Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Lots of things have been changing around here in recent months. Luckily most of the changes have been positive, if not downright wonderful!

Labor of Love Yarn and Fiber Arts opened August 1. As many of you already know, I've been working there, and teaching. I love teaching knitting classes!I'm in my second group of classes now. Monday morning and last night were the first classes of the "Toe up 2 at a time Magic Loop socks". Getting the magic cast on and the increases going, after reviewing or teaching the Magic Loop method was a little touch-and-go at times, but at the end of the class(es) I think everyone had a pretty good idea of how to head on up the foot and could execute that knowledge. I hope everyone gets their homework done. They have 2 weeks to knit 2 socks to the point of turning the heel.

Working and teaching again, surrounded by fibery things, makes me very happy :-)



One big change this week has been the weather! HOLY COW....we've had a very warm fall. Warm? Did I say warm? Let me rephrase that....it's been a freakin' blast furnace around here! On Monday it was hotter in Michigan (record breaking 90 degrees) than in was in Key West and many other parts of the south you would consider tropical paradises. But in October, in Michigan, I doubt many people want to have 90 degree weather. We've all long ago closed our swimming pools for the season. My parents had already put the cover on their a/c unit so they suffered through the heatwave. We had our air on for 3 or 4 days when it was hovering around 90 before actually getting there.

Yesterday? A most beautiful sunny and 72. (WHY can't we have a string of THIS weather, I ask?) Because now....after one short day of bliss, we are headed to the dumper. The rest of the week will be wet and/or low to mid-50s. WTH?

While I'm happy for the change from the heatwave to more seasonable weather, I'd like to see a more gradual reduction in temps...not a 35 degree drop in 2 days! Sheesh!


A HUGE and wonderful change is that hubby has been offered a new job. He's nervous about it, as is to be expected. Anytime you leave what is familiar and comfortable it's hard. I'm so proud of him for taking the steps necessary to make this happen, because it was a change that was very long overdue. This is going to make a huge difference in our lives right now, and our future, as well as our kids' futures. For several years we have been struggling in quicksand. And while this job will not put us in a castle on top of the world, we can get outselves out of the quagmire and stay afloat, and that is good enough for me. Yay Mike!



A change that has just begun is a change in my body. I know I am overweight. I have no misconceptions about that. I know I need to do something about it. Knowing it and doing it are 2 completely different things. You have to have get to that right frame of mind before you can do anything about it. I've been trying to get there for so long. I've actually gained weight over the last year, probably because of my knee injury. I've spent a lot of time just sitting around because it was too painful to do much of anything else. Now that I've had physical therapy and can get around without hobbling, I can move around more. I still think I have a tear in my meniscus, and will eventually get an MRI to confirm that and will probably need surgery. Meanwhile I am dealing with the discomfort (reduced, but still there) and will work around it to do what I can in the way of exercise. Even with some limitations on that front, what I CAN do is change the way I've been eating. A few weeks ago something finally clicked in my brain and I knew I was ready to start making the changes. Once you've gotten it right in your mind, it makes it so much easier to do. You're not fighting yourself anymore. You just do what you need to do.

I've made huge changes in my diet, and it is paying off even after a short amount of time. I have lots of weight to lose, and I hope my will stays strong. I have a great support system, and I know that will help. I will turn 49 next week, and my goal is to be a completely "new and improved" me, inside and out, by the time I hit 50 next year.

I realize it will not be easy. I have to take it one day at a time, one meal at a time, one pound at a time. I hope this time I can stick with it. I've done it before (about 12 years ago, before I was pregnant with Jake, I lost over 50 lbs). Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see how long I would keep it off because I got pregnant soon after working so hard to lose that weight. And well, you know how the story goes from there....

So think good thoughts for me...and if you have any great tips to help me, including delicious-but-healthy recipes you might want to share, please email me and help me along this journey to a better me by the half-century mark. THANKS!


Kaitlyn is 16...and so are most of her friends. That means they are off on their own, no longer needing me to chauffeur. Kaitlyn doesn't have her license yet, claiming she doesn't really like driving and doesn't care if she gets it or not. This is just like Kim...she didn't get her license til she was 18. Anyway, it's a time of newfound freedom for Kaitlyn. And a renewed sense of worry for me. She's got great friends and I know you have to let go and let them find their way, but it's still nerve wracking. It seems like she's never home any more...and many times this involves being in the car of another 16 year old. Scary stuff.

She recently has ended a relationship of about 1 year and a half, which was hard for her to let go of, no matter how little fun was being had by either one of them in the end. Why is it so hard to let go even when things have gone bad? Just because it's more comfortable to stay? Kind of sounds like Mike and his job situation all over again. Young love....

I kind of miss her old BF at times....he spent a lot of time with our family...but things change. At their age things are in a constant state of flux. I'm happy to see that she's spending more time with some of her old friends that were being somewhat ignored, and making new friends. She has been asked to the Homecoming dance which is this weekend, by a very nice, polite, considerate young man, and I hope they have a great time.

So it's a time of changes for Kaitlyn, and of course whatever mood she's in will often affect the mood of the household.....things can get rather intense around here. Anyone who has a teenaged daughter (or remembers BEING one) knows exactly what I'm talking about!


So, lots of transitions going on in our lives right now. Jake seems to be the only one in the household who seems to be immuned from changes in his life. He's blissfully unaware of the ebb and flow of a lot of this. As it should be when you're 10 years old.