Here's to my Littlest Girl

Yesterday was a special and somewhat unsettling day; my "baby" turned 30. She had a wonderful day. Her husband and kids spoiled her in all the right ways. But sitting here in Missouri, I felt strangely old. I used to imagine that it would be eons before my children were "thirty-somethings" and now BOTH of them are.

Kate is handling all this with her usual balance and aplomb; I am feeling like an "old shoe". Her dad is just not saying where his head is at, although when I mentioned on Monday evening that the following day his baby would be hitting the big Three-Oh he said, "No, not really?! You're kidding, right?" (Men rarely keep tabs on these sorts of events!)

I am very proud of both of my daughters. They are strong, confident, and accomplished women. They face life full-on and have rock solid principles. Both are well grounded and have married excellent husbands. So what's the big deal about another number on the calendar?

Katrina, here's to you on 30!!! May the next 70 birthdays be just as fun and may you always celebrate every candle on the cake!

Time for Free Coffee?

Ed is turning 55 tomorrow, and he is greeting it with good spirits. Lots of friendly jibes came his way today and he handled them all with grace. The most frequent comment was "now you can get free/cheap ________" (fill in the blank) a. coffee at McDonald's, b. breakfast at Denny's, etc etc.

This raises the obvious question Ed frequently asks, "Why should turning 55 entitle one to free ANYTHING?" I have to laugh because Ed is possibly the least likely person on the planet to go anywhere to get a free item. He is a big believer in "paying his way" wherever he goes... so this will be a new experience, watching him turn down freebies!

The Day the Modem Died

Ed & I are sitting in the public library and working on our laptops... not by choice (although I think we have one of the nicest libraries in the country!) but by necessity. Went to log on at home this morning and discovered that our modem had kicked the bucket. This is when it became painfully clear just how accustomed we are to being able to connect to the big, outside, electronic universe at a moment's notice. Failing that, the library became our haven for an evening of "getting some things done...".
Lesson learned.... modems are not eternal, (plan your work accordingly) and libraries are wonderful places. May we always have them and gladly pay taxes for them!!

A Knitting Grammy's Reward

Here you have it.. and it doesn't get any better than this. My little buddy got his hat that I made him in the mail on Friday. His mom reports that he slept in it for his naptime. Logical thinking on his part; it is cold in Michigan right now. But here's the pay-off - by my book, this is an offical 1 million dollar grin. Makes me want to go right back and knit up a storm!

Huzzah! It's Friday!

Those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know that there are not many times when I actually "celebrate" Friday. That sort of thing was something I did frequently when I used to teach junior high. In fact, I even had special outfits, usually terribly loud and somewhat outrageous, that I wore on Fridays. But this week, I feel really compelled to say "YAY, it's Friday!"
Some of my reasons are typical, I mean, who DOESN'T enjoy a good Friday?? However, it's been a rather strange week in certain ways. The weather has been all over the place... from lows in the teens to highs in the 60's. It has made my students a bit "loopy", to say the least. They are saying and doing things that make us scratch our heads and wonder, "What are they thinking!?" Our underclassmen have been particularly squirrely lately, even for underclassmen. Some of the shenanigans they have pulled would shock you, and for the sake of discretion, I won't go there, but all in all, I find it pretty unsettling. To top it off, we've had a "winter spirit" week going on with a big dance at school tonight following the basketball games. So we've had some themed dress days happening.... "hippie day" anyone? (actually pretty funny since the kids have no concept of what hippies truly were!) Today we are all in black as it is "Black out our competition" at the basketball game tonight. (Strangely ironic in light of the fact that the high school coming here to play tonight is a predominantly black school from the city..... hmmm... that will look friendly when our kids are all in the stands! See what I mean? It's been an odd week... think I'll go home tonight and knit!

So Much Depends - a tribute to Williams and warm socks!

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

-william carlos williams

so much depends
upon

a small green-socked
boy

dimpled with cozy-footed
glee

upon the pink wooden
chair.

with tribute to william carlos williams - the poet with 3 first names!

Asher got his grandma-knitted socks today.. he chose the color himself!
Poetry and Yarn... a good "go together"!

Love you, buddy!