Rained Out!...But Holding Onto My Mittens!!

     My photos aren't good enough for me to show you the pouring rain, and trust me when I tell you, you don't wanna see it anyway!! In fact, the header photo was taken yesterday evening, before the pouring rain actually got here!
 

     The forsythia was growing wild and tall, with bumblebees galore all over them!! And the sun was shining beautifully!...Cut to this morning when we opened the blinds....*gulp!*..."What happened to the forsythia?!!!" O_O ...The rain had beat it down to the ground!! The only thing I could see in my window was the hanging hummingbird feeder, and lots and lots of backyard lawn!!
     As the day has worn on, the forsythia has slowly crept back up...Well, most of it has!...I would show you a picture, but it's so dark outside that I can't get a decent shot! Grrr!  By tomorrow it'll probably be back to it's wild and tall self, and you'll wonder what I was talking about! ^_^
     
     I don't have much time to talk right now anyway. I have to get me a nap before my meeting tonight!! You know...old people gotta sleep!! ^_^ But, before I go, let me show you one of the finished mint green mittens! :-) ...
 

     Since I took this picture I've actually finished both mittens. But again...no light to take a proper photo! :-( ... Keep that in mind when you look at my 'Picassa'-altered photos below, of the last 'yucky-yarn' hat!...
 

     The hat shows up good in the pictures, but who is that underneath the hat?! LOL Oh well...you've seen 'Shequita' look better, I'm sure. But trust me, it's her!! ^_^ And you can take my word for it too that she is "sportin' that hat"!!! ^_^

     I started a scarf to go with the mittens, and I'm making up my own pattern for it. Creativity...here I come!! ^_^ If I finish it tomorrow...and the weather cooperates!...I'll take picture and show it to you. If not....I'll find something else to talk about, like maybe...DATE NIGHT!!! ^_^ Have a good one, Everybody!! ♥ :-)

Daylight

Daylight, you bring such happiness,
shining on the Autumn hues.
And when you're gone, you leave more darkness,
bringing on some moody blues.

How could some light, or lack of it,
have me waxing poetic rhyme,
wishing for a place with celestial money,
so I could buy some Daylight Saving Time?!

Sooooo...Let's Talk About Darkness?!

(2 Dozen Dark Chocolate Pistachio Cookies by AmedeosBakery)

       Ah, Yes! This is the kind of darkness I wanna talk about!!... :-) ...dark chocolate in some cookies!! Made to order dark chocolate cookies, with salted and roasted pistachios in them!! YUM!!

      

     Or I could talk about some dark wood earrings!...

 (Long Wood Paddles and Sterling Silver Earrings by ValerieMiscellanea)

     These earrings are so slender and nice that they could almost make me look skinny!....Ha! Ha!....Okay, that would be a lot for a pair of earrings to do!! ^_^ No single piece of jewelry should have that kind of workload!..just saying! LOL Let's just let earrings do what they do, and my non-skinny body do what it does!...and 'never the twains shall meet'!! ^_^

     Instead of unrealistically trying to make 'my body' look skinny by wearing a pair of earrings, let's talk about something else dark, shall we! :-) Let's talk about dark beads!...

(Marble Dark Wood (Natural) 10-11mm Round Beads by TheFamilyStone)

      Yep!...We can talk about dark chocolate cookies, earrings or beads, or......we can talk about 'true' darkness. The 'true' darkness hubby and I found ourselves in last night when a whole area of Holyoke went unexpectedly 'lights out'!!! O_O

      I'll start the story of what happened by first telling you that if not for my hubby there would probably be 'no' story that "I" would be telling you!!...because I was taking a nap when the power and lights went out! He woke me up to a blaring buzzer going off on my C-Pap oxygen machine, and pitch blackness!! O_O

      Good thing he was awake, or else I would've slept...to 'death'!!...which is kinda funny to say now, considering my proclivity to take a nap anywhere and at any time!...^_^....but it was not so funny last night!!

