Tomorrow is the Day

Most mornings the temps have been slightly cooler. By afternoons, the air is back to the typical heat and humidity of a Nebraska August. A couple of times this past week, I thought I sensed a slight touch of fall in the air. This morning I found a red maple leaf on the sidewalk and remembered that tomorrow is the first day of school for many students in Lincoln. I remember lining up my two children in carefully chosen outfits on the front porch for photos. I remember the sense of anticipation, excitement, and feeling as if they really were a year older on the first day of school. Our daughter went to a first day of preschool on a hot August day wearing a purple and pink long sleeved sweatshirt because her Grandmother had given it to her to keep her warm at school. The sweatshirt was stuffed into her backpack within the first twenty minutes but she had it with her, just in case. Our son started kindergarten in his favorite turquoise, orange, and black surfboard print shorts, sneakers with black and white checks and psychedelic green and pink designs, and emerald green and white striped wrist bands because that is what he wanted to wear. He is our second child and by then I was less worried about coordinated clothing. I have no idea what the kindergarten teacher thought of his outfit but he had a good day. He still has a wonderfully quirky sense of humor.

This year we watch two grandsons begin the school year. The oldest one, living out of state, begins middle school and the little guy, close by, enters his second year of preschool. Taking stock after the summer, I notice both boys have grown by leaps and bounds and look a year older. I love the idea of a fresh start including new school supplies, new socks and shoes, (they always need new socks) as well as a new teacher and new grade with new chances for learning. Tomorrow morning as I walk, I will watch the neighborhood children on their way to school with a lump in my throat. I wish them all well. I hope they all feel smart and successful at school. In this crazy world, we need all of our children to be successful.

In knitting news, I cast on several projects from stash yarn. I am knitting a pair of So Simple Silk Garden socks, a free pattern courtesy of Glenna C., in Socks That Rock lightweight yarn. The color is called Stormy Weather. These are gift knitting for someone who likes a gray/black/white variegated color scheme. Knitting with these colors didn't appeal to me in January but on these dog days of summer, the silver frosty color is rather refreshing. And no, that is not frost but humidity on the patio table.

Inspired by Susan B. Anderson's blog post on a Louise sweater, I cast on a similar sweater from a pattern called Ramona. After reading her post, I remembered a sweater's worth of teal colored Montera yarn, stored deep in the stash. My sweater will be knit from one color and it will be heavy enough to wear as a jacket. I knit the yoke and separated for the sleeves but have set it aside until the weather cools off a bit. The maple leaf tells me those days aren't too far away.

Happy First Day of School to one and all!

One Foot in Autumn

Even though it is mid August, the season is changing. I feel as if I have one foot in summer and the other in autumn.  We are still eating garden ripened tomatoes but the cucumber vines have dried up.  My summer home improvement and organization projects are not quite finished but I am two weeks into the fall school semester. While much of the midwest remains extremely dry, temperatures cooled off this past week.

On August 17, I drove into the school parking lot and spent a few minutes watching parents and children arrive for the first day of the new year. Some children run eagerly for the door while others hang back with their parents. Dads with cameras dangling from their wrists hold small hands. Moms tie shoes or adjust straps on backpacks before one last hug. I remember when Kate and Aaron set out for a new school year and suddenly seemed a year older and closer to being grown up. Those first days are over but next weekend brings another milestone celebration. Aaron is marrying a wonderful young woman. Although I plan to leave photos to the professional, I know there will be plenty of hugs and perhaps a few tears to go around. Then, after the party is over and my dear family leaves for home, I plan to spend a few quiet hours knitting.

Last week as we opened the house to cool mornings and evenings, I retrieved some of cooler weather  knitting projects.  I finished the summer knitting on  Nice Ribbed Socks  in "Vancouver Violet" sock yarn by Blue Moon Fiber Art.  I pulled out the Greenfield Cardigan I put away last Spring when having the growing wool/mohair project in my lap was too warm.

I'm swatching for another cardigan from yarn I bought ten years ago on our twenty fifth anniversary trip. Somewhere an unfinished soft gray Wool Peddlers Shawl lurks in the dark recesses of a closet.  Both the shawl and the unnamed cardigan have a story to tell. I'll keep you posted.