• Electricity.  In these parts it has been at a premium this last week. 
• The Four Fs:  Friends, food, fiber, fun.
• David Sedaris.
• The Olympics and Ravelympics or Knitting Olympics were so fun and productive. 
• And now they are so.over.  yay!
• Bedtime.

Thankful Thursdays sponsored by Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses.  Join in, it is good for the heart!

Speaking of thankful, Pete is over the top with all of the birthday wishes that were sent his way.  He thanked everybody in the comments of that post, but in case you didn't go back to read that you should just know, he thanks all of y'all!  And I do to.

*Everybody says that, "all whatever, all the time."  It just about kills me to write it out that way.  I want to say, "ALL KNITTING, ALL OF THE TIME!"  It just doesn't work though.

2010. Thirty-seven. The grand-kitten is walking around with her eyes closed.  She thinks if she doesn't see me I won't see her and she can sneak up and steal the BFL waiting to be spun.  So tricky.  With her obsession with my yarn (and she is a yarn snob!  Steals only the good stuff.  Leave some Lion's Brand Homespun out and she turns up her nose and pouts.) and fiber I should get a drop spindle into her double paws.   

Thankful Thursday

Ooops, I hope I make it!  Twenty minutes and I'm waiting for photos to make the trip from my camera to my computer.  This takes for.EVER with this camera.  Here are a few things I am thankful for right now.

• Rubbermaid storage.
  
  
• Oatmeal.
  
  
• My hard-working husband.
  
  
• Pandora, today I listened to Broadway All Stars while taking down Christmas (no judging-on the music or the Christmas).
  
  
• My Zojirushi water heater/dispenser.  I had green tea temperature water at the ready the entire day of cleaning.
  
  
• Fleece lined slippers and flannel pajamas.
  
  
• Winter Blooms, can you tell? I just don't get bored with photographing them.
  
  Wait, that isn't an amaryllis!

2010. Twenty. I have more amaryllis photos, really. I can't stop. And the blooming isn't over. All stages of growth, this is a banner year of the amaryllis in my house. Time to plant more!

Thankful Thursday

With everything that has happened in Haiti, it is difficult not to feel grateful for every little thing. Any of the things we have and take for granted are one catastrophic event from being taken from us.  Even the not so great stuff will change, and while we hope it will be better, the not so good of today may be what you look back on and wish for this kind of bad in the future.  You just never know.  Just think, a scant week ago the people of Haiti were living difficult, lives that most of us have no experience of and they would have given much to escape.  And today.....

• Plenty of fresh, clean drinking water.
• Healthy food to eat.
• If I am injured I have easy to access medical care.
• I know at this moment, with reasonable certainty, where my family members are and that they are safe.
• My comfortable home with a warm comfy bed that I will sleep in tonight.
• Working electricity and telephone lines along with a cell phone with a signal.
• That I have something, be it little or be it a lot, that I can give to help people that on their best days do not have what I am fortunate enough to have and at this moment have none of the above.

Otherwise

Jane Kenyon

I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.

At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,

it will be otherwise.

2010, nine.  Consider joining me in making a donation, even a small gift added to other small gifts add up, to reputable organizations such as Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross. 

Continuing the Attitude of Gratitude.

While I try to make it a habit of reminding myself of things to be thankful for, both big and small, it always seems to have a greater effect when there is a formal commitment to it.  I started a blog at the beginning of the year that was to be dedicated to a daily recognition of gratitude, but like many things in my life, distraction took me away from the practice.  Today I read this blog (I love this blog-a woman after my own heart.  She had better hope I never find out where she lives or she might find a lot of her stuff goes missing.) which linked to this article and then to this blog.  A gentle nudge to continue looking for the great and small ways that God or the universe lets you know that there is more to be thankful for than not, especially for things we take for granted.  Everything changes and any or all of those things could be very impermanent.  While I won't bore you (or myself) with the details, it is a little something I need lately.

I've decided to go for the thousand things.  I'll keep track on that other blog, hopefully on a daily basis and probably continue a Thankful Thursday theme on this one.   I was going to wait until the new year, but then remembered that life rolls on, regardless of the human imposition of time markers and that today is as good a day as any.  So, here is a list.

