Missing

 When my grandmother passed away a couple of years ago, I wanted a shawl I had knit for her back. It was never found, so I just resigned myself to not having it. Last night, I went looking through my patterns and found the pattern for it. I know I made it from a soft grey yarn, and it was lovely. There is no telling where the shawl actually went. One person said my grandmother must have given it to someone who admired it. Another theory is that someone else from the family took it. I guess it doesn't really matter. The pattern was from a friend, as a mystery summer shawl knit-a-long from a local yarn shop. The shop doesn't exist, the friend is in another city (we moved), but the pattern is still on my computer. 

From Ravelry: JennaCJ's Mysterious Summer Shawl

I think this is the summer of shawls for me. I have a scarf that I am working on from Miss Babs Book Club, and 2 other shawls that I am knitting up afterward. I have a couple more projects on the knitting/crochet front, but mostly this summer is organizing. We moved in September, and half the house is still in disarray. That's okay - life has been busy. Perhaps I should have taken 6 weeks once we moved everything from the storage unit and put it away, then moved everything from my in-laws and put that away, but instead I used my time differently. I focused on homeschooling and muddled along. Now, the school year has ended, and I can focus on letting my children have a summer and I can focus on putting things away. A mother's job is never done - and that's not a bad thing. We are always needed. While there are times when we want a break, everyone always wants to feel wanted and needed. 

I am looking forward to organizing some of the places in the house. My children's rooms are first on my list. Some of that will be enjoyable; some of it won't. I enjoy digging through the toys and remembering when we got them or how much they used to play with them. I am really looking forward to getting to my closet and alcove. The alcove will be my space - my craft space. It's not huge; it's a 5x7 room. But it will be where my patterns are and stash, my sewing machine, and hopefully my spinning wheels. 

I have a short timeline, as I want everything to be done by August. This gives me about 6 weeks to get through it all. While that might sound simple, having daily challenges of children and pets and interruptions, plus a week where I will be gone during the day, it will be harder than it sounds. However, since it will be hot and humid, being indoors will be a great place to stay during the heat of summer. And I can hopefully make it so we can have a stay-cation and just enjoy the house. There will also be a summer bucket list to check off!

Forward motion

 It's a new year! I haven't left; I've just been really busy. This is a season of life where things are never boring and never standing still. We have a new house, a new gecko, a new puppy, and life keeps moving forward. 

I have been crafting, but not at a great pace. My goal for knitting is to finish 2 sweaters for myself. I try to knit some every day, and progress is slow, but still progress. I am in the midst of our dining room, with a table full of things - books, papers, cracker boxes, milk cups, dirty plates. I am reminded that we have a table, we have food to eat, and even though I *should* get up and clean it, sometimes to sit with the mess and be grateful for it is more important. I am still getting Christmas decorations down. We are hosting our son's book club, and he gets a birthday party this year. We weren't able to have one last year because of illness and then COVID. This year, whether a virus is here or not, we will have a party. It might be virtual, it might be small, it might be not what we expected, but we are celebrating this year. We are celebrating each other, and the gift of today. 

Today I spent a few hours planning our garden. One of the lovely things about our backyard is there is a garden plot. I have learned a lot over the last year and continue to learn. Learning is one of the greatest things humans can do. I don't mean behavior modification learning, although there's that too, but the acquisition of knowledge, ideas. Humble yourself and learn something from others. I have a large (larger than I am used to) plot, and I have a list of things to plant. I may not be able to plant them all. I may not succeed with any of it. But I do love to see things grow. I have a front yard that needs work as well. The next week or so will hopefully dry out and we can clean up the leaves and sticks and fall debris. Then it's time to get busy.

There is always something to do here. I have boxes still to unpack, rooms to organize, home improvement projects, crafts, and most importantly, children to teach. Progress is always slow, but isn't that the way it should be? You don't really expect children to grow up overnight; this house is no different. Time to make more progress.