Me with my Mom in September, 2014It’s been more than a year since I have ventured onto this blog. I’ve been living in short bits and bytes on Facebook, mostly, without anything so earth-shattering to say that would warrant an entire blog post. In fact, it’s been a mostly uneventful year, full of the sort of mundane, everyday things that happen in a family with adolescent and young adult children. Somebody got braces, someone attended community college, we all went to an amazing wedding, and there were a couple of concerts and a movie or two. In the absolute height of boredom for a knitting blogger, I am still actually knitting the exact same project that I was working on when last I graced these pages. Ho, hum! How many times can you endure me droning on and on about the same gray blanket? (Progress is happening, by the way, but it is painfully slow. Suffice it to say that I’m glad the project is so big after all, because the baby recipient is going to be a full-fledged little boy before he gets it.) So you see, my life has been incredibly boring and un-blog-worthy.
Except, at Thanksgiving this year, everything changed. On the Monday of Thanksgiving week, I lost my mother. I know many of you have also been through this, so my experience is not unique. It was not unexpected, in that she had a chronic form of leukemia for eight years, that almost always ends in death, eventually. Except that it was a huge shock. We didn’t really see it coming. She had hopes for a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant in January, and then, all of a sudden, in November, she went downhill fast. She had gone into the hospital on November 20, a Friday, complaining of shortness of breath. On Monday, she was gone, and that was It.
Nobody tells you about all of the things that must be done when someone dies. There is no way to prepare yourself for the plans that must be made, the accounts and subscriptions that must be cancelled, and the piles and piles of things that must be gone through, to unearth the special memories, photographs, and mementos of a very full life. Nobody tells you that while people can, for the most part, empathize with what you’re feeling, they can’t really feel it with you, and don’t understand. Nobody tells you that this is when you figure out who your real friends are, and how many whom you thought were your friends, are miles away because they can’t stand your grief. No one can really explain what a lonely, awful process grieving is.
And yet, this is where I find myself now, with Christmas coming. I am looking forward to seeing family again, even though the one person I want to see most right now is the one missing. I am sure there will be laughter, and some good memories about this year, but I am also preparing myself for tension and sadness. It’s just that it’s so soon, and none of us have really figured this grieving thing out yet. We’re all in the throes of it, all lost, together, trying to figure out how to have Christmas without the one person who was at the center of it all for our family.
I will miss hearing her laugh at and with her grandchildren. I will miss all of the silly names she had for everyone, and I will even miss the ugly nightgown I won’t be getting this year. (Thanks, Mom; I actually have a drawer full of them to last me a lifetime.) Someday, in another post, I hope I can happily tell you what a wonderfully, zany person she was and what I learned from her. Today is not that day, though, and I hope you will bear with me.
In fact, I’m not quite sure, in the end, what I’m going to do with this blog. The fact that I’ve been so long without it maybe means that I can do without it. Then again, something urged me to write this today, so maybe the jury’s still out. I’ll see you again, in this space, before I make a final decision. If you find this after such a long disappearance on my part, thank you for reading.
Little gray yarn ball Every knitter I know can relate. You know, when you get so perilously close to the end of a pull skein of yarn, that no matter what you do, the yarn wants to knot up on itself? Yep, that’s where I’ve been, for more than a week. I finally gave in today and wound my loose little skein into a ball, which produced a macadamia nut-sized ball, that has since rolled away from me at least a dozen times.
A surprising amount of knitting can occur with a macadamia nut-sized ball of yarn. I’ve been knitting and knitting and knitting all day, and I swear that it hasn’t gotten any smaller. Not one bit. And, correspondingly, the knitting that I have been working on all weekend isn’t getting any bigger, either. I know this is known as the Knitter’s Black Hole, and I am here to tell you that I have been stuck in its depths for months and this project, I am sure, will just NEVER be done. And still I knit, never giving up hope that someday I can look at this project and say that I completed it. Even if, sadly, it takes me a year.
I know there are those of you who will tell me that having the macadamia nut-sized ball of yarn in the middle of my project is much better than having it at the end, when somehow, the macadamia nut-sized ball of yarn is just inches short of not enough. Sigh… this is true. So for now, I will count my blessings, and keep knitting.
