Who We Knit For

New commercials are playing on the television and radio. Red and green ads splash across billboards. I have a stack of catalogs on top of my desk. All of this serves as a reminder that the holidays are just around the corner. 

Last evening this is what I stumbled upon in the Vogue Knitting Holiday issue I just received:

"Holiday time in Canada brings up the age-old question: "Who do we knit for and how many knitted items can we churn out before present opening time?"

Having been raised by said Canadian, I remember watching my Mom turn out hats, scarves, blankets and sweaters during pre-holiday knitting sessions. Except, of course, when I was the recipient. Then I wondered after ripping through the paper and opening the box, how she had manged to hide the project from me as she worked. The first year I followed her lead I was nine or ten years old. I gave a pair of pink slippers I had knit in garter stitch to my grandmother. It was my first completed knitting project.

Three years ago I began a tradition of knitting winter hats for each of my boys. It is something useful and makes me feel good when they live far away and in places with real potential for cold, windy weather and lots of snow. I am an intermediate knitter at best....but this is something I can do. It goes quickly and after knitting several hats, I've learned a lot.  I will readily admit that making them has benefited us both.

The holiday season is appraoching and I welcome it. I will shop......but I will also 'make'. There is a wooden tray filled with yarn sitting on my coffee table; separate balls that are so beautiful before the stitches are even woven together. A small stash of finished projects rests next to the couch. No......I won't say who is getting what from whom, but I do have a list, and as many as I have time for will receive.

Wishing you some wonderful weeks ahead!

Warmly,

Margaret

Beer and Chocolate

Last night we met my brother in the city and attended Bittersweet, a beer and chocolate tasting event held at the Fremont Brewing Company. We sipped, tasted and compared. Listened to music. Ate cheese and crackers. Went out for pizza afterward.

Last weekend a short write-up in the paper caught our attention. After minimal discussion, we got on line and bought tickets. I'll be completely honest here and admit we had no idea that it was a fundraiser for FamilyWorks when we bought them (but I'm sure glad it was)......we simply thought it would be interesting to see how 8 breweries and a local chocolate maker would pair up two of our favorite things. And they did it splendidly.

Each station served up small tastes of a couple of different brews: one created specifically for this evening and one chosen to be sipped along with small bites of a complementary Theo chocolate flavor. I can't say that I had a favorite; I enjoyed them all. I will tell you that the one I found most interesting had an aftertaste with a strong cayenne pepper kick.

The event was sold out......which I'm hoping serves as encouragement for its sponsors to hold it again next year. We will no doubt end up there if they do.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Margaret

This Time of Year

I have ended up at this most picturesque shopping village a couple of different times this week. Once to pick up an extra ball of yarn, and once for lunch at the Boarding House during an errand filled Saturday with Marc. The Boarding House is a place I've been stopping for a bite to eat ever since I first moved to Seattle. Back then, it seemed like quite a drive out of the city and was where I used to meet my mom for lunch on her way out of town after a visit. My favorite combo......and the one I've been ordering for years......is the avocado-veggie sandwich on whole grain bread paired with a bowl of potato-dill soup. I think I've had it every single time I've eaten there. They are well known for that soup, as well as for their apple crisp, which you can purchase by the 9 x 13 pan, should you want/need that amount.

The sorry fact about today is that I have come down with one of the many bugs that are being passed around at this time of year. I missed meeting up with my walking group this morning......just couldn't do it as we tend to walk fast and choose steep hills and long distances......but I'm hoping to be much better by the next time we meet. Don't want to lag too far behind! The rest of the day will most likely spent on the couch with hot chocolate, knitting and a favorite heavy blanket. The dinner I had planned may be put off until another night in favor of a pot of soup.

Enjoy your week!

Warmly,

Margaret

Thoughtful

Peter brought this gift to me when he returned home from London a few weeks ago, a No. 1 Pocket Kodak Junior, circa 1910(ish).  After a long drive, he walked in the front door with it, as well as a beautifully illustrated print of human internal organs for Marc. Although we had taken care of his dog while he was out of town, he did not mention that the gifts were in any way related to this. He simply gave them to us and shared the stories of how he had come across each one. He had found items he knew we would each enjoy.

He was right. The young man pays attention and his thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed. This trait is something I truly appreciate about him. It's a pretty good deal......being his mom. 

Last time we were in Missoula, the three of us, Peter, Marc and I, spent some time looking at a collection of 130 Ansel Adams prints at the Missoula Art Museum. The exhibit was inspiring, beautiful, educational and thought provoking......and it's what I wrote about this week for Make It Missoula. To take a look, Click Here.

Hope you have a lovely fall weekend!

Warmly,

Margaret

Seattle

Seattle was where I moved after college in order to complete an internship and was where I decided to take my first job. It is where Marc and I met, dated, fell in love, were married and began life with our boys.

Although we've lived in a small town east of the city for a number of years, there are days when I miss it. Days in which I feel the need to touch base with this part of my/our history. Every once in awhile we make the drive in......for a concert, a sporting event, for dinner. Every so often we feel the need to revisit places that we know and love, or to try out something new.

A couple of days ago it was time.......for a walk around Greenlake and a bowl of clam chowder at Duke's across the street.

Boo!

A couple of weeks ago the farmer from this stand at the Saturday Market made sure that I took a picture of this tomato he dressed up! Loved that!

Happy Halloween, All!

Margaret

Still Me

This past year I've spent some time catching up with a couple of good friends. The three of us studied at the same university, moved to the same city afterward and eventually shared a house for a period of time. We saw each other through jobs, job changes, new cars and boyfriends, and went on a couple of vacations together. We each got married, had children and eventually two of us moved out of the city where we had participated in each others lives on such a regular basis. We've managed to see each other occasionally during the past few years, but it all depended on schedules......and rarely included the three of us in the same place at the same time.

About a year ago......at the request of one of the women, we met up for another vacation. No husbands, no kids, just the three of us for a week in a condo on an island. I have to say that for as much as we had all kept up via cards and Christmas letters and the occasional phone call, email or visit, I was just a little nervous to spend an entire week in the same space after twenty-something years. What if we were different? What if they had changed? What if I had changed and the friendships that worked well for me in my twenties no longer did? But I went.

We clicked quickly back into easy conversation. After reminding one another about some old stories and then working through the details of our own personal new stories, we moved on.......to having fun together where we are now. Since then, we've met up for a couple of short stints, the most recent being last Saturday.

Reconnecting has caused me to give some thought to my twenty-something year old self. The 'me' in my post college years when I was truly on my own, making choices and decisions about how to spend my time and who to spend it with. Learning to identify my skills and interests, and to prioritize the use of what limited resources I had. 

And what I found was this: I am still basically the same person, still prioritizing the same things. Choosing friends and who I spend my time with for the same reasons; spending hours in ways I find meaningful. I still have a pet that is a wonderful companion (although back then it was a big orange tabby) and think that belonging to a family is a pretty good deal. Still love to cook up a good pasta dish. Write down my thoughts. Carry a camera. Still enjoy spending an afternoon reading or baking or knitting. Walking is still my favorite exercise; Fall my favorite season......although I might just say that about each season as it comes along.

Looking back at the threads that have run so consistently through my life......I find it comforting. They are my roots and structure and foundation. Although there have been years when I could not give them as much time or attention as I may have wanted, I have not let them go. They are 'me'.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Margaret