Weekend Cat blogging

Fedd loves crafts.. especially ones that create boxes.. Like this box made for me by my sister-in-law to collect mail.. or cats.



This is for weekend cat blogging being held at the amazingly wonderful blog www.sidewalkshoes.blogspot.com check it out!

Happy New Year!

2010 Who'da thunk it... What a very long year the Kafooster family has had. 2009 started with a surgery in February, and ended with an emergency in December and there was all kinds of wonderful, and yuck in between. There didn't seem to be a lot of just nice and easy anywhere in the year.

Although there has been many, many difficult changes this year, there are so many things that I am so very grateful for.

Sam has really grown and matured, he is gaining a subtlety of mind that I am increasingly impressed with. He is learning to take breaks away from that which annoys (or really upsets) him without prompting. He collects himself and rejoins the group with a sense of humor instead of a rage. Those of you who know Asperger's will be impressed, those of you who do not, just understand, that if I can teach anything to my children to insure their success in this world, this is one of the most important. And he is not quite 13. I am immensely proud.

Ben is also really maturing, just a few post ago he was at that "I know! I know!" stage, but he seems to have left that behind, and is more open to listening. He has also finally understood that just because he speaks differently than everyone else (he has a slight disfluency, or stutter) this does not make him stupid. He is finally understanding what we have known all along, that he is a brilliant, and most of all wonderfully kind and caring young man. Again, I am so amazingly proud.

The biggest change, one of the hardest, and I would say the biggest blessing, was that this was the year that John started to learn sobriety. The world of alcoholism is such a closed one. There are so few people that we tell, there are so few people that we share that big grief with, and it becomes such a huge, consuming piece of our lives. While John has gotten sober, I have had to work so hard, still have to work hard at trying to not question where he is, has he been drinking that day? The little quick assessment that is done as he walks in the door has started to fall away, and it is not the first thing I think of.

John has worked so hard, and still works hard everyday. I have learned that there is no perfection in sobriety, there is no absolute, I have great faith however. Great faith in John's absolute burning desire to stay sober, to maintain this lifestyle for the rest of his life, one day at a time, and amazing, great faith in the Good Lord God to watch over him, and lift him up and help him day to day. And to watch over us all.

2010 brings opportunity, to continue on our way. I hope to continue to reach out and help those who need me. I hope to help put together a class for all denominations of faith in our area on how to include autistic students in all kinds of services, and to make the families more comfortable about being in church, or temple, or whatever.. I hope to help as many individuals as will need me, to understand their autistic child and how to help them grow and be comfortable in this world that will not change for them, but can accept them. I know that this is my calling. I also really hope to get more organized in home, and in body.. this is NOT my calling, but my own personal devil, so I will try to conquer it with a lot of lists...

So 2010! May you be blessed, may you see us continue to grow, hopefully not as painfully as 2009, but in faith, in strength and together as before and as always.

And so should 2010 be for all of you as well!

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!