You know you are a knitter when

Someone draws back the cover on a baby stroller and the first thing you say is "Oh! What a beautiful blanket!"

The parents of the baby took it all in stride and told me they would let the knitter of the blanket know how much I liked it. Truly, y'all. This blanket had beautiful stitch definition and was a lovely basket stitch pattern with a loose rib edging. Oh, the baby was pretty darn cute, too! He had a lovely round face with pinchable cheeks. We all had a good laugh at my instant fondness of the blanket.

I did not have knitting on my mind this past weekend celebrating my anniversary. Gwensmom asked if there would be a milestone anniversary sweater, and although I have a sweater planned for Italian, there was no sweater this weekend. When Italian saw the teeny tiny box holding his present, he asked right away if he was going to get a sweater at all. He seemed a bit disappointed when I told him no, but his disappointment quickly disappeared when he opened his present, an iTouch with a "mix tape" style playlist containing some special songs, and a little surprise movie outlining his actual present - a fly fishing trip to Colorado. He loved his present, even though it was knitting.

I was equally elated with my present, and it was knitting either. Italian surprised me with a new beautiful ring. He went to a local jewelry store because they were very nice when all I wanted were a few links removed from my watch. He walked in and asked for a setting that was "antique-y." From there, he picked out a lovely setting and the most beautiful center stone all by himself, putting together a ring I absolutely adore. He did a very good job. I'll keep him.

Slight distraction

I'm off to celebrate a milestone anniversary, so I'll quickly distract you with some pictures of knitting. Behold something green:

From WIPs

and something little (but not for me, it's a gift):

From WIPs

More on these later after my little romantic weekend getaway.

Not just for the boys

Last night, I had the pleasure of spending time with one of the world's premiere fly fisher and came to understand and appreciated that I was in the presence of a legend. My local fly fishing club brought in Lefty Kreh for the monthly meeting. Lefty shared some tips, showed us his favorite places to fish, and taught us how to cast. From a knitting perspective, spending time with Lefty is comparable to spending an afternoon with Elizabeth Zimmerman just knitting. From a cooking perspective, it's like being in the kitchen with James Peterson on a Saturday afternoon.

Lefty has fished with presidents, with fly fishing pioneers, with fishing leaders, with rock legends, with actors, and with several people he calls friends. He's written books, produced countless DVDs, and invented his own flies. He's personable, funny, and knowledgeable. He shares his wealth of knowledge with anyone who will absorb it and he conveys it with a twinkle in his eye. He is excited about you learning, which only makes you want to learn more. Meeting Lefty was special, but having Lefty teach me how to cast is an experience I'll always treasure. Casting with Lefty also made me realize that fly fishing is not just something I do with Italian and Little Clover anymore. Fly fishing is something I do. It is a skill I want to master, and why shouldn't I? Lefty said I could be really good, and I took that as a huge compliment.

Luscious

I love being a mom. I really do. I knew I would enjoy it, but I love it. I've been having some very rough days at work and I had the pleasure of spending an hour with Little Clover at his school on Friday. That single hour was restorative and washed away the stress I had accumulated throughout the work week. It was his annual school picnic, and this year, his school decided to have it at the park across the street instead of on the campus. They booked a deejay who played an awesome mix of tunes, and I spent my lunch hour watching Little Clover and his classmates dance away to the songs. It was bliss. His school does a lot of little things like this and has a strong policy of encouraging parents to be involved in activities. Parents are on campus every day of the school year and we know each other and our children. I've know Little Clover's classmates since they were four years old and seeing them all grow up has been an amazing experience. With most of the boys, I know I'll have the pleasure of seeing them age to the age of 18. To me, this will be remarkable, and I've loved every minute of it.

After the festivities of the day, we decided to head to a Memphis Redbirds game, yet another hidden gem of our fair City. The game was a blast. I honestly can't tell you who won, but I know the seats were cheap, we had a wonderful time, and the BBQ nachos were fantastic as usual.

From Irish Clover

After most of the home games, a local band will play as people leave the stadium. Friday night, the Memphis Rascals regaled us with covers of Michael Jackson's Beat It, Lynard Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama (a family favorite), and other throwbacks as well as their own original tunes.

From Irish Clover

The funny thing is, most of the covers they played were songs that came out before they were born. The kids in this band could not be older than 16. I give them 16 because someone had to drive downtown to the stadium. The drummer had braces for goodness sakes! The kids totally rocked though. Little Clover had an awesome watching the band and dancing, and I enjoyed watching little Hawaiian shirt dude shirt rock out as well.

