Knit Night

Tuesday never comes too soon. It is Knit Night at Cafe Eclectic where all kinds of people come to knit for a few hours. Well, mostly talk and knit and eat, too! We just sort of got together when another group left to meet elsewhere and those who stayed formed this new group. We have the greatest time talking about all kinds of things. But it's the camaraderie that means the most. We share yarn, patterns, books, clothes, resources, ideas; almost anything.

I try to be in town and arrange my week so I can go. Tonight we talked about dull parties, swimming, tai chi, knitting, making homemade crackers and ice cream, books and a lot more. For women of a certain age--and that's really women of all ages, there is nothing like knit night.

Summer in the City

Can you believe this summer?! Hot, baby, hot! Reminds me of the Watson's ad that says, It's hot, you need a pool. Of course if you don't know the Watson's girl and haven't seen it, you can't enjoy it's full meaning. But nonetheless, it is HOT. The humidity is overwhelming. Let's hope it cools off as the summer goes, because August in Memphis can be a killer, literally. Well, you know I'm old when I start off with the weather!

Life continues to be busy--we have had such a hard time of it. Our townhome in Nashville was flooded during the May 2 flood there. It's been a struggle to say the least. We had sold it but had not closed yet, so of course, the buyer backed out of the sale. We did not qualify for any aid of insurance, so we are doubly stressed. Fortunately, we had great help with the cleanup, drying out, and gutting and best of all, we hired our friend's son who has just started his own contractor's business and he is on target with the renovations. Merrill Construction Group of Nashville rocks. I highly recommend them.

We are expecting a great July---spending the fourth at our hometown with parents, the next weekend in Destin (oil or not) for husband to give a talk to a medical assn., the third weekend at the Bone-Frazer Family Reunion at Pennyrile State Park in KY, and the last weekend in July getting things reorganized in Nashville.

During the week we will be here in Memphis trying to catch up.

But, we are really looking forward to our vacation in September at Eagle Nest, NM in northern NM near Taos. Rejuvenation for me, fishing for husband.

NOW, to reading and knitting! I was thrilled to go to Stitches South in Atlanta in April. Took 18 hours of classes--loved them all, but most of all loved the Market and a chance to get some new yarns and plan new projects. The most fun will be the jacket from Jane Slicer-Smith's book. More on that when I actually start it this fall.

I fell in love with a knitting booklet--The Fine Line and have made one "practice" shawl called The Volt out of KnitPicks lace yarn but plan to knit it with Isager wool and then to knit The Dawn out of another Isager colorway. Right now I'm finishing some simple already started things to get some FO's. I've knitted some socks out of Berroco Sox that I bought at Stitches and a scarf from Morehouse that daughter gave me for Christmas. I finished a sweater in the spring and am working now on another Morehouse wool shawl and scarf. And of course, socks, always socks!

Reading---recently I've finished A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, House Rules by Jodi Picoult, and Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom--all very good. Loving my Kindle, I have two pages of books downloaded for the summer.

It's been a spring of sad news about the oil spill, the economy, and the flooding both here and in Nashville--did I say my new car flooded here in Memphis a day before our townhouse flooded in Nashville--OUCH! But through all that we persevere and know there are always reasons to laugh and love.

A special enjoyment has been the grand opening of the LeBonheur Children's Hospital here in Memphis, where husband works. It is a beautiful, massive place and will be a special place for the children of TN, AK, and MS.

Looking forward to our family reunion and seeing all my many, many cousins and having my children there--reason to celebrate, too.

Keep knitting and reading and enjoying family. That's the way it is, here in Memphis in June.

And as a good friend always says, Peace out.

Wow, long time, no post.

Spring is coming to Memphis--slowly but surely. We are busy with lots of the usual things.

I have joined a knitting group---hooray. We meet on Tuesday evenings at Cafe Eclectic, a neighborhood hang out that we all love. It's across the street from the elementary/jr.high and right in the middle of the Evergreen/Hein Park neighborhoods. We chat and eat and even knit some.

The usual activities continue as well--book clubs, volunteer stuff, etc. We just returned from a visit to Fairfax, VA to help our daughter and her new husband get settled in their new home. They moved from Princeton, NJ to Fairfax during the snowmageddon of the late winter--even though the weather was good we still had huge snow mounds to deal with in parking lots, piled up on the street corners and other places that made it hard to maneuver the car. We bought lights and lamps, kitchen cart, etc. We also hung pictures, moved furniture and did a little decorating. They were glad to see us come and glad to see us go--we all needed some rest after four days of non-stop getting it done.

We had a new great nephew in the family. That makes four on my side, one deceased, and three on my husband's side. We love the growing family. A beloved uncle died in February who was 93 and we used his funeral as a celebration of him and a chance to reconnect and have fun together. We have a large family---21 first cousins alone, and 15 were able to be there. I love that family and have the best memories. On the other side there were 16 first cousins. That makes for a huge family!

Reading some good books lately. Just finished The Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Currently reading The Glassblower of Murano for book club. For April it will be The Reliable Wife and then in May we will read a book by a neighbor, D'Army Bailey. It's a memoir of his time during the Civil Rights Movement and is The Education of a Black Radical. He has agreed to meet with our book club and even offered his home as our meeting place--now that's going to be great.

Knitting--working on too many things and finishing none. An entrelac wrap, socks as usual, scarves--many. One sweater about to be finished, another needing to be blocked. I did give away half of my stash to prepare for more from Stitches South (more on this later).

Our son just started a new job--with benefits!! Let's hope this is a trend since son-in-law just got a great new job, too.

Praying for healthcare reform to pass. Truly believe we are all equal, we should all have the same access to good medical care.

Life is good, even with all its problems--life is good. Just celebrated my 60th birthday and with it the freedom to be, just be.

And that's how it is down here on the Mississippi River. Cheers for 2010.