KnittingSanctuary

Blog Resurrection

 Cuz only cool Santas knit!

I know.  It has been....well I seriously am not sure how long it has been.  Too long, I am sure.  And not enough knitting if you ask me.  Yes, I have been knitting, but I have had some major life events come up and well, I am learning to adjust.  Knitting does help me do that, cope and all.  But I seriously don't have much to share with you all right now, picture wise.

Let me update you on a few things.  Since my accident in July, I have decided to move out and get a space of my own, and a nice shiny new car of my very own as well.  This has been a great adjustment, but is working out very well for my soul.  My heart has needed this time to heal, and ponder what is really important to my soul and well, I just simply feel like I am where I am supposed to be for the first time in my life.  I no longer have to compromise or tolerate anything except myself, and well, I am so very grateful that I have the ability in all aspects to give my heart time to heal, and my soul the opportunity to grow without having to wait for anyone to catch up, or get on the same page. 

It is amazing how very healing knitting has been to me in all this time of change.  I have basically been knitting on small things, as my evil plan mentioned in an earlier post of keeping all my friends pregnant, is working, and little booties and sweet little sweaters are wonderful in satisfying my knitting needs. I have been filling my free time with the wonderful black hole that is Ravelry, and gathering patterns by the ton!  Lately, I am feeling the need to find a nice sweater to work on for me, and I believe I have found it....

What won't leave me alone, and has me challenged as to WHAT COLOR, is the beautiful, well written pattern of Hallet's Ledge.  I am having such a challenge as to what color and yarn to settle on, which is why Ravelry is making my brain crave sleep. I review all the finished items, and STILL can't decide on whether to just break down and get the Rowan felted tweed in Sage, or wait.  Ughhhhh.  I do know that there are much worse decisions to me made in life and will come to a conclusion soon. 

My younger son Alex, will turn 16 this Feburary 23rd.  My oldest son Frank, turned 18 last November and I cried.  I cried the day he started his senior year, and then he came over for Christmas and as I watched my baby drive away in his OWN JEEP, I cried again.  Honestly, I am not trying to sound like some sappy lifetime movie.  I just can't believe my life has progressed to me turning 40 and my firstborn being a SENIOR in high school.  He was just accepted to the school of his choice.  I cried again.  It seems my whole year of being 40 is about acceptance, self reliance and change.  Eventually, I do believe that this will all meld very nicely and quietly into the fabric of what is my life, but right now, I am still trying to grab ahold of all of this and just adjust already. 

If the wrongs of life were like knitting, we could just simply frog them and forget, only to reuse the material for a greater creation down the road.  And yet, life is a lot like knitting, each stitch a mark of love, and a learning opportunity for what will be eventually be a unique, fabulous creation, that is the combined effort of the yarn, love and time put into it. 

Oh, and for those who have faithfully read my blog, you all will remember how much I disliked my job.  I have since been FABULOUSLY BLESSED with a wonderful job that will allow me to work from home by the end of March!  Yes, you read that right.  I am still in disbelief and keep asking my supervisors to pinch me.  But its true, I work for a wonderful company and love what I do.  It has reduced my stress level down about 500%, and that is my major goal for this year.  I will now not die from heart failure, but probably from the frustration that there are so many good knitting patterns out there and I will need four lifetimes to knit them all.  Or suffocation from yarn.  Not sure which may get me first. 

So, yes, I do realize this is a knitting blog and will find a few pictures to try to get you to come visit the Sanctuary again.  Until my next post, I hope that you all have many happy, peaceful knitting hours!

 
 

 

 
 
A great friend of mind got married on December 4, and here are all of us!

I promise there will be knitting pictures soon!

 

Happy Knitting!

 

 

Believe it. Another post already. Amazing.

I finally found another reason to actually post on my blog.  After an eternity, of working on the Simply Cabled Baby Sweater by Debbie Bliss, I have acutally, truly, completely finished the sucker.  Good times.

It has taken me....sigh......over two years of working on this to get to this point.  I have many knitting friends that would be done in about a day, with pee breaks blocked in and all, but none of that super speedy knitting here.  As you so know, that is just not me.  Even with critical levels of caffeine and dark chocolate, it would not happen from me.  I am done boring you with the details.  Let me just show you my shiny new baby sweater....