      He was so insistent: "Honey, wake up!!!! Take off your mask! The power went off!!!"...He says I started gasping for air while he was trying to figure out what was going on. O_O ...WOW!!!...I guess laying in your bed taking a nap, with your mouth and nose covered by a mask that's leading to a C-Pap machine that's feeding you pressurized air so that you can stay alive, that's suddenly is feeding you NO AIR...is kinda dangerous, huh?!!! LOL...."DUH!!!" LOL

     I'm laughing about it because it sounds more serious than I'm sure it would have been. I mean...when the song stopped playing in my head I'm sure I would have woke up! ^_^ ...{For those of you who don't know, that is reference to the fact that I wake up every day with a song or jingle of some kind playing over and over in my head.}...or else I would have finally heard that blaring buzzer. I mean IT was BLARING!!!!...It's funny how when you know that your husband is the one that gets up and turns off the alarms in the house, you can sleep through ANYTHING!...but when you know he's not around, a piece of your own hair blowing past your nose can wake you right up!!! O_O What's that about anyway?!

     Anyway!...after we realized that darkness was gonna be our friend for a while, we pulled out the battery operated radio, got our flashlights, and chatted!...And nope!...I can't tell you what we chatted about!! ^_^ It's too silly for the blog. Suffice it to say...two old people with no tennis to watch, and not enough light to crochet by, can be REALLY silly!! LOL

     The lights were out less than two hours, and therefore...I'm still breathing this morning after a night of properly pressurized air! :-) LIGHT!....isn't it grand?!! ^_^ ...That's the end of my story, except to say that hubby and I had a kind of pre-emptive 'virtual' date night last night. We were 'virtually' everywhere else but in our room sitting in the dark!! LOL..Today we're just on the hunt for something good to eat!! ^_^ Any suggestions?!

       Sorry for all of the wordiness today, Y'all, but stuff was on my wandering mind and I just had to share!...It's not the first time...as you know! ^_^ Have a good day, Everybody!

My Mind Went A Wandering

After barely any sleep,
and dreams I find that I am pondering,
my mind is on a journey,
skipping rocks and out a wandering.

It's acting sorta senile,
like an old lady in her nightie,
barefoot on the highway,
thinking she's all high and mighty.

I'm contemplating platypus
and belly buttons too.
All this while thinking fingernails
are not that good to chew.

It's probably not a good thing
that my head's so far from home.
Especially all uncovered,
and now clearly needing a comb.      

Yes Sister, It's Time To Shed The Darkness!

(Out Of Darkness Photo by EmilyzEyez)

     I know that talking about 'darkness' on a Sunday morning seems a little strange. But because of a looooooong conversation I had with one of my sisters last night...and because I always talk about stuff that's on my mind at the time that it's on my mind...I have to talk about it this morning.

     Before I do though, let me get one matter of business taken care of...the Giveaway winner announcement...If you remember, this time it's actually two winners! :-]

       Congratulations Bee Happy! Your name was the first one that came out of the bag after I shook up all...'six' of the names! ^_^ I guess my little crochet bags weren't that big of a draw!! ^_^ ...Whatever!!

         The other name that popped up was...

        Congratulations Gill!!! You get the other crochet bag! :-)

       Both of you, please just go to my "About Me" profile above and click on "Email" and send me a confirmation of your addresses. I'll try to get them in the mail later today! :-) ... I'll also try to get the new Giveaway item posted by tomorrow at the latest. So keep your eyes open everybody! It's not a little crochet bag this time! :-))

      Okay...back to my subject...It's so funny how things work out. Here hubby and I were, all smiles and warm feelings, after saying goodbye to his sister after a wonderful visit...*She left for home...the south...yesterday. *...and then I get a phone call from one of 'my' sisters! But it wasn't a phone call of smiles and warm feelings. At least not in the beginning. :-(

     After an awkward first few minutes of trying to re-establish some connection between the two of us,...it's been a long time since we talked!...'baby girl' came to the real reason she was calling...She woke up!...

