Not Happening

You may have noticed that I have fallen off the 31 Days wagon.   It's true, I can't come up with 31 things that I like about living in NE Florida.   I started the process with a list of fifteen things, feeling sure that once I got started, other things would occur to me.   Sadly, that did not happen.   Not only did the list come up short, but almost nothing makes up for the cultural differences.    We are most assuredly "Damn Yankees" ("Yankees go home, Damn Yankees stay").   We do not fit, and, likely, we never will.

It's not all bad news though.   Sometime in the last year, T2 told me "I still hate it here, but at least I am not miserable anymore".    As he said that, I realized that he is right.    I do want desperately to go home, but, I have found a place here that makes waking up in the morning much easier.   While some of our neighbors do, unashamedly, fly the Confederate flag, our neighbors to the immediate right and left are also "not from around here" and we can be ourselves around them without being dismissed and/or reviled.   Neighbors that we had not met, came forward to offer help and sympathy in the aftermath of the fire.  There is a community here for us, even if it is a community of "misfits".

In closing here is the rest of my happy list:

• Unitarian Universalists (I don't think I/we could have made it this far without them.)
• Kerri & Michelle (The thing is, it took the comfort and safety of the UU for me to feel safe enough to take an emotional chance on outside connections.   I am so glad that I did.    I love and depend on these two lovely ladies.)
• Starbucks (Don't laugh.   They are nice to me there.)
• Hubby and sons (Luckily we are not the kind of people who take out our misery on each other.   We really have been in this together.)
• Good insurance (Post fire, this can not be under-appreciated.)
• Nancy (An early friend who has stood by me even when my hermit tendencies come to the fore).
• Teresa/Kelly/New freindships (Again, comfort in one area of my life, left me able to be open to new friendships.   Being open to new friendships has brought some lovely people into my life.) 
• December (When mid-Dec rolls around and I am still sitting outside at Starbucks, I feel good.) 
• The Sky (We have the prettiest sky here.   The blue is very blue and the clouds are fluffy and distant.   My mom says the sky is like that in Puerto Rico but that I was too young to appreciate it when we lived there.)

That's it.  That's all I've got.   With two boys in college, we are not going anywhere else anytime soon.   However, once the boys are good to go, so are we.  Until then, we still hate it here, but at least we are not miserable.

Tomorrow this blog goes back to it's regularly scheduled mostly knitting content.

Just asking...

I have talked a little about how hard it has been to find our place since moving to Florida and how finding our local UU has made a world of difference.   Finally, we have a place to go where we feel loved and accepted.

T2, especially, has come out of his shell since we found the UU.   In the last year+ he has gone from being painfully shy and introverted to an outspoken co-chair of his youth group.  We thought we could not be any prouder of him but it turns out that we can.

This summer our UU youth are planning a trip to NYC.   At first we were hesitant to let him go (Manhattan in the summer is killer on breathing), but after admitting that we really do trust the chaperons and getting the go ahead from his doctor, we have relented.

In addition to the usual Manhattan tourist things, the kids are going to be spending time with the UU delegation at the UN (UU-UNO).   How cool is that?   (They will also be kayaking, which is just odd.   Who goes to NYC to go kayaking?)  

This trip is an annual thing (The kids went to New Orleans to work with Habitat last summer)  Each year our kids and congregation try to fund-raise enough dollars to make sure that any child who wants to go can do so regardless of their families financial situation.   There will be a rummage sale, a car wash, etc.   This year, for the first time, we are asking for help from outside of our congregation.

Now we get to the "asking" part.   Please find it in your heart to follow this link to our "gofundme" page.   Once there pick an aspect of the trip that appeals to you and help us meet that portion our fundraising goal.    I truly believe that the ocean was filled on drop at a time.   Following that thought, please know that however much (or little) you feel inspired to give will be greatly appreciated.

(((hugs)))
 Lisa

A good time was had by all...

How was your Easter weekend?    Ours was just wonderful.