From Irish Clover

From 2009 Finished Objects

In the midst of all the activities, I did finish a Lush and Lacy sweater (sans buttons). I do plan on getting a set of buttons for the sweater, but I do love it very much. One of the best things about this sweater is that it took 16 days for me to knit it. Granted, I had about 3 inches of it started before I picked it up again, but seriously! 16 days, people! That is one seriously quick knit. I love the pockets, too.

From 2009 Finished Objects

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (love it!)
Needles: Denise interchangeable size 10

Oh, I also took a weaving class. I'm not sure how I feel about weaving. I enjoyed the class immensely, but, I think my sewing skills should be developed more before I really get into weaving. I did have fun though.

From Irish Clover

Finally, we spent the evening with poetry tonight. In honor of National Poetry Month, I asked Little Clover to read some Shel Silverstein poems out loud tonight. Not only did he read a couple of poems, but he read a lot of poems, with feeling. We were rolling with laughter and amusement! At one point, Italian turned to me and said, "All he needs is a beret and a cup of coffee." He was completely right. I've never experienced such performance art as I did tonight. My jock, athletic son definitely has an artist within him! I'll listen to him read poetry anytime.

When I Grow Up

I discovered this weekend that the reality of adult life sets in sometime between the age of 6 and 9. One of my nephews was in town this weekend, so I took The Little Russian and Little Clover out for lunch and to the Build A Bear Workshop as a special treat. While at BABW, The Little Russian looked at me and said, "Aunt Irish Clover, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

I replied, "I don't know. Maybe a writer."

He said, "I think you could be a cheerleader."

My son, the 9 year old, listened in and shook his head. At his tender age, he knows I am already a "grown-up" with a career of sorts. I keep telling him I'll be a writer when I'm all grown up, whenever that will be. I'm already working on my skills to be a professional hobbyist.

Since putting down the Noro cable sweater, I've picked up a project from last spring, the Lush and Lacy, knit in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk. Ironically, I began it last March and put it down a week or so later because it was just too hot to knit alpaca in the Delta April. I don't think this April is reallly any cooler, but the feel of the alpaca on my lap and running through my fingers has been a nice contrast to the cool spring temperatures and chilling spring evenings.

From WIPs

Between the new founded jaded attitude of my son, the youthful optimism of my newphew, and the slightly cryptic message on my Starbucks coffee mug, maybe I do need to think harder about what I want to be when I grow up.

Message from my Starbucks coffee:
Failure's hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in.

~ Po Bronson
Writer of What should I do with my life.

Instead of blogging

I've been knitting and finishing a sweater.

From 2009 Finished Objects

Pattern Noro Cables and Lace (Y785)
YarnNoro Cashmere Island color 10
Needles Addi Turbo US Size 6 (4.0 mm)
Modifications I knit the entire sweater on 4mm needles instead of changing to the larger needles after the ribbing. This was unintentional, but I really like the size result. The original pattern is intended to have much more ease.

My Noro sweater is finally complete! This sweater was my personal albatross, it weighed on me and depleted most of my knitting and creative energies. I dreaded knitting this sweater because I knew I didn't have enough yarn. The knitting muses came to my rescue in the form of one ball hiding deep in the inventory pile of my LYS and a destashing initiative of KellyInTexas on Ravelry. She just so happened to be clearing out her stash and not only did she have the right color, but her skeins were the same dye lot. With the added skeins, my knitting energy was renewed and I couldn't wait to knit on the sweater and finish it, just in time for the Delta spring. It is warm and soft and beautiful. I love the color transitions and can't wait to wear it on cool fall nights

I've also been celebrating and planning a celebration. The first week of April is filled with birthdays. Italian, my brother-in-law, Mr. Soprano, and FoxyCPA all have birthdays the beginning of April. We spent Italian's birthday celebrating at home, then visiting the horses at the stables, then out to dinner with his family.

After Italian's celebrations ended, we began acting on the plans for Mr. Soprano's milestone birthday. The siblings decided to celebrate with favorite foods from the places they had lived. We flew in pizza from Aurelio's in Chicago and Maryland crabs from The Crab Place.

From Family

We served up a Memphis BBQ sausage and cheese plate and beer from Pennsylvania. Since we thought the meal was a bit light on vegetables, I made up a Chicago Dog salad with all the normal Chicago Dog fixin's and a mustard poppy seed dressing. Mr. Soprano was surprised, and we feasted. Overall, I think the event was a success. Oh, and if you ever order a bushel and a half of crab and 6 pizzas, be sure to clean out your fridge to make room.

