Worth Repeating

I definitely have to knit this lacy bonnet one more time!  I love the way it looks and the way it feels, like a warm cocoon around my head.  It is pretty and frilly and such a super pattern deserves to be knitted at least one more time.

The lace bonnet is modeled by the big pink pig also known as Piggy Bear, the name GD#3 gave him long ago.  Our youngest granddaughter has a “thing” for little pigs.  In the first grade she announced that she wanted her own piggy.  She drew pictures of little pink piglets and hung them everywhere.  When we had the chance to take her to a farm to see real pigs she was so excited she couldn’t sleep for days before the trip.  I think she believed she would come home with her own little pink piggy. 

When we arrived at the farm she insisted on going straight to the “piggy house.”  We propped her on the fence in front of the pig sty and she silently watched as the pigs gobbled up everything in their path and rolled in the dirt.  Finally she said, “Those are not pigs!”  We assured her that they were indeed pigs, both large and small.  She was silent again for a minute and then she said, “Well!  They aren’t pink!!”  The experience didn’t ruin her love affair with pigs, but it did put a dent in it.  The pictures she drew after that were much more basic, and never again pink.

It has cooled in Texas.  Patio knitting is so pleasant I can’t wait to finish dinner and head out back.  We have been treated to Monarch Butterflies, Chickadees, Golden Finches and still, incredibly, Hummingbirds.  The sunflowers in the field beyond the fence are big and gorgeous, and the horses come to visit the little dogs that love them so much!!  I used to call these the “golden days of September” when we lived in Illinois.  How lucky are we to be treated to the same golden glow in Texas.

Life is good!!

Great Things

It has been a long and stressful week full of hurried days and long work evenings.  We were late to bed, early to rise and pushed to the wall at work.  Odd that I should be finished with all that today and DD is starting the same routine at the hospital where they are in start-up with a new online patient records program.  It comforts me to know that I am not alone in the stress and pressure stew.

I wonder why we do these things to ourselves or allow them to be dumped on us, but I guess it makes the pleasant moments in life all the more sweet.  It makes me stop now and then to think about the great things in my life and thank God for those things.

One of the great things in my life are the dogs—my Macy and our little day-care visitor Maxwell.  They are the soft, warm element of my life.  The two laugh-a-minute buddies who keep my feet firmly grounded as my thoughts turn to kibble and full water dishes and a lap full of fur to soothe my ruffled feathers when needed.  Great things they are!!

Another great thing is knitting.  Knitting anytime, anywhere takes the rough edges off of most any stressful situation.  Sometimes I hate to hear the phone ring, but I’ve taught myself to pick up my knitting, which I keep by my desk, at the sound of the phone ringing.  I knit through phone conversations and have a habit of finishing one more row before putting it down again.  The picture shown is of my favorite yarn, the all-time great Simply Soft.  I have knit with almost every yarn available over the years (even Woolmeise) and I keep coming back to Simply Soft for softness, easy of care and knitting pleasure!  Simply Soft is indeed a great thing!!

Then there are crockpots, what great things they are.  While I am writing this post I have pork cooking in homemade barbeque sauce for pulled pork sandwiches at dinner.  We will pile on the barbequed pork and top with a chunk of coleslaw and…okay, I’m drooling already!  Crockpots are indispensable because without mine I probably would not cook except on the weekend.  Love my crockpot—it is a great thing.

I could go on and add dozens of great things like knitting blogs, heated leather car seats, popsicles after gardening in 100 degrees, books, iPhones and so on.  What are some of your great things?

Oh yes, one more—life!  It is truly great!!