Yes, thank goodness I had enough sense to knit the larger toddler size.  Here is the back:

So, there is some visual proof that I can and do still knit.  As a matter of fact, I feel so good about getting this done, that I am going to just throw all caution to the wind and start casting on for the Must Have Cardi by Paton's wool. 

Wonder why, after all of this time, I was able to finish this sweater?  On Saturday of last week, I violated my cardinal rule of not working on the weekend and went in for a few hours since it was raining.  I was also invited to a friend's house, who doesn't live far away from my place of work and headed over in that direction.  Until a huge truck got in my way.  And my car and me ended up under it.  Amazingly enough, I ended up with some bruises, a very sore body for a few days, but nothing seriously broken.  My car has gone to meet its maker.  Totalled.

Which brings me to the point of why I had so much free time on my hands.  When I could finally move, I decided to finish this sweater.  Just in time too, as what did my good friend whom this sweater was for her son, do as a gesture of thanks? 

She decided to have another baby.  Due in March.  I should just start now!

Happy knitting!

Is it really the end?

Ok, when I first created this blog, what 14 hundred years ago, I happened to mention that I did not have cable in my about me page.  I went for about 9 years or so with out cable and most of that time just simply TV less too.  Then I met M, and for Christmas one year I had the bright idea, being the genius that I am, to get him a nice fancy shiny HD TV. 

One problem.  They need cable.  Ok.  So I sign up with Mr. Big Good for Nothing but Lies sattelite television company and allow them to dish my house.  Then I am swooned over with the fact that I can have approximately a billion channels (and if you truly read my blog you soooooooo realize how I have no time for much TV) for the super duper low low price of 35.99.  ok. 

A few months later I am charged 7o something and call the company....."oh well your promo ended and this is your new rate."  I would rather drink draino (as i feel it would have been less painful.)  That is too much for TV that I really don't use.  Neither does M.  We just watch a lot of documentaries that interest us, maybe some history channel.  I will zone out with Grey's Anatomy every now and then.  Paranormal state was ok for awhile.

But about two years ago, the show LOST hooked me hard.  I watched 4 seasons in about 3 days, didn't sleep or shower, ate out of a can so I didn't waste time heating beans or soup and generally became totally, completely mesmerized by this show.  I loved the quantum physics that was intermingled with the story lines as well as some spirituality or mysticism.  It kept me coming back for more. 

When I finally showered after that whole getting to know lost phase, and people felt safe to be near me again, I realized with utter horror that NOW I was at the mercy of the TV Gods who say when and where the show comes on.  No rewinding.  (No TIVO or DVR here people).  No doing my pushing pause button.  OMG, how was I to survive having to deal with REGULAR TV?   All those freaking commercials.  I guess one of my finer points is adaptation, so I did learn to wait for it to come on every week, take some notes, and adjusted.  Sort of.

Until last night, when they aired the finale.  Forever. 

I feel violated.  I have so many unanswered questions that they could have a whole new five years and not have them all answered.  It ended well, all happy and bliss like, but I feel so used.  I feel that these writers have toyed with my emotions for  6 seasons.   Can I press charges?

I made labels last year for all the drinks during the final episode of season 5. I wrapped candy bars with the Dharma initiative project logo.  I was thinking of making t shirts for goodness sake.  This was all done by someone who really doesn't care about television, (read rant above) and lived without it quite well.  I allowed myself to get totally freaking absorbed by this show.....there were many, many good episodes and many that were just ehhhhh.....but I so expected more than this for a finale.  Much, much more.  

On a lighter note, I found the Target commercials appealing!

And now I will return to my regularly scheduled ranting....... Where's my knitting?

Sanity Preserved, Vacation Coming!

First, let me tell you all about my upcoming vacation.....California here I come!  For seven whole glorious and hopefully sun filled days I will be in San Diego!  I am pursing a career change and am attending the International Energy Psychology Conference there as well, and can't tell you how very, very excited this makes me.  The conference is only for three days, and I will be arriving there early to just linger, soak up the sun and see any sights I can.  I plan to knit and read on the plane ride.  I have never been any farther west than Indiana, so I have no idea what it will be like. 

