Sabrina

Yesterday I decided to clean out my "Yarn Stash". No comments on that please! As I was winding, Sabrina decided to help.

She didn't just help, she took over the process. The cat has a worse ADDICTION than I do. She needs her FIX numerous times a day. She lives for yarn. She curls in every basket of yarn and purrs. She chases every ball and she OWNS it.

Cat MUST take up knitting. She has to go through what I do for at least a year to pay me back for this torture. The payoff? Sabrina curls in my lap and purrs to thank me after every yarn adventure.

Addiction

Yeah, it has passed a hobby and now I must admit, qualifies as an addiction. On my favorite knitting website, I discovered they have a new 12 Step Program for us.

We surrender to our higher power, while we knit.
We admit it has taken control of our lives.

We don't care!

I went to Threadbear again today. Not to be confused with Threadbear Two, which is what Joe now calls the basement. See, he found all my stashed yarn collections so now they are out in the open. I have come out of the closet.


I spent some time today trying to figure out what I wanted to start. A friend describes it as "Startitis", meaning you can start numerous new projects and you don't have to intend on finishing them....at least no deadlines. Christmas isn't for 11 months and most of the family birthdays are months away. No gift deadlines.

I looked at orange yarn, since Tate asked for a new pumpkin hat.

Then I tried to figure out what Daniel might like.....Cookies came to mind.....

That one seemed like a little much, so I had to keep looking. I moved on to hoodies for Joey, sweaters for everyone else and soon it was 6pm and Joe was picking me up for dinner. Time flies when you are addicted!

Characters

On the USA TV channel they have run some kind of campaign called "Characters" for the past couple of years. Since I am addicted to the channel (Law & Order reruns) I have watched it evolve. First, they showed one weirdo after another, such as jugglers, huggers, hippies, artists and other varieties of strange people....then end with the voice-over saying merely, "CHARACTERS!"

Cat happened to catch it during her 6 month Michigan vacation last year and dubbed me a "character". Now every time I do something that she finds interesting (or as Aunt Dorothy would say..."unusual") Cat simple says "Characters, Mom, characters!"

Ok, so maybe I am a character. Is that so bad? Don't think so. After all, what would the word be if we were all the same? Aren't we all characters in our own way?

My brother Ed is a character. Who else owns every weapon in the world and knows how to use them? Who else shoots dinner out the dining room window and can survive by walking to the yard to pick up dinner? He can rig a furnace to run that has seen better days, get electricity and water to flow against all odds and build a computer. His friends are loyal and he will share all he has. He's a God fearing, animal loving, patriotic man. Just remember to knock because he may have the door wired to blow. He doesn't like strangers much. However, if there is ever an invasion on home ground, I know where I am heading.

My brother Dave is a character. No one EVER knows what he will do next. He is truly the epitome of impulsive. Son of Gordy. Who else would get on a motorcycle and drive all night to buy lunch for his sick brother in law? Never mind the stop by the cops, the faulty tail light and the motel stay. He got here in time for lunch.

Who else would supply a horse and carriage ride for his neice on her wedding day? How 'bout coming home with a trampoline for his nephews on a spring day? Or maybe it's the Dave who loves to get behind the bar and start mixing...complete with beer bongs, that makes me laugh.

I can't describe my own version of "Character", but I'm sure my kids can. I know I become obsessed with my hobbies and my current hobby of knitting is now taking over the house. There isn't much room left to store things, thanks to the scrapbook hobby. Life is too short to sit still and do nothing. That is one thing I know. So I learn new things and if I like 'em....I go for it.

I do spend hours on end reading, learning and knitting. I am getting better than novice, but not yet an expert, so I have more to learn. I am sure once I am an expert, I will have to learn something new...or cycle back to the piles of scrapbook supplies. I almost bought a new photo scanner last night...