1. Holiday music
2. wonderful memories of childhood
3. hot showers
4. indoor plumbing
5. finishing a knit-for-hire
6. good high school band and orchestra concerts
7. the movie White Christmas
8. I didn't have to go out in the frigid cold today

Well, a start of eight.  Not bad.

One hundred forty.  Oh, Jason Mraz.  Make that nine.

Sheep ChairsA New Blue BlogIt's Thursday and I'm Thankful

Wow, you people have strong opinions about the Sheep Chair!  I can just picture it in my sewing/fiber room, all set up as my spinning chair.  That'd be good, right?  Spinning from my sheep chair.  With the sheep overseeing my work.  And I just know that if I threw party and invited everyone I knew, you would see the sheep chair would be, fought over allll through the day.  Thank you for being a friend.

Yeah, so.  Typepad has introduced a new blogging format, Typepad Microblog.  It would be really cool if I understood the purpose well enough to explain it to you.  See, the thing is, I totally ignore this blog for long enough intervals that when I come around to post or change my content, sidebars, all that stuff..... I have not a flipping clue how to do it.  Usually I am too tired to figure it out.  There is this Typepad Profile thing, friends, communities, I have no clue how that works, although I set up a profile, I just don't know what to do with it now that I have it.  Follow?  What's follow? (I think I need a private lesson.)  And now they've added this microblog thing, but! it happened now, when I'm paying attention and I thought it was kind of cool.  So I thought I'd try it out and started another blog.  (I know it!  I can't remember to categorize my posts correctly and now this?!  Well, this one can go under  You Thought I Was Sane?)

World of Blue will be mini-posts about things I find around the internet.  Some of them will be blue.  I can see how cool this could be.  A blog about any topic you are really interested in, say, cute little kittens.  Everytime you come across one that you want to share with other cat-ladies people who like cute little kittens you are just a toolbar click away from spreading the love.  Or short-term, the month of December with Christmas traditions that you come across, or great gift ideas or sales...  It's free and from what I tell so far, pretty easy to set up.  I could have one for great knits, quilts, tutorials, sales, other shopping.  This could get out of hand. 

So the most recent five or ten (we'll see how it goes) posts will be linked over in the sidebar.  It would be cool if those links would have a thumbnail.  I'll suggest it to Typepad............

I hear you laughing.  Norma.  Cookie.  I mean you.

It's Thursday And I'm Thankful For.....

• Dragon Pearl Jasmine Tea
• Steelhead Trout.  Yum.
• Car battery chargers.
• The alarm clock feature on my cell phone which lets me set multiple alarms.  Love that thing.

One hunderd eighteen.  Or day NINETEEN!  Told you I would just leave it from now on. Oh, and I was just poking around the Six Apart site, what the heck is blogs.com?  vox?  Who has time to work or play anymore, too busy with my virtual communities and social networking!

It's Thursday and I am Thankful....

Carole suggested (I think she got the idea from Kate) that for the month of November we set aside a little bit of our post and list three things that we are thankful for.  She might have a real name for it, I'm not sure, but I think I'll post a few things that I really ramp up the appreciation dial:

1. Babies.
2. Especially now that they belong to other, younger people than I am and I can love them and coo over them and remember how wonderful it was to have them, really miss that time in my life and still be
3. Thankful that I am not there now and in another way, not miss it at all. 
4. Friends that know me and love me anyway.
5. Electricity.  Seriously, we just don't even think, but I am happy that while I don't mind treadling a spinning wheel I totally don't want to treadle my sewing machine.  Can you imagine how fast you would have to get going?
6. That people still stop by and check in on what I am doing and.....
7. So many of you will be happy with a photo of a cat.

This is Princess. You should click to make big, she really is a beautiful old woman.

One hundred three.  Or day five.  I'll bet there is a majority out there that is surprised to learn I even have a cat.  Well, I have this one and a grand-kitten who has moved in as well.  Those who know me will wonder why for a nano-second I considered taking in another when you all know that my house, in my opinion, has two too many cats as it is.  Gillian will love this photo though, won't you hon?