hand eye crafts

Let's have a quick session to remind everyone of what Knitters' Hunk and Chicks Classics are about. The Classics contests are for men and women who are no longer with us.  Whom anyone nominates, however, is determined by a few things: Who would you like in the room with you while you knit? Who would you want to knit for? If you wish to take the knitting out of it, with whom would you like to spend some quality time? With whom would you like to take a selfie? Okay, that last one doesn't enter into it. Basically, we're still talking KH and KC qualifications but applied to dead people. WHAT?  That IS what it is.

This Friday and Saturday, February 1st and 2nd, you may send me your nominations for Knitters" Hunk Classic and Knitters' Chick Classic.  Sunday the 3rd will be for filling out the brackets, and voting will begin on Monday, February 4th. DO NOT nominate Katharine Hepburn Grace Kelly Carrie Fisher Audrey Hepburn Alan Rickman James Garner Cary Grant David Bowie as they will go into the field automatically. Three nominations per nominator per contest, yarn and other goodies to the winning nominator(s) and the runner(s)-up. Looking forward to it!

Almost without fail, when you screw up the courage to reveal something about yourself, you 1) are swaddled by love and support and strength, and 2) find that others understand more than you ever suspected. Thank you to those of you who took the time to lift me up.  I am grateful for you all. Thank you to all of you who truly empathize.  We will all move forward together.  There's much to be said about finding how strong you are when things are awful, but there's no shame in simply outlasting the hurt.  I love you all. My mother often told me when I was despondent that there were lots of other people in the world much worse off than me.  That was not helpful, as it felt like she was saying some pain is "real," and some just isn't.  If you are in pain, your pain is true and real and you shouldn't ignore it, devalue it, or compare it to anyone else's.  Your pain matters. So do you.

One of the things about being a blogger is that sometimes you share too much.  I'm fixing (Southerner here) to get personal, so if that isn't your thing, feel free to take a pass. Since Christmas --- maybe a shade before --- my life and my mood have been bleak.  I don't move.  I don't care.  I can't leave the house, talk myself out of having to go anywhere.  Lately, Tap has been more than a handful.  I have had screaming fights with both my children.  I am raw and tired and sad. I'm not suicidal.  I've been suicidal, and this isn't that.  There's just no fun, no light, no productivity, no rest, no comfort, no peace of mind right now. And it stinks.

I asked to try Feline Greenies, thinking I was getting the regular dental health "nuggets."  They turned out to be these soft, chewy Pill Pockets.  Still, worth the trying out. Riley, again, sometimes likes them, sometimes doesn't.  When she doesn't eat one, though, Madeleine usually comes along and snarfs it up.  Though she gets her insulin subcutaneously, it's nice (?) to know that these are an option should she ever need pills of any kind.  It would seem Riley's accepting them would have to be on a dose-by-dose basis. As part of Chewy.com's Influencer program, I am given the opportunity each month to choose and try some of their products.  I do not have to pay for them;  Chewy asks only that I post honest reviews of my experiences.

3 --- "thank you"s to the three who left comments on my last post.  When he went into the library for his job interview, the interviewers were SO excited about his theater background.  It has  served him well in making his programs and book-readings fun for the children. 120+ --- minutes my daughter and I spent at lunch yesterday talking exclusively about murders.  We know we're ghoulish.  We're good with it. 19 --- pounds I have lost in the last couple of months. 0 --- people who have noticed. 3 --- repeats finished on the braid edge cap. 1 --- new baby in my orbit: Another former student turned treasured friend.  It was her first son who was the first model for hand eye: 2 --- weeks until nominations for Knitters' Hunk and Knitters' Chick Classic begin.  If, that is, enough of you are still interested in it.

I'm sort of pinging back and forth between knitting projects right now.  Nothing too big, nothing too arduous.  The crocheted cord for my garland is all done, and I'm continuing to make trees and mittens.   I have cast on for one of my favorite hats: A page from my knitting day-to-day calendar from 2005, it is the Braid-edged Cap by Judy Gibson.  It's easier than it looks, it makes a warm hat, a smart-looking hat, and it fits my big head. In other news, my glorious son listens to one of his young readers during a discussion of  The Abominables.   He is enjoying his new library job so very much.