Breathe

Good morning. The sky is bright and the blue jays' feathers are ever so blue as they reflect the sunlight. The outdoor temperature is cold. I am sitting in the living room with my wool-clad feet in a patch of warm sunshine. The sun streams in our rather streaked windows. My husband fell once this fall and required stitches. He is fine but we are not climbing extension ladders to wash windows. Next Spring I will hire someone to do the job.

This morning I left my shopping and errand list on the counter to make space for a few deep breaths. Today and the past few days brought annoyances, all of them minor. The dishwasher can be repaired and the bungled return of a new but defective iPhone will eventually sort itself out. I can return two skeins of yarn because they have little red dye specks that don't belong on the solid neutral color. I can reprint the ink edged pages of the little chap books I am making. If the Christmas boxes are mailed tomorrow instead of today, they will arrive in time and my life is still darn good. Next week I will bake cookies, one of my favorite parts of the season. Breathe. Perspective and gratitude for resources to put things right are the keys and, for me, so is knitting.

After blocking, I wove in the ends of this sweater. It fits and I like it. When knitting a top-down raglan, I often think the raglan line isn't long enough and adjust. I may have added a few too many rows to this sweater as I have a little extra fabric under the arms. I made a note in my knitting notebook for future raglans. I don't dislike the sweater enough to shorten the yoke and reknit the body and sleeves. I made it to wear like a warm cozy sweatshirt and it fits the bill. I love the color and overall I am pleased with it.

I am enjoying these socks. Breathe. Knit. Breathe. Watching the colors pool just a bit over the heel flap and gusset is fun. This kind of pooling in socks doesn't bother me. While knitting, I listen to The Dutch House. I hope the book lasts for the rest of this second sock. The audiobook was worth the Overdrive wait. Sometimes a family story set in contemporary time becomes overwrought with drama but (I think) Patchett writes real characters. They are not perfect but not overdone with angst. Tom Hanks as narrator is just right.

As I link with Kat and the Unravelers, I hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations. All together - breathe. Breathe again. All is well.