changes

The Surprise is coming along nicely but I can't really post any pictures without giving it away. It has grown significantly and is beautiful. I haven't yet lost interest in it which is why I am knitting on it constantly. I work on it before work, after work and sometimes at work. However I'm not working on it at work anymore because it takes me close to 20 minutes to knit a row, so it is better left at home. I did take a very short break from knitting it to make a last minute baby gift for someone at church.

A cute little 3 hour baby hat. Super quick and super easy. It's made out of Lion Brand Velvetspun and the pattern was on the label. It's for a baby girl who will soon be entering this world.


When I bought the yarn for this hat I also bought the CUTEST accessory. That cute black lamb (or black sheep. THAT'S ME!) is actually a tape measure. Her arm comes out to be a tape measure, and there is a button on her back that winds it back up. I haven't named her yet but I will. I love her. She's super cute.


Among knitting my other projects include the HUGE task of cleaning out and organizing my room as a way of getting ready for the Ikea makeover I received for a graduation gift. Yesterday it was my bookcase and my stuffed animals. I have two bookcases in my room. A very large 7 foot bookcase and a much smaller one that sits in my closet. Yesterday I decided to
put a vast majority of my books in storage. I want to keep them but not in my room. A lot of them are schoolbooks. Some are reference books but I want to keep them. So after cleaning and tough decisions I finally came up with this.



Those are the books that will be going into storage. The basket is full of stuff that I have to go through and eventually put into a box that I will label "Random stuff". I have to buy storage boxes tomorrow because I want to prevent insect damage and cardboard just doesn't cut it. That's a lot of books I know (and considering that I add to my book collection constantly). I love books and that's part of my curse. I still have a lot of stuff that I need to go through but that was a big deal. Now my big bookcase looks a little like this.
I know it might not look like a big improvement but it is. The bottom shelf use to be just for junk and school stuff. Some of the school stuff I gave to my brother. Since he will be starting college in August I figured he could use my unused and unopened notebooks and some homework and college guides that I no longer need. It looks better if you only focus on the bookcase itself. I also bagged up my stuffed animals which I no longer need in my room. I want to keep those as well but I don't want them in my room. I am also going to be putting them in a plastic tote that I will be putting in the attic. Tomorrow I have the day off so I'm going to start by buying a couple plastic totes and then continue cleaning out. I have a nice list of things and I hope to get a lot done tomorrow and Friday. I have both days off which is nice. I want to finish getting my room cleaned up and organized so that when my beloved Whitney comes home we can go shopping and spend my money.

While I was cleaning and making stacks, Baby decided that the stacks were her own personal fort. She went crazy running around my room and hiding and attacking anything she thought was a threat (we all know how those hair ties are dangerous)

She's so friggin cute you can't be mad at her. Not ever. She's totally my baby. I love her and my Angus dearly. While I love Angus just as much as I love Baby, Baby sleeps with me at night, and she sleeps on top of the covers right next to my chest. She's small enough that she's not a burden and quiet, I can roll over to the other side of the bed and she'll keep sleeping. She' prefers that I'm right next to her but she's flexible and so sweet. I want to keep her forever. I think I will. Sadly, some time this summer she has to go to the vet and get fixed.



I was thinking about something that has happened in my family that always touches my heart. I have a great uncle who lives out in Mansfield in the country. He's 93 has Alzheimer's. His wife my great aunt Bertha died a while back very suddenly of internal bleeding. Uncle Herbert was always taken care of by Aunt Bertha. Aunt Bertha always had everything organized and was still super sharp. She had hired someone to take care of Herbert at all hours of the day because she was unable to help him around the house anymore, but she wanted them to live together as long as possible. When Bertha passed away suddenly everyone wondered if Bertha had organized and had everything set aside for Herbert's care, she had and he's still in very good care in the home they lived in. They were married for almost 70 years. What touches my heart the most is that one day while my parents had gone to visit Herbert he asked them if they had "seen my wife? I think I made her mad and she went away, I wish she'd come back because I miss her". Talk about ripping your heart out. What strikes me about this story is that Uncle Herbert doesn't remember who his caretakers are, doesn't remember anyone in my family, doesn't remember who his brother is, but he knows that someone important to him is missing he knows that his wife, the woman he loves is gone. That to me, is the love that I think everyone should be looking for. The love that even in sickness, even when a person's mind starts to fade, they know and miss their one true love. That kind of love to me is in short supply, but it still exists. That story has always filled me with hope that even thought this world is in a sad state, Love is still in existence and can still be so very strong. This is a love that we should all strive for. That is one of my favorite stories.