Listen to your gut...

I've been preoccupied a lot lately, It's not that I don't love you all out in Kafooster land, it's just that there have been many demands on my time, and not even the holiday stuff, because barely any of that is done. Lately my biggest concern has been my grandmother.. Alice. She is now 86, and has all kinds of breathing problems, and was, frankly, tired, ready to die, and the family has been on pins and needles waiting for this EVENT.

This Friday I went to work as usual, and I started to cry, Grandma was in the hospital, and no one really knew what was wrong and I felt so disconnected. When my boss, Faith, saw me crying she said, Whoa! come over, tell me what's up!... I do not cry easily, and NEVER at work..

"Michelle, just go, you'll never feel right if you don't" Faith said..

And as it sometimes happens, everything just fell into place. John was able to have the time off of work, Faith arranged my days for this week so that I miss no work, I was able to get a flight out of Portland to Boise at 11:50 am PST on Friday morning (yep, same morning) and was in the hospital with Grandma by 3:30ish her time. (one hour ahead of us)

Now I'm not going to say that this was a pleasure cruise of a weekend, because, it was not. There were a lot of close calls, and we almost lost Grandma at least two times, but by the time I left on Monday morning, Grandma was tossing pillows at her bed, and getting cranky. (This made the family very, very happy!)

I spent a lot of time (almost all of this time I was there) at the Holy Rosary Hospital there in Ontario, Oregon. I know where the Chapel is, I know where the nurses keep the coffee on the 3rd floor, and the blankets and pillow cases for that matter... I was offered a job to join the night staff, only partial in jest I think. The staff was wonderful, but the time that I spent with my grandmother was a true blessing, for both of us. I was able to really understand her physical condition, and to translate that to family members if needed, and indeed to grandma herself. Although, she is the one that explained half of it to me. May I never stop learning from that amazing woman.

The point of all of this dribble is that, I was crawling out of my skin, unbalanced, ungrounded, feeling like I was flying apart, and when I stopped and listened to my gut, (and my boss, and my mom) everything just fell into place and both me and my family benefited from my trip to Eastern Oregon.

Grandma Alice is now out of the hospital, in rehab and starting her exercises for the first time today! She said that she is feeling great! She has a new lease, if you will.

See.. here she is with her Minnie mouse ears that my Aunt Linda and Cousin Jason just brought back to her. What a very loved mouse, uh, Grandma.

Quick, quiet moment

Everyone is gone right now (as I typed that the phone rang... sigh) anywho, I decided to let you all know that I decided to knit the sweater, but not until next season, or when I have the money for the yarn I want. There was a time when I would just go buy it, but now, like with many other people, money is tighter around the house, and frankly we are trying to be wiser about our consumerism of anything. I am going to spend about $20.00 dollars soon for spinning lessons (that idea got sidetracked for this month due to the ol' H1N1 incident) I have access to a great deal of alpaca fiber, maybe I will get really good at spinning and I will spin the yarn for that sweater. That's a daunting idea! John is fine, the boys are fine, I am fine, although still coughing, (the only one, I think the doctor will have to be seen..another sigh)

The house still needs to be cleaned, the laundry is still calling out (only a few loads) and I think that I will go change out of my church going clothes and get into some sweats, sit in my rocking chair and work on a lace scarf I'm making for someone's Christmas present.. yep, that sounds like what the ultimate doctor ordered for today!

Happy Sunday!

Nickel Creek and What to do about the next sweater

So I have the Ipod on to Nickel Creek.. a little bit of blue grass to drowned out the video gaming boys in the background. I have the perfect next sweater project, it really is perfect, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw the pattern.... except... I really just need to use the yarn in my stash, and I'm not sure that I have any that will be right for it, and it is knit in different parts... I know that sounds crazy, but I am a huge devote' of Elizabeth Zimmerman, and we knit in the round. We cut sweaters down the middle for a cardigan. I have no great desire to knit little pieces and then sew them together... it's a dilemma.

See?




But look at this!!



And this..



This screams out to me, can you see why?

I would love it in a dark color like this, but I think that I am going to do it in an aran (cream colored) super wash wool so that I can wear it all the time, and throw it in the washer and dryer.. but oh! If I were rich I would get more alpaca and knit this up in that.....

The big dilemma is this, do I wait on this one to get the perfect yarn? Or can you see this in the old fashioned cream color?

I think I need to play with it for a while.. oh well, I'm trying to bust out some Christmas knitting anyway.. but my fingers itch for this pattern!!!!

Finished sweater!!

I know I'm going a bit overboard on the pictures and detail here.. but I am SO excited about the finished sweater! The pictures do not do the crimson base color justice! There is a depth to the color with black undertones.. and the sweater is so warm! Oh, and it fits!

So you get the idea right?

It has been more than a little crazy here, we were all down with the ol' H1N1, let me tell ya.. I'm still coughing, and the whole famn damily was ill at the same time. Our doctor put us on Tamiflu right away, and I'm here to tell you, if you get the chance.. TAKE IT! Tamiflu really lessened the symptoms.

