This Year's Hat

After knitting several (and by that I mean quite a few......) hats during the past many years following the same or similar pattern instructions, I started itching to find something new and different to make. On one particular afternoon this past December I still needed to come up with a hat to knit for the boys for Christmas, but didn't feel at all like making the trip to the yarn store to pick up more wool or another pattern. I had a pretty clear idea about the characteristics I wanted this year's hat to have and so began to see what I could come up with using the yarn I had at hand and the picture in my head.

I have a couple of boys that hike and wear flannel and spend a fair amount of time out of doors no matter what the season in Montana. Another tends to dress in more traditional business attire and lives in a larger Midwestern city where it gets pretty cold and windy in the winter. Marc's needs are somewhere in between. I wanted to make something warm and functional and with a good fit. It had to work as well on the trail or in the mountains as it did in the city. And it should probably be somewhat 'hipster' in order for the boys to want to wear it.

After several hours of messing with color and needle size and stitch, I finished...... and honestly had no idea what I thought or if it had turned out at all like I'd envisioned.  I was a bit cranky, tired of the project and became very aware that I was trying to design something for guys quite a few years younger than I am. I needed a break, tossed it on the coffee table and planned to search for a new (real) pattern at some point during the week.

When Marc spotted that first hat after having been away all day and not having any idea what I had been up to, he immediately picked it up, handled it and asked if I would make him one.  And 'Yes', he said....he thought the boys would really like one, too. Since then, I've seen them all wear those hats. A friend of my son's asked where he got his 'cool' beanie. Afterward he let me know how much he liked it when he found I had both designed and knit it. Out of the blue one day, Marc mentioned that his hat with its texture feels 'soothing' to him when he wears it.

Sometimes things just work out.......

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and week ahead.

Warmly,
 Margaret

Here

Is it possible to be in love with a place? To have somewhere that you want to go to and be with often? Where it is YOU who shows up, YOU that is greeted on the sidewalks and coffee shops and grocery stores? Where the other versions of yourself are left behind and the essence of your person, that person who you envision yourself to be, is the only one walking around?

When I travel I am rarely the Mom, the bill payer, the grocery shopper, the cook, the planner or the organizer.  Sometimes I'm not even the writer or the photographer, although often during visits to this place my mind and schedule are cleared and I am able to be those things even more so. When those that we meet in this small town ask what I do, that is what I tell them. For some reason I can define myself more easily this way here than I can when I'm at home. Am I more brave here? Less intimidated at having to explain that being a writer and photographer doesn't always mean a paycheck? That knitting words and capturing moments and creating and making is a way of life?

When we're away, in this place that I love, I often forget about makeup and wear my hair in a ponytail. Jeans and hiking boots or snow boots feel best. I might try out different clothes and jewelry, or a look that those who know me at home aren't used to........cowboy boots or an enormous scarf made of granny squares.

I love it because I fit things into my day that I otherwise don't always make time for......like listening for the train to whistle and rumble on its tracks around the lake and how this noise echos off surrounding hills and mountains. Like sleeping in, or waking up extra early in order to see the sun color the ice on the lake or the snow on the peaks deep rose and pink and yellow. Marc and I sip coffee in a small local shop, people watch and talk about nothing.....no problem solving allowed. Walk forty-five minutes into town for breakfast at a cafe where local artists and photographers display their work on brick walls, and then back again......no hurry. Chat with the owner of a sled dog team and his friendly, eager dogs. Taste the variety of brews served up in the local brewery, and watch as boarders and skiers  fresh off the mountain, populate bar stools one by one, red faced and sharing the best parts of their day. ("I'm convinced it's not the pow that brings them up the hill....it's the sun, dude....") Sit and read or knit all day with no other agenda. No urgency to cram in a few pages or rows before being interrupted by the phone or the front door or the appointments on the calendar.

This is a town that still looks like Christmas until after their Winter Carnival in February. That hosts the Skijoring World Championships. Where shopkeepers and business owners and their employees......and many others that I meet...... live because they want to. Because they all landed here one way or the other, loved it and stayed. Because, although in this economy, it may not offer them a chance to get rich and spend money, it offers them a chance to spend time.

Do I love it because it is a place in which I can vacate the schedules and busy-ness of my daily life near a big city? Or because this is more what I would like my daily life to be.

Here there are deep breathes of icy air in the winter and warm fragrant ones in the summer. And if the boys are with us, I watch them do the same things, too. And breathe.......

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Warmly, Margaret

Travel Day

Today is a travel day.....will post tomorrow! Cheers!

Margaret

Cool.