How to make a mini-vacation in a place where you wouldn’t think such a thing is possible:
1. Take the time to go to a nice restaurant in the area. Fast food is fine when you’re on the road, but restaurants can make memories. Absent that, make a memory by just showing proof that you were there.
Family Selfie: Trish, Steven and John
Here we are at The Chop House in High Point, NC. Steven likes steak, so why not? It was delicious, by the way, and fancy! They even put a purple flower on my plate:
Steak and mushrooms with purple flower
(How did they manage to make my dinner match my hair?)
2. If the hotel has a pool, stop by, even if it’s just for a few minutes. It’s always more fun when you say you went swimming.
Steven swims while Trish knits
Did I mention? Always bring your knitting. You’d be surprised how much you can accomplish in hundreds of miles.
3. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast watching cartoons, if for no other reason than to block out the horrid news of that particular day:
Steven eats breakfast while watching cartoons tableside
4. Find your kindred spirits, go where they are, and embrace them. We can’t hide the fact that we’re nerds. We argue amongst ourselves that there are varying degrees of nerdiness, and that some in our family can raise the Geek Flag way higher than some others. But, we can’t escape it. It’s who we are, and we’re proud. So imagine finding out that Greensboro is actually quite the center for Geek Culture. We found a fun coffee house where “our people” hang:
Steven plays video gamesJohn shares stories with a coffeehouse patron
Partake of the cultural foods:
Caramel Bacon Cupcake
Can someone explain to me the geek culture/bacon connection? I don’t quite get it. But, when we got to the coffee house, and saw they had caramel bacon cupcakes in the dessert case, we had to try one! Or, at least I did. It was surprisingly yummy… it was an apple spice cake with salted caramel frosting and bacon on top. Not that I would eat this every day, but when in the land of geeks…
Wishing we could have been there for game night:
Wall of board games
And don’t forget to take a family photo with the TARDIS on the way out!
Trish, John, and Steven with the TARDIS
5. Keep your eyes open, because when you’re headed to one specific place, you never know what else you’ll find along the way. In our case, there was an amazing comic book store right next to the coffee house, Acme Comics:
Acme ComicsAcme ComicsThe boys are finding things they like in the comic book storeGroup of campers visits the comic book store
While we were in the comic book store, some kids from a local comic book day camp stopped in. They were able to browse and ask questions. One kid asked what was the biggest difference between comics of today, and vintage comics. The owner replied that today, comics are mostly produced by one person or a small group, using a computer, and that in the “olden days” it was a multi-step process involving lots of people working by hand. There was a book in the store that explained this process.
John and Steven found a comic book
John and Steven found a comic book that they couldn’t pass up, which was a mashup of Doctor Who and Star Trek, the Next Generation. I’ve always heard that you’re not supposed to mess with the space-time continuum this way, but what do I know?
6. If you’re a knitter, follow the smell of yarn fumes. It will lead to magical places:
Gate City YarnsGate City YarnsGate City Yarns
In Downtown Greensboro there is a thriving artist district, full of galleries and quaint shops and restaurants. This is where one would find Gate City Yarns, which contains a wide variety of yarns and spinning fibers. It is a lovely, comfortable shop with helpful staff and comfy couches, a spacious classroom in back (I peeked) and an atmosphere that just makes you want to hang out a while. I visited the shop on our trip to Greensboro last year, and it was well worth the return trip. Of course, if you’re not a knitter or crocheter or spinner, then waiting around while your loved one shops isn’t really a hardship there:
This is how John and Steven shop for yarn.
7. Find a restaurant with character to have lunch, instead of eating fast food, and enjoy it.
The nice lady at the yarn store recommended a tavern called Liberty Oak for lunch, and it was yummy! It was a nice place that offered outdoor seating. It was a nice day and not too hot, so why not? Here we are:
Trish, Steven and JohnTrish and John
I have to say I had one of the best sandwiches I’d ever eaten:
Sandwich and fruit
The sandwich consisted of smoked turkey, Granny Smith apples, sprouts, and bleu cheese/walnut spread on toasted raisin bread. And a lovely assortment of fresh fruit. My mouth is still watering; it was delicious!