I come from a family of characters. We still repair things in this family by saying "Just Gordy it". Where there was a will, there was a way..and it wasn't the orthodox method. Dad taught Ed, Dave and Joe how to "Gordy it" and they all still do it. He took trips with 10 minutes notice, bought things because they looked like "projects" that we could learn from and maybe make a few bucks. He made us DO things. He taught us all how to go for it, do it and do it now...what a way to live!

I am sure we will just keep passing on the ability to become "characters", or at least I hope so!

The Understatement of a Career

Tonight I was half listening to George W. Bush on television, as he talked about his term of office. He was expressing regret at not finding "weapons of mass destruction" and stumbling over his words as he does. Then I heard what has to be the understatement of his career, if not the century........

"Things did not go according to plan."

You're right, George! I'm sure you never planned this.

Michigan Winter 2009

It is moments like this that I am able to read Joe's mind...."Why, Oh, why did I ever leave West Palm Beach???"

I woke up this morning and it was snowing hard. It is now 12:50am and it is still snowing! With Andy out of commission, due to his surgery, Joe has been shoveling since before Christmas. Cat and Paul's van was nearly invisible in the blizzard.



I have been in the house for a week straight, letting Andy use my car each day. It was tough, but I have been forced to knit a lot. It was a good thing I had made a lot of trips to the yarn store before winter set in. Joe calls our basement "Threadbear Two", named fondly after the original "Threadbear", my favorite yarn shop.





First, I made a hat....



Then another......


Then I made a beret!


I am currently working on a scarf and then ready to tackle a sweater and some baby items for a few friends who are expecting. Threadbear sends out gift certificates to their "frequent flyers" gift certificates and I got one in the mail yesterday. I just might have to grab the blazer, fire up the 4 wheel drive and venture to the yarn store today.

I am going to knit my way to spring. It's not a bad life!

I Want This Day Back

Beautiful sunshine, all my children and all my grandchildren, in one day. I enjoyed it, but as sweet as it was, I could never know how sweet a memory it would become. Never again, have I had them all together. I so want this day back!

My Plain Little House

As I was loading photos on my Ipod and digital photo frame, I came across some old photos I had scanned. Among them was a picture of the house I grew up in. Andy looked at it and remarked that it was a plain little house.

I had just been staring at it and remembering a magical place. I still drive by when I am in the Detroit area and wish I could go inside just one more time. I looked at that house and realized that in comparison to where Andy has grown up, it may seem like a plain, little house.

Andy doesn't know about the "finished" basement that my dad was so proud of building. It even had wallpaper with martini glasses (with olives) and musical notes, a big mural of a scene from "up north" and a bar that my father and friends loved to congregate around. After a few beers, they would call me down to play the piano and I would sit at the huge, old upright piano and play for hours, while they sang along.

Andy wouldn't understand how much fun it was to hide under the stairs and listen, while my older brother talked to his girlfriend on the phone. The phone was built into the wall, as a sign of my dad's handiwork, long before cordless phones. So if you wanted privacy for a call, you sat on the stairs.

Everyone had a place in that basement. There was Dad's workshop and I'll bet it still smells like typewriter grease and cleaner. Ed had his short wave/CB radio spot, which had postcards all over the walls with his buddy's call letters on them. It was fun to hide away and listen to that too. Eventually, Dave had his big train set in the main room, where he could spend hours on end in fantasy.

Mom got the laundry room and I can still picture her sitting at a huge machine, called a mangle, which was like an industrial iron. She would sit there for hours ironing bed SHEETS,shirts and underwear!

My favorite spot was a little cubby behind the furnace. It belonged to ME. I decorated by drawing on the walls, adding wallpaper scraps. I played with my dolls there and it was my own world. My brothers had no interest in coming into that world. When the dog had puppies, my mother would put them in my spot and I spent hours on end watching puppies grow.

At the top of the stairs was what my Mom called the "half bath" and it wasn't as big as a closet. Under the sink, there was always a case of Towne Club Pop, which is a poor man's Faygo. Once a week, she would go to the Towne Club store and I could pick out 24 flavors. We didn't pay the extra for Coke or Pepsi and I don't remember caring a bit.