Soon after we moved to NE FL, I found out that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Jacksonville, just  NW of where we live, in an area that I drive through at least once a week.    It turns out that her father was a Unitarian Minister and she was living with him in what is Mandarin/ Jacksonville, FL while he served at a church there.   Today the building is the Mandarin Community Club and when we heard that they were hosting an art fair this weekend, we knew we wanted to go.

Consistent with the times, the building itself was rather small and simple but it really was a treat to go inside and see where such an influential American author spent her an important part of her life.  The children's art was showcased inside.   It was fun to see what kids can do when their creativity is encouraged.

The art show was awesome.  The weather, which had been a bit chilly of late, has warmed up nicely.   It was a perfect middle weather day to wander around outside.    I thought it was going to be an art show but it was really more of an upscale artsy craft market.   There were no kitschy craft items, no hair bows, etc.    Each item was one of a kind and unique.   This is the kind of show I grew up going to with my mother and I loved it.   Even Hubby was impressed enough not to hurry me along.    For budgetary reasons we brought home only a couple of things (including kettle corn for Saturday night's Dr. Who premier), but everywhere we looked was eye-candy making "window" shopping a real treat.

This morning dawned bright and warm.  Hubby put out favorite candies for Easter (he is such a sweetie).   We all (even T1, who usually sleeps in) spent the better part of the day at the UU.   First for a lovely, inclusive Easter/Ostara service and then a potluck lunch with our friends.  .It was so, so much fun.  T2 and I were talking the other day.   We agreed that it finally feels like we are settling in here and we have the UU to thank for that.  Holy moly, what a difference a year makes.

Granny Blanket

Remember this post a couple of weeks ago about the Granny Square Blanket?     Even working on it only on Sundays, it is coming along.   I think I prefer the striping better on the inspiration blanket than I do on this one.   If/when I do another, I think I will try one stripe of each color rather than two and maybe a graduation of colors (like white to light blues to medium blues to darker blues).   

I have no idea how long it will take to finish.  So far, it is moving right along now but it is early days yet and the rounds are smaller than they will be.   This throw is meant for a couple who have been through quite a lot in the past year and would like to finish it sooner rather than later.   The problem is that I really don’t have the time to make it my focus right now.   Hopefully, some kind UU crocheter will step up, take it over and give it the attention it deserves.

"Prayer" Shawls

Late last year, I was asked to set up a “Prayer” Shawl group at church.   Words like “prayer” can make some UUs twitchy, so I went with the Comfort Shawl Group.   That worked for a couple of months, until it became clear that our Caring Committee was going to want the occasional blanket and maybe a couple of scarves.    Also, I seemed to have almost as many quilters in the group as I had knitters and crocheters.   Time for a new name, we are now the Comfort Crafts Group (Much more inclusive, don’t you think?).

Now that the name thing is settled, it is time to start actually giving shawls, etc. to those in our congregation in need of a communal hug.   I am happy to say, that I have four shawls ready to give (two by me and two by a goddess known as Karen).    Admittedly, it would be easier to hand these babies out if I would just get over this respiratory thing and get to church but still it is a load off of my mind knowing that they are good to go when I am.

Yesterday, I tagged each one, wrapped them in tissue paper and put them in gift bags.   Hubby had a great idea.   He suggested that rather than gift bags, I put each one in a pretty reusable bag from our local grocery store, less expensive than gift bags and the idea fits nicely with UU culture.   I am totally doing that next time.

Reveal: Serenity Bag

I may not have gotten my knitting act together for Sunday but I did get my new Sunday knitting bag done in time.   To recap, I found this tote bag at Marshall's last week for $5 with the intention of embroidering over the word Serenity.   After agonizing over what color thread to use, I got started.

Once I got going, though, I decided that rather than using one color, I would stitch them each in a different color.   I am so, so happy with the way it turned out.   The last Serenity was stitched late Friday night after which I stayed up long enough to move my church stuff (knitting, a note pad, and a file folder for each of the committees or focus groups that I am involved with).   It all fit beautifully (including my netbook).

It really is a little project but one with which I am very pleased.

I told myself I wouldn't, but then I did....

