my socks from the"war"

Now you can see what I got from being killed in the sock war. A pair of beautiful purple merino socks of doom. They fit like a glove...can't resist word play. I mailed my 1 and 1/2 socks off to be finished by Hope!

sock wars victim

Well this is how far I got before I recieved my pair in the mail, so in short - I was the assasinated not the assasin. I will go directly to the post office and mail my attempt to my assasin so she can complete the mission. Blogger is clearly also involved in the conspiracy since I cannot upload the picture of the beautiful socks of doom I received. At least I have the socks, heh heh. If any one is interested the yarn is a regia six ply, and the colors are pretty close to accurate.

in memory

Today I went to the funeral of an incredible woman who should by all rights be walking among us still. She was a devoted mother, a friend to many and someone who never tried to shine a light on herself. At her funeral, I learned that she was a talented singer. I knew of her love of music. I recently learned about her academic and professional achievements when my DH and I tried to help her buff her resume. She was widely traveled. Clearly she was modest. Devoted friends from her life were there. And her beautiful children, 11 and 13, were a testament to her. She ended her life because she became hopeless about her marital issues and feared for her future. If you knew her you would never believe that she would leave her children behind.

My garden is full of gifts from her, when she split her perennials she left them in my driveway. Hug your kids and tell your friends how much you cherish them. Never assume that tragedy cannot occur. I knit her a scarf because she had helped me so much after my husband's open heart surgery eighteen months ago. When I came to her house to drop it off she leaned in the window of my car and said that is so beautiful. She seemed delighted that it was a gift for her. I was proud to know her and hope she knows that.

zimmermannia

I just joined the Zimmermannia kal and I am so excited to be knitting along with other obsessed knitters who worship at the hem of the master. I am going to do a baby surprise jacked for my niece who got slightly cheated by the last sweater which she will outgrow any minute! Now I get to go browse the yarn stash for the appropriate color and weight!

First of all, I have waited altogether too long to post the beautiful gift I recieved from my KSKS pal Julia (from www.peonyknits.blogspot.com). Since it has arrived at my house the kids are bickering about who gets socks made from the gorgeous Sundara yarn. The little brats stand no chance of getting anything other than scraps from this, as I have been coveting Sundara yarn for ages and had not yet treated myself. The candy disappeared faster than fast. The addi 00 has already been used for a garter stitch heel ( and it looks great), and the green chibi case and needles are great. I am thrilled! The bag is lovely, the fabric is amazing and the dragon scales pattern from the keyboard biologist looks like fun.

The other pic is from last week when all the girls in the house wore handmade socks. The two blue pairs were recently finished from one ball of opal, with a tiny bit leftover.

render me speechless

This is what is on my minivan. The knit sticker and one that reads "The last time someone listened to a Bush, folks wandered around the desert for 40 years" (I typed it because of the glare in my photo). Well, today this was added to my car by persons unknown outside my 5 year olds' gymnastic class. I can barely contain my outrage! I understand that driving around in a red part of a blue state with this bumpersticker may elicit some political discussion and I welcome that. This is ,however, a comment on their perception of my relationship with G-d, which is uncalled for. I would have been happy to discuss my beliefs with them but they chose an less direct approach. Part of the reason behind this bumpersticker is that my last name is Moses. Mostly I am shocked that anyone felt the need to put this note on my car, without thought to how I may feel and then signed it with a smiley face! What the heck is that about?

And update on DH is that he has to have another angiogram on Thursday to rule out damge on the right side of his heart. Wish us luck, we welcome prayers of any denomination!

good news bad news

Well DH has landed himself in the hospital with pnuemonia, but the doctors seem more concerned with his ticker. He had open heart surgery 1 and a half years ago at age 46 to fix a valve. We'll be waiting for test results today. And before that I found out my dad in in the hospital for chest pain (they ruled out cardiac problems. And my nephew broke his wrist. Guess which part of the post this is?

My good news is that three of five family members went out today wearing hand made socks. That felt kinda good. I gotta focus on that. I have photos to upload but I lack the initiative now. Maybe later.

a small story of 9-11

In the midst of the rememberence of the horrific anniversery of 9-11 I want to share the story of my day five years ago. I was working as a social worker on an adolescent psychiatric unit outside Chicago.It was a glorious morning, the sky was unbelievably blue. My girls were 5 and 7 months old and I had dropped them at day care. I was listening to Howard Stern who was talking to someone who wanted to fix him up. It was the usual Howard Stern Show. I walked into the lobby of the hospital where outpatients wait for aapoinments. There was a television on and they were showing the first tower in flames and unsure of what had happened. As the cameras rolled the second plane hit. I ran up to the unit and most of my coworkers were unaware of what was happening, I told people what I saw and we ran to the TV. The kids were having their breakfast. I remember commenting to one of the mental health workers that the buildings would always be a target for crazies trying to make a point. The staff and I watched as the tower fell and we contacted the medical director and the unit manager. We realized that this was a defining moment that people would talk about like where they were when it happened. We had about 12 or 15 inpatients and we thought about the story they would tell about where they were on this day that the world changed. We reached a decision that we would view the TV footage with the kids and start to talk about what was happening. Some how I wound up being the one to do this. The kids were staggeringly unaware of the world. When we talked about who might have done this they were painfully unaware of who the enemies of the US might be. Kids asked if it was Europe or London. I tried to say that though we had no knowledge at this time it was more likely an act of terrorism from an arab terror group. It was really sad to think that these troubled kids would live in a changed world with no knowledge of history or politics.

The day was a daze. I was lucky to get ahold of the few friends and family I had in NYC and they were all safe. I spoke to my husband. At some point I left work, and remember picking the kids up. I didn't realize that I had kept an afternoon dental appointment until I got the bill weeks later. My 5 year old had been told at school that bad people had blown up the buildings. I was upset that she had been told befor I had a chance to think about what to tell her. My baby was blessedly unaware. My husband and the kids and I went to Ruth's Chris and ate large slabs of meat and drank bourbon. At one point I was on the floor looking for a binky that had fallen and was greeted by the parents of a teen I had recently placed in residential treatment. I was barely sober. We got back home and watched the kids sleep and the TV through the night. Everytime I woke up during the night I would see the footage and realize that it really happened. My husband and I were so sad to think that this was the world our children would inherit from us. I realize that this rememberence is small, and meaningless in the face of what other families experienced. My heart aches for the kids on that unit who may one day realize that their problems were small in the face of the suffering in the world and my heart breaks when I think of the families that lost people they loved. I recall reading about a man who continued to feed his child the breastmilk that his wife had lovingly frozen before her death on 9-11 and remember the profiles incourage published by the NY Times. The losses are ripples on a pond that reverberate. The people whose lives were touched by those who died, and the lives that could never be touched in that way. My rabbi, Irwin Kula, came from New York for the High Hollidays and he sang in traditional melodies the texts of the messages people left for their loved ones and we wept. We sang G-d Bless America in Yiddish and for the first time in my life I felt truly American. I grieve all of these losses and really pray for peace.

baby wearing sweater

Well this is not her best photo, but it shows the sweater in action. Considering the fact that it will probably fit her for 15 minutes, I am happy for the picture. I hope her face is not a reflection of how she feels about the sweater! Her mom and dad like it. I guess that was the goal! She looks like she needs a nap.

Vacation Recap

The highlights of the vacation were :the giant spider outside our door , the sand , the pool, the tanlines and the baby cousin. Photos shown in no particular order. I finished one pair of socks and started another but have not yet photographed them. Hopefully, I will get my life back on track this week when the little maniacs go back to school.