There were no video games in that basement, no TV set and I wouldn't see a computer for 20 years. I did have a portable record player that I could bring down from my room, but usually played the piano instead.

So as I loaded those photos today, I thought back to the day of NO technology. My kids are walking around texting their friends, with ipods in their ears unless they are playing computer games or Nintendo Wii. What did I do with myself without all that stuff?

If it was not snowing, I rode my bike for hours on end. Every night after dinner, I would go pick up my friend Pat Green and wait while she finished washing dishes, so we could ride our bikes until "the street lights came on". We both had to be home within 5 minutes of that signal.

I played Army in the woods with the Simmons boys and built forts in the trees. One summer, I built a fort, by myself, behind the garage. I scavaged the neighborhood for every scrap of wood I could find and then spent most of then summer in my fort.

Many summer nights we just sat on the lawn and listened to my Dad tell us stories. He taught us to play Mumbly Peg, Red Rover, Kick the Can and how to box. When winter came, we played outside until we were frozen and then he taught us to play Pinochle and Black Jack. On the weekends, he taught me to repair cars and do body work. We just set up a heater in the garage. He kept me busy.

Pat and I went from playing dolls to sitting in that basement listening to the Beatles and finally to high school parties WITHOUT alcohol. We thought it was great because my parents ordered pizza.

I miss that house and all it's memories and I don't remember ever having a boring minute.

Comments Made In 1955

Remember.....That's only 53 years ago!

'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20.00.'

'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one.'

'If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.'

'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?'

'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.'

'When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.'

'Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.'

'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.'

'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas ...'

'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.'

'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.'

'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.'

'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.'

'Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more, those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat.'

'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.'

'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.'

'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.'

'There is no sense going to Lincoln anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.'

'No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood.'

'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'

Ipod

It is all Mikey's fault. He and I drove to Chicago at Thanksgiving with Joe, Andy and the dogs in the other car. During our drive he was playing different kinds of music for me, from his new MacBook. I was really enjoying listening to some of his choices and we had a great 3 hour conversation about music styles and artists. That got me thinking.

I used to listen to music most of the time. Whether riding in the car, cleaning house or just relaxing, there was always music playing. I loved music. I enjoyed playing the piano for years and now never touch it. All 5 of my kids played instruments constantly and we used to play together.

I attended numerous concerts of all kinds from classical to rock....Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffet to Elvis and Elton John. I went to concerts in parks, the ballet, evenings at the Wharton, the Fisher Theatre and every high school concert for 20 years. How and why did I stop?

I think it began when the stereo systems disappeared from the house. Everyone had an Ipod...except me. I realized everyone in my house had a set of earphones and the house had no music. Music is good for the soul and maybe this was one more step in my return to life to recognize how much I missed it.

As I rationalized that it was a waste of money for me to buy an Ipod, my mind continued to wander. I could install my photos on it and everyone knows how much I love my photos. I started to notice how many people were showing me photos on ipods, listening to music and asking them questions. Now I learned about Podcasts and it really started getting serious. I could listen to audio books while I drove, knit or fell asleep. I used to read 2 or 3 books a week and for the last year or more, I just couldn't concentrate enough to read. I missed that too.

Then I came back to reality. I was just to darned cheap to buy one. So I stopped by my local pawn shop. I have found one "deal" after another on instruments, Ipods for my kids and other cool stuff over the years. Maybe I could find a cheap one. I made the mistake of stopping with Joe in tow. I hadn't yet made my decision and hadn't told him what I was thinking of.

I knew I was in trouble when the manager saw me and yelled out "There she is! How are you? Looking for another Ipod?" Just great. So I wandered over and began to play with them. I started with the cheapest, never intending to spend much.


Ok, they were cool and came in pretty colors and the guy offered me a great price of at least $50 bucks less than a new one. So of course, Joe says "Do you want it?" I absolutely cannot admit that I don't want to commit because it is so cool that I now want to see the bigger model.