(Fine Art Print by JulieDavisPhoto)

      I won't get into too much detail here. That wouldn't be appropriate, or respectful of her. So, in order to avoid the details, but yet say what I need to say, the rest of this post will be in the form of a letter to my sister:

(Giclee Print by ingridArtStudio)

Dear 'Baby Girl',

        I'm so glad you called yesterday...even though it was a hard conversation for us to have. I've always tried to protect you from bad things. Even when we were little. And I tried to give you a heads up about this situation the last time we talked. But you were so sure I was wrong and that I wasn't giving the person a fare break.

       I'm older than you, sweet sister, and I've been around a while. More than that, I KNOW this person very well! I could see that you just wanted to see the best in them, but I was also sure that you would eventually get to the place you are now.....awakened to the reality of who they are, and what their real motives were. :-(

      Like a city early in the morning that's been shrouded in darkness right before the dawn, you've been in darkness about a lot of things going on...

(Fine Art Photographic Print by alibubba)

        I wish that I could have softened the blow of those hurtful...no, horrible...words that were spoken to you. No one should ever have to hear someone they love say those kinds of things to them...under any circumstances!...Unfortunately, as I told you the last time we spoke, I knew there was an ulterior motive for the person's behavior...and I feared that you were bound to get hurt.

      This person has been showing us for years, not by words, but by behavior, that they didn't care about us, or care about how we felt about them! Their whole course of life and action was all about them!...It's kinda sad that someone whose suppose to have a natural affection for you treats you like they don't know who you are...or like they never have known who you were!

       I just want to say again...remember that you are not the sum of where you came from, or who you are related to. You are the sum of the choices you make! So think about what choices you will make from now on, and what kind of person you want to be!!! Step away from your past, my sweet sister. Hoping for something that will never be, will only hurt you and keep you stuck in an endless cycle of grief and self pity. That's not who you want to be. I know! 

        In the future put your energy into the people who TRULY love you, and even into friends who have your best interests at heart...those who support and care for you, and who only want the best for you.

      And when the words of what this person said are ringing in your ears, making you feel 'Less Than'...hear these words: I love you! You are special! You always have been!...Life has thrown you some really bad blows!!!!!!!!! This is just one more. You've gotten through all of the other ones, and you will get through this one too!! I'm here for you...like I always have been. I'm glad to see you wake up from the darkness. I had to do that myself. It's just taken you a lot longer than it did me...Thank You, Poetry and writing!!

      Hopefully, we'll have many more long conversations. And, as we do, I know that the darkness will be replaced with light...and laughter...and even some good memories of times in our past. That's what's happened for me. Hey! Even a honey comb has a few stingers hanging around...and I know we always will have them too. But if we stick together we'll get through this fully intact, and maybe even with a lot of light hanging around too! :-)

 (Mason Jar Strand With Lights by sweetteaclothingco)

        Until next time, and I know now that we have the makings of a lot of 'next times', keep your precious giggle and 'too-often-missing' smile. Yes sister, it's time to shed the darkness and never let it hover around your doorstep again! 

        ♥♥♥ Your Big Sister and Lifelong Friend! :-]   
  

Be The Best You Can Be

I live my life every day,
trying to be the very best I can,
so that I am not affected
by the degrading words of man.

If "I" know who I am,
then I don't care what others think;
I don't end up in some bar,
trying to hide my pain with drink.

Oh Yes! THEY have opinions
on what THEY think you should do,
on how you wear your hair,
where you should go, also with who!

I nod and give a grin,
respecting what they want to say;
but it's my thoughts that count
at the end of the day.

It makes it so much easier
when I'm being the best I can;
Then I feel good about my choices;
I don't fear words from any man!

I'm In The Dark...Are You?!

