Lost: Knitting Mojo reward offered

It seems that I have not had any knitting mojo lately. It seems that when Grandma got really sick, my knitting mojo went right out the window. I finished Miss PJ's waffle socks on May 23rd, and I haven't even cast on for the next pair. What's wrong with me? Maybe it's lack of inspiration. Although I have been working on my 2nd Josephine Top here and there. But I started that on April 23rd, and I had the first one done in 3 weeks. And I bought some lovely bright red Cascade 220 for a Wool Peddler's shawl. I did get some beautiful Knit Picks Shimmer in Sherry to make a Highland Triangle shawl. And I did get some Knit Picks Bare in lace weight and some purple dye to make my Balmoral shawl. Geesh, I've been a slacker. And just when I do start to get the urge to knit again, I go and let Mr. S pamper me for my birthday, and I got my nails done. That throws a curve ball in there, considering that I haven't had my nails done in 3 years. Boy, I had better kick my knitting rear end in gear, as I have great aspirations for Christmas gifts, and I've already started 1 project. Well, Ghost Hunters is on tonight, I'll have to make sure that I have some needles in hand.

Then, to top it off, my neighbor's a/c unit has a leak, and it's leaking into my apartment. I used my carpet cleaner to suck up about 5 gallons of water out of my carpet. This, after they said they fixed the problem. So, I have to have them come back out and take a look again. Then, we are getting all types of bugs that are coming in, and since we don't have a basement, they are coming into my kitchen and living room. And I noticed a large population of spiders. I hate spiders. I just need to find the biggest can of Raid I can find, and use it.

The good thing is that Katie is almost done with softball for this season. We have 2 more regular games, and any make up games they can schedule before the play offs the 2nd weekend of July. Which is a relief, with gas prices what they are. Some of the teams we have to visit to play are 10 miles or more out in the country.

Ok, I'm off to look for sock patterns in Ravelry.

Joy and Pain

Like sunshine and rain. I know. That title made me sing Rob Base, too. However, it has been a case of joy and pain around here. So, I'll start with the joy.

My niece Sydney graduated from high school on June 6th. Mind you, she is my ex-husbands niece, but as we see it, you divorce the person, not the family. We drove out to Dayton to attend the ceremony, and celebrate afterward. I can't believe the little blonde girl that used to ride her tricylce on the shared stoop is a woman now. And the great news is that she has been accepted to Wright State to major in film. My niece will one day be a famous film producer. One day, she will be wearing something that I have hand knit for her at a red carpet premiere of one of her block buster movies. lol.

Now for the pain. At 3:30 on the afternoon of the my niece's graduation, my grandmother passed away. She was very sick, for a very long time. We knew it was coming, we were just hopeing it would be a while in the coming. She lived a long, full life, though. She was 76 yrs old. I remember spending so many weekends with her. But she wasn't your typical grandmother. We didn't bake cookies too often, and she didn't teach me how to knit or crochet. No, what my grandma taught me was how to play poker, and clean up at it. And how, when I was really little, to drag out my piggy bank when the boys came over to play poker, that way they would help to fill it up. lol. I had the kind of grandma that (as stated) played poker, drank beer, cursed like a sailor, and always had a cigarette in her hand. She loved a good practical joke. She loved to go fishing and camping. I remember how her and her best friend would rent a cabin on the Big Darby river every summer. How we used to go swimming in the river, which was about 300 feet from the front door of the cabin, and that was the late '70's, so we didn't have to worry about polution in the river. I remember going to Sea World in Cleveland for my 12th birthday with mom and grandma. I remember her reluctantly letting me use her car so my mom could teach me to drive a stick shift when I was 16. Which didn't work, I still can't drive a stick shift too well. I remember her getting married to one of her long time friends in a double ceremony, the day before my 17th birthday. And I remember how proud she was when each of my girls were born. I look very much like her, I have her bad attitude, and from the pictures they showed at the funeral home, I got my red hair from her. I miss you, Grandma. And I love you.

In Loving Memory of

Josie

1932-2008