From Family

All work and no play

leads to one very scary winter break if you are with someone named Johnny in the middle of Colorado. It can also result in a very grumpy stressed out snappy knitter who is too tired to knit sometimes. My team has been rushing towards a deadline at work and I've had my fair share of meetings and training coursework to keep me hopping from one day to another without having any real idea what day of the week it was. After three weeks of "asses and elbows" at work, I finally schedule a lunch out of the office with a coworker. We took the opportunity to have some sushi while another lunch buddy coworker was out of town since she prefers to have her food fully cooked.

That lunch on Wednesday was just down right fun. We joked and laughed and blow off some steam and I got back to the office feeling a lot less stressed and all round happier, so happy in fact, Italian commented on how he could tell I was unwinding at home because I was getting hyper. I let Little Clover stay up late indulging in his latest obsession:

From Irish Clover

Clue: The movie and the latest Clue board game, Clue: Mysteries.

The fun continued Thursday when Italian took Little Clover to basketball practice and I got to go to my LYS knit night. There were moments when I laughed hard enough to cause my cheeks to ache. I love my LYS for many, many reasons and knitting on Thursdays is just one of those. These ladies are amazing and cover a wide range of people, but boy do we have some good times. Plus, I'm making awesome progress on my Noro sweater. Behold! More than half a sleeve!

From WIPs

Friday, we kept the fun going by lounging in the streets with our neighbors. We have neighbors who are close to our ages, on similar career tracks, and who have similar interest. I supplied the six pack as we talked outside in one of the yards while our kids played. I feel very fortunate to have this type of suburban life. Unfortunately, I wasn't cooking up the dinner for our friends who were coming by that night. Hopefully, the didn't mind the delay. It gave me extra time to spend with them.

Saturday, Italian and I treated Little Clover to Magic Tree House the Musical. I love little people theatre! The excited is stunningly palpable and the buzzing as the lights dim is just adorable. These kids were excited to be at the show and the performance did not disappoint them. Little Clover had a ball and afterwards, we headed to the Kooky Kanuck for dinner and S'mores.

Finally, Sunday, Italian brought me doughnuts from a great little local pastry shop, Oh! Susannah's! I'm so not telling you what my favorite pastry of their's is because they go quick and I want more for me.

From Irish Clover

Recapping

When do you start listening to the little nagging, I'm always right, voice in your head? The one in my head is getting louder and louder and more obnoxious with every passing row of the sweater and I think it is right. There is just no way the remaining 2 skeins will be enough to finish off this sleeve, knit a second sleeve, and the turtleneck. No way.

St. Patrick's Day Aftermath

As I've gotten older, my St. Patrick day rituals have become more and more subdued. I'd love to be able to tell you about what I did on St. Patty's while in college, but to be honest, I can't remember. I do know there was a lot of green, there was cheap beer, and I vaguely recall Reggae music one year. Now that I am older, wiser, and more mature, I lean towards celebrating at home.

There is still lots of green. I have a plethora of Irish themed shirts to choose from and these shirts are not reserved for just St. Patrick's Day. They get worn all year round.

From Irish Clover

(If you look hard, you can see the green tee peeking out from under the cook's coat)

There is also still beer, but the beer has gotten better and much less is drunk (you can ignore all those bottles in the back of the photo. It takes more to make a pint of Half and Half).

From Irish Clover

There is also still bar food, but now, I make the food myself and I like it much much better.

From Irish Clover

This year, I tried my hand for the first time in making fish and chips from scratch and I went a bit overboard. Xavier Guy and I cut up 6 pounds of potatoes for the chips. Then, he made the beer batter and I got to frying. After all the chips were safely stowed away in the oven to keep them warm, I proceed to batter and fry the 5 pounds of fish. Then the four of us (yep, four people, 11 pounds of food, and two pints each) sat down for dinner. I'll be making this dish again.

Her gifts

Friday was my mom's birthday and we celebrated with our annual trip to a local Korean restaurant. We ate tons of kimchi, Little Clover tried the Korean pizza, and I had my usual seafood stew, but I didn't post. I had been wondering what I could say that I hadn't said before, and how could I say it to convey my love and longing for my mom. I still miss her, but I realize too she's not completely gone. She's with me always in my memories, in my son, and in what she left behind with me.

For starters, she left me her strength. She raised me by herself for the first year and a half of my life while my dad was on active duty with the Army. She left her country, her customs, her language, her family and moved to a brand new place when my dad's tour finally ended. She watched her husband go off to a war, and she dealt with a very upset teenager will he was gone. She lost children. Her strength helped her through it all.