Needless to say, I am also in the midst of simplifying my entire life as best I can, which means that I have done some major stash cleanout!  I have listed a lot on ebay, go here and search for me under my ebay name knitwit4knitting.....

I seriously don't know when I will ever have time to knit all of the yarn I have and just want to clean out what doesn't speak to me any longer.  Check out my listings if you feel so inclined and help me find great new homes for all of this wonderful yarn. 

Sadly, I have also decided to sell my Ashford Traveller Spinning wheel too.  Here is a picture of her just sitting so lonely in my room:

I have listed her on Craigslist, because I would like this to be local, since shipping charges would be high.  If you know of someone who is looking to learn to spin this is a great wheel to start with.  My goal is to eventually get a Kromski Sonata.  Right now, this wheel deserves to be used more and I just don't have the time. 

 Meanwhile I continue in short phases to work on the bedsocks.  I love Claudia's Handpaints......so smushy and soft. 

Happy Knitting!

An attempt at maintenance of Sanity, part one.

I simply don't know how one does it.  One works a salaried position, which amounts to overtime in hours that are equivalent to practically working for free, and then said one realizes "hey, I haven't really knit in a longggggggggg while.  Crisis could ensue. The realization of summer being near, and beaches to be visited are linger in my mind.   Or a major job hunt could manifest. 

And that, my knitting friends, is where I am.  I am soooooooo disgusted with my time and how it is allotted that I have resorted to looking for alternatives.  It is weird that I simply can't be happy with the status quo.  But that has NEVER been my nature and as long as I am conscious, I plan on being true to myself.  To all those who work five days a week and then come home to work too, you have my utter sympathy.  That kind of scedule leaves me no time and balance in my life.  And doing it simply for the money is not worth it.

Needless to say, there are not many knitting pictures, cuz i have been pathetic and working nonsensical inhumane hours, for free if you must know, because I am a salaried employee.  I realize how much this is harming my normally witty, charming and funny self.  Yes, yes, I know I am lucky to even have a job, but seriously, what does it matter if I am so bitter and angry and eventually collapse from a heart attack? 

So I am on a mission to find my bliss.  Have no real idea what that is, sad to say, since I will be turning 40 this year.  But I do have a feeling that the next 40 are to be the best of my life.

In knitting news, I am SLOWLY working on the turkish bedsocks......very creative, simple design.

Finally a little vacation.....

Three days.  Three whole days of paid time off to enjoy myself.  Or rather, time to feel like I have way too much to catch up on that 3 little days can not compare to.  Add to that the running around, catching up on my ignored housework, attending to children, and the like, I don't feel like this was a vacation at all.  Just a short break for me to realize how this whole working things really sucks.  Especially since there is plenty of sunshine now and knitting to be done.  Just sayin. 

I did however find time to trek myself out to East Berlin PA, to visit the The Huge Magnificent Yarn Heaven of the East Coast.  And did I have a grand time there trying to drive myself INSANE with how I could POSSIBLY knit all that I liked there with the current hours I have to work and how tired I am by the time I get home.  Maybe if I could manipulate the time-space continuum, there could be a slight chance. 

Here is proof. Stand back....

   

There is Claudia's Handpaint, for my Turkish Bedsocks.  They are just too cute for words and I feel like I am on some sort of olympic sock knitting mission right now, because honestly it seems like all I can handle with the time I have. 

Although, I have gotten the patterns for Picky Pants, and the Juliette Skirty pattern to work on in some MMMMMalabrigo.  I also bought a sweaters worth of Malabrigo for knitting on for next season, and two of their sock yarns in orange and a greeny color that I love.

 

Here's my sad attempt at the February Baby Sweater.  I am knitting out of Vermont yarn that is Cotton Comfort.  Its ok, and I believe it will soften a little more when I wash it.

 

The return of the baby sweater that won't end, with one partly finished sleeve.  Good times.......  Miraculously, my subconscious must have figured out what a procrastinator I am and caused me to knit the super large toddler size.  It will still fit.  I can't wait to finish this thing.

 

The hourglass that is a mess right now and seriously on back burner.  I am not feeling it with the Cash Iroha.  It is so silky, but oh so nubby and is looking a little peasant like.  Maybe it will strike me later to finish it just to see.....

