~MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~

Jenn Update... I came home today and was greeted with packages - SEVEN packages with a total of 14 squares! woooooooooo hooooooooooooooooooo! The squares are absolutely gorgeous, soft and lovely - I put a link to the images of the squares and who they were from over on the left under Jenn's Button. This link is my sincere attempt to make sure that I have the image with the knitter to give to Jenn after she receives this treasure, but feel free to head over and take a look, it is truly eye candy! :) THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***************************** Things here are crazy as usual - work still sucks BIG TIME and I'm trying to keep a positive attitude which is hard for me at this time of the year - I have a hard time staying "happy" in the dark - I'm guessing I have some form of the Seasonal Affective Disorder. Nic is still having some irregular and fluttery heart rythms so she was given an event monitor to wear for a couple of days to see if we can catch it - she is totally unfazed :) My Beau has another ear infection, the poor puppy - and he HATES having drops put in his ears, so it is a wee bit of a challenge :) ****************************** On a positive note, I took down the fall/Thanksgiving decorations and pulled out the boxes of Christmas Decorations - Em and I started putting some decorations up and I have no doubt the girls will be full tilt on it tomorrow after school! It will be nice to get the tree over the weekend and not try to decorate it and the whole house at the same time :) ******************************* I'm sorry this post has no pictures, but I have uploaded myself to death tonight, so head on over here for a peak if you'd like - I know I'm going to and then off to bed with me! Have a great Thursday - we are over the hump for this week! Have I done any Christmas shopping yet? NOOOOOOOOOOO! Do I have birthday presents for the family members that have birthdays this weekend and next week? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! - In the famous words of Scarlett O'Hara... "Oh Fiddle-dee-dee, I'll think about it tomorrow!" lol nite!

~Movies, Shopping & an Update~

I hope all of my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving, ours was. It was a lot of work (more so every year - do you think it could have anything to do with the fact that I'm getting older? hmm.... nah) but it is just wonderful to have family here. My middle daughter connected with a cousin from Virginia and had a wonderful time, they are the same age and spent the day in Boston on Friday. I rewarded myself and my muscle spasm"ing" back on Friday with a day of knitting, movies and visiting with my house guests - just wonderful! Saturday my oldest three and I went to see the new James Bond movie. I was truly ready to hate it as I am a lifelong Pierce Brosnan fan, but I must say that although I didn't find Daniel Craig as suave and good looking as PB, he has a charm all his own and was a fantastic Bond. The story was one of the best in a long time, with twists and turns and some surprises - this movie actually made you think a little! lol It got an A from all of us. My son has gone back to college and I've dried my eyes (I HATE when he leaves and can't even THINK about next year when I have two that will be leaving), it's a bit easier this time as I know he'll be back in about three weeks for Christmas! Ugh, I haven't done ANY shopping - I'll think about that tomorrow! lol ******************************************* While scrolling through my images, I realized that I never posted the goodies I bought at the JCA Warehouse sale in September. Last year I bought nothing, this year I did come home with some goodies.... some lovely blue - waiting to be a lacy scarf or two or maybe a shawl - a huge bundle of gorgeous cotton - not sure what that will become yet... and this GORGEOUS Adrienne Vittadini Cara - linen - gorgeous color - this will be a shawl for ME and I have a TON OF IT :) Birthday money put to good use! **************************************************** Comforting Jenn Update... I have 62 "comfort knitters" so far and only one person has had to pull out, I am feeling truly blessed. A lot of you knitters have made or promised more than one square, and some of you have put them in the mail already! If all of the squares come early and there are more than 64, I WILL definately use them for Jenn unless you specify another charitable project you really want them to go to. I have to say it again....THANK YOU! I have also enjoyed visiting all of your blogs... they are great! If you have the time, and are so inclined to visit each other, I have put links to your blogs on your names (I added the names of the blogs later to keep myself from getting you all mixed up). ***************************************************** I came across this little quiz, and since I had some time on my hands I thought I'd take it and see what accent I have. I came up with Boston - and guess what?... that is the part of the country I'm from! lol When I was a teenager I spent a month in various parts of Nevada and California with my Dad's side of the family and was saddled with the nickname "Boston". I, needless to say, didn't find it at all amusing at the time and insisited that THEY were the ones with the weird accent, NOT ME! lol Well, I know better now and I don't fight it anymore! What accent do you have?.... What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine. What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes *************************************************** Well, I'm off to do a bit more knitting and try to pump myself up for work tomorrow. Things are not good at work and it is more and more of a trial to be optimistic and upbeat - I will continue to do my best and hope things improve! I wish you all a good night and a pleasant Monday!