As my grandmother says, we were all "puny" here at the Kafooster household, but we're on the mend. Besides, the quarantined household allowed me the time to finish my sweater!

Hair cut pictures..and that sweater.

So we had hair cuts last week, and aside from Sam continuing to say

"Mom, you're really close to my ear right now... be careful!"

and both of them saying... "Are you done yet? It's taking you way too long!"

every thing went pretty well.

I am always surprised that a hair cut changes the look of young boys/men so much, and they are both growing so much lately that I seem to turn around and am seeing the young men more than boys... These were taken last Sunday..

Ben, after his bath.. he has my dad's curls to his hair, and there is so much red in that blond of his...

Sam, with a more hip (yep, I used that old word) hair cut... Sam is growing so quickly, we are almost eye to eye now.. (I'm only 5'1" so that is not tough for my kids, but it is still weird..)

And about that violin thing.. yep, I've decided to do it, but, I have to get a violin first.. I'll be looking at the local pawn shops, or on e-bay.. when I get it (no hurry..) I'll start learning to play instead of shreek... which is John's fear..

Happy Sunday everyone, hope it's a nice lazy day.. I'm going to put some soup in the crock pot... chicken and rice I think and then spend the rest of my day listening to boys play video games, and finishing up that sweater.. oh by the way.. this is what it looks like...

The checkered area in the front is where the "steeking" will take place, where you secure the yarn with a sewing machine then cut down the middle stitch to create a cardigan.. Pretty right? I'm excited about my new winter sweater!

Ben's picture has arrived... finally!

So here it is.. I've got to tell you, I am so pleased that both have turned out so well.. check this out!






They both look so grown up!



I have been so busy trying to get everything done (work, housework, knitting, homework, housework, dishes, cleaning, housework.....) I think I'm falling back into that never ending cycle of recriminations that I used to do before the broken shoulder incident... I am trying to pull myself out of that cycle and trying to give myself permission to do things just for me.. I am working to finish that sweater that I started before the shoulder surgery that I just now picked up again, maybe tomorrow I'll take a picture and show you how far I am.. really I'm close to being finished.. this year I will have a new, alpaca cardigan. Also, I discovered a spinning teacher here in Hillsboro, and I called her and promised myself that in the middle of this month I am going to take a couple of lessons so that I can move forward in my attempt to spin my own yarn.



And tell me if this is silly, but I really want to learn to play the violin. This is something that I have always wanted to learn, but I was thinking really? At 40 years old? Learn the violin? But then I thought, well... why not? Wadda think? Too much ?


With everything else that's going on in my life, taking on yet another task seems daunting. I wish, truly that I was born an organized person. I just do not have the time to learn all the interests that haunt me! Certainly not learn them and keep up with the laundry!

Sam's Picture is Back

So Sam's school pictures came back.. they are actually really good. He was clearly thinking of our school picture conversation. See...



Sorry about the quality of the scan. Any one of you who know me are going to laugh and would be right to say that this is an expression straight off of my own face.. Really this is 100% his mother.. poor kid.

Ben has not had his school pictures taken yet, which is really strange, normally this would be done by now, but picture day for him is not until Oct. 20Th.

The first part of the school year was horrible, everyone got sick within the second week. Sam's school had 55 kids leave the school on Tues of the 2ND week.. Not just calling in sick, mind you, but start throwing up in the hallways, classroom,bathrooms, or office, and be sent home. Luckily everything seems to be calming down.
Sam is loving his class so far, and I am thrilled.

Ben seems to be okay in school, but he is at that stage where, when you say anything at all to him, his response is "I know, I know" in an exasperated tone.

"Ben put your shoes on"
"I know, I know"
"Ben your sandwich is ready."
"I know, I know"
"Ben, get your head in the corner, you cannot call your brother a dick!"
"Mom!, that is so unfair!" (this is the other thing that I am hearing all day long!)
"Ben, in this house we are supposed to be respectful towards everyone and calling people names, even our brothers, when they are being mean, is not oka....

(interruption)

"MOM! I KNOW, I KNOW!! Can I get out of the corner now?"

humm. well, you all get the picture, right? I remember that Sam went through this at nine. Ben has it down pat. The rolling of the eyes, the disgruntled grunt, the shaking of his head as he walks away exclaiming,

"You just don't understand what I'm saying Mom!"

On to other things, the weather here is supposed to turn for a very fast drop in temperature this week and me and my shoulder are here to tell you that the weather channel is absolutely correct!!! Ouchie momma! I'm just going to make sure that I have a supply of pain medication on hand for the winter. But I will come in hand for the family weather needs.

I had a friend laugh at this the other day and say..

"Wow, that really sucks, that's like being the weather girl X-Man, and the only super power you got was different kinds of pain to tell you what's coming, but you don't get to move it around like Storm"

I have to agree.. If I have to be a mutant, why can't I have the cool super powers?