Knitting Lesson

I have been knitting quite a bit the last few years and I've decided that it is really good for me! I have never been a person known for her patience, but knitting has created a calmness and determination that tends to promote at least the illusion of patience in my life.

No matter how fast (or slow) I knit, no matter how even (or crooked) my stitches are, no matter how simple (or complex) the pattern I choose, all my knitting shares this one trait: I can only knit ONE stitch at a time.

I am a multi-tasker at heart. I can - and generally do - have several things going on at once. I bake bread while scrapbooking. I do laundry while I garden. I always have 3 or 4 books by the bed, and I generally read a bit from all of them each day.

When I was very young - and a bit stupid - I once multi-tasked changing clothes while driving over Snoqualmie Pass. (I don't recommend this.)

It is easy to do something else while knitting, as long as the "something else" does not require the use of one's hands! Frankly, knitting would probably make me crazy if I couldn't listen to a CD, help with homework, and/or hold up my end of a lively conversation while doing it! But still, no matter how many things I can juggle at once, I still cannot knit more than one stitch at a time. one - stitch - at -a - time. And a project may have tens of thousands of stitches.

So knitting slows me down a bit. It reminds me that little things can eventually add up to something worth noting.

The photograph shows a purse and beret set I made for a beloved young niece. I could have purchased a hat and purse and saved myself dozens of hours of work, but I like the idea of creating a gift one loving (and somewhat patient) stitch at a time. It adds up to something.

Camping

I am currently getting ready to take the girls camping for a few days. Michael will stay home and "relax" in between working, commuting, and refinishing the deck.

It is a huge job to get ready to camp. My to-do lists are cross-referenced, scribbled in the margins, and being continually updated.

It is taking more time to get ready for this camping trip than we will spend on the trip.

As I prepare to basically move housekeeping outdoors a hundred miles away, I keep thinking of my grandmother, who started life in the "good old days" of wringer washers, flat irons, wood stoves, and kerosene lanterns, but lived to see all manner of modern conveniences.

I don't know why I keep thinking of my grandmother today. Maybe she is giggling away in heaven, observing that tent camping - basically leaving home to work harder than usual just to survive - is a rather odd hobby.

But she was a good sport, so she might think that the star gazing, hiking, swimming, and sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows would render the effort worthwhile.

Update on a Sunflower

This is the sunflower I mentioned in my first blog.
It was the first in the garden to bloom, and is now
starting two more flowers further down the stem.

It is still staked with a bamboo stick and a length of fuzzy white yarn, but it does not actually need this support any longer.

Makes me smile!

My Girls

Just to add a bit of visual to my comments...the beautiful smiles shown in this photograph belong to Daughter One (15 years old) and Daughter Two. (almost 4)

Daughter One sings, dances, and giggles like an angel on holiday. Her next goal is to drive. (dream on, kid!)

Daughter Two draws, dances, and is planning to be a princess when she grows up. (She practices daily.) Her next goal is to be allowed to take tap dance as well as ballet. (one more year!)

Laughing at Myself

I do not think of myself as a vain person - especially about my physical appearance - but I just had to share this.

Yesterday I was in a supplements store with a friend asking for help in selecting a new multi-vitamin. A knowledgeable employee showed me 3 or 4 options, explaining the benefits of each. Then she picked up one more, frowned as she put it back and said, "That would be a good one eventually, but it will be years before you will need it." She left to help other customers.

Curious, my friend grabbed the rejected multi-vitamin and started laughing. It was labeled for women ages 50 and up.

"Years" before I qualify? Try 51 weeks.

Yup, I walked on air for hours after that one...I'm not above a bit of flattery!

Pinching Back the Basil

The basil looks great.

Weeks ago, when the basil plants were so small that I could easily count every tiny leaf, I pinched off a few precious leaves here and there to encourage the plant to branch out and thicken. It was hard to make myself pinch the plants back – it seemed as if I was taking away so much of the plant, and that I was wasting the potential of the removed leaves that would never have a chance to grow large.

Of course, the pinching back was necessary. If I had not forced the plants back, they would never have grown to be so generously proportioned. These plants are huge and thick; some of the fragrant leaves are 4 inches long and 2 inches across! Every day I pick basil for our summer meal preparations, but the supply never seems to diminish. At the end of the season, there will still be enough basil left to put up several batches of pesto for this winter’s pleasure.

I feel a bit like that pot of seedling basil, sporting more potential than leaves, because God is always pinching me back. I am perfectly happy being my rather small self – thank you very much! – but God desires that I become more, so He pinches back my leaves, and removes little parts of me. Sometimes the things he asks me to prune back seem just a bit too much - WAY outside my comfort zone, but as He prunes He encourages me to branch out in new ways. In time, this always happens.

I cannot honestly say that I enjoy the pinching back, but I do enjoy the result: a stronger me that is of more use to myself, to others, and to God himself.

Young at Heart, Other Parts Slightly Aged

"What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny compared to what lies within us." - Emerson

About 5 minutes ago, I turned 49 years old. It doesn't even seem possible, but I double-checked the calendar, and it is so! The woman in the mirror is aging, which seems odd because the woman I really am - the woman inside - feels quite young.

The woman who lives inside is the one who plays tag on the beach with her 3 year old, who dances around the kitchen with her husband, and who follows her teenager from store to store to store looking for the perfect dress.

The woman inside is tending the garden, helping with the homework, and making sure the kids see museums as well as movies.

The woman inside can now do seven pushups! in a row!

So, who is this woman who has found her way into my mirror? I don't think I know her. It can't be me...I am young in heart, renewed each morning, as the Bible says.

Today Daughter Two was enjoying her playdough, laying out the colors and fashioning all sorts of little things with her tools. Eventually, she presented me with an "ice cream cone" that I was to "eat."

It was actually a charming piece of art, looking a bit like jellybean-speckled vanilla bean ice cream perched upon a lopsided waffle cone. Of course, being made of playdough, it would have tasted foul. But, it really did look good!

The playdough is my inverse: It looks great on the outside, but has no flavor, no real value as ice cream. I however, do not look all that yummy on the outside, but the real me is young in spirit, renewed each day, facing life with hope and joy.

Forty nine years old looks pretty good from here. Old enough to have learned some things; smart enough to know there is still much to learn, and (Lord willing) lots of time left to get something done.

Carpe Diem!