    Well, it's November....and Mariann has given us another beautiful Calendar to put on our computer desktops for FREE! Isn't that nice of her?! Just follow the link to her Nature and Photography Blog to download it! And PLEASE leave her a comment to let her know how much you appreciate all of the work she goes through to give it to us...Or a little donation, if you like. {That's not required though.}
    With it being so dark and gloomy earlier in the evening...and later in the morning too, here in Massachusetts....it's nice to be able to have this warm and cozy calendar to look at. When I'm trapped inside the house with it too dark to even look outside at the backyard, at least I'll have this nice image to keep me company. All I'll need to do is get me some warm apple cider or some cocoa to sip on....and let the dark times come! :-]
    Okay.........so I'm a little bit delusional, and overly optimistic about how cozy I'm going to be in the DARK!! UGH! It's only November 1st and I'm already sick of it! ^_^ It's almost 7 a.m. right now and it's STILL dark outside!!

     I'm sure people are up, even in the dark, getting ready for work, stirring the kids from their drowsiness so they can eat and get ready for school...

     ....getting out of their pajamas and putting on their sneakers, {I call them tennis shoes. Hmmmm...wonder why?! ^_^}....getting ready to go out for their morning jog, or to give the dog a little walk around the block, heading just down the street to 'Dunkin Donuts' to grab a mocha latte doo da doo da {Okay, so I don't really drink fancy coffees, but I have heard the words mocha latte put together with some other words behind it. Ha! Ha!...I like to say the words Mocha latte. I'll say them again...Mocha latte!! ^_^ Of course when I hear it it makes me think of music,....that 'Lady Marmalade' song! NOT GOOD! UGH!....It's so dark I'm going nuts!! LOL...Back to my list-->} ...or just doing some newspaper deliveries...

     ...taking a little ride on the interstate to clear their head and think about what they're going to do when the sun finally comes up!

    It IS going to come back up again..........isn't it?!!! LOL
    Well, there's one person who is no longer going to be in the dark. The winner of my afghan Giveaway!! :-) Wanna know who won?!.......*Insert 'The sun will come up tomorrow' song here, while you wait*.........
     Hubby is my "Picker". He shook up the box......Then he stirred up the papers.....Then he shook it up again. And then.........*he really needs some lotion on those ashy hands of his!*........

      ......the winner is mythreebeez!!!!

    It's going to cost me a little bit to get it to her all the way in the United Kingdom, but I'm glad to have my "baby" travel to a part of the world that I have never been! And knowing that her interests include yarn, buttons, eating chocolate, photography, country music {especially Vince Gill}, and reading blogs makes it all the more my pleasure to send it to her!!! :-)
     The next Giveaway, followers, starts immediately. The drawing will be on November 15th. I haven't decided what the prize will be yet. If you have some preferences...you know what I got!! ^_^...let me know.
    Over the weekend I did the rough draft of my "Say What You Need To Say" Letter for Wednesday. My plans for today include tweaking it a little...just a little...and getting it ready to "cut" and "Paste" for Wednesday. Also I'm going to really get a good start on the Winter White {or Off White} Floppy hat I'm making for a customer. I've never made a completely white hat out of my soft yarn before. I'm looking forward to it! Who knows..... if it gets dark early enough I may finish it! {I'd rather be looking down at a crochet project than out the window at the darkness now anyway!!}
    {The poem today was about a very different kind of dark period in my life. Forgive the really personal nature of it, but I hope someone can relate and my darkness gives them some comfort. On a good note, my life is very much in the light now!! :-)}

Darkness-See!

Darkness was my friend.
My cloak of invisibility;
When Mama came home drunk,
it worked, so, she would not see me.

Darkness gave me food-
(The kind that only feeds the mind.
The kind that tells you all is well,
because all bad is left behind).

Darkness was my water;
A peaceful trickling I could drink
when Mama was in a bad mood
and talked so much I couldn't think.

Darkness kept me safe-
protected from her nightly stare,
when it seemed the world was cold
and there was no one there to care.

Darkness was my home-
The softest place I had to fall,
when my sisters and my brothers
were too young to heed my call.

Now, Darkness is my memory-
my slow journey toward the light.
One day soon our paths will part
and confusion will be "sight".

Darkness-Then-will reveal all.
Pain and sorrow will have passed;
and all things "right" will comfort me-
I'll be in the light at last!