Signs of Spring

When I took the dogs out this morning, this was waiting on the sidewalk:

My very most favorite thing about Spring.  Maple seed helicopters. 

That one little pod made me really happy.

Well. . .

Riley is now at our vet, and will be until at least Friday.  She is showing signs of improvement: she's noticeably less jaundiced, has gained a couple of ounces, has less bilirubin in her urine.  They're still having to feed her with a syringe, but that is SO much better than a feeding tube.  We miss her, but would prefer she stay with them until she is completely stable.

In addition to calling off all my travel plans for the rest of the year, I've also cancelled acupuncture for the time being.  I wasn't having the best luck with it anyway, but that's another weekly cost that     would have eaten away at the money I have.

And I'm still looking high and low for a job.  Without any luck.  Wonder if I qualify for unemployment again?

Just bought this bead from my friend Shannon.  Not so clear in the photo, but the "sky" is swirly purple, like a storm.  Just gorgeous, and so me.  The plan is to make it into a pendant.

I've talked before about how impressed I am with Deborah Norville's sock yarn.  For skeins that are marked as containing 230 yards, I can usually make a full pair of socks out of one skein.  With these socks, I went a little longer on the body, and this is how much I got done before I had to tie in the second skein.  It's just remarkable.  And the colors are nice, and there's no reason to pay over $20 for sock yarn when you can get a pair out of a $5 skein.

Klunk misses his big sister.  They share Hannah's room.  And he loves to play with her swishing tail.  Without her, he's had to turn to

Finn for his amusement.  Sometimes Finn is willing to play along, sometimes not.  We'll all be glad when Riley is back with us.

Baby Steps

My self-promise to take myself on a trip each month has begun a scant 20 minutes from Athens, at a Bed and Breakfast.

Only for two nights, but away, and comfortable, and, perhaps most indulgently:

a noise machine that can make it sound like I'm by the ocean.  ABSOLUTE HEAVEN.

This is the room I'm in:

However, I'm the only guest in the house, so I've wandered around and looked at all the rooms.  Already picked out the one I want when/if I come back.

The bed is so, so comfortable --- I've knit in the parlor and read on one of the porches --- I've taken as much advantage of being alone while meeting my three goals: napping, knitting, reading.  It's been a good couple of days.

My Ring

In high school (maybe junior high, but I think high school), my best friend spent a summer in Israel.  When she got back, she gave me this:

It says "Kim" in Hebrew.

All these years, I have worn this ring a lot.  First, because I adore Shari and she was kind and thoughtful enough to get it for me.  Second, because it's cool and unique.  But as the years have gone by, this has become more than just a ring to me.  It is my good luck, it is my strength, it's my comfort and my friend being right here with me.  I suppose if I were a baby, this would be about the same as my blankie.

Usually, I wear gold jewelry on my left fingers and wrist, and silver on my right.  I have several other silver rings that I rotate through, but if I know a day is going to be particularly stressful or difficult, I always reach for this one.  And when I wear it, I know it.  It and my finger have grown quite accustomed to one another over all these years, and I simply know that that ring is the one I'm wearing without having to look down.

I've worn that ring this week.  This week that I put everything of my parents' I could fit in my car and said goodbye to all the rest --- some of which I'm always going to ache for.  This week when I laid the garage door opener on the kitchen counter, knowing I'd never be in that driveway again, would never need that way in.  I've held that ring and I've cried and cried, and it almost always slows my tears down.  Because it is my treasure and it is safety and it is Shari helping me.  And it makes things better.

Surprise!

My best friend in the whole world sent me some yarn!  Now, understand, MBFITWW is not a knitter.  But look at the gorgeous yarn that arrived in today's mail:

It's a bulky sunshiney yellow, the color coming from dye composed of onion skins!  I'd never heard of such a thing.  But it completely works.

Thank you, Shari.

But There's Always Shopping

I do not like to shop.  Even online I'm usually not that caught up in it.  Except for one thing.

Cowboy boots.

Could look at them all day.  I openly gasp at some.  I emit "will-die-a-little-if-these-don't-become-mine" noises often.

Last week, I was down.  Hell, I've been down all year, but last week was particularly vicious and personal.  So I took some of what rather small amount of disposable income I have, and bought myself some boots.  These boots to be specific:

Right away, the photo does them no justice at all.  The leather is buttery soft and the embroidery is impeccable, and, yes, I might have rubbed them against my face.

These boots positively take my breath away.  And they're going with me to Nashville to give me something pretty to look at and contemplate on when everything else threatens to overwhelm me.