2018 in Review

2018 was clearly not my best year for blogging. I did manage to do a few interesting things since my last post in July though, so here are the highlights:

In late July my daughter Jess moved out to OR in hopes of finding a decent job in a friendly city and state. Her instincts were good: she was able to set up a couple of job interviews within 2 weeks of arriving in Oregon, and had a good job offer before the end of August.

In early August Dan and I flew out to Oregon to stay with Mom and join her and all of my siblings, their spouses, and most of the grandkids (everyone except my oldest who couldn't get away from work) to spread Dad's ashes. It was a good weekend spent together and sharing memories.

I was able to take a knitting cruise on a schooner (!!!), the J&E Riggin, out of  Rockland, ME, along with 2 knitting buddies, Iris and Elizabeth. It was a 4-day cruise along the coast of Maine, great food and company, a little bit of knitting instruction (socks), and a great way to really get away. The knitting instruction was for socks without a pattern. I only managed to knit most of one sock, and fear I haven't written down what I did for that sock in order to knit the second one in the same size. Hopefully when I finally get around to finishing the pair I'll be able to read my knitting well enough to make a reasonably well-matched pair.

While I was cruising, my daughter Jess and son Jeff flew out to CT and they, along with Dan, drove my car out to Oregon for Jess to have. Jeff had limited time available to help and wanted to be back in CO for his first wedding anniversary, so they drove straight through from CT to Cheyenne, WY in about 30 hours in order to get him back home in time.

In September Dan and I took a vacation to Stowe, VT at the Trapp Family Lodge. Wonderful, relaxing week and great hiking.

Started a new job as part-time office manager at a Synagogue office and had to leave it due to a flare-up of tennis elbow (from the computer work).

Dan and I flew out to OR for Thanksgiving this year. First time I've had Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family in over 20 years!

Managed to do a little knitting anyway (my arms are recovering, and I'm diligently doing my stretches and exercised from physical therapy) and finished a cowl and continue to work on my cardigan. The pattern is called Conic, designed by Lori Versaci, and turned out great! The cardigan I'm working on, Pour Moi, is also by Lori Versaci. The back is finished and I'm working on the left front. As my arms improve I'm hoping to get more knitting done so I can actually wear the cardigan this winter.

To finish out the year, I sang in Christmas concerts, had 2 of three kids home for holidays, and am looking forward to a busy 2019 finishing more knitting, sewing, and quilting projects!

Shelley in CT

Oooooooklahoma!

I had never been to Oklahoma. With family on both coasts but rarely in between, we only get to see this part of the country from the air flying in one direction or the other; "flyover" country, as it were. I've always lived on a coastline or an island, and mostly ignored that great swath of land that comprises the bulk of the country. Well, now that my youngest son Jason is at school at University of Oklahoma, I have a good reason to fly there as a destination. It took me until his senior year to actually get there. We managed a quick visit, carefully timed in the fall of 2017, on a weekend when he wasn't overly stressed or inundated with classwork. We wanted to go when there weren't lots of crowds, and we could see campus, meet some of his friends, and see his apartment.

Now it's graduation time. My Mom, Dan's Aunt Karen, and our older son Jeff, are all flying out to join in the festivities and witness the pomp and circumstance. Jason didn't seem to care about attending the graduation ceremony, and I suspect he would have gladly skipped it all, but I think when he looks back on it, years later, he'll be glad he marched and had family come to witness the event.

Mom (Grandma), Jeff, Dan, and Aunt Karen, awaiting graduation ceremony

Spring is a beautiful time of year in Norman, OK. It's warm, mostly sunny and clear and HOT! and the landscape is flat, in every direction, almost as far as we could see. And, like the song, the wind really does come sweeping down the plain.

The festivities were lovely, with an all-school graduation in the football stadium on Friday night and the College of Engineering's ceremony on Saturday afternoon. We managed to get everywhere on time and find parking, and find accessible seating for everyone without any real difficulties. We were worried that some venues would be tricky, as Aunt Karen had recently recovered from a fractured knee and still wasn't back to full strength or agility.  To celebrate all that success, we all took Jason to his favorite Ramen place for dinner after the Saturday event.

Jason, the Summa Cum Laude Graduate, at the Gallogly College of Engineering Ceremony

What a good looking family!

Jason and Grandma

Jason and Great Aunt Karen

Jason and brother Jeff

Jason with proud parents

             
Poor Dan spent a good part of his stay in Oklahoma driving. Driving people back and forth to the airport (2 trips flying in, 3 trips flying out) and back and forth from the hotel to Jason's apartment, and to various places on campus.

After all the ceremonies, Jason gave his grandma, Dan, and me a leisurely tour of campus, and we spent some time helping Jason finish packing, and organizing everything in his apartment for move-out. All in all, a very successful visit.

The next step in Jason's journey toward adulthood is his move out to Denver, CO, for a job at Lockheed. But that's a subject for another post....

On the knitting front, I have FINALLY started a sweater for ME!!!


It all started at a knitting retreat in March, hosted by the Mermaid's Purl in Wickford, RI. My knitting buddy Iris and I were desperate for a good knitting retreat since Stitches East (as solely a knitting convention) was no longer happening, and knitting camp, sponsored by our LYS Yarns Down Under (in Deep River, CT) was also discontinued. We found a 3-day retreat in Newport, RI (at just about the last minute) and they were able to make room for us. I ended up driving to Newport in a nor'easter, with 40-50 mph winds, but I made it! It was a lovely getaway, the resort never lost power, and the workshop teacher, designer Lori Versaci, turned out to be a great teacher with some helpful information to impart. I fell in love with one of her designs, Pour Moi. I bought the Tosh dk yarn for the project at the Mermaid's Purl at the end of the retreat, determined to finally knit something for myself. Of course, before I could start the cardigan, I had to knit fast and finish up the half-finger mitts I was making for my husband :-P

Tosh dk, colorway Cousteau

By the time we flew out to OK for Jason's graduation, I had swatched (and swatched and swatched!) and bought the appropriate sized needles, and balled up the yarn so I could start knitting. I am so happy with the way this is knitting up. The yarn is just gorgeous, and I love the shape of the sweater.  And I like the pattern just the way it is, I don't need to "tweak" or rewrite any part of it! Huzzah!!! With any luck I can get a lot of knitting done this summer and have a new cardigan to wear when it gets cold this fall.

More stories are for another day.

Shelley in CT