She also left me her joy. She loved to laugh and her laugh was contagious and always girlish. When she smiled, she smiled with her entire body, and her smile beamed through her eyes. When she was feeling silly, she'd sing and dance. I never had any idea what she was singing because she'd sing in Korean. It was beautiful.

She left me her values. She loved life, she loved her family, and she loved me. Her family was one of the most important things to her, and through all the ups and downs, we were a family and still are. I'm always amazed at how Little Clover feels a strong connection to her even though they never met in person. I believe her strong sense of family comes through and is the foundation of their special bond.

I owe my mom way more than a belated birthday wish and I hope each day to be the person she always believed me to be and to use the precious gifts she gave. Happy birthday, Mom.

Fear

FDR was not a knitter, otherwise, he would have really thought long and hard before saying "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He would have known the terror of the fear of running out of yarn if he was a knitter. The fear of running out of yarn is real and palpable. It is due to this fear that a sweater is languishing from lack of attention. This poor forlorn sweater could have been, nay should have been a finished object by now. Instead, it lies hidden in a knitting bag while I dart furtive glances in its direction calculating in my head whether or not the final three skeins of unwound yarn will get me through two sleeves.

From WIPs

This fear of running out of yarn has not only paralyzed my knitting progress on this sweater, but has also driven me to, dare I say it, finish other things in my queue instead. Yes, there, I said it, I've been cheating on the sweater. I've been working on my travel knitting when I've been at home! I've knocked out a pair of socks in almost record time and a hat, and it felt good. My little fling with quick knits needs to come to an end. I owe the sweater that much.

From 2009 Finished Objects

My clown socks
Pattern: basic generic top down socks
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Needles: US Size 0 DPN
Notes: I call them my clown socks because the ball of yarn looked like clown barf to me. This is not the most pleasant image, so imagine my surprise when I began knitting the yarn and it turned out to form these pretty bright stripes. I loved it and didn't want to muddle the stripes with type of pattern, so a straight stockinette sock seemed perfect. Also, taking pictures of my feet is pretty easy.

From 2009 Finished Objects

Porom Beret
Pattern: Porom by Jared Flood
Yarn: My own handspun (yay!)
Needles: Denise Interchangeable in US Size 6 and 8
Notes: This is a very easy and well written pattern. It makes a lovely beret and Italian loves the way it looks on my. Jared puts together some fantastic patterns, so give this one a try. Finally, taking pictures of my own head is gosh darn difficult and results in some very funny pictures

The best job

A couple of months ago, I was bemoaning the decisions made by corporate executives to a couple of coworkers when one of them told me about The Best Job In The World, a six month job as a caretaker of an island in the Great Barrier Reef sponsored by Tourism Queensland. The job truly did sound like the best job in the world, expect for the requirement to move away from family for six months. Then, I thought, why not live out the concept of the job, but instead of spotlighting Australia, I should promote the great things about the city in which I live.

The idea faded for a bit, but was brought back recently. Italian and I had an evening out coming up and it seemed to be a good opportunity to start. Wouldn't you know it, but a very timely article in the local paper was highlighted in the program book of the Broadway play we were seeing. The article called out for all Memphians to speak up about the many great things our city has to offer, so without futher ado, put on your blue suede shoes and join me as we go Walking in Memphis.

Let's hear it for Broadway

From Irish Clover

Being former theatre people, Italian and I try to do our part in supporting the performing arts. Generally our support is limited to attending shows and plays. This year, we splurged on season tickets to our local Broadway theatre house, the Orpheum. Located on Beale Street in downtown Memphis, this historic theatre has had it's ups and downs. It began life as a premiere theatre of the South, hosting a wide range of opera and vaudeville performances. A fire in 1923 shut down the theatre for 5 years until it was rebuilt and reopened in 1928. In the 1940s, the theatre changed ownership to the Malco movie theatre chain and only showed films until the 1970s when Malco wanted to sell the theatre. The fate of the Orpheum was at a crucial point and the grand theatre was almost demolished.

Thankfully, the Memphis Development Group purchased the building and brought Broadway back to Memphis. The Orpheum also is home to Opera Memphis and Ballet Memphis. In the summer, you can still catch a movie on the big screen with the Summer Movie Series. One of the things I love the most about the theatre is the family series the Orpheum brings. Approximately four shows comprise the family series and these shows are great for introducing little people the joy of theatre. Granted, the Orpheum has brought in the likes of Blue's Clues, but they have also brought Frog and Toad, and Stellaluna, giving children a range of show types. The Orpheum has also been a venue for a wide range of musical and comedy acts, providing something of interest to the culturally diverse Memphis population.

