Kim sent this e-greeting, and I thought I’d share it. And that’s about the extent of my Halloween celebration this year. Our neighborhood’s trick-or-treat took place yesterday (Sunday before Halloween, 3-5 p.m.) and neither Moon nor Peter wanted to take part. (It was cold and rainy anyway.) I put together a goodie bag for each of them today, so they wouldn’t suffer sugar withdrawal or anything. I thought I bought a salted nut roll for myself, but the clerk forgot to ring it up. Scary!
We’ll start with the baddest bad thing: My wonderful MIL was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. She didn’t want to tell any of us kids, but Sister #3 convinced her that we needed to know. (She’s living with her parents right now, and has the added advantage of being a physicians’ assistant … so when she has an opinion about health stuff, people listen.) Although mom has a admirably positive attitude, she didn’t offer up much information. Sis #3 did some detective work and translated.
The tumor is less than 1 centimeter in size, and it’s considered Stage 1 cancer. (This is a good thing.) After MIL/FIL/Sis#3 return from the cruise they’re taking next week, mom will have a lumpectomy. The fact that the doctors are allowing the trip is another good thing. There will be radiation, but possibly no chemo. However, the tumor is invasive (bad) so we won’t know until after the surgery.
I want to point out here that mom is an active, young-for-her-age kind of gal, with virtually no risk factors that we are aware of. We’re all kind of freaking out in our own special ways, but we also have the comfort of knowing how strong and upbeat she is … which can only be good.
Another good thing: Sister #4’s new baby, Riona (I’ve decided I can’t keep these names to myself anymore), was baptized on Saturday. In the picture at right, which was actually taken the following day, Sis#2’s daughter Ambria is holding her. Who could be sad with all these beautiful children around? My in-laws have nine grandchildren around, which translates into seven nieces/nephews for SpiritMan and I to play with.
On Sunday, we had our fall birthday celebration for Sis#1 and her lovely husband, who were born four weeks apart. Click here to see a photo of Ambria’s 11-month-old brother Camden, who reminds me so much of Turbo at that age that it brings tears to my eyes. (Just imagine brown hair and no upper teeth. Moon was our redhead.)
A minor bad thing: I think I picked up a bug. My nose stuffed up yesterday, and then started running during Moon’s orchestra concert last night. I only slept a few hours before hauling myself out of bed for step aerobics at 6 a.m. So I decided to stay home from work after doing my morning dropoff at the high school. A deep and satisfying 4 additional hours of dream-filled slumber is most definitely a good thing.
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Yep, I’ve finished the Ravenclaw POA scarf, and I think Moon is pretty happy with it. She wants to be suitably attired for the opening of the Goblet of Fire movie. We’ll be attempting to get tickets for the first day, since school will be out for conferences. I can’t wait. Over the summer, Friday was typically our movie day — I’ve missed going to the theater with the kids.
Moon re-read the sixth book as a warm-up. I’m reading the first book over again, and my plan is to read the second, third and fourth one before November 18. That might be a bit ambitious, but oh well. (I mean, didn’t most of us read Book 6 in 24 hours or less?)
Now I’m working on a scarf for Peter. At first, he was asking for Slytherin colors … but he thought the better of it and went with Hufflepuff instead. (Maybe he was afraid people would throw stuff at him in the movie theater?) I’m really liking the colors and how the stitches show up in the butterscotch areas. I think I might make one of these for myself with the leftover yarn. Hufflepuff is my house, too, you know.
I really like this photo. It makes all those hours of stockinette worthwhile.
Vermont Valley Farm had its annual pumpkin pick on Saturday, so we went and harvested some excellent orange orbs. The cows were quite curious about what all the people were up to.
The fun continued on Sunday, when Pete and I took the kids to see the Wallace & Gromit movie. Weekends rock.
1. name someone with the same birthday as you.
The late Princess Diana, also Liv Tyler, Dan Ackroyd and Pamela Anderson. Oh, and Canada.
2. where was your first kiss?
I don’t remember, but I remember I wasn’t especially attracted to the guy.
3. have you ever seriously vandalised someone else’s property?
Nope, nothing beyond TPing.
4. have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?
Just my brothers, and they’re older so it was self-defense.
5. have you ever sung in front of a large number of people?
Yep, I used to sing at weddings.
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This is the thing that has been occupying my evenings and weekends. I pretty much pick it up every time I sit down in the living room.
The scarf will be around Moon’s neck when we see the new Harry Potter movie in November (notice the colors — Ravenclaw, naturally). I’m predicting that I’ll finish it by next weekend. But my needles won’t have a chance to rest, because I’ll be casting on a Hufflepuff scarf for Peter.
It’s easy stuff, but lots and lots of stitches. Let’s see… 90 stitches per round, times 38 rows per repeat, times 11 repeats so far … 37,620 stiches and growing.
…but I haven’t been writing about it, and that’s a problem. So many thoughts have been swirling around in my head, I can hardly put them in any coherent order. The other thing is that a lot of my concentration has been devoted to parenting stuff lately. How does one write about those things when the kids being parented are old enough to care about what’s being written? It was a lot easier when the issues had to do with sleeping, eating and bowel movements. And fussing.
Well, they still fuss sometimes, but it’s different now. More heart-rending. Truth be told, the older the kids get, the more intense the emotional stuff gets, too. We have more fun. They make me laugh harder. Our conversations are even more interesting. It makes sense that their worries are more worrisome, and their hurts are more painful.
There’s other stuff going on, but I want to take pictures. (That, my friends, can mean only two things. Knitting. Nature.) Stay tuned.
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