That night I start to research online. There was an even BETTER model than I had seen. The more I read, the more I want it. The next morning, Debbie and I are headed out shopping and stop at the yarn store. Of course, the owner is sitting with his new Ipod and begins to tell me just how great it is. I have to get out of there. So we go to.....Best Buy. Stupid move.

By the time I leave, I am doomed. Deb says, "You know you are going to buy it, so quit torturing yourself and get it done." I call Mikey. "Hey Mike, do you know where I can get a good deal on an Ipod?"

"Sure!" he says. "You bought ME one and you can have it. Could you get me a Nintendo DS instead?" What a great kid! I just saved so much money that I can't NOT buy it. Right?



So tonight I spent hours learning how to download songs (photos, books and games are for tomorrow) and I drove Mikey crazy calling him over and over for help. Did I need it? Nope. But Ipod's ad that says "It's the funnest ever!" is no lie. I am having fun.

But now I need a cool case, good earphones and an I-Home!

Chihuahuas and Me

We went to the movies to see Marley and Me today. It was one of those movies that makes you laugh so hard and then a tear rolls down your face. Good movies do that. They make you feel things and relate them to your own life.

I rode home thinking about just how much our 4 little pups mean to me. Now, usually I say that I hate Lucy. If we had seen the movie first, I would have insisted on naming her Marley. A constant quote from the movie, "You are the WORST dog in the whole world!" often applies to Lucy. She chews everything. She thinks the world is her potty. When we say "Potty Time!" Lucy runs up the stairs and hides under our covers. Lucy chases the cat and won't stop when I yell. Lucy does what Lucy wants.

Yesterday I found a baby's wooden block shredded in the hallway. Unfortunatley, I also found a prescription bottle with the BABY PROOF cap chewed off. There were 4 pills remaining and I prayed all night that she hadn't eaten one. Josie's last trip to the MSU Animal Emergency room was costly, from eating 2 ibuprofen.

In the movie, Marley ate the couch. At our house, Lucy ate the new mattress cover on our king sized bed. Our room looked like a snowstorm had taken place. Marley chewed up his owner's fabric samples, but Josie has taught Lucy the pleasure of unwinding every ball of yarn that I am dumb enough to leave in reach. Joe is an expert at untangling them.

However, as I lay here in bed with Lucy warming my toes, Josie chewing away on her bone (yes, there are bones in my bed) and watching Rocky and Wendy fight for the position closes to Joe's face, I know I love these dogs. They light up with energy the moment we walk in the door. I swear Wendy actually smiles, just like her Mom, Spike, used to.

They tell us when it is time for bed, by running to the stairs and then they all wait every night for my bedtime snack. They know there will be either cereal, ice cream or yogurt and Josie will do anything for a dairy product. We keep a container of Cheerios just for the dogs. And yes, they do eat steak for dinner. If it's good enough for us..........

Do I have a favorite? I have to admit Wendy is so much like Spike that she warms my heart the most. Life is just licks and kisses for Wendy. She cuddles better than any dog on earth, loves to be loved and gives it all back. The other dogs hate the cold, but not Wendy. She leaps into the snow and runs and leaps over the drifts, enjoying life. She was supposed to be Andy's dog, but she has stolen my heart.

Rocky is a little lover, quiet and sweet. After having Paco (mean little bugger that he was) I wanted a spunky little male to help heal my heart, after Paco passed away. Instead, I got Mr. Romeo.

People think we are crazy with our little brood of "rats" or "ankle biters" . What they don't know is that we get all the fun and love of a big dog without the big dirty paws. You can't snuggle with 4 labrador retrievers, but with our new king sized bed, they all fit quite nicely with room to spare and now my toes are warm every night.



Yesterday, Josie (the Queen) didn't feel well and Joe and I took turns all day checking on her. How did we know? We just did. The communication between dog and owner is often silent, but so often is the language of love.