Wednesday, April 11, 2007

random - because it's Wednesday!

There seems to be a trend in the blogoverse to keep Wednesday open for random thoughts and ramblings.
Works for me!

ALL TUSCANY, ALL THE TIME
I am making a concerted effort to finish Tuscany by April 28th. I want to wear it to the DKC Knitter's Frolic (especially if Amy is going to be there - I want her to see it!), and I also have my nephew's First Communion later that day, and I want it for that as well. So, other than the traveling sock (lunch time knitting, etc.) Tuscany is my only project. Good thing I love the pattern and the Sea Silk! I have about 2 1/2 repeats left, but of course, since you increase on every row, they are 2 1/2 every increasing looooonnnnnggggg repeats.

FAMILY GATHERINGS
As mentioned, my nephew is having his First Communion at the end of the month. This is the son of my husband's brother and his wife, J. Now J and I became friends because we married brothers, but have remained friends because we truly like one another and get along well. The problem is when you add her family to the mix. Her perfect family. With perfect kids, perfect houses, perfect lives, and perfect ways of doing everything. Because, of course, the rest of us are so imperfect. It's not the most pleasant of times when we all get together. The fake smile one must paste on the face wears after a while. The other thing I found somewhat annoying was J's comment that we, as non Catholics, (or in my case, non-practising or believing Catholic), could "skip the ceremony" and meet the family at the house afterwards. Now, as much as I would like to do that, having my own issues with the Catholic church, I would find that to be very rude. Of course we will be at the church to witness his rite of passage. It's important to him (or at least his Mom), so it is important to us. So, I will go to this function, with the memories of a great morning spent at the Knitter's Frolic beforehand, and hopefully, that will get me through it!

RAISIN BRAN COMMERCIAL
OK, this rant may be a little regional - those in the Greater Toronto Area may know of what I speak. Years (and years) ago there was a Raisin Bran commercial with a lumberjack ("Sturdy Danny McGee was up his fifty-ninth tree...). I was annoying then. It's even more annoying now since they are REPLAYING it every morning during the news on TV, and on the radio when I am driving to work! Come on people! this thing is more than 20 years old. Make a new one!

MY MOM
So Mom's surgery is confirmed for next week - and unfortunately my brother will be out of the country on business. Timing is everything. I have arranged everything so I am available to take her to the hospital, and be there when she wakes up and the next day when she is released, I will be there to spend a couple of days with her. Biggest surprise? The Powers that Be at work are fully supportive of this. (I'm beginning to suspect Alien involvement - the Big Boss has been incredibly nice to me lately). Whatever the reason, I'm glad I could work it out - I need my Mom around for a lot more years, so it's important to be there for her. Also, Hubby is doing his part, rearranging his schedule to allow me to be away from the house for a few days. It's times like these that he realizes how much work there is in keeping a household running smoothly and on time...

SMALL WORLD
Last night at Son's basketball practice, some of the Mom's and I got to talking. Normally, it's me and the Dad's but for some reason, last night there were more Mom's there. We were talking about the kids, and birthdays, and the talk gravitated towards our own birthdays. Turns out that 3 of us (of the 4 talking) have the same birthday! How cool is that? (The kids thought it was very cool). Of course, I had 5 years on one of them, and 9 on the other, but still, it was an amazing coincidence.

Have I distracted you enough to realize that I have no pictures? No? Sorry - I could take a picture of Tuscany, but to be honest, I don't feel like taking her off the needles to stretch it out, and unstretched lace looks , well, like a pile of yarn. Soon, I hope to have some blocking pictures of her. Countdown to the 28th begins...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, looking forward to that shawl! I am still plugging away on those damned socks. Getting there!

As for Sturdy Danny McGee...I thought we saw the last of him and the chick with the huge owl glasses years ago.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the first communion and the thoughtless comment (from a perfect person with perfect manners? I think not!!). She probably was not ill-intentioned, but was giving you an "out". Did she know about the Knitter's Frolic? I agree with you that it seems rude to attend the party without attending the ritual, but I have seen more and more of that lately. Last summer my nephew got married in a small church which held maybe 150 people. The reception was at a huge venue and about 400 people attended. He expected (hoped?)that many of the guests would not attend the wedding ceremony. But for me, that's the best part!!

I will be sending positive energy to you and your mom during her operation. I would hope that your employers would give you as much time as you need/want. You could be asking for 3 months off and get the government to pay you--if I understand that new program correctly--sort of like maternity leave except it's for a sick relative who needs care. (Again, the government is being super-kind--they are saving health dollars by having a relative provide the care.)So the employer knows that if they don't co-operate you could be gone for an extended period of time, and that's much more difficult to manage than a day or two here and there. Good luck. And get a fabulous knitting project ready to while away the difficult times. (Maybe more than one project--one that's easy and repetitive, and one that's more challenging).
Marlyce in Windsor (who made 2 "Loopy" scarves with the Bohemian yarn you sent, and whose friends are delighted with their birthday gifts!!)

CatBookMom said...

Have fun at the Frolic! You are doing a positive and supportive thing by going to your nephew's ceremony, and I hope the 'perfect' family isn't too awful.

I will be thinking about you and your Mom. Remember to bring the knitting!!