Well, the sun is out and I gotta go to Whole Foods to grab some deli stuff.  Then Alex and I will be spending the day in the glorious sun and grilling some chicken later.  Thank goodness the warmer weather is here.  I am soooooo glad.  I have missed the sun.

Happy knitting!!!!

 

   
 

Not all who wander are lost......

So, it seems that it has been about four months since I posted.  Whew.  With doing the 5 days a week at work thing and gosh knows how many hours, I fill the rest of my time with family,knitting or drinking heavily to numb the pain.  No, I mean reading.  Lol!  Occassionally, I get sucked into other life ordeals, to return again stronger and more resolved to be more diciplined in the future.  Oh, and I have been knitting.  Really.  I promise.  I will show you pictures soon.

First, I gotta express how absolutely fantastical crazy happy I was when we got about two feet of snow the other week.  I baked cookies, played Christmas music, and generally felt very lighthearted and content.  Like all was right in the world.  Never mind the mess I endured at the grocery store that Friday night, which is my usual night to go to our Wegman's.  You would have thought the world was coming to an end with the amount of people in there that day!  I remember being in line and thinking Wow.  It's just snow, people.  Whatever, I got out of there alive anyway and picked up my youngest to come home and Christmas things up.....lemme show you some pics....

Christmas cookies and home made Santa pins!  Martha, look out, I may get my own show.  So not sure what the name would be.....

Oh, here's the snow.  And all of you who are from NJ who read this stop cringing and just enjoy it.  With Global Warming going on it's a dang miracle we see any of this stuff at all 'round here!

Back yard, after all day of snow!  I have never seen this much since that blizzard in what, 1996?

This is M's buried Saturn.  Good he did not have to work!

No, this is not a commercial for the pillsbury dough boy.  I am all bundled up for time shoveling out my vehicle.  The jacket, although large for me, is Northface, and I found that for 7 bucks, in perfect condition, in FLORIDA.  It retails for almost 200 hundred.  I kid you not.  I so know that it is too large for me and am looking for a good home for her.....

All lit up.  Let Christmas arrive!

So we here at the Sanctuary Household had a fabulous time during our holidays.  Over the past few days, we have been de-holidaying our space and it is kinda sad in a way.....I absolutely adore the holiday season.  The music, the gratitude, the joy.  But,  to adjust to that holiday being over I also started to put up things for Valentine's Day.....

So, as I know you are by know thinking, "she is just a clever little thing, distracting me with blizzard activity, baking and holiday pictures.  But this is a knitting blog. Where's the knitting?"

Right here:

  
HourGlass.  With CashIroha.  In the flesh.  Which I have had in my stash for about 4 years.  Bought it in Pennington at the Wooly Lamb when we were on our way camping one summer.  Well, I finally got the book, and am full steam ahead on it....I am knitting the 37" size with a size 6 for now.  I swatched and got gauge with this needle, so I am going with it....Speaking of needles, M bought me the addi turbo interchangeable kit for Christmas!  It is such a nice kit and I adore the way that they lock.  Those of you who know me, you know that I am not at a loss for needles, but I do like collecting them like yarn and sometimes I hit paydirt.  My favorite still are KnitPicks, harmony.  Mind you, I have Holz and Stein as well, but the cable is a pain....I like a flexible cable and interchangeable needles.  Crystal Palace are are also nice in my opinion.

This is the baby sweater that WILL NOT END!  I have had such a time with this thing.  I finally got the yarn, and am doing the sleeves in the round, after infusing large doses of vodka into my system. (only a joke....I only really like dry red wine!)  I never knew this pattern would be such a challenge.  It's just baby cables for goodness sake.  But they have afforded me a grand headache in the whole scheme of things.  I actually first tried to cast on with my circular, but well, let's just say that I don't give up easily and am on a mission to get this finished.  Whew.  Speaking of which, I know in my last post, I mentioned my job, and the nice person I met who is expecting, as I called it, a GIRL!  But there is also an equally nice Occupational therapist, who is expecting her second son any day now and has been a real great person to work with......I am going to also knit something for her child to wear for next season.  I have no need to rush myself with these things.  Well, ok, the cabled sweater really does need to get done.  I actually felt some tinge of guilt casting on for hourglass without that sweater being finished.  But startitis has taken over, and when I finally create a void, I am gonna venture off on an isolated vacation and knit myself a nice pair of cozy socks with this, that M gifted me with a year ago....

