Late Friday Fill in on a Thursday . . . and another tomorrow

Friday Fill-in #47
1. I enjoy reading more than anything else.
2. Blogging satisfies my need for chatting
3. When I look at a full moon, I feel awed, totally awed by the awesomeness of God.
4. If I want a snack, I usually reach for popcorn
5. The most recent movie I saw, Fred Claus made me laugh and cry (made my kids laugh cause I was crying).
6. If only I were thinner.

4 squares for charity

4 squares for charity
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

This went off to Kay at Mason-Dixon for the Oliver Fund blankets. Ummm, none of these ever made it into socks, BUT, they have been other things, currently my most favorite thing is fingerless mitts and I like the lighter weight that sock yarn provides for the mitts.

Anyway, if you haven't checked it out, you should see all the squares Kay has collected. Holy, moly, batman . . . I'm glad I'm not sewing them together!

Thanksgiving

I am going to have to post another Thanksgiving post when I have my pics available. But for now, I wanted to share a little bit about our Thanksgiving.

Many of my family came to my home for Thanksgiving. My older sister and her husband came. Peg has five kids but the others either had to work or were out of town. But, her youngest daughter (and her daughter - a 13 year old with attitude) and her youngest son, Jack, did join us. Jack just turned 22.

Jacquie and Mike came too. They have four kids (27, 25, 23 and 5). Michael is dating Keri and brought her and his son, John. John is four. And, of course, they brought Mary, who is their five year old. Their 23 year old daughter is spending the holiday weekend with her husband's family. Their 25 year old daughter teaches at UC Davis and is working on her Ph.D. I think she is planning on coming home at Christmas but this Thanksgiving was spent with her significant other and his family. Jacquie and Mike live in Northern Kentucky, so their trip was about four hours. They spent the weekend but for something different, they drove up on Wednesday. Jacquie is a nurse and a co-worker exchanged some days with her so that Jacquie could leave earlier than planned.

The rest of my siblings were unable to join us. My older siblings don't attend family functions . . . a long story . . .

My younger brother was making Thanksgiving dinner for his wife's family. Eddie loves cooking and his mother-in-law was just not feeling up to doing it so he said that he would.

My youngest sister is a resp. therapist and worked on Thanksgiving. Her husband went to his sister's house, driving his parents there and back -- about a total 200 mile trip. Their three sons are all in the military -- Navy, Marines and Air Force. Tommy, the son that is in the Navy is married and has three kids. He and his family will be home for Christmas. Erich is in the Marines and is on a ship (somewhere). He did call to let his parents know that he has definitely decided not to re-enlist in June. He will be home in February and then will not ship out at all because the time would be too short. Ryan, the youngest son is in the Air Force and stationed currently in Oklahoma. He too will be home around Christmas -- not sure whether it will be before Christmas or before New Year's. Hopefully, early enough that he will be able to see his oldest brother who has to return to Florida by December 30.

Anyway, my youngest sister had us all over on Friday afternoon. It was a very busy weekend.

Lindsey and I did go shopping Friday morning (Old Navy followed by breakfast). She was supposed to go for swim team practice on Friday morning but that didn't happen.

Lindsey had diving and Zachariah had swimming on Saturday. We then went shopping at Macy's. Lindsey and I went shopping later because we wanted to give friends a wine cooler for Christmas and BestBuy had a nice one available. We also went to MC Sports which is closing and she got another swim suit -- give the amount of time the kids spend in pools, we go through LOTS of swim suits. In any event, except for a couple of small things, I do believe that I am done Christmas shopping.

We have a friend coming over later for dinner and will share leftovers with her. She is the friend who recently lost her husband. She has been out-of-town since two days after his burial. She got home on Friday evening and called, incredibly upset, over the mail. She said that she just didn't know how she was going to do it. They have both been incredibly active in Alzheimer's research, curling (on a national level), the orchestra and community. Her neighbors took care of her mail while she was gone and had separated it into catalogs, bills and what looked like cards. She said that she has hundreds of cards that she just doesn't think she can open all by herself. So, she is bringing her mail and we are going to do it together.

Okay, so in thinking about what I am thankful for this year . . .