8. Don’t forget the real reason you headed to a place like Greensboro to start with. For us, it was that our daughter was participating in the UNC Greensboro Summer Music Camp, and there was a recital on the last day, that we did not want to miss. Diana was first chair flute this year, and had the honor of performing two solos, one on flute, and the other on piccolo. Here is one piece in which Diana had a solo. It’s called “Song for Lyndsay.” As you’re looking at the stage, Diana is to the right of the conductor with the bun in her hair:
Here are some other images from that wonderful event:
As an aside, if you have a kid who participates in instrumental music, vocal music, or piano, we cannot recommend UNC Greensboro’s Summer Music Camp highly enough. The experience is superb, the music is fantastic, and your kid will come away with an experience to remember forever. We are so proud that Diana was able to participate for two years.
9. When in the South, you must eat at Cracker Barrel. The Old Country Store is full of entertaining things:
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As you can see, we crammed a LOT into our little trip to Greensboro. Maybe someday soon, we’ll go back and actually set a spell, as my grandfather would have said. Maybe we’ll even stay awhile. We kinda fit right in. 🙂
I always have a great time at knit group, and today was no exception. Except, for some reason, I didn’t knit a stitch. Often it happens that I knit very little at group time, because there’s always food, and conversation, and patterns to search for on the iPad, and all that sort of stuff. Today I think I was more focused on photographing knitting than working on knitting. It wasn’t my goal to show the projects in progress from a technical standpoint, so that you can really get a sense o the project. Instead, I was after the art of knitting, and the beauty of stitches. I only snapped a few today, but I will get more next time. These are the ones that caught my eye today, though…
We also welcomed Kayla and Lily to our group today. Kayla just moved here from Hawaii TWO weeks ago and was already seeking out the company of knitters. I hope she’ll find a home with us! And Lily? Miss Adorable, she is! As you can see in the photo she loves to help her mama with her knitting! (Don’t worry, Kayla, Aunt Marie will have Lily knitting in no time!)
Sometimes, it’s less about the thing, and more about the people. Today was one of those days for me. I am glad to have my knitting friends, and I’m already looking forward to next time.
In the meantime, I’ve got lots of knitting to do! Catch you later!
Steven, playing clarinet while sitting in his favorite tree.I’ve been bragging on Facebook about my daughter a lot lately, so today it’s my son’s turn in the spotlight. He’s very bright, a little quirky, and he waves the geek flag very proudly. He’s a mostly straight-A student, who plays the clarinet, has made a point to get over the feeling of stage fright because he loves dancing, singing and acting, and he can go head-to-head with his math geek math teacher at chess, and win.
What I did not know, until yesterday, is that he is also a budding poet. He has an assignment in his Language Arts class to create a book of his favorite poems. He can include stuff from famous poets, stuff he’s read in class, and even people he knows or his own poems. So he decided yesterday to write a poem of his own. And he sat down, and did this, in almost no time.
Perhaps he has a future as a greeting card writer? Maybe…. when he’s done writing mathematical theorems or starring in this one-man off-off-Broadway show.
THE FOUR SEASONS
Spring, a time of new beginnings,
A time for life and a time for living,
The time when the new bird sings,
With flowers, bees, all sorts of things!
With pollen stirring through the air,
Oh, springtime! So wonderful and fair.
Summer’s next, coming with overwhelming heat,
When the kids run around the fields with just their bare feet,
And the greatest way to stay refreshed and cool,
Is just relaxing by the pool.
The little kids play without a care,
It’s summertime! With plenty of heat to share.
Next is fall, or autumn if you’d please
When the wind blows, and leaves fall with ease,
With colors of red, brown, and orange,
Oh, I forgot! Nothing rhymes with orange!
Piles of leaves stacked up so tall and fair,
It is fall! And people celebrate everywhere.
Last is winter, which is when you hear
Yuletide carols from through the years,
For it’s the season of giving, and you should know,
That it is Christmas, with the ground covered in snow.
The year is nearly gone, but do not despair,
A new year is coming, with a new hope and a new prayer.