~Happy Thanksgiving~

On this day of Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful for all that I hold dear... my family, friends and all of you. I wish you all love, laughter and joy this Thanksgiving Day and I thank you again for all of your support!

~Knitting?~ A wee bit :)

First I want to thank all of you that signed up to make a square for Jenn's Blanket from the bottom of my heart! Knitters never cease to amaze me and I am truly grateful for your kindness. Some of your emails brought tears to my eyes and I have saved them for a future time when Jenn may want to know who the wonderful people are that made her this gift of love. I believe that I have personally sent an email to everyone that contacted me, but in the event that I haven't, would you please contact me again, with your email address? I have compiled a list of "comfort knitters" that you can see here, or by clicking on the link I put up under Jenn's button on the left sidebar. If you signed up and you aren't there, or the link I put to your website is wrong, please let me know and I'll fix any errors. We have a total of 47 squares promised so far and one is in the mail already! Would you please continue to spread the word so that we can get up to our goal of 64 (as I seriously doubt that I can get 12 squares done in a hurry at this time of the year)? Thank you again SO MUCH! *********************************************************************** Knitting? There really has been knitting happening. I just haven't had the time to post about it. Between Nic's surgery and Lyss' Field Hockey and the disaster I call work - life has gotten totally away from me. Nicole is doing well since her surgery, but she has been having some episodes of irregular and fluttery heartbeats. I have contacted the cardiologist and will speak with the surgeon again on Monday to see if this is "normal" aftereffects or not (this kid is killing me ;)). *********************************** (The following post was originally written on the 5th and I didn't realize I hadn't posted it, so I will update it now - cheating? absolutely! lol) I brought knitting with me to the hospital the day of her surgery, believing that it would once again be a comfort to me. I was wrong. My hands were shaking so badly in the waiting room while she was in surgery that I was unable to knit more than an inch of the ribbing on these mitts. I spent the next 3 hours holding onto it, which I suppose is a comfort in itself. I picked them up again a few nights after and was able to knit for 1/2 an hour before my eyes started to close! age maybe? This will be the first in another pair of the fingerless mitts that I made last Spring. This is the second ball of Diakieto yarn I had purchased. I have to say that I like the colorway of the first pair much better, but these will make a lovely Christmas gift for someone. The yarn is so soft, warm and lightweight. I'd also like to try the Fetching Mitts by Knitty that everyone is knitting - I think they would be a great gift for the nieces. I do think that I would have to make the finger portion longer for myself as that is the part of my hand that is ALWAYS cold - I realize that it will take more than 50 grams, but Hey! I'm worth it! ;) *********************************** Melyssa's Field Hockey team lost their district game, but they have so much to be proud of. Their record last year was 0-17-1 and this year was 10-7-2. A much better way to end a high school career and end her first year as goalie! My favorite goalie on Senior day! The Seniors! ******************************************************* Matt has come home for the holiday week - we are ALL thrilled to have him back, I have company flying in from Ohio and Virginia for the holiday and needless to say, I have tons of cleaning and cooking to get done! Aside from all of the activity that is involved in hosting holidays I am especially conscious of the good fortune I have in family and friends... I am grateful for my little family every day and for the extended family that I have left. I am also grateful for my "blog family" - you have touched my heart in a way that I find hard to describe! Thank you! Have a good Sunday and Happy Knitting :) I leave you with Beau! I wish my body would bend like that! lol