So, a couple of days ago I was sitting around with my nineteen year old and two of his friends. We're in Montana for the week, and since where we stay is within sight of Big Mountain, the three of them made the drive north for the weekend to get some time in on their boards. After sharing cool stories about a great day spent taking advantage of fresh, deep powder, and right in front of his friends, he very coolly said, "Hey Mom...if an old band comes to Seattle, you and dad should let me know and I can come home so we can all go together."

I  looked up from my knitting......which may or may not be interpreted as a cool activity by this crowd......and said, "Like how old?"

He answered without hesitation. "Bruce Springsteen or James Taylor. You know....someone that you and dad would want to go see."

Did you catch that, too?? My son just offered to go see The Boss with me?! And later on that day, I overheard him mention the same thing to his dad.  And all with a smile on his face. Not an ounce of holding back for the benefit of his friends.

This empty nest thing....this having kids leave home thing: I sure hope I haven't made it seem any easier than it really is. I sure hope that because I've enjoyed sharing the good parts....the parts that make my eyes tear up with pride and my heart nearly burst with love, that I have in any way sugar-coated the experiences involved. Because it IS difficult.  Even when I know without a doubt that each of my boys are doing exactly what it is that they should be doing......whatever it is that they NEED to do be doing......to become the autonomous, self reliant, independently functioning adults that they are supposed to become, it is still sometimes difficult.

Put simply: No matter how logically I understand that life is moving forward as it should......and that this moving forward is all normal, right and good......it still kind of sucks (I actually don't LIKE that word, but sometimes it just fits) when your kids grow up and leave home. When they now live far away and you pretty much know they aren't thinking about you even one one-millionth of the number of times you are thinking about them. And worrying about them. And of course, they shouldn't be.

And it makes you wonder: Will we stay close? Become close again? Even closer? What will our relationship be like now? What will it evolve into in the future? To what extent will I, his dad, his family, remain a part of his life? Will any of them ever think I know what I'm talking about? That some of my advice is actually pretty good?

At my most patient, I quietly stand back, observe and feel proud. I allow and encourage the process to unfold as the universe intends. At my most anxious, I want to call or text or give helpful suggestions or ask helpful questions in order to grasp hold of just how this 'growing up-and-becoming-an-adult-thing' is progressing so far.  Sometimes I want up to the minutes details. Personally, I think I'm doing great at remaining on the 'patient observer' side of the line. I'm pretty sure, however, that each of my boys thinks I ask far too many questions.

So back to Bruce.......

"Hmmmm, " I nodded.

"Sounds great.........." I said, while attempting to still remain somewhere within the boundaries of cool. While forcing a too-big smile from escaping and ruining the moment. While holding myself back from running up the stairs and spilling to Marc that 'if an acceptably good concert comes to Seattle, our kid just offered in front of his friends to come all the way home and go rock out with his parents!! And if an acceptably good concert DOES come to Seattle, should we have him drive home or fly? Oh and by the way...... he's been wearing the hat I knit for him for Christmas and even told his friends that I made
it!!........."

But I managed to stay there.....within those boundaries.....

Sometimes this empty nest thing......it's not so bad. As it turns out, they still want to be  a part of the nest, they just need some time and space in order to figure that out.
  
Wishing you a wonderful week in your own nest....wherever that may be.

Warmly,

Margaret

Ice. Warmth.

The  beautiful snow that fell earlier in the week is melting. We knew it couldn't last! There was one full day when fluffy flakes turned to freezing rain then back to flakes again. All of the precipitation, freezing and thawing turned into probably the biggest ice storm our area has ever seen. Trees became encased in ice and snapped from the weight of it all. Branches and needles were littered about. Roads were a mess. 300,000 homes, as well an abundance of businesses, were without power.

Local stations kept news broadcasts on throughout the entire day instead of switching to regular programing, highlighting constantly changing conditions and how to stay safe. Lists of roadways hampered by fallen trees and downed power lines followed the typical reports of accidents and spinouts. Weather reports contained forecasts laced with encouragement about when all of this might be over.....but not before a flood watch and wind advisory alert.

It was all a bit frightening. Trees cracked and popped. Large branches landed with huge thuds. I stopped taking the above photos and decided stayed inside for the rest of the day when I realized what was happening in our yard, then called Marc to let him know I was worried about one of our trees and to be careful on his way home.

 And on that very day.......and I just have to say, against my better judgement......Joey and his friend insisted on making their way back to Missoula across three mountain passes and two states with severe weather issues of their own.