I told myself I would not knit/crochet the requested throw for our caring committee.    Before I got involved in this Comfort Shawl group, I kept one prayer/comfort shawl on the needles at a time.   I only worked on it at church, and the movies.   Once finished, washed, blocked, and donated, I would start another to continue the process.   Lately, however, I feel like the knitting for this group is taking up a lot more of my time than I have to give.

I have a pattern waiting for edits, one finished and waiting photos, and another one swirling around in my brain.   If I am going to make a business of my designs than I have to behave as though it is a business (At least, that is what I tell myself).   With that in mind, when asked if we could produce a throw, I said that I would ask around (I did not immediately say "Sure, I will get right on that").   I did find a volunteer.  Another blogger's color sense provided a stripe sequence.  A combination of shopping and stash diving produced the yarn (read more about all of that here).   I even put it all in a pretty basket.  That is about when I found out that I had misunderstood my volunteer.   She would rather sew the blanket.   Then, her life went crazy (as does happen), and I have not had the heart to remind her that she owes me a blanket.  Poop!

You can probably guess what happened next.   Last night, while watching Downton Abby (Did you see it?  Holy Moly!  Who saw that coming?), I started a giant granny square blanket.    Hopefully, it will go fast.

A pattern in progress...

Simple Comfort Wrap 19Dec12

Recognize this?   I blogged about it here.  It is the as yet unnamed wrap pattern that I am working on for my UU Comfort Craft Group.   I have decided to post the pattern while it is still in progress.

Why, you may ask, am I taking this crazy unprecedented step?   Well, I am feeling pretty cooky confident that the ending will be very straight forward and predictable.  I am already getting requests for the pattern, and I want to be able to send interested parties to Ravelry to download it.

My plan is this, I will put it up "Nameless" and  "as dreamed".    As you can see, the cast-on and lace pattern have worked out very nicely so that is good.   The only outstanding questions are the the final yardage and how the bind off will look (I am hoping to maintain the slightly scalloped look of the cast on).   Once finished knitting, I will make any adds, moves, and changes, change the date on the bottom of the pattern, reload to Ravelry, and send out a revision notice.   You will eventually get a final pattern (with finished photos).   The pattern is, and will remain, free.

There you have it.   If you choose to download and cast on before I have finished, know that you may not be getting the final version (although, you will).   Feel free to let me know if you need clarification or you find any errors.   My contact information is on all of my patterns.

ETA:  This shawl is no longer nameless.   It is now the Simple Comfort Shawl :-)

The Hampstead reveal and what I did with my Christmas vacation...

Hampstead Wreath

Yes, thank you, we have a had a lovely holiday week.   Christmas Eve we sang in our church choir.   Hubby, T2 and I love to sing choral music so this was a real treat for us.   The whole service was dedicated to music.   It was beautiful.    Christmas Day was quiet and easy.   We did not go anywhere and had only my mom over here.   We cooked our ham in the slow cooker which added to the ease of the day and came out very well indeed.    After dinner we snuggled in the living room to watch Christmas movies (Christmas Story & It's a Wonderful Life, among others).   Even the weather was  just right in that is was pretty cold (for FL).   

Hubby and the boys have had the whole week off.  The boys held a Dungeon and Dragons marathon here one day and Hubby and I took off by ourselves on another.   Saturday we met with the rest of my family for a bigger holiday celebration.   Sunday was especially nice in that we did absolutely nothing.   There was no where to go and nothing pressing to do.  We ate left-overs and stayed in our PJs.  Hubby & the boys played video games until their eyes crossed (unusual for Hubby, less so for the boys)  I read a book  from beginning to end, then knit until bedtime.   It was wonderful.

What you see here is my finally finished Hampstead Wreath.   After agonizing over how to embellish it (Flowers? Holly? Pom poms?), I happened upon this wooden plaque thingy at Michaels.   Not only does it match my color scheme but "Peace" is unabashedly my fondest wish for the new year.

P.S. The book of the day, was The Haunting of Maddy Clare, a period ghost story combining elements of Downton Abby with Ghost Busters.   It was a perfect fluffy read for our lazy day.