Knitting again

Today I am going to totally veer off from all that has been going on and talk about knitting. 

As you know I am a multi knitting project kind of gal. I've been seduced a way from some of my projects. Just the other night my basket of yarn beckoned me to come on over and wind up a skein. After I gave it a good tossing I resisted the urge and pulled out a couple of works in progress. 

This sock was completed before we left for SD but I was nervous about having enough yarn for the second sock. I did not have enough time to weigh the sock and the remaining yarn to see if it would all work out so they stayed home. 

 Poor lonely almost finished sock.

I've been on a bit of a greens and blues kick lately so I decided to add in a touch of red. Plus I wanted to make another sock from my Folk Socks book. I chose Socks with Clocks and thought it would look good in red too. 

Alas this project stayed home too because I wanted some plain knitting that I would not have to pay attention to. It is fine and good to think that I can knit more complicated things while distracted, but I've found that I like to keep things simple while traveling. 

This sock went to SD with us and got a finished mate while there too. D even wore them on the train home! I do love finishing projects while I am away. It seems like such a bonus to have new socks with you're away. It is just magical how knitting entertainment gets turned into more clothes just when you need them.

I did get a chance to weigh these before we left and did need extra yarn for the toes. But this time I figured it out before one of the socks was done. Now he has matching navy blue toes that really do match the yarn. At first glance you would not know I had an issue.

I took my little Zauberball along with me as a traveling instant knitting kit and cast on the day after I finished D's newest socks. I always think of these balls as perfect travel knitting. The yarn is wound and the colors are so interesting. Turns out I can knit about a half of a sock in a couple of days. Even working on it at vacation pace, which is much slower when you're trying to chase down where you should be on the train rather than riding it.

Now that I am home I am looking forward to finishing a sweater that is mostly done. The sleeves are tucked inside and all that is left is the ribbing on everything: cuffs, body and collar. I'm deciding if I want to go plain or try something fancy since the sweater is so plain itself. I'll leave that decision for another day and knit some more on a sock.

So Hard

We're back from South Dakota and I must say it was not the trip I thought it would be. We had a few issues flying in but nothing horrible. We had a lovely dinner and breakfast at my in-laws home. And we were a third of the way to my family's side of the state when I received a call from my Mom.

My Dad was in the hospital and it was all confusing for my Mom. She ended the call with "just get here." I went into panic mode till I realized this was the closest I've ever been when something bad happened. We were on our way and there was nothing I could do to get us there faster.

I got a hold of my brother in law, who explained things were not quite as dire as I had envisioned.

I can tell you it is surprising the first time you see a parent in a hospital bed. But my Dad still looked like my Dad. He was not talking like my Dad though. He was extremely confused and frustrated. He felt like no one was helping him, even though they were. He complained of being there "Damn near three hours!" when he had been there for over 24.

The hardest part for Mom was accepting that Dad needed more care than she could give. This means Dad is now living in a nursing home. I think she took comfort in the doctor telling her that with Dad's advanced age and a Parkinson's diagnosis of more than ten years, Dad had already beaten the odds.

This just confirmed what I had already known, Mom took care of him with all her heart and soul. And now it is time to step back from that role. She has done her part and it is at an end.

We're hopeful that Dad will continue to beat the odds for as long as he can.

I do have some pleasant stories for you but I needed to get this out here before I lost my nerve.
Pray for us please.

In a month

In a month my garden went from little plants shown freshly planted to...

Plants that need a little support and in bloom.

Look I have a pregnant purple pepper plant!

You just tried to say that phrase five times fast in your head didn't you?

 I have some wee tomatoes that are still safe from the tomato chomping husband.

My marigolds make me like yellow and orange, especially together.

All in all it feels great to be growing things again. We missed the recommended planting weekend by a couple of weeks this year but I got it planted. And that is all that matters this time. I even went to the farmers market by myself I was so determined this year. You can take the farmer's daughter off of the farm and you can tamp down the growing urge, but only for a couple of years then the farmer starts reasserting itself. Now I need to look into getting that electric fence so I can keep the hubby out of my tomatoes. Oh that is right he said he would stop paying the electric bill if I did that. Just save me a couple will you Hon?