Localvore's Delight

From Irish Clover

A night out to the theatre isn't complet without a night out to nice restaurant, and in Memphis, one has several restaurants to choose from. We decided to try out a new place located between our home and downtown. River Oaks tauts a menu filled with either locally grown or sustainably produced foods, including Arkansas quail and grass-fed filet mignon. When possible, the chef buys from local growers first, but will venture outside of the delta for sustainable goods like the diver scallops. At River Oaks, local or sustainable doesn't mean dowdy or boring. In fact, our dinner was beautifully prepared and absolutely amazing.

We began our meal with an appetizer of foie gras, artfully prepared and served on a cylinder of sauteed apples and onions balanced on a round of toast. The apples and onions themselves were a treat, but when placed with the foie gras, the taste were perfectly balanced and complementary. Then, our server brought over freshly baked zuchinni and olive bread which was dense and hefty and yummy. Our main course of lamb and quail arrived perfectly timed and perfectly cooked. The lamb had a lovely pinky center and was some of the best lamb I've ever had the pleasure of eating. The quail was also cooked well and oozed flavor and tenderness. The portions are designed for multiple courses, so when it was time for dessert, we were ready and not overly stuffed. The desserts didn't disappoint us either. The chocolate souffle was light and the accompanying vanilla bean ice cream was the best partner. Honestly, I can't remember what Italian's dessert was because I loved mine too much to take note of his. We have plans to come back to this gem of a restaurant. There were way too many items on the menu to pass up, so we're going to try them all.

When I grow up

Last night I had an epiphany and realized what I want be when I grow up. I want to be a professional hobbyist. I came to this realization at my monthly fly fishing club meeting where Dave and Emily Whitlock gave a presentation on fishing the White River system in Arkansas. At one moment during the presentation, the thought, "man, what a cool job," popped into my headed and lingered there. Here I was watching a man in his 70s and his wife doing their job of talking about how great it is to fish and the decision he made to become a professional fly fisher. They both exuded excitement for their job and a love of what they do. I want to feel that, and I want to have a job I can do into my 70s, 80s, and 90s, and what could be more fun that living out my hobbies? Of course, my hobbies need to be marketable, and they largely are.

I love knitting and spinning, and the end products are sellable. I also enjoy teaching others to knit and being a knitting instructor is definitely a possibility. If I get good enough, I could even teach others to spin.

From Yarn

I love to fly fish, and being on the river is one of the most enjoyable things. I don't see why I couldn't help others fish as well.

From 2009 January Fly Fishing

I love food and cooking and feeding other people. Who knows, I bet I could find ways to market my love of food and eating.

From Irish Clover

Finally, I love to write and read. Reading, I think, makes me a better writer, and as long as there are readers and listeners, the world will always need writers. Between knitting, spinning, cooking, eating, fishing, food, and writing, I should be able to scrounge up a living of some sort when I grow. I plan on growing up in about 14 years, which should be enough time to get just good enough at something.

Snow take 2

We've had a remarkably cold winter in the delta this year with many evenings in the low 20s and bright fires blazing in our fireplace. The winter has been gray as well with rain when the weather crept up above freezing leaving the grounds soggy with deep mud. I've been trying to will spring to come by not knitting on sweaters and spinning Neapolitan colored yarn and knitting brightly colored socks, and I thought I was having some success in forcing Spring. We had a few days in the 60s. One day, it we even hit a high in the 70s, then this weekend happened and I forgot all my wishes for warm spring flowers and weather. We had snow, and not just a little bit, but a good 6 inches of powdery white beautiful snow.

From Snow Day 2009

The snow was perfect for throwing snowballs

From Snow Day 2009

and making snow angels

From Snow Day 2009

and sledding, it was especially wonderful for sledding. Italian and I marveled at having two snows this year and thrilled that one of those snows spanned two days giving us plenty of time to enjoy it.

From Snow Day 2009

When our fingers and toes were frozen solid, we hustled back inside and warmed ourselves by the fire. Before this weekend, I was wondering where we would store our left over firewood until next season. After this weekend, firewood storage is no longer an issue. We built a lovely fire and sat next to it, huddle together as we watched Muppet's Treasure Island. I knitted away on the second sock of the Trekking yarn I loving refer to as Clown Barf. The skein is not the prettiest in the world, but it sure does knit up into a super cute basic stockinette sock.

