I finished the first sock yesterday. I had two skeins…one per sock. I nearly ran out of the first skein and it took me a bit to figure out what I did wrong. I followed the pattern precisely, but I think I could have made the top a good two inches shorter. Then the foot could be longer. But, as it is, these will fit Little perfectly. Tiny feet! A perfect Valentine’s treat!
I didn’t sit all afternoon and knit like I have been. I had some other things to do. I needed to mail three packages. Two late Christmas gifts. And, a book for my dear friend Diane’s granddaughter. She is grieving the loss of her Granny, so I sent her a copy of “Rise Up, Little Bluebirds” written by Kristy Boike. Remember when I shared the story from CBS Sunday Morning about the man who lost his wife to brain cancer? She was an avid gardener and loved bluebirds. So, after she died, he started making bluebird houses. His daughter not only lost her mom, but soon after…lost her father-in-law. Her four children were struggling with the losses and, being a former primary school teacher, she wrote a sweet book that helps kids process their feelings about loss and normalizes conversations about grief. I hope it helps her. That child was the center of Diane’s universe…and vice versa.
Mr. FixIt got the generator out and cleaned up. It started right up for him and he wanted me to go out and see if I could start it, too. I told him as soon as we became serious about this relationship that I need to know how to do everything around this place…just in case I ever have to do it on my own someday. Once you have lost your spouse, you will forever be aware of how tenuous life truly is and I don’t ever want to be caught flat footed. He reminded me of the steps to get it ready, and on the second pull, it fired right up. We have it out on the covered front porch along with the snow blower (it’s actually battery powered) so we’ll be ready for the coming snowfall. We have the battery plugged in and charging.
On my way back from the Post Office yesterday, I stopped at the two grocery stores in town to pick up a few things. Dick’s Market for fresh ground hamburger, and deli sliced Colby Longhorn cheese and sliced Tavern Ham. Oh…that ham is fabulous and makes the best sandwiches and is great on breakfast biscuits with egg and cheese. Speaking of biscuits, I stopped at the Pig and got fresh buttermilk, bacon, and some great pepperoni and cheese to make homemade Pepperoni Rolls. I may make a batch of Cinnamon Rolls, too. We’ll see.
While I’m not a huge fan of winter, I sure don’t mind getting stuck at home with lots of fun foods to bake and eat. And, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be stuck at home with than my sweet husband. Knitting, baking, sitting with my sweetheart, and watching the snow fall outside. It doesn’t get any better than that!
My world is so vastly different now than it was as a new widow. This is the ninth winter since Mr. Virgo died. That first winter in Colorado as a widow was so awful. We had SO much snow that year and…thank GOD I had great neighbors with snowblowers. Between them and hiring the sprinkler guy to come dig me out of a few really big dumps…plus all the times I shoveled by hand in between…I was absolutely bound and determined I would never live where I had to deal with snow like that again.
Enter the Winter of 2014-15. I had moved to West Virginia to live on the farm, but Christmas found me scrambling for other living arrangements. I housesat for a friend for a couple of months up in Marietta, Ohio. I remember sitting in the front window of the second floor loft apartment…drafty and cold…watching the snow pile up outside. I was bereft. Things hadn’t worked out at the farm like I thought they would. And I spent those two months scanning thousands of photos onto external hard drives. The memories were so thick, you could cut them with a knife. And they cut my broken heart even deeper.
By the end of January 2015, I was living in my camper up on a ridge overlooking the Ohio River. The river was frozen and made sounds like ice being dropped in a cooler…all night, every night. The train ran by within a couple hundred yards…every few hours. Tug boats pushed barges of gasoline, chemicals, and coal up and down the river…day and night. No running water. My fridge stopped working and I lost all my food. I showered at Planet Fitness and did laundry at a laundromat for the first time in three decades. It was…challenging, to say the least. But, it made me a stronger person, I think. I had to learn how to survive and thrive on my own. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. However…I wouldn’t necessarily want to repeat it.
It’s a good life I live here on five acres with Mr. FixIt. I never dreamed I’d be where I am today…and certainly not with my old high school chum. If you would have told me this was where my life would lead, I’d have said you were crazy! Yet, here we are. This is a great story…chapter…volume of my Book of Life.
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“We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails.”
Proverbs 19:21 MSG