Category: Life

So it’s February already.  A twelfth of the year has gone by.  I’ve got a lot of things that I want to accomplish this year.

Last year I managed to read 111 books.  It was a hard year and when I was feeling low or not up to being around others, I’d read.  I was hoping for 100 books read, but I got on a roll and exceeded my goal.  This year I’m hoping for a solid 52 books.  A book a week.

Currently I’m reading The Goldfinch.  It’s long, but I’ve truly enjoyed the time I’ve spent with it.  As a writer, I’m always impressed by a good read and Ms. Tartt delivers in this compelling book.

Another goal is to write regularly.  I realized that I needed to do some replotting on the work in progress and got a spiffy new notebook and a fast pen and I’ve spent the weekend playing with my characters and asking them all sorts of questions.  I’m always amazed at what they reveal to me.  So I’m well on my way to knowing what happens in this book (it had been so long since I plotted it and I’d lost the notes, that I wasn’t sure what was going on).  I have to take a firm hand with some of the characters or they will run away with the story and make it their own.

Since knitting is my stress-reliever, I want to get a handle on the gazillion projects I have either in progress or in the planning stage.  I’ve found I do really well if I knit monogamously.  Things end up getting finished.  Like the Zinfandel shawl I posted in my last entry.

Sam continues to grow and do new things every day.  He’s such a good kitty.  His latest thing is to hunker down in the  sink and pop up at me when I walk into the bathroom.  He thinks it’s hilarious.  4 a.m. in the morning with eyes barely open – not so much on my part.  But I’m trying to be a good sport.

So Sam and I are both learning and growing with each new day and new month.

What are you up to this month?  What are your plans for this year?

I hope we’re all successful with our plans.

Kat

I cannot believe it’s been a year between blog posts.  But if I’m honest with myself, last year and the time since I lost my beloved husband Jorgie has passed in a complete blur.  I have very little memories of the time other than a pervasive time of sadness.

I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan and watching it this season has allowed me to recognize many of my grief behaviors through the show’s characters, especially Mary who lost her dear husband Matthew and Matthew’s mother Isobel Crawley.  The writer has done an amazing job of tapping into grief and showing what it is to lose someone you love so deeply.

I was especially taken by the line that was something like, “With great love there comes great misery for the one left behind.”  So very true.  I haven’t just been sad in my grief.  I’ve been miserable.

But I was lucky to have been married to my Jorgie and to have shared so many wonderful times together and to be loved as so few people are in this life.

I have spent a lot of time knitting this past year.  I completed the most intricate shawl I think i’ve even made.  It’s Zinfandel by Anne Hanson.  Here’s a picture of it.

In December I adopted a kitten from a rescue organization.  He’s an absolute love.  His name is Sam and he’s a black kitten with a bit of tabby stripes and hairy ears.  I’m still not sure who adopted whom.

I’m hopeful that Sam can brighten my life and I can brighten his.  He sure has livened mine up.

I’ve been doing some plotting on book 3 in my River City Mystery series.  When Jorgie died I was in the process of editing the second book to add humor.  I’m still struggling with this and not ready to attack the rest of the edits.  So I’m trying to have some fun with just the joy of writing again.  The creative process.  And hopefully book 3, “Your Lights Are Out” will allow me to regain the joy in something I love to do.

I’m still seeing a grief therapist and I do not know how I would have made it through these months without her wisdom.  She tells me that grief work is hard work.  I’ve learned that she is spot on.

And one last thing – the Mary Crawley character on Downton Abbey says that her Matthew fills her mind and she is not ready to let him go.  I think that pretty well sums up how I feel about my Jorgie.  The business of living without him is indeed difficult.  But I am forging ahead.

I wish each of you peace and happiness.

Kat

On June 2nd of 2012, wedding bells rang out loud and clear for my dear son, Michael and his lovely finance Jenna.

We traveled from Richmond to the mountains of Virginia for the outdoor ceremony.  The night before the wedding, we had all kinds of state-wide tornado warnings.  But the day of the wedding could not have been more beautiful.  Blue skies, reasonable temperatures and low humidity.