I will also say that once again I was reminded there is goodness and wonder everywhere. Ice crystals formed beautiful shapes around clusters of pine needles. The local grocery store and Starbucks......the only ones open and with power for miles......teamed with friendly people. All chattering and shaking their heads. Sharing their stories. Good friends sent texts and worried about my boy with me. Another offered to take care of our dog if the place we intended to board him was still without power on the day we planned to leave town. Several facebook friends who had not lost power offered to share a warm meal and place to stay with those in need.

It's good to be reminded about the power of nature. The power of friendship. The goodness of those in our lives.

Wishing you a warm, safe and wonderful weekend.

Warmly, Margaret

Snowfall

It snowed lightly yesterday on and off. Joey was supposed to head back to Montana but the necessity to close Snoqualmie Pass for most of the day kept him home. There was some left over snowfall on side streets and in neighborhoods from this past weekends storm , but most of the main roads were clear so I headed out and accomplished as many errands as I could fit in. Added a few more things to the already pretty full fridge. Put gas is in the tank. Stopped in at the yarn store. I was mostly happy to have made my hair appointment before the BIG storm moved in.

Today, it's been snowing for hours.......just like I'd hoped. Just as the weather forecasters had predicted. Today we received a wallop of a snowstorm.

Snow is piling high on patio furniture and plant pots and  frosting evergreens and ferns. Fence posts and bushes have donned tall hats. Trees previously undressed by fall are now wearing winter garb: In shimmering gowns and full length gloves of white, each branch is outlined, highlighted, made visible...... the crystalline fabric hiding nothing.

I don't know how long this will last.....it is supposed to turn to rain soon, but until then, I'm going to enjoy every peaceful minute.

Wishing you a wonderful week. Stay safe in this winter weather......wherever you are!

Warmly,

Margaret

Hoping For A Snow Day.......

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

 The prediction around here for the next few days is suggesting snow, beginning possibly as early as this evening. Living in the Pacific Northwest, the mention of even a few flakes in the lowlands is cause for a somewhat heady mix of alarm and excitement. Radio and television stations tease with short bites of information. They want us to stay tuned in.....and mostly we do. When gray skies turn white and the drizzle that is winter turns fluffy......we Pacific North-westerners pay attention. 

I grew up and lived for many years in Eastern Washington. Here, on the other side of the state, we call that 'east of the mountains'. The Cascade Range and it's peaks asymmetrically divide our state in two, keeping Pacific Ocean clouds and moisture sort of backed up and stuck on this side of the range. The 'west side' has more rain and a milder climate. We are cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, while 'east of the mountains' has more distinct markers that herald the changing of the seasons. For snow or sun......many of us head east (or might I add, north to Canada) for the day, the weekend or the week. (I should note here that this has been a particularly beautiful winter here on the west side so far, with little rain and far more sunny days that normal!)

I will acknowledge that the above description of our seasonal weather patterns is somewhat lacking. I was only attempting to illustrate that, although we may have a lowland snowstorm here once or twice a season, wind and rainstorms are the norm.  I have now lived on the west side of this state over twice as long as I did the more seasonal east side. You would think that I might have grown up a bit by now and be grumbling at the mention of the possibility of cold, icy roads and poor driving conditions. But the truth is, the mention of the possibility of snow brings out the Eastern Washington kid in me. I will ignore those who complain, put on a pot of soup and watch it fall. Or pull on warm boots and a puffy coat and go outside.

When the boys were younger, I secretly welcomed snow days. I loved whispering in the still dark early morning doorways of their rooms that they had a surprise day off from school. I loved the four of us stuck here with books and movies, hot chocolate and Legos. I loved their red cheeks after a few hours playing in the yard, rolling up balls as big as they could and then searching for decorations for the one snowman they might be able to build all year. That there is a storm water storage basin a short block away where they could meet up with friends for an afternoon of sledding.

I'm often without a car on days that the white stuff is falling. Since mine handles best up and down slippery hills there are no other ways around, and since I can do what I do from home.....and since I've often planned ahead for food......Marc takes it back and forth to work and that's OK with me. Now that the boys are older and live other places during most of the winter, I email photos of our smiling Golden Retriever, hair clumped with white, after some play time outside. Or shots of bare tree branches turned lacy in our yard. These days I enjoy the peaceful beauty of a snow day and use it as inspiration for knitting or baking or picking up my camera.

It might snow tonight and for the next few days. I hope the weather forecasters aren't just teasing me. I have a full refrigerator and pantry. I have a knitting project, an empty card in my camera and a great book I'm in the middle of. Bring it on...... please!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,
Margaret

9 AM, Sunday, January 15, 2011: Big, fluffy flakes are falling! Breakfast is just about on the table , but hoping to get outside afterward.