Manipulating Realities

I'll admit it. I'm an incurable escapist.....someone who just can't pass up a good alternate reality. I love to manipulate my environment, putting the unexpected in familiar settings. When I stumble across something that helps me do this, it's a GOOD day. And so, from the land that brought us Stravinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, and Dr. Zhivago, I give you a nifty little piece of escapist programming called Photofunia http://www.photofunia.com/ which should give you quite a few hours of fun.

It really is quite addicting. For example, I took a little picture of my dear hubby and me from our daughter's recent wedding and did a little playing with it. First I decided to put us on the front page of a newspaper. What fun! Wouldn't you love to see us over your first cup of coffee in the morning instead of war images, politicians, or high prices at the gas pumps?

Then I decided to put us up on the side of a building. I figured maybe America wasn't quite ready for us early in the morning so instead we'd greet commuters on their way in to work; remind the younger generation why they're working. Someone's gotta support us Baby Boomers in our golden years.

Well, I got to thinking that perhaps we shouldn't spring that little fact on the younger folk yet. We don't want to encourage a generation of underachievers, at least until their portfolios are well-padded. So I decided that I'd pop us onto the telly instead where we
could be featured on some show about couples that still have that "zing" after 29 years of marriage. It would embarrass our kids but their pets might pick up some pointers.

Pets! Ah, now that got my creative juices going. Why limit the fun to just my hubby and I? Why not expand my horizons a little? So I dug up a picture of my son-in-law and stuck him in the computer. Since I know that he is particularly fond of cats (excuse me a moment while I extricate my tongue from my cheek) I just HAD to put a cat on top of the computer. Too bad they didn't offer a white cat as an option which would have been purr-fect since our daughter and son-in-law share their home with Bailey, a big white cat.

And finally, knowing that my daughter wouldn't want to feel left out, I decided to add a poster
of Laura and I on a street kiosk display under the bright city lights of a town that shall remain nameless. I like to think that we're promoting a cozy tea room next to a quaint bookstore.

Just think, you all can have as much fun as I'm having with this gem of a website. And the beauty of it is that it is a free website. Plus you can not only save your pictures as regular pics but you can also save them as avatars, for those of you who chat on online communities.
Be forewarned though! This is highly addictive.

For Niko and Anika

As I've written in previous postings, my son and daughter-in-law recently went through the pain of miscarriage, not once but twice. This past week, they returned to the spot where they first became engaged and held a private ceremony for the two little ones they've lost.

They were sure that the first baby was going to be a boy (Niko) and had picked out a name for the second baby (Anika), who they were just as sure was going to be a girl. Both of them wrote letters to the babies, which they buried under this little stone. I was privileged to be able to read what they wrote. It was heartbreaking but it was also such a testimony to their love, their faith, and their belief in God's goodness.

It's an impotent feeling when tragedies happen and you're far away. I couldn't physically be there for my son and daughter-in-law as all this was happening, to hold them tight and let them know that things will get better. As the grandmother, I never got the chance to shower these babies with knitted hats and mittens, handsewn baby clothes, and colorful quilts. I never got the chance to read them so many wonderful stories.

But the one thing I can do is give them the gift of the written word. And so, Niko and Anika, Laura and Jason, this is for you.

Storyline
“Why did you do that?” I cry out.
You introduced them,
Made me care about them
And then suddenly they were gone
Before you had even fully developed their characters.”
“Read further,” He says.
“I don’t want to,” I answer.
“It hurts. I want a new story…a happily ever after one.”
He shakes his head.
“Fairy tales are for children. I deal in reality.”
“Then change the reality. Certainly you can do that.
Why do you insist on filling pages with so much suffering?”
“You’re not the first to ask me this,” he sighs.
It was not my original intent.”
“It needs a hero,” I suggest, “one to give them all hope.”
“Oh, he’s in there,” he assures me. “Keep reading.”
“Look,” I bargain, “can you just tell me how it ends?”
“I could, but I won’t”, He states.
“Shortcuts aren’t always the answer.”
“Then what is?” I whisper, “when it hurts?”
He smiles at me.
“Trust the author,” He says.
“Trust the author.”

I Am NOT Competitive!

I headed over the other day to the Colonial Yarn Shop for a class in knitting a shopping tote bag. I saw the sample hanging up in the store and thought it would be a great thing to use in my quest to live a greener life. I already have "green" grocery bags that I keep in the back of my car so I can grab a few whenever I head into the local supermarket to do a little shopping. But I'm not as good about grabbing them when I go into other stores plus I feel a little strange wandering around clothing stores, craft stores, or bookstores with a "Whole Foods" bag.

So I figured that this great bag pattern, available from Oat Couture on the Web and in knitting stores around the country, would be the perfect solution. It's called the "Stow-away Shopping Bag" and is designed so that the bottom of the bag forms its own little pouch for the bag to be folded up into. How neat is that? And isn't it a great idea for Christmas stocking stuffers to help encourage your family and friends to do their bit for the environment? It also only takes one skein of yarn so it is economical to make as well.

I picked up my pattern and my yarn (Knit One Crochet Too's Ty-Dy) prior to class because we had a homework assignment to finish before the first class. We were supposed to have the bottom knitted so that we could just pick up the side stitches as soon as class started and we'd all be on the same page, so to speak. And that's the way it was supposed to work but one of us didn't get the message for whatever reason so when we all showed up with our bag bottoms in hand, one class member hadn't yet cast on.

Now, I like to think that I'm NOT competitive. But all too often I get the bit between my teeth and I'm off to the races. Our lagging classmate happened to be sitting next to me. She needed to cast on and start knitting to make up for lost time. It was simple garter stitch knitting --- pretty mindless stuff that goes quickly. The rest of us had to pick up stitches through two layers of knitting in a square shape. It wasn't terribly difficult; just needed a little concentration while you counted and made sure you were getting your needle through both layers.

I began slowly and methodically, taking my time. To my right I could hear a frantic clacking of needles. My blood pressure started to rise and I picked up the pace as I picked up more stitches. The clacking continued and I could catch the blur of my classmate's hand as she threw the yarn over the tip of the needle to make each stitch.

"She's behind," I assured myself. "Way behind. She'd be going slow, too if she was at this point in the pattern but she's doing garter stitch, for goodness' sake. Why are you getting yourself in a tizzy?"

"Doesn't matter," I muttered between clenched teeth and picked up the pace as I flew around the corner of the bottom piece. It was the principle of the thing, which makes absolutely no sense at all, I know, unless you throw in the fact that I'm a Type-A firstborn child of a perfectionist. There's a place for knitters like me, usually in things like Sheep-to-Shawl contests.


I'm happy to report that the class ended before I went into hyperdrive and I'm back home now and back to my sedate pace of knitting with this project.....mainly because I'm also knitting on five other projects, all in various stages of completion.

IF I had told my husband how I'd felt that night (which I didn't), I know just what he would have said. "It's a good thing you weren't playing cards, or things might have gotten ugly."