Michael is an incredible musician.  He calmed his pre-wedding jitters by playing his flute for the guests.

We hadn’t seen Jenna yet, but I’m sure she heard Michael serenading everyone.

Michael and I had a few minutes before the wedding to talk and hug.

Not long after, Jenna walked down from her parents’ house alone and met Michael, who waited for her about a third of the way down to where the rest of us were gathered.  He dropped to one knee and kissed her hand.  That brought tears to my eyes.  I was so busy wiping my eyes that I don’t have a picture of that moment, but this was taken a few minutes later.

They had a long walk together to get to us.  My son, always the clown, had to let out his enthusiasm.  This was so much like he was when he was five.  You can’t tell how happy he was, can you?

The wedding service was beautiful.  Warm, rich in blessings and wise in advice.

Jenna was simply radiant.  And Michael was so handsome – but then I am prejudiced where he’s concerned.

The kids got to relax a bit after the ceremony before we started on the brunch.

Michael isn’t smiling in this shot, but I think that’s because he was glaring at me and my camera.  lol.

The reception tent was filled with wildflowers from Jenna’s family’s property.  Jenna, Michael and her friends really worked to make the decorations and the wedding atmosphere perfect.

And here’s my beloved, Jorgen, hugging me after the wedding.  This day and this picture are all the more precious to me since I lost my darling husband to cancer on October 10th.  It was our last family outing before he became ill.

Michael and Jenna asked me to be one of the people toasting them.  I don’t remember the whole toast, but I did wish for them to have a long, happy married life and to stay as happy as they were on their wedding day. It worked for me.

This last picture might be my favorite from the whole wedding since they look so very happy.

It was an amazing day.  I wish them much love and happiness.  Always.

On Tuesday nights you can usually find me knitting with my local knitting peeps.  They are a fun-loving bunch of women.  I’ve been a part of the group for about a year, but these ladies have been together for quite a long time.  In fact, I used to see them knit at a local bookstore.  They were having so much fun, they inspired me to pick up my needles and start knitting again. Little did I know that I would one day become a member of their group.

Every now and then the knitters decide to take a road trip.  In March, we got train tickets to Alexandria to visit Fibre Space – an awesome yarn store in Northern Virginia.

The night before we left, I was so excited I could not sleep.  Now that’s excited!  It’s kind of like when you were little and your parents told you that Santa wouldn’t come if you didn’t go to bed and get some sleep.  Only as an adult, I knew the train would come and go without me.  So I was up bright and early and at the station by 7:30 a.m.

Our train was on time, but the trip north was slow as there was a tree on the track and had to be removed.

Our group staked out the dining car – not for the food, but because we could get tables and spread out and KNIT.

Here are 3 of our party of 9. From left to right that’s Nancy, Mary and Cathy.

And here’s Jo, Linda and Issy (you can’t see dear Issy, she’s behind Linda).  All are busy knitting as the train is picking up speed.

And here are my table companions on the ride up – Janice and Renny.  Everytime I tried to get a good picture of them, something would happen.

The further north in Virgina we got, the more the wooded landscape gave way to water views.  Before we knew it, we were in Alexandria and on our way by foot over bricks and cobblestones to Old Town where Fibre Space is located.

This is what greeted us as we entered the store.  I was running all over trying to get the layout fixed in my head.  And I was in sensory overload.  Even though I’d brought a list to keep me focused, with all of the lovely yarns it was hard to keep to the list.

There was yarn in every nook and cranny.  And wonderfully comfortable sofas, chairs and even a cushy window seat to sit and regroup and refocus.  That’s Renny taking a moment to decide what she’s going to buy.

 Here’s Janice and Mary enjoying that window seat.  Janice was very focused on her knitting.

I finally managed to snap a picture of Issy.  That’s Linda and Issy.  I have no idea what they’re discussing, but they always have lots of information to share.  And they are excellent knitters.  I’m always in awe of what they produce.