From WIPs

Besides snuggling by a roaring fire sipping coffee and hot chocolate, the snow made me want to cook and cook and cook. I pulled a whole chicken out of the freezer and for the first time ever, I roasted a chicken, and it was fun. Between the The Joy of Cooking and James Peterson's The Essentials of Cooking, I muddle through trussing a chicken and identifying the proper cooking temperature for the bird. Although the chicken took much longer than expected to cook, partly due to the cook turning the oven off instead of turning the temperature down, it still came out yummy and golden. We also had plenty left to make a big pot of stock, which will be used for making a classic Southern chicken 'n dumplings dish. Watching the stockpot also gave me time to try my hand at making pizza dough. The dough did not rise nearly as much as I expected, but hopefully, it will still taste good. I'll let you know later in the week when we finally make pizza.

From Snow Day 2009

What I've learned

During the month of February, I've learned many things. Some of what I've learned are actually new, but others have been reminders of things I've learned in the past. I've learned that losing families members is very hard and it hurts for a while. I've learned being melancholy and sad is perfectly ok and part of life. I've learned smiling through the melancholy is ok, too. I've learned that no matter how old you are, sometimes you just really need your mom, and in some cases, no matter how long she's been gone, she finds a way to send her love. I've learned a mother's love never stops even after she's gone. I've learned the importance of family and discovered yet again how amazing of a woman my grandmother is. I've learned that I work for a really cool boss and my vice president is pretty awesome, too. I've learned my company does some amazing things and truly does produce products that improves the lives of individuals, of families, of communities. I've learned that my dad is going to be quite happy once his medical device is turned on and three surgeries is a tiny sacrifice when compared to what he's going to get out of it. I've learned you can get a lot of knitting done in a hospital waiting room, but not necessarily as much as you expect to get done. I've learned that 4:30 am is way too early to be getting up in the morning. I've learned driving 200 miles doesn't seem so bad after the 4 trip in 3 weeks. I've learned sometimes simple stockinette is all one can handle, and that's ok, too. I've learned I miss my spinning wheel, but I can still spin consistantly, and I love it. I've learned knitting really can soothe a soul, heal some wounds, and light the path out of being sad. I've learned my dad has a big head, but not nearly big enough to fill the enormous hat I knitted.

From 2009 Finished Objects

Pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby
Notes: This is a great pattern and super easy to knit. The instructions Jared references for a jogless work out well and produce a barely noticeable seam up the back of the hat. I would definitely knit this one again.

How long are your apron strings

Mine are about 200 hundred miles, or roughly a 3 hours drive. Three hours is far enough away from home where I can have my own identity, but close enough I can drive home at the drop of a hat, which is what I've had to do this week. From my from door to my parents' front door is about 200 miles, give a few miles. This is far enough away for me. I was close enough to come home for my dad's first of three brain surgeries and close enough to come home for a double funeral. I lost my uncle and my grandfather this week. My family lost a husband, a father, a brother, a uncle, a grandfather, and a great grandfather. They were not part of the same accident, but two separate incidents brought them to heavens door. Neither was aware of the other's condition, and I think this was a blessing. I lost my uncle to a car accident, and I lost my grandfather to a stroke, Alzheimer's, and old age. To be honest, it's been a rough week, and never have I understood better my Irish heritage the the lyrics of of the Indigo Girls' song "to seek solace in a bottle or possibly a friend." My bottle has been a few pints of beer and my friend has been my husband. He's held me as I cried and given me the space I needed to grieve. He's given me the Irish tradition of throwing back a pint as I've looked at pictures and reminisced. He's allowed me to talk freely about what an excellent golfer my uncle Tommy was and about how excited my grandfather was when I came off the plane from Korea. He listened as I retold stories of my grandfather taking bags of chips to his bed after Alzheimer's set in and lost the ability to vocalize our names. Italian listened as I told him how much my grandfather missed my grandmother when she went to see her son in the hospital and how he held her when she finally came home. He listened as I told him about my grandfather's last smile to me. I miss my uncle and my grandfather. I am saddened that my grandmother must bury another child and this time, her husband. Let's face it, I'm just sad, very sad...but like anyone of Irish decent, I'm grateful for the time I've had. I'm grateful for the memories. I'm grateful for the final smile my grandfather gave me. I'm grateful for the times I've spent with my uncle. I've grateful for the family I've been blessed with; and finally I'm gratefully for the many people in my life. Little Clover asked me why I've been to so many funerals. I told him it's because we've been blessed with knowing so many people of all different ages and sometimes that means we have more good-byes. We've had our fair share of good-byes in this family, but we've also had more than our shares of happy memories to soften those good-byes.

