Knitting Again... A Winter Hat

The abundance of snow outside has inspired me to knit again - this time a winter hat. I do have other hats to wear - ones I knit or crocheted in previous years (...and I haven't finished knitting the socks I started a few weeks ago!) But now that the weather is cold and I wear a warm hat whenever I go out, my knitting priorities have changed. A new warm hat now tops the list!

I downloaded the pattern from the Bernat yarn website. It's the Bernat Roving Cable Hat on the top row...



















As usual - I'm changing something... this time the yarn (It was on special at Michael's last week, when I happened to go into the store...)

It's Red Heart Collage yarn (100% acrylic).

I haven't knit cables in a long while, and this one has large cables - but they aren't hard to knit. The yarn is quite chunky, so I hope to have it done soon!

The only down-side of knitting a hat is not knowing how it will look on! If it doesn't suit me, maybe I'll have to open an Etsy store!

Prayer changes ... ME

I have discovered that - when I pray for others - I am often changed. The most dramatic example I can remember occurred when I was in my 20s, helping organize a weekend retreat. A group of us had been meeting for an informal Bible study once a week over the course of the winter. As summer approached, and we began to talk about our summer plans, a few mentioned that they would be moving away to new jobs or studies.

We should have a weekend retreat before everyone leaves, I blurted out...

Everyone nodded in agreement: Great idea! Why don't you organize something?

A few in the group offered to help.

That is how I found myself on a committee to plan the time, place and "agenda" for our weekend away.

The committee had no difficulty agreeing on a date and a place. But when we looked at our time frame - in order to come up with an "agenda" - the minister of my church, Dr. Robert Lindsey, suddenly said: You know, I think that two days away is too long for some people. Why don't we make it Friday evening and Saturday - returning Saturday night.

To my dismay, the others immediately agreed... and proceeded to plan our day away.

But we all agreed on a weekend... two days away... I meekly interjected.

That's too long for some people, someone repeated - as I sat there hurt that my original idea had been modified without my concurrence.

How dare they just CHANGE the whole thing on a whim, I quietly sulked... This was MY vision, MY idea - and they just CHANGED IT... without MY agreement!!

As I sat there, unable to focus on the conversation that swirled around me - I realized: There had to be harmony in our group in order for God to make this retreat a blessing...

So I silently prayed, Lord, give us agreement... Don't let anger or resentment spoil this time away...

Then I looked up and smiled, putting my disappointment aside. I would let God fix the problem...

I expected them at any minute to look at each other and say: You know, we really do need two days for all this...

But instead - to my amazement - I found myself in complete agreement with their idea... Yes, an evening and a day away would be perfect! ... (How had that happened?! When I asked God to fix the problem, I expected God to change their minds, not mine!)

So today - as I prayed for God to change someone dear to me... someone whose views are completely different from mine... I sensed God gently chiding me: Are you praying for this person to be like you... or for this person to be the best that this individual I created can be...?

So I've had a bit of a wake up call. Back to the drawing board (so to speak!) ... as I ask God to show me how to pray for this person... (A whole new concept...)

The retreat I mentioned earlier was a memorable day away - the perfect length of time. A comment I still remember came from John Davies, a fellow teacher, who said: When we were singing, I felt as if I were in heaven!

(Can it get any better than that?!)

You can lead a horse to water, BUT...

One of the lessons I'm constantly having to re-learn is that everyone is ultimately responsible for his or her own path in life. As a teacher, I accepted this, eventually letting go when students didn't want to study... Most of my career in education was spent teaching adults who were aiming for a second chance to do what they hadn't succeeded in doing before - getting a high school diploma. Many registered every semester but there were always some who dropped out - they weren't ready to take the time or make the effort needed to get that elusive diploma. Often they came back again and again - finally succeeding when the time was right (perhaps when their children were all in school, giving them time to study). Many finally accomplished what they had once considered an "impossible dream."

Graduation Day was always an exciting time, for us teachers - as well as for the students - who finally showed up with their parents, children, spouses/partners and friends. We teachers finally saw what they had been dealing with in the other (non-school) part of their lives... And of course, many of our students had jobs, so they were only able to study as time (and responsibilities) permitted.

It was always interesting for me to watch the parents of these late graduates... I remember one mother (in tears of joy) telling me she'd never imagined that her daughter would actually one day graduate from high school!... And now, there she was! (A smart girl who hadn't seen the importance of education in her life before this.)

Three proverbs spring to mind when I think of learning:

The first is: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. My son (struggling with high-school math) made this comment to the tutor I hired to help him "pass math." (He had expressed no interest in getting math help.) With an attitude like that, I was wasting my money... Needless to say, he didn't pass the course - instead, he dropped it and switched to an easier one...

The second is: When we are ready to learn, we will find a teacher. My students needed to be ready. I do too. I often purchase books that look interesting, but somehow I can't get into them for months or even years- until I am ready to read them. I took a quilting course when I was ready to spend time quilting ... I'd like to take a drawing course, but I'm not ready just yet...

The third proverb essential to learning is: Never deprive someone of hope; it may be all they have...

This was one of my mottos in the classroom... Together with not depriving people of hope - we need to actively encourage them when they feel discouraged. But there is a fine line between encouraging and pushing them... Encouraging often comes from just being there to listen.

As a teacher, I had to step back and let my students find their own way. But as a parent, I find this much harder to do! I always want to help them do it!!

I know that they have to discover their own path their way... because they are different from me, and their world is different from the world I lived in when I was their age.

MY WAY is the best way I know. (It worked for me! So of course, I want them to follow my footsteps.) But I do have to remind myself that they aren't me - and their world isn't my world. Ultimately they have to find their own way by themselves!