Here’s the yarn that Issy helped me pick out for a Color Affection Shawl.  It’s Neighborhood Fiber Company fingering, and I love it.  I’m in love with blue and that dark skein on the right appealed to me straight-away.  The lavender on the left popped out second with Issy’s help and while I was still floundering around in the blues, Issy picked out the pink – which I never would have.  But I love it.  I think this will make a great shawl that will serve me well.

I also selected some Loft and a pattern for it – Sakura by Leila Raabe for Brooklyn Tweed.

I’ve already wound one skein. LOL.  The color is a plum and is breathtaking.  I almost didn’t get it, but one of my peeps who will not be named (Janice) was a prime enabler on this purchase.

The last skeins I bought, I have no idea what I’ll make.  They were blue and so pretty I couldn’t resist.  Also Neighborhood Fiber Company – one of my new favorite yarns.

Aren’t they drool-worthy?  I’m thinking a lovely shawl – probably by Anne Hanson, my favorite designer.   Her Knitspot patterns are my go-to patterns for socks, shawls, mitts, sweaters.  You name it.  She’s brilliant.

After lunch, we strolled around Old Town and I snapped a few more pictures.

Charming city.  Lovely buildings.  Quaint shops.  Fun, fun day.

All too soon we had to race back to the train station to hop the Richmond bound train home.  But we’re planning on making this an annual event.  Good times.  Good memories.  Great friends.

As a writer, I stick with a project until I’m done.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.  I’m monogamous when I write.  Or so I tell myself.  And maybe that isn’t always a good thing for a creative person.

However, when I knit, I am easily distracted by a shiny new pattern or yarn.  I’m in the midst of working on an intricate lace shawl, and until this week, I was doing monogamous knitting.  But I’ve still got about 100 rows to do, and the temptation to cast on has been great today.

Here’s a picture of  Squall many rows ago.  It’s not as blue in real life.  The yarn is handspun.  Not by me.  I do spin, but we’d be waiting for a long time for me to produce enough yarn to make this shawl out of my handspun.  No, it was lovingly spun for the Fall in Full Color Club by Cheryl Newhouse at New Hue Handspun out of her BamHuey Lace yarn.  It it just stunning.

I’m ganking a picture of the finished project to let you see what it will eventually become.  Photo is courtesy of Knitspot.  Anne Hanson is my favorite designer.  I wish I could see what she sees when she designs her patterns.  They are works of art.

I’m using the 2 skein option, so my shawl will be bigger than this.  I’ve used up one skein of yarn already and the shawl above was made with only one skein.  But then I’m a big-boned fluffy kind of girl.

So on this rainy, gray day here in Richmond, Virginia, I put Squall aside and cast on for another Anne Hanson Knitspot project.  Motheye.

Again, this picture is from the Knitspot shop.  I’ll be making my Motheye out of The Verdant Gryphon’s Mithril lace in The Depths of the Sea colorway.

I ganked this picture from Gryphon’s website. I think it’s going to be beautiful.  And you know, sometimes we need to feed that need for beauty.  Not that Squall isn’t beautiful.  It’s gorgeous.  But today I needed to cast on for something else.  And Motheye got the nod.

It’s a life lesson I need to pay attention to.  Often, in writing, I’ll hang with a particular thread in a plot.  It could be stagnating because I’ve been working on it too long and pushing for it to hurry up and be done.  Well, things, creative things anyway, are never done before they’re good and ready to be done.

Squall is telling me to give it a brief rest and come back to it. Motheye is winking her pretty dark eye at me and saying, “Cast on.”

Letting go is often so much better than resistance.  Casting on, whether it’s with knitting or writing or some other creative endeavor, is not a bad thing.

So for that sticky part in the plot that I’ve been relentlessly working on this week, I’m letting it go and casting on for another thread in the book.

And to feed my creative soul, I’ve cast on for Motheye.

Are you finding that you need to cast on for something different in your life?  Try it.  You may be surprised with the results and with what happens when you go back to your original project.  Let me know what you think.  I’m interested.