~Please Help Me...Comfort Jenn~

In my previous post, I mentioned the possibility of making a comfort blanket for my friend Jenn and a welcome blanket for her expected baby.... I'd like to take a moment to tell you a little about what this young woman has gone through. Jenn is a kind, sweet, caring person who lost her parents in a car accident as a teenager, a brother in a motorcycle accident, has conquered throat cancer and last month lost her husband of less than a year, 7 year old son and 4 month old baby in a tragic car accident. This past weekend, she lost the baby she was carrying. She is a very private person who would go out of her way to help anyone in any way. The pain she is feeling is totally unfathomable to me and tears me up inside. The holidays are coming and making it through these next few months will be harder for her than I can even begin to imagine. I KNOW that everyone is busy and stressed at this time of year, but I would like to call upon your kindness and compassion and ask that you knit one square for a blanket to remind her that there ARE people that care and that although we may not be with her in person, we are with her in spirit, wrapping her in loving thoughts and prayers knit into every stitch. I would like to thank Cindy from the bottom of my heart. She has jumped right in offering her help with this project and sharing her knowledge and experience. Here are a few of those suggestions .... The squares should be 8 inches We will need 64 squares The yarn should be soft superwash wool or cotton but not acrylic I think the colors should be soft, comforting colors (maybe heathers?) but I will leave that up to each of you. If you would like to send a note or prayer with your square, I will be sure to pass it along indicating which square it goes with. I pray that I can get enough squares to pull this together and I would appreciate any help you can give. If by chance I get more than 64 squares, I will see if Cindy can use them for Warming Grace. If you can help, please contact me and I will send you the address to forward your finished square to. Thank you! Please feel free to take the button for your blog...

~Comfort/Welcome Blanket~

A few of you have contacted me about making a comfort blanket for my friend Jenn. I held off on making a decision for a lot of reasons. Most of these have to do with Jenn and how she has been feeling and my respect for her and what she is going through - (things that I won't go into here). I do think that a comfort blanket along with a smaller Welcome Blanket version may be in order now... Jenn is expecting a baby in June! I look upon this news as a gift, however, she will need all the support and love that she can get as she is now doing this alone. If any of you are interested in contributing to this project, please contact me. I will begin thinking about square sizes and the number needed. I may be calling upon Cindy (if she is feeling well enough) for some help in the planning of this, as she is truly a veteran and was one of the first to ask to be involved if I did this. *********************************** Jenn did not go without some comfort from me. I sent her this comfort shawl (they are also called Prayer Shawls) which was made by my mother-in-law - as I didn't have any of my own left here to send out right away. This shawl is based on a K3, P3 pattern, which is described by the founders of this ministry as symbolic in the fact that patterns of threes can be found in all religions and societies... Human existence has three stages: birth, life, death. Time has three divisions: past, present, future. The panorama of colors is based on three primary colors. Human "being" has three parts: body, mind, spirit. The virtues most often mentioned are faith, hope and love. There are more, but I think you get my point! lol The Shawl Ministry is something that is dear to my heart and I have often thought of starting one of my own. These shawls are a warm , soft hug for someone that is sick, grieving or lonely. If anyone would like more information on these, please let me know. The prayer that I sent along with this shawl came from their ministry site as well... Prayer For Comfort © 2006 All rights reserved By: Cathleen O'Meara Murtha, DW www.shawlministry.com As you wrap yourself in the prayer shawl of comfort... May the Mother of Mercy, the Father of Faithfulness and the Spirit of Compassion wrap you in their all-encompassing love this day. May you find comfort from all that appears too much to bear at this moment from all that feels as if it might be the breaking point from all that seems to threaten your peace of heart. May this prayer shawl be a shelter for time of overwhelming grief a shade in times of sorrow too deep for words a shield from times of unimaginable losses. May you be comforted by the presence of those who love and support you by faith in the eternal Loving One by the memories of those you hold most dear. May you be strengthened in your daily comings and goings in your tentative new beginnings in your unfolding new memories. Blessings of the Angel of Comfort be with you now and forevermore. It is comforting for me to know that she has this to wrap up in when she feels the need for a hug and some comfort and no one is around to give it at that time.