• Don is relatively healthy. He is Peg's husband and fell in the shower in late May. At one point, the docs were talking to her about organ donation. He was in intensive care for 6 weeks and they thought that he might be home for Christmas. He came home after being hospitalized for 11 weeks. The last five of which were intensive rehab. He is still doing bunches of therapies but he is doing incredibly well considering his injuries and initial prognosis.
• Herb died peacefully. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1994 but his doctors made notes as early as 1988 that there were concerns about the problems he was having -- among other things he worked for a bank at the time and quit because he of the difficulties he was having in doing reports. I know this sounds bizarre to be thankful for this but he was a dear friend and his disease had gotten to the point that you could see the changes almost from day-to-day. Plus, I know that he would have been devastated if he had died after he forgot who Janet, his wife, was. At the very end, she was the only one he still recognized. And, I'm thankful that Janet doesn't have to live with this burden anymore. The sacrifices made were incredible but their love brought them to the place and time were they could say goodbye while she is still young enough to enjoy life.
• My younger brother's tumors are benign - painful but benign.
• My kids are healthy.
• Sarah is still struggling with school and just broke up with her first love . . . and, of course, going through the whole "I'll never find anyone ever again" thing but each day is getting easier. While she doesn't understand it now, someday, she will recognize this as part of the process of growing up.
• Lindsey is doing incredibly well at school and is just overwhelmingly smart and funny and talented.
• Zachariah is also doing very well at school. He also doesn't have to go to the ENT doc anymore. He had tubes put in when he was 18 months old and still has them. But the doc said that his ears and tubes have finally grown enough that he doesn't need to see him anymore. He is still very small (he will be 7 in January but wears a size 5 slim and weighs 36 pounds). But he is healthy and has not been hospitalized this year.
• Dave is funny and loving and kind and wonderful and my grand passion. Don't tell him that because he would just roll his eyes. He makes me laugh and I am so blessed to have him.
• I finished my MBA. I am starting a new job in January. It is exciting and challenging and sometimes I get the heebie-jeebies when I think about it but it is a new chapter and maybe I need a new chapter.
• I finished four squares for the Mason-Dixon project. I've mailed off my SP11 final package (hope she likes it) and am gathering stuff for the Whoduknit Holiday Swap.

I hope everyone that may read this has the joy of finding thankful "stuff" in their lives. Sometimes it is just a great sunrise or watching a kid find a spider web fascinating but there are many things to be thankful for . . . I know that sometimes I need to open my eyes to them and find that they reach in and touch my heart.

4" squares due by 11/30

Good morning everyone!

If you are looking for an easy way to use up sock yarn, check this site out. It is at Mason Dixon Knitting. Just pay attention to the 4" square. Your gauge can be whatever in order to get a 4" square and then send them off . . . spread the word!

Have a good one.

Mary Lynn

Another contest

Jane is having a contest to celebrate her 300th post on her blog. You can join in the fun here.

Jane and I met when we joined the One Skein Secret Pal. Then she invited me to join WhoduKnit. WhoduKnit is a great group of friends who share the love of mysteries and knitting and sharing.

Friday fill in

Every Friday, you can find a new Friday Fill in here.

1. The things I give thanks for this Thanksgiving are my family and friends.

2. My Thanksgiving traditions include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and extended family time

3. The best part about Thanksgiving is the time spent with my extended family

4. My favorite Thanksgiving food is stuffing . . . my stuffing . . . its the best, according to my kids.

5. Going over a boyfriend's house on Thanksgiving and being pretty obvious about how much I missed not being with my family was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me on Thanksgiving.

6. After the meal, I talk to my sisters and brothers and we generally laugh until we cry

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to uploading a new photo program and "fixing" some pics, tomorrow my plans include Zachariah's swimming and ice skating lessons, Lindsey's diving lessons, folding laundry, making dinner and talking to Dave (and probably comforting Sarah as she just broke up with her boyfriend) and Sunday, I will be going to church and probably out to breakfast!

A contest . . . not mine . . . Purple is a Fruit

Good morning, Dandy is having a contest. She has gotten to her 500th post and is having a contest to celebrate. Click here and you will go to her site. Have fun!

SP11 2nd package

Here are pics from the second package I received from my SP11 pal. The yarn is Baby Alpaca Grande in rust and brown. It is beautiful and lush. The lower pictures is an enlargement of a pick of the two cute stitch markers I received. They are very cute. Thanks so much!

Sorry its been so long

These past couple of weeks have been strange.

I have been sick with a hideous, mind-numbing cold. Dave brought it home from his school kids. They always share. This thing comes and goes. And, then comes back again . . . or it is a different one just mimicing the other one.

I have to use vacation time up by the end of the year, so I've been taking a day here and there which is good but I'm not getting anything done. Seriously, nothing.

A dear friend died last Thursday, November 8. He had collapsed at our house on Labor Day, was in the hospital for several days and then transferred to a rehab unit. Herb was the most gentlest of souls and will be sorely missed. His wife is a very dear friend whom we have known for 27 years. Janet has always said that when Herb died she would move from Cleveland to Dallas where two of her sons live. None of her children live in the Cleveland area but one of Herb's kids and several grandchildren do live close by.

At the memorial service on Sunday, one of Janet's sons approached me and told me that I am the only one that can convince Janet not to make any rash decisions. He said that she needs to wait at least a year but they are all afraid that she will move and live to regret it.

Janet and Herb were married for 28 years. Herb was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 1994, but his doctors are convinced that he was showing signs in 1988. He had been working in a bank and took a "very early" retirement because he was unable to prepare reports and the numbers just didn't work for him anymore. Over the years, he had participated in over 30 research projects, many while he was still able to be a very active participant in the programs.

Janet was absolutely fabulous. She retired seven years ago when Herb was no longer able to be alone. They travelled and laughed and cried together. While they could still fly, they travelled the globe. After Herb was no longer able to fly, they drove. EVERYWHERE. Janet would load up Herb, the dog (Edith . . . three dogs over a period of time, always called Edith) and food and they would hit the road.

My youngest daughter went on many trips with them. She would teach Herb how to read again and again and again. This is the child who does not suffer fools well, but Herb brought out the best in her.

I will miss Herb, for the gentle person he was and for the kind of people he allowed us to be around him.