Tommy and Grandpa, I miss you already.

In need of good thoughts

Life is happening and it hasn't all been great. Right now, my dad is preparing for a series of surgeries over the next three weeks. The surgeries are a positive thing and we have great hopes for the outcome afterwards. In addition to the surgeries, we've had a couple of family crisis come up. My grandfather is in the hospital and we are unsure at this moment of his condition. My uncle was also in a severe car crash and the outlook is not what we expected, but he did survive the crash and is also in the hospital. If you could, please send good karma, thoughts, and prayers my families ways. We could really use them right now.

Snow and trout

From Family

We finally had our annual snow day this past week. At least we didn't have to wait until March like last year. Granted, there wasn't much snow on the ground, but there was enough. Little Clover awoke early to the news of a school cancellation and waited patiently for us to give him the green light, to go outside and play. I'm fortunate enough to have a job with enough flexibility I could stay at home with him. I spent the majority of the day on conference calls, but during lunch, I did take some time to get in a little snowball fight.

From Family

Despite the small amount of snow on the ground, Little Clover managed to enjoy himself.

Snow Angel From Family

I wanted to have my latest knitting project finished in time for the snow day, but that didn't quite happen. Instead, I finished Cat Bordhi's Mobius Cowl early evening of our little snow day.

From 2009 FO

The pattern is quite easy to follow. I used Jade Sapphire's Cashmere to match the Koolhaas hat I knit last year. The hardest part of the pattern was knitting the first row after the cast on. My stitches were a bit loose, but I imagine everything will even out after a bit. One of my non-knitting coworkers asked if the twist was bothersome, and I honestly answered it wasn't. In fact, I rather like the twist of the mobius. It fits perfectly under my chin.

As if the new FO of 2009 and the snow day weren't enough, we added in an impromptu fishing trip to the week. A few rough weeks, professionally, were coming to an end and we needed a reprieve. Since our jobs didn't look as if they would provide any type of reprieve anytime soon, and our weekends quickly booked up with activity, we took advantage of the relatively open weekend, packed up our car, and headed to Arkansas for a quick weekend trip. Italian and I both had new rods needing to be broken in and we hit the river with gusto. I spent the morning fishing in the freezing temperatures. At one point, the ferrules on my rod, the small metal eyes through which one threads the fishing lines, froze solid with ice. The convertible gloves from October kept my hands warm enough to allow me to stay on the water. Eventually, Little Clover and Italian decided to join me on the water and we headed to a more wader friendly spot. Italian caught a fish on his first cast and Little Clover caught a fish on a fly he made up and tied. We all drove back home well rested and well fished, having a memorable day on the river.

From 2009 January Fly Fishing

Oh, and I just realized, today is my blogiversary. Thank you to everyone who's out there reading.

In which I discover my inner geek

I left for a trip to California and discovered I am a geek, in the best sense I'm hoping. Work called me out west for my first visit to California. I had to visit one of our locations in San Jose, which was a nice sunny balmy 60F when I landed. The two hour time difference between home and the west coast didn't seem too bad until I found my eyes becoming quite heavy at early evening. I rested, met my coworkers in the morning for breakfast, then realized I was in Silicon Valley. To an IT professional, it was like landing somewhere only to look around and have it dawn on you that you are in Disney World.

As we drove to the office, I began to shout excitedly "Oh, there's Yahoo! There's Intel, oh my gosh, was that Cisco?" My exclamations greatly amused my non-IT coworkers. Later, a counterpart at the office offered to drive me around to see the sites. I thanked her for her graciousness and then promptly asked, "Do you know where the Google office is?" Forget the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, or Lombard St in San Franscisco. I spent the next couple of hours driving around Silicon Valley taking in the sites of a bunch of IT company office buildings. Yes, I found Google, and you can google Goggle on Google Maps when you get a little lost, which we did. It was one of the best site seeing jaunts ever.

I did not, though, take any time to get in some fly fishing, which Italian thought was a bit nutty. The guy is great. He was encouraging me to extend my trip away from home so I could trek out to a remote lake or river and catch a fish. I was anxious to get back to my boys, plus, fly fishing without the guys just doesn't seem right; not yet anyway. I did finish the Spey Valley socks on the flight.

From WIPs

They were an extremely quick knit, spanning a few hours over three weeks. If I had actually devoted time to these socks, they would have been complete a while ago. The yarn is from a small indie dyer and the base yarn is nice and squishy. The pattern supplies just the right amount of variance to be interesting but still works well with a self striping yarn. Overall, I'd knit the pattern and this yarn again, which is good, because I have more of this yarn in my stash in other colorways.

