Same Old, Same Old

The 4th of July has passed and now it seems that summer is on the downward slide towards fall. I'm not complaining, I love the autumn season and look forward to it every year. It's at this time of year I feel like I'm in a slump, the same way I feel in the middle of January. I think I need a new knitting project to help me over the summer blues slump. Like just maybe, I should actually cast on for the purple cardigan instead of just talking about it! I have been chugging along on my mom's birthday socks and they are almost done. I will definitely have them done and in the gift bag, not just a promissory note telling her she's going to get some socks...someday! I am also working on the socks for Jean Townsend. I volunteered to test knit them and I am really enjoying the pattern.

My daughter Stacey and her Husband Jon, along with the beautiful grandaughter Mia, just returned from a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands. They actually went to a place called Sesame Street Island! Who would ever figure that Cookie Monster and Elmo live in the Bahamas? Those lucky little furballs! They had a great time and above is a picture of them with one of the ginormous Sesame Street characters. Stacey said they had a good time and that the vacation was all-inclusive so all they did was eat and eat! Sounds like my kind of place!

My sweet friend Janet (who is STILL blogless) is taking me to "Stitch and Pitch" on July 22nd for my birthday. What is Stitch and Pitch you ask?! Well, the easiest way to explain that is to check out their website here. I will be going to the Minnesota Twins game, and luckily for Janet, I like baseball! We are really looking forward to it. We will take a chartered bus from the local yarn store (Coldwater in Excelsior) and some of our friends from our knitting group will be joining us. Should be a great day! Knitting, baseball, friends, who could ask for more? Let's all keep our fingers crossed that it's not hot that day since the big yellow bus has no AC.

Well, I guess I've sat on my fanny long enough and should get up and get my hacienda cleaned. Wednesdays are cleaning day for me and I am fortunate enough to have a beautiful, cool, summer day here in the Twin Cities! Once I get the dog hair swept and vacuumed and the bathrooms cleaned I just may cast on that wonderful Lisa Lloyd cardigan. Wonders never cease!


Update: While I was cleaning I decided that I needed to do a small "brag". I was dusting my Hoosier (a kitchen cupboard originally designed and manufactured in Indiana at the turn of the century around 1900) and realized just how much my antiques mean to me. Not in a monetary sense but in the knowledge of the traditions they represent. I love old things, I am an old thing! I have collected antiques since I first got married many years ago and they still thrill me to no end! If I was given $10,000.00 and told to buy furniture with it...I would head to the antique malls and the flea markets. I know that there are lots of people who look upon these aged treasures as junk, but not me! I love everything about them. They are a glimpse into our past, they carry marks and scars on their surface that someone caused years ago. They are personal, they belonged to someone before me and they have a history. I find that all fascinating and I feel privileged to own these pieces. Yup, my house is filled with someone else's things, maybe others would refer to them as "secondhand" but I prefer to call them mine for now. Someday they will go to my children and I can only hope that they will respect and treasure them as much as I do. The Hoosier cupboard is probably my favorite piece I own. It was given to me by my Aunt Ruth and it was literally "in pieces". I refinished it, I rebuilt it, I even reassembled the roll-top. It now sits proudly on a wall between my dining room and living room for all to admire. I don't know how many women loved that old cupboard in the past, but I do know that it is loved now, and I hope it will be loved long after I am gone.