This is hand dyed sock yarn from Pagewood farm in the colorway called Navajo.  The variations in blues in this yarn soothe my soul.. Which after the next few weeks, after state survey, I am gonna need in my life.  Now to just find the perfect location, where a nice bath, utter simplicity and a comfy bed are all located.  Believe me, I am looking.  Suggestions welcome!  Not too far from New Jersey would be great.

And to just really inspire your interest in something else, I have taken up the craft of Lockerhooking!  It is absolutely easy to learn, and is a great use of extra fabric you or your family have laying around.....although it takes some time to prep the fabric, by cutting it into 1 inch or 1/2 inch strips, and then connecting them, its all good in the longrun when I start working on a trivet to set my hot casserole dishes.  Being that it's a new craft to me it's holding my attention!  I recultivated my Haiku Bag for carrying these projects.  Check it out.....Amazon sells the canvas and the locker hooking tool, and then the book I had bought from my book club awhile ago.

Aside from also making some very nice sterling silver stitch markers, that is about all I have to post right now.....I am gonna go throw my chicken in the oven and decide what else to make while I knit more on the hourglass.....I hope that you all had a very Merry Holiday and that your New Year is full of Absolute Wonderful!  And that includes lots of knitting! 

 

Return from nowhere land...

I recently started working for a nice new company that is only 15 minutes from my home.  I have been doing a little happy dance every day after work....(well not really, but you get the idea.)  I adore the people I work with and am in a much better place.....

And yes, I have been knitting....amazing as that may seem.  I am finally finishing projects that have been on the needles forever.   I offer you some pictorial proof:

The front of the Debbie Bliss Baby Cables pattern for my friend's son.  No he hasn't graduated college yet.  He just turned two.  I knit the 24 month size knowing what a slacker (although I like to consider myself diversified in many arts....lol.) I am.  It all worked out.  Except for the weeeeeee problem that I don't have enough of the yarn!!!!!  Do you hear me screaming?  Do you have any idea as to how much good red wine this situation has called for?  Let me just put it all into perspective for you:  a HESS truck could not deliver enough at this point.....

I am searching for dye lots and getting all kinds of anxiety attacks and have gone about seven different ways of crazy in addition to contemplating turning the whole thing into a vest which still does not work out since I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH YARN!  This yarn, as wonderful as it is, was a nice gift from Michael , last Christmas.  Good vibes appreciated.  If ya can't send vibes,please send wine.  I'd rather not remember that I made such a debacle of a nice sweater.  Here's hoping that I find a supplier of this dye lot soon.

On the good new front I have fortunately run into a very nice social worker who is expecting her first baby.  What a great reason to knit up more baby things that I can run out of yarn for, right?  I am just guessing that we will be great friends after I knit the wee one her (and it will be a girl, I can feel it) first sweater....I am thinking along the lines of Elizabeth Zimmerman.  I am ready.  I just adore having reasons to knit! 

I have also been on a sock finishing frenzy.  I finished these:

 
Never mind my sink....These were started a year ago in Virginia beach when I took my oldest son on vacation.  Well they are finally finished and are nice to wear.  Here they are enjoying a good soak in SOAK.  I just love how it makes my bathroom smell!

Here are another pair:

These were made with Panda Cotton, and I am enjoying how the elastic in them help them to conform to my feet.  And are very cozy on cold days.....Not that NJ gets many truly cold days, but when we do, I am prepared.  And since they are made of cotton, they are very cushy too.  Feel very durable.  Will wear a long time.  

Here,I started another pair, in my favorite sock yarn Anne, and it is pooling, but I just don't care:

I realized after looking through my stash on Sunday that I have a ton of Anne and probably should not need to buy socks for a long time.  I also took out some Malabrigio to find a scarf pattern to make as a gift.  Have not found the perfect pattern yet.  Ravelry just sucks me in, and in between drawing, working, knitting and family, my life is full enough.  The pattern needs to find me, I guess.  Or I need to learn to manipulate the time space continuom. 

Hope all of you are happily knitting away and enjoying this fall season!
 
 

Where in the world is Ruth?