From WIPs

After casting off the socks, I picked up a shawl. This teeny tiny mess of lace weight yarn had been languishing in my knitting basket. It was feeling forlorn and looked sad when I packed it for my trip. It began to perk up though somewhere over the Rockies and slowly started to look like an unblocked piece of lace, still messy, but with some life and potential. I have to say, lace is a great plane project. It is compact and unobtrusive, plus the concentration required helps pass the time quickly.

From WIPs

Before I close out for today, I need to wish my goddaughter a belated happy birthday. She had the honor of turning three last week, on Inaguration day. The entire nation held a great big party for little Nay Nay (and Barack Obama. Nay Nay was nice enough to share her day). Happy birthday, sweetie!

A new beginning

On this Inaguration day, the country is buzzing with hope and expectation. People are hopeful in our new, vibrant, charismatic, young president, expecting him to bring forth new life and vitality in our country and in our economy. As Obama is sworn in today, I hope the goodwill surrounds him and he is given the strength and skills needed to deliver on the expectations before him. Today is truly a historical moment and a much needed new start to our beleaguered nation. May this be the start of a new time of prosperity and success.

You gotta have a goal

Even though the Christmas season is technically over, a couple of friends came by this weekend for a little Christmas cheer. We had a hardy winter dinner of purple mashed potatoes (I had no idea that purple skinned potatoes are actually purple potatoes), meatloaf (doctored up with basil, provolone cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes), and roasted carrots (covered in maple syrup and sage). They even brough along something to go with my socks.

From Irish Clover

The scotch was very yummy and had a smoky roasted caramel apple flavor, quite nice. While the girls sipped on our wine, the guys enjoyed the scotch. We all enjoyed the company.

With the Christmas celebrations finally over, the decorations dismantled and put way, and approximately one thirty-sixth of the New Year done, I might as well publically announce the resolutions I will strive to follow, but will not be completely successful in accomplishing. Nothing like an optimistic attitude to start of the year right? In all seriousness, Italian and I know this year will bring some mild stresses but will also have a few large joys. We have some home improvement projects queueing up, and although the end results will be quite nice, the interium mess, disorder, and financial costs will be an experience to say the least. Thank goodness we have wine and yarn.

Resolution 1: Save money and shop mindfully
I have to be honest, the improvements we would like to make to the house will require an investment of capital, so the "saving money" portion of the resolution might be a little harder than we would like. It will really be more along the lines of make the improvements with the lowest impact possible, by eliminating all other forms of discretionary spending. Thank goodness I have a stash of yarn in my closet and plenty of board games to entertain us on the weekends we are not improving our nest.

As for shopping mindfully, I only want to purchase things that have a purpose in my home and bring me joy. I'm pretty picky, so hopefully, this means I won't be buying much, which leads to saving money. I also want to put supporting local business first in my shopping, so my time will be spent at locally owned stores and farmer markets when I can. I might pay more, but helping my locally economy is worth the extra price.

This resolution also means, I'll be knitting from my stash. I have some wonderful yarns in my stash and they deserve my time. I won't completely stop buying yarn, but when I do, it will be something wonderful and heartwarming.

Resolution 2: Organize and declutter the house
Overall, my home is a happy place. There are patches, though, that have more potential for joy, like the ceiling in our bathroom that is missing plaster and paint, and the soffit outside needing replacing, and the mass quantity of things on shelves and in closets we never use. I need to declutter our home and send some things into the wild to bring joy to other people. We also need to help give our home a facelift in some spots to bring out its beauty. I figure I have twelve months, and if we get one thing done a month, we're better off at the end of the year than we were at the beginning.

Resolution 3: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants
The two books I read last year by Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma and An Eater's Manifesto, made a huge impact on me and how I view what I eat. Because of this, my goal is to improve my family's health through eating foods processed as little as possible and as fresh as possible. There may be a home garden in our future.

Resolution 4: Focus on learning Korean
I will spend sometime on learning Korean each week. It may be two minutes, it may be an hour, but each week, I will do something to further my knowledge about my Korean heritage. I owe it to my mom, to myself, and to my son. This resolution really comes out of Spinning Sundays. No matter my mood, I spend sometime at my spinning wheel each Sunday. The structure seems stifling some weeks, but when I put the wheel back in its place after spinning, I'm always satisfied with the investment I made. My goal is to do the same with my Korean.

So there you go, a little sample of my year to be. My hope is to end this year a better and more thoughtful person, making the world better in some way be spreading good karma.