I would like to say it has felt like this month has flown by, but really, that would be a lie. It has dragged on and on and on... It has been a productive month, and I have few complaints about it, but it has truly felt never-ending. We are quickly getting ourselves back into the routine of school, work, studying, and life. This weekend, like others before it, have been filled with bowling tournaments (Aurora), hanging with friends (Rei and Brie and Patrick), work (Eric), and homework (me, Eric), along with the regular detrius that goes with running a household.
Yesterday St. Louis had a major parade to honor the service vets of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even cooler, they had a weekend reading of the names of all the soldiers who lost their lives in this war, all 6,000 + of them. I found that to be really cool. At the end of the parade route was an assortment of opportunities and resources for returning vets as they rejoin society, something (at least in the interviews on the news last night) many appreciated. Brie's guard unit was going to march, but she and Jason didn't participate, and we had other things going on, so we didn't make it over to the parade, but I was thrilled to see so many had participated and attended. We were there in spirit!
I have finally given myself permission to take the time to do a few things I want to spend time on, and it's been nice to just do them. I have one border just about done being beaded and backstitched on an 11+ year old project; I finished my December challenge socks, and I am about a third of the way through my second January mystery sock (loving the colors and the design has been interesting--there are parts of it I adore, and others I say "meh" to, but overall am enjoying making). I finally finished the hem on a skirt that has been hanging on my dressform for months, and I "put on and stuffed" a bra on it to better match my measurements/shape for fitting purposes (I had been frustrated because the fit in the bosom just wasn't working for me--fit great on the form, but was shaped wrong on me!) I used an idea from a knitting "fitting" book I own to adjust the form's shape and I am eager to now try it out on a new garment. (The kids just laughed at me as I was stuffing, measuring, shifting, stuffing, and measuring me and the form til things were right... Thank goodness it has a lycra cover that goes over everything to give a smooth profile when it's set! The bra is hidden, and the form is "shapely")
I took a cue from my wonderful Mother-in-Law and bought a square plastic box to house a new block of the month applique quilt I want to make (she has one that houses her handwork that she takes with her--I thought it was a great idea!). I started laying things out to work on blocks 1 & 2 on Friday night, but discovered I need an ironing board, iron, and some other things I didn't have in my room to do the prep work, so I have that on my agenda for later today, after the last assignment is done and I am working on laundry. I am in the mood for hand sewing/quilting, and my hope is that if I can get everything prepped and basted into place it will be another project I can safely do when Skye is playing around me. Knitting things with simple patterns is ok when I am around her, although she is fascinated with the yarns, needles, and pattern pages, and really wants to help; cross stitch is out because of the threads, beads, and scissors, along with multi-paged patterns and frequent color changes... My hope is that as I do things around her it will spark an interest in learning these traditions, but I don't want to squash it by being a tyrant and telling her "NO" all the time because she is just too hazardous to the process--and the tools can be hazardous to her...
My big kids are doing well. Liisa is looking to get more hours at the airport hotel she now works at, and is enjoying being on the front desk of a full service hotel; she is also working part-time still doing dog grooming and really enjoys that too. Tony is changing jobs, having finally gotten a job in his field (welding) and he is stoked to be doing it. As he said, automotives is his fall-back job, something he can always do if necessary, but it will be fantastic to be doing what he went to school for and make a steady, predictable income, with benefits (rather than work on commission, which can be variable). They are still waiting on a closing date for their house, and Andrea told me today that their realtor had a heart attack and surgery recently. Wow.
Reimond finished his semester this week, and from what I have heard, has ALL PASSING GRADES! I am so pleased! I was so worried about this change of programs for him, as to whether it was an answer to a prayer or one more challenge to be overcome. Clearly it has been an answer to a prayer: he is doing amazing, he is learning new things/skills/ideas, he likes and respects the teaching staff, and he is finding success. I couldn't ask for more for him! It has also been fun to see the friendship that continues to grow between he, Dan, and Patrick, especially now with Patrick being back home. The boys tend to spend a lot of time together, and it pleases us to see that.
The only real fly in my ointment these days is still trying to shake this sinus crud. I am so tired of feeling "off" from the raw throat, the headaches, and the drainage, not to mention the medicine side-effects when I give in and take more than just my daily allergy med. It's been close to a month-month and a half now, and I am ready to feel better! I don't know if it's the weather, allergies, or a low level infection that is keeping it going (or a little of all three) but it can go away any time now, and I won't be sad! I am thinking I need to give in and take some sudafed....
Looking forward to February! Just a couple of days away!
No comments:
Post a Comment