I do realize that it has been utterly ridiculous, this amount of time that I have been away from my blog, and truth be told, my knitting as well.  For some unknown mystery, I had not been feeling like knitting much of late and therefore had nothing to really blog about.  I have been ever so slowly easing my way back into it, thinking that I really should finish my dear friend's son sweater before he is too big for it.  I am referring to that baby blue cabled goodness you saw in that ever-so-long ago post.  I am not working on the front.  What?  Yes, I DO know that by now I could have completed four of them and a nordic sweater for myself, but like I said before, I lost my swing in the knitting arena.  I don't get it either.  You know how when you are working on a great project and every time you have to leave it to go to work, or out or whatever it just tugs at you to stay home and knit on it some more?  Well, all of a sudden it was like bam, no knitting fever.  No long hours spent surfing for just the "right pattern" and then absorbing everything that I could from pictures on Ravelry.  It was not the same.  Weird perhaps.  But, when this kind of thing happened to me before, with my cross-stitch endeavors, I gave it all away to a nice home where everything would be loved.  But I couldn't give away my knitting stuff....as this I have been hoping is just some downtime, to regroup about my passions and gain clarity into what I really want to do with my knitting hobby.  But slowly my desire to knit is returning.  And I am thankful for that. 

I have been taking art classes on Wednesdays near a local town just a few miles from mine.  This does liven me up at the current moment and I simply can't wait to draw some more.  Contour lines, negative space, vanishing viewpoints are all keeping my right brain very happy right now.  I draw nearly every day to wind down and practice. 

I also bought a finch feeder and have been known to aimlessly sit on my patio mesmerized for hours on these little birds, so very vibrant, eating at this little thing I hung out in my garden.  And just so you all know that when the day comes and I do win the lottery, that is probably what I will be doing every day, birdwatching and drawing.  With some knitting and spinning thrown in as well.  I am honestly amazed at how much I enjoy watching the birds.  It is so relaxing, since most days all I ever got to see around these parts were bunnies and tree rats (squirrels).  And by the way, yes the squirrels are very happy that I planted tomatos this year as they have interpreted the fruit as their free dinner.  Every night.  I swear I hear them laughing at me too. 

Also, the shore has been calling to me and then I go off for the whole day to just hear the ocean and feel the sand beneath my toes.  I read a lot!  I have also been writing too, and today submitted to Reader's Digest.  I feel more connected to my writing than my current job.  Although it was always impressive to me when I left work and did not manage to get myself fired. (I have a mouth and a brain and I do occasionally, to my amazement,  use both at the same time, however independent thought is not one of the things valued by employers in healthcare.) I have spent the rest of my time writing away on anything and everything that interests me.  Nothing gets untouched.

I was working an absurd amount of hours when I started to realize that I am personally helping Obama to fund healthcare reform just by my tax contributions alone.  Immediately this resulted in me speaking my mind and changing my position within the company.  So I will now work for their agency for the facilities they have soon.  Maybe even work closer to my home.

Well, there you have it.  An utterly picture-less blog post just basically letting you all know I am still here and I am starting to get back into the groove with my knitting.  I hope that all of your summer has been wonderful and maybe I will have pictures to post soon with a blog that doesn't bore you into narcolepsy.

Happy Knitting!

There is no greatness where there is not simplicity....

Famous words of Leo Tolstoy.  I am feeling more and more the real need to get back to simplicity.  When we didn't have to worry about all the technobabble and drama and depression (oops, I meant recession!) and the like.  Where we had the time to have great home cooked meals and family gatherings and friends stopping by because they saw you out on the porch.  Folks, if ya didn't get it by now, I am just a simple kind of woman who values the gift of simple things.  I enjoy neighbors stopping by with a visit and crumbcake that they baked from scratch and hearing all the details they have to share.  Because I truly do care.  I like hearing the birds sing me awake me in the morning.  I like to see images in the clouds and share them with my children   To know that my contribution of work during this lifetime is meaningful to another soul on this planet makes it worthwhile.  I have never believed that life should be such a hard endeavor and sacrifice in the name of human conditioning.

Truth is, I like to find these goldmines in normal everyday life experiences that I witness .  I can find joy in just hearing a parent/guardian say that they had a great night after so many nights of sleeplessness because of the ill child or family member that they are caring for in their best ability, had a nice night.  I understand because I know, on a personal level,  what it is like to not have that priviledge when Alex, my younger son,  was diagnosed with a hypothalamic ganglioglioma.  And to feel my world ripped apart and me loose all sense of what a normal life, in my perspective, should have been. 

