Star Power

On the day that our family says goodbye to a loved one, let me share with you a quote from this beautiful book I just finished. It's about death and dying but mostly it's about recognizing that you are living- up until the very moment that you are not. 

“Do you know,’ she said slowly, ‘that the stars that we see the clearest are already dead?’ ‘Well, that’s depressing.’ I took my hand from hers. ‘No,’ she said gently, linking her arm through mine, ‘it’s not depressing, it’s beautiful. They’ve been gone for who knows how long, but we can still see them. They live on.’ They live on.”

The Last of It

 

The last of the promised soap has been wrapped and mailed. Domestics went last week and International went this week. It's probably going to take a while to get to some places since some of you are very far away but if you haven't received it in what you would think is a timely manner, let me know and I'll try to figure out what happened from my end. 

And...a big thanks to everyone who participated this time! I've had months of fun getting it ready for you. If life stays calm, I am hoping to make more in late spring to be ready for early fall. So cut those bars in half, keep them dry and hopefully they will last until I can send you more. 

Nine

 

I have nine more days left in January and four more blocks to machine quilt on my February quilt. I'm still not sure if it's going to make it onto the back of the couch in time because the binding always trips me up. I can't do it all in one day or my brain goes numb. 

While I've been working on it, I've been thinking about my next big project. I love my Kaffe Fassett Crazy Quilt so much that I've realized that it's a sin to keep his jelly rolls on a shelf. They need to be something so....

....I went online and found this practically brand new book in a used book store for $3.99. This time I want an actual Kaffe Fassett quilt made from my Kaffe Fassett fabric. I'm probably going to have to order some yardage to go along with the jelly roll strips but I've got to order backing for the Crazy quilt anyway so I think I've got a plan. 

And....if you want to see the state of our snow, how about these two pitiful snowmen we found at the wetlands park? There still plenty of snow and ice where the sun doesn't shine. I wish it would shine in our driveway. I took a nice tumble down the icy path yesterday and twisted my knee. 

The only thing that was really hurt was my pride. The Mister had a good laugh. After all those years of ice skating competitions you would expect I could do better. Here I am on the ice a few years ago representing US Figure Skating as Snowplow Sam for an outdoor rink event downtown. I could really have used that costume yesterday. I could have just rolled down the driveway.

Whatever it Takes

 

I tried to go out the other day in this terrible cold wearing my usual get up and it didn't work so well. I couldn't breathe in that frigid air and I thought my nose was going to fall off. I've found that piling on all of my knitted stuff makes a big difference. Jumbo scarf got a reprieve from the scissors because it was perfect for wrapping up around my face and neck. My old cloth face masks work well too. I also have nice things to say about my unloved Musselburgh hat. I never wear it but I have to say those two layers make it pretty darn warm. I even had to put some woolly mitts under my Lopi mittens to keep my hands warm along with two pair of handspun socks.

And why am I out in this ridiculous weather? That's why. If we don't get her out she's terrible all day and I can't get anything done. She's got a fleece pair of pj's on under the Sherpa lined coat she hates. It's never too cold for her. 

Back at home, needing a stress relief project, I cast on some new socks. You better believe I re-wound and examined every inch of that Felici before I cast them on after the knot debacle with the hat yarn. Never again Knit Picks. Never again. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

My 123 Stitch order is here. I was looking for something like a Quaker but not exactly a Quaker and I think this will work. It will at least keep me busy for quite a while.

Since I am a seasonal stitcher I had to get the Spring version as well. 

And....thank you for all the kinds words yesterday. Your comments and advice were very much appreciated. It's not my story to tell but I would like to say that BIL was one of a kind. If we needed something mechanical fixed, he was the first one we called. He could make anything run. Just weeks ago he flew to Georgia to pick up his dream car, a screaming yellow Corvette. His last road trip was driving it home not knowing of the challenges to be faced ahead. Saying goodbye on Saturday is going to be a tough one. 

 

Blank Spaces

 

The Mister on the left, the Dearly Departed on the right

After a few weeks in hospice, we got the call at around 2 am Saturday night that The Mister's younger brother had unexpectedly slipped away. He was in good spirits and doing well according to the visiting nurse when The Mister paid a visit on Friday. To say we're in uncharted territory is an under statement. We've lost parents. We've lost close friends but a sibling, a close sibling are feelings that we haven't processed quite yet. 

Nice While It Lasted

 

This was the view from my deck yesterday morning. We had some serious melting going on all day but at least I did get to spend a week looking out at the beautiful snowscape. The cold is coming back with a vengeance next week so maybe we'll get another white coating to fill in the bare spots that are growing bigger every day. 

My dismayed snowman is also ready for some more snow. I finished the gray sky yesterday and now need to go cut up some white strips to sit him on. I'm not sure why he's so upset. He's got plenty of snow to keep him busy unlike The Mister who got to go out and bring our car down the driveway for the first time since the storm. He was happy to finally see some asphalt yesterday. I was NOT.