High Summer

Hello. Recently we drove to north central Minnesota to spend a few summer days with my sister and brother-in-law at their lake home. We also were able to catch up with my Montana brother and his daughter. Our lake visit of warm days and cool nights was lovely. The company is very dear to us. I love being shoulder to shoulder with my sister in the rocking chair, the kayak, along the roadside for a walk and in the kitchen. North central Minnesota had a late cool spring so the wildflowers continued to bloom with wild abandon. One afternoon, Lance and I walked with our niece. We heard all about middle school, piano competitions, and her upcoming trip to Japan as she snipped wildflowers for a bouquet.

Close to the lake, my husband saw a fox slink across the road. Small frogs hopped in and around the grasses at the lake bank. A great blue heron fished intently from a small floating dock anchored near the shore and a pair of loons bobbed on the lake. During the day, birdsong floated into the screen porch where my sister and I sat in rocking chairs with our knitting. My husband and brother-in-law completed a small woodworking project in the garage. Two evenings we played board games around the table. I didn't take many photos but instead tried to make the most of time with wildflowers and family.

Both coming and going, we stop at a rest area outside of Worthington, Minnesota. It is a good lunch spot with shaded tables and a path around and through a big meadow of wildflowers. The flowers are bright and beautiful this year. I discovered a variety of coneflower with fluttery lavender petals and patches of bright orange milkweed. Both varieties were new to me. On the way, I knit the second foot and toe of a pair of socks, kitchenering up the toe just before we hit the last 45 miles of winding road around the lakes.

While at the lake, I knit on a hitchhiker. I made good progress in the rocking chair and on the return trip to Nebraska.

Since arriving home,  I'm catching up with my own garden. The black-eyed susans are beginning to bloom. This morning I spied an orange tomato in the vegetable bed. High summer season has arrived. I hope summer is treating you well.

Memorial Day

I write this post on Memorial Day. Yesterday my husband and I visited cemeteries where our parents and grandparents are buried. We drove Nebraska Highway 15 from Lincoln to the Butler County cemetery, then stopped at Schuyler, and Norfolk. The wind blew across the fields as Lance drove and I knit on a second sock of a pair. He showed me the hill where his mother took him to look for Native American arrowheads (they never found any) but she liked to get away from the house in the tiny town and walk out in the country. I told him about my family's infamous sledding trips in Ta Ha Zouka Park and high school days cruising the main street of Norfolk before pulling into the Double K Drive-In for french fries and cokes. We know these stories well but the day seemed like one for remembering. So we turned off the radio and audiobooks and exchanged stories.

Memorial Day originated with remembering soldiers of the Civil War in the North and the South. Today an article in our newspaper lamented many folks don't practice the true meaning of the holiday, that is to honor men and women who have lost their lives in military service. While I honor those who lost their lives serving our country, I also remember and honor others. Honoring one group does not dishonor the other. I also applaud families and friends who spend time together sharing stories and meals. Honor and remembrance come in many forms.

The word "memory" has several origins. One of the earliest comes from the Latin word, "memor" meaning mindful. Today I am holding stories and dear ones in my mind while I knit the second toe of the second sock. Last week I finished the baby sweater with yarn to spare so I'm knitting a matching hat. The little sweater has a one button closure in the neck ribbing that is currently held in place by a stitch marker. Although I'm tempted to pick out a little duck button, I think a babe would be more comfortable with a smooth round button (sewed on securely) against the neck. I think the sweater is a 6 - 9 month size. By then most babies should be holding their heads up but those big heads do get heavy and come to rest on chests. I have buttons to sew on my cardigan and some two color mitts in the works.

However you celebrate, I hope you have a lovely Memorial Day.

 

Knitting Inspiration

Where did September go? This morning, the day of the Fall Equinox, a thunderstorm is in progress, bringing a change in recent warm temperatures. The word equinox originates from two Latin words, aequus meaning equal and nox meaning night. Today the hours of day and night are equal but tomorrow the northern hemisphere begins the turn toward shorter days. Fewer hours of light cool the earth and bring winter to our doorstep. Word origin aside, I am ready to bite into a crisp apple from a local orchard. Autumn is my favorite season. I prefer crisp cool temperatures of sweater weather. I haven't worn any wool socks yet but I will be pulling them on soon.

I read a blog called My Sister's Knitter. I enjoy Andi's photos and notes on knitting and life in general. Last December, a knitter in her Ravelry group created an informal knit along challenge to knit a pair of socks a month in 2015. The idea was to put twelve different skeins of sock yarn into twelve paper bags. Then each month, the knitter chooses a skein to knit a pair of socks. The socks knit from a variety of yarns, patterns, and colors are great inspiration. While I don't knit a pair of socks each month, I usually have a pair in progress. The small project is a good way to fill travel or waiting time. Though I admire the intricate textures and designs, I knit repetitive easy to memorize sock patterns. Having my hands occupied in rote movement frees up my thoughts. I keep small notepads in my knitting bags in order to make notes about a project. Sometimes I set the knitting aside to jot down an idea or thought that becomes part of a poem or at least begin to solve a challenge in a piece of writing.  

Last Saturday evening while listening to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, I finished the Frosty Garden Socks. Inspired by Andi's blog, I took a photo of socks I have finished in 2015. Surprisingly, there isn't a blue pair in the pile. I will remedy that soon. Whether my finished objects are poems or socks, reading or looking at them often inspires me. I am not sure what that says about my working style but I am not going to fret about it.

I cast on Shallows cowl in a Hazel Knits yarn to celebrate the autumn season. The color way, henna, reminds me of pumpkin spices and is different from my usual color choices. I have always wanted to knit an autumn colored yarn in the autumn and decided to seize the moment. I also cast on a baby hat. We have another grandchild due in January. Here in Nebraska, that little one is going to need a warm going home from the hospital hat. Now I am off to find a skein of blue sock lingering somewhere in the yarn stash.  

What inspires you?