Welcome Winter!

It's a whole new world outside today.














Yesterday our first snow storm of the season kept school buses off the roads.














I didn't go out at all, preferring to watch the snow fall through the window...














Today we are "cleaning up" - shoveling the snow off the driveway, clearing away the mound left by the snow plow that went down our street early this morning.














I pushed about a foot (30 cm) of snow off the deck... remembering that weather like this causes heart attacks every year as un-fit people suddenly go to work moving pounds - if not tons - of snow...

My 80-year-old neighbor has a pace-maker, but he still insists on using his snow blower. Other neighbors come over to help, but he tries to get it done before they arrive...














Just the other day he apologized for not helping us put up our plastic car shelter - he hadn't been feeling well... He has helped us put it up and take it down every year since we got it. I told him I knew he was supervising us through his window... I'm sure he watched us the whole time, wishing he were outside with us. Like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going - and that's just the way he likes it!














We have to knock the snow off the roof of the car shelter after every snowfall - or it might collapse under the weight of snow.














There! It's all done... till the next snowfall...

Guilty with an Explanation

I don't get many parking tickets. But the other day I did...














My mother (who has osteoporosis) injured her foot while getting off a small bus... Simply stepping down to the ground gave her two stress fractures that pain her when she walks. So her doctor sent her for a bone scan, to discover if - despite medication - her osteoporosis has worsened.

That's how I found myself at the hospital the other day - looking for a parking space near the entrance... The parking garage, where I usually park, was a bit of a trek - too far for my mother to walk.

My mother has a permit for handicapped parking spots. I found one in a good location - with metered parking - and left to hunt for a wheelchair. My mother got into the wheelchair, I put enough money in the meter for an hour's parking and left.

In the nuclear medicine department, dye was injected into my mother's body and we were told to return several hours later.

We drove off to have a cup of tea. On our return, we found another handicapped parking spot and repeated the whole process... paid for an hour, looked for a wheelchair...

This time the appointment took longer than expected. Around the time the meter was expiring, I glanced at my watch and wondered what to do. There I was, holding my mother's clothing and valuables. (She was down the hall in a gigantic machine, wearing a hospital gown.) At any time she might emerge from the test - bewildered (if not panic-stricken) if I weren't there...

I had heard that people with handicapped parking permits could park for free at city meters... I had never tried so I wasn't sure if it was true, but - under the circumstances - I decided to chance it, hoping we would be okay.

Forty-five minutes later, when we returned to the car - there was the ticket on the windshield ... a $55 fine - which would become $70 if we failed to pay it before the due date. The city obviously plays hard ball!

I was clearly guilty - but I also felt a a little let down... It was the end of a long and tiring appointment ... now this!

My husband once fought a parking ticket by going to court and pleading "guilty with an explanation." (He reminds me that I insisted he go and stand up for his rights!) He was lucky and got off - some were given reduced fines - others had to pay up.

Should I go to city hall to appeal this ticket - or just pay it...? Is it worth the extra effort (physical and emotional) that going before a judge would entail? (I would also have to pay for parking while I was there!)

I used to be a fighter... passionately defending my rights whenever I felt wronged, or even slightly misunderstood!

But now the energy is gone! I'm just tired!

Preparing for Winter

Yesterday was a busy day here at the house. A dusting of snow on Monday reminded us that winter is on its way... for real! Like the neighborhood squirrels rushing around, we still had lots to do!

Every year we put up a plastic shelter for the car Terry drives to work. (He enjoys the luxury of not having to clean the snow off his car in the morning.)

Now, how do these pipes fit together?!

Now where does this go?

At the same time, the storm door we ordered arrived ... and was installed.

The door looks great! Hopefully double doors will make our house a little cozier this winter.














We eventually got the car shelter together too... Now to put the plastic cover over the frame... and we're really ready for winter!

When we woke up this morning, it looked as if it hadn't been done a day too soon!

If you always do what you've always done...

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten!

The first time I heard these words (credited to Anthony Robbins), I copied them down. They seemed so logical!

Brilliant!

But then comes the big stumbling block: Implied in the words is the fact that I have to change something (maybe even some things) to get a different end result... And (for me) change is often hard! Hard and uncomfortable...

One of the main changes I have been struggling with for the past 4 or 5 years involves changing how I eat and exercise, attempting to control my blood sugar levels through eating the "right" foods (and not the "wrong" ones) For type 2 diabetics - the "right" foods are low in carbohydrates; the "wrong" foods are high in carbs. More specifically, to stop eating white bread, white flour, white rice, sugar. Switch to whole wheat and whole grain bread and pasta. Add fiber, add vegetables, add exercise. Walk 10,000 steps a day (approximately 45 minutes of brisk walking).

In the panic of being diagnosed as diabetic, I attempted to do all that - and my body "rewarded" me - I lost about 10 pounds and moved from "diabetic" to "pre-diabetic" (slightly higher than normal)...















I seemed to be managing really well. I read books about diet and change... and for several years I seemed to have things under control...

But then I gave up - well, not totally, but partly. I reached a period when my efforts didn't seem to be making any difference - my blood sugar levels rose again. So I got tired of restricting myself so much ...

I've taken two steps forward and one step back! And now I'm trying to motivate myself to move forward again!

As I wonder how to get back on track, what might motivate me to make that extra effort and move forward again - maybe I need to look at the situation a little differently... Perhaps instead of asking why I can't change permanently, I need to accept the fact that this journey sometimes involves going back a step or two - but then we need to move on!

Maybe I need to appreciate what I have succeeded in doing for 4 years or so, instead of berating myself about giving up - and think about where I would be (on medication, probably) if I hadn't taken those 2 steps forward in the first place.