Hindsight is really so much clearer.  There was a time when I absolutely hated hearing anything about hospitals and illness.  Interesting sure, you may think, because I am by nature and profession, a nurse.  But, life with Alex has really mellowed me, and educated me in a way that no university ever could.  I find comfort in the simple things and that is more meaningful to me than anything else on this planet.  Alex recently had to go under general anesthesia again for dental work that turned into more of a medical complication since he has a condition of diabetes inspidius in which he can't control his fluid status secondary to a deficit in a hormone called ADH, which is secreted by the anterior pituitary.  What was supposed to be a simple procedure extended into an overnight stay and lab work (which is translated into pain) and sleeplessness that made me remember what his earlier years of life were like in the PICUs.   But somehow it all ended up being ok.  And I am grateful for that!  He is finally back to his normal self. 

There was a few minutes of downtime where I could knit and well here are some proofs:

 

I finished the back of the baby cables pattern and have casted on for the front.  Alex and I  had celebrated his 14th birthday, which a miracle in an of itself, there were many medical professionals who thought this day would not be here:

 

When I first learned of his illness, he was merely 15 months old , I did an inordinate amount of medical research since I was wanting to understand "why" if that makes sense to any of you.  Only later, much, much later,  did I learn that the logistics of it all was only part of the "education" of the experience.  Nonetheless, having Alexander in my life is a gift that I am proud to partake in.  Dude does me proud in ways I can't explain.  Some more love from his birthday celebration:

 

He is an awesome gamer for Bedjeweled. 

Ok, so on to another issue.  M and I decided that we needed time away during our vacation.  I found an absolutely wonderful place, that was only about 1.5 hours from our home!  What a great time we had.  The food at this joint was amazing:  The Woolverton Inn. 

Do you need to know that what attracted me there were the sheep?  No?  These girls loved being hand fed.  Strange truth is that I could have fed them all day and been ok with that.  The great country mountainside area in northern NJ and the wide open spaces felt like home to me.  I also felt that way when M and I went to Vermont, as described in previous posts, because at this point I am without the initiative to look up that blog post in my own history.  The lesson I am trying to impose is that I belong in the mountains!!!!!!

Can I tell you how excited we were to see deer?  Stop laughing, wipe those tears from your eyes and believe:

 

Oh.  Maybe it will be a little hard for you to see.  But they are there.  About 5 of them.  And we were very content just watching them eat.   I love nature.  Made me remember what was most important in my life.  Love,  People.  Simple, pure, unconditional,  LOVE.

I also need to mention the food at this place.  It was so worth waking up for.  I was fortunate enough to come home with a recipe for one of the morning biscuits they had there.  I don't have words for the wonderful experience of this place.  Totally what we needed.  The innkeepers, Bob and Carol are wonderful!   There is not one thing that could have been done differently.  Unless of course they have the ability to control weather, then we would have enjoyed breakfast on the balcony, seeing the greeness of the land.  It was just what we were looking for in a getaway.  We will be going back in a few months to experience what the place is like when full spring/begining of summer has set in. 

There were a few other spots that I think should be mentioned here:

The Stockton Inn.  OMG, we loved the food that this place had to offer!  We went here after a day of just wandering around Lambertville, which is chock full of antiques and quaint little shops...... Whew!  Sit at the bar area and order the tuna melt thingy......then knit while you wait......it was amazing!  One day we had the avocado tuna lunch deal and we split it......soooooooo goood that I have tried to recreate it at home! 

Very, very nice experience to have. 

Sheep included:

 

I am missing the place already!

Almost forgot to mention that in these parts my previous *snowdance* resulted in significant outcomes!  Behold:

 

I am prepared for the onslaught of frigid weather conditions....

Have a wonderful, peaceful filled week full of relaxed knitting!  I am gonna do the same!  Will share pics of the actual snow fall soon. Meanwhile, please help me decide on what yarn to use for the Wisteria pattern.  I am so tired of googling.....and ravelry has worn me out! (even though it is a great resource!)

Happy Knitting!  Have a great week!