Ordinary Knitting

"Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary."
-Blaise Pascal

I have been knitting a lot of dishcloths lately. Something about the lazy days of summer, long car rides, and hot weather always brings me back to Sugar 'n Cream yarn and dishcloths. Raising additional monies for the CROP Walk this fall, our church is planning a Time and Talent silent auction. Offering my time and talent (loosely and humbly defined), I thought I would make a pile of dishcloths--items practical and affordable. These quick, seemingly prosaic projects provide just the right amount of creativity in pattern and color that suits my July state of mind. Honestly, I simply like the look of stacking them up and the pleasure of counting them!

Beaching It

Last night we returned from our annual, week-long family beach week. It was an especially good week this year, following traditional beach patterns of beginning the day with bicycle rides (and walks!) to get the newspaper outside the island store; mid-morning treks to the beach, balancing towels, digging tools, and chairs; lazy afternoons reading and napping in the beach house; and evening communal meals and family time.

One night we celebrated the birthday of my niece Mollie and her twins. My yarn bag provided me with a gift for Mollie (two hand-knit dishcloths using the Waffle Knit pattern from Homespun Living ) and yarn to chain stitch ribbons for gifts of board books for the twins.

It is good to get away, and home is all the sweeter for having been gone.

The sisterhood of the pink ribbon

My daughter told me that a colleague of hers was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and faces a long program of treatment. It has been three years this past June 5th that I faced that same diagnosis and the badge of "survivor" is one I wear proudly. Membership in this sisterhood is something I don't wish on anyone, and I encourage everyone who is of age to schedule yearly mammograms (that is how my cancer was detected and detected early!).

A little public service announcement from the Susan G. Komen site:

" Due to the increased use of mammography, most women are diagnosed at very early stages of breast cancer, before symptoms appear. However, not all breast cancer is found through mammography. The most common symptoms of breast cancer are a change in the look or feel of the breast, a change in the look or feel of the nipple and nipple discharge. These are listed below:

Lump, hard knot or thickening
Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening
Change in the size or shape of the breast
Dimpling or puckering of the skin
Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
New pain in one spot that doesn’t go away

If you have any of these symptoms, you should discuss them with your health care provider right away. Although for most people these changes will turn out to be benign (not cancer), the only way to know for sure is to see your provider. For example, breast pain is more common with benign breast conditions than with breast cancer. However, if breast cancer is present, it is best to be diagnosed at an early stage, when the cancer is most treatable. "

I have knit a simple chemo cap from the Knitting for Peace book to give to my daugher's friend..from one survior to another.

Happy 4th of July

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..."

Blueberries

Blueberries and jam for future cereal, pie, and toast!

A new daughter

My son is getting married in one month. This past weekend, I, and my North Carolinian daughter, gathered a group of friends, and cooked up hot chicken salad for a luncheon to honor the bride-to-be. This lively group of favorite women shared a lovely meal (replete with a scrumptious dessert buffet provided by my friends), laughter, and great storytelling, prompted by recipes shared and kitchen gadgets gifted. It is a joyful thing to anticipate a new daughter joining our family...

In a previous post, I wrote of skirt sewing. Yesterday, I finally finished hemming two skirts, one to be shipped off to my daughter in North Carolina and the other to be sent to my new daughter-in-law-to-be, who lives in Harrisburg.