Knitting a midlife crisis...

I will start by saying that I have been busy and I wanted to post because so many things were happening. Instead I procrastinated. But I finally decided I better get this up or it was going to become an epic long post with too many topics. It's going to have too many topics as it is, but we have some catching up to do.

First, I went to the Farmer's Market here in town. There's not as many sellers (vendors/farmers?) as I would like but they are a shy bunch and don't want to show up too early and get stuck standing around outside in bad weather.

I bought brocolli, spinach, and onions from this lady, Julie Braune of Braune Farms. Let me just say that these people are nice if not just a wee, tad sensitive. Don't get me started on when I asked to take a picture because I'm doing a blog and her response got very...animated. "Oh thank you for asking. You don't know how many times people take a picture of my table withOUT ASKING AND THEN IT ENDS UP IN SOME MAGAZINE AND I DON'T GET COMPENSATED OR ANY CREDIT!!!" (me wanting to cower under her table) And I told her I would definitely mention her in my blog and give her credit. Ahem. Nice veggies, though.

This stand had preserves, honey, organic protein bars, and awesome aprons. I got the honey.

Now we can get the good stuff! I will once again blame my friend for this. She knitted the cutest hat and of course will not make one for me. So I have to learn how to knit. Off I go to Hobby Lobby and here's what I found. Yeah, there's some yarn, needles, a little basket, and a one page instruction guide to learn how to knit. That's all I need, one page. But the real treasure is the tin boxes. They were on clearance (favorite word) and cost me $2 or less each. Right now one is holding my knitting tools, one is empty, and one is filled with chocolate, wrapped, and ready to go into the mail for another very nice blogger. But I digress...And I just figured out one of my pictures is out of order. I really need to get this post up so we will leave the knitting for just a moment.

The other night Rowan's school had "Math Night." She came home from school that day with a Sad Face in her folder. Which means she was a bad girl and couldn't shut her mouth or follow directions. I told Jace that this was the beginning of her life of crime. Because we all know it starts when you're young and it's something small. (Her dad is a criminal, too. $7.60 in late fines at the library!!)

She wasn't having too much fun at Math Night because she thought she was going to get punished any minute for getting the Sad Face. She did let loose at this bowling game. So there's the pitch...

And it's a success. She wiped out almost all the penguins. Yea! After about 15 minutes we were ready to go. We just don't do well in these situations. Most times it feels fake standing around with other parents who don't want to be there either but feel it's their obligation. But they're really wondering So You Think You Can Dance, Lost, American Idol, or Grey's Anatomy. Or there's some parents who are looking around to see if they're serving beer at this thing. I'm making a case for homeschooling and we are getting closer. Rowan is doing well with our at home kindergarten math and so far I know all the answers. A little more research about local groups and regulations and we'll be there.

O.k. back to the knitting. I found this book at Half Price Books. It's That book you're always looking for when you want to do something. You find lots of books with pieces of information but there's only one with all of it. This book has over 250 stitches with charts and pictures so you can compare your work. Last night I was working on technique and tightness of the thread and generally zoning out. I was thinking of the patterns and said (in my head), "I wonder what it would look like if I do this..." I made up my own pattern and it worked. My friend is going to be jealous because you shouldn't be able to do this with less than a week of knitting experience. But I needed to get her back because she put something on my locker at work and now I have to make her crazy.

Deep Breath...sigh... O.k. now why is this post called Knitting a Midlife Crisis? I started thinking of all the things I'm doing right now (see side bar for Things I'm Working On and Things Accomplished). Why am I doing all these things? And what's the hurry? Then it dawned on me that I'm feeling my fleeting youth. I have a desire to cram in as much stuff before I am too old to do/learn these things. I consider it a midlife crisis without the little red sports car. I also noticed that besides the jogging I have cultivated a number of hobbies that I can do while sitting or laying in bed. This is handy for when I either blackout on the treadmill, trip and fall on the treadmill, or trip and fall and then blackout on the treadmill. I will have plenty to do while I'm recovering from my near death injuries. On the good side we are loaded up with Dora, Hello Kitty, and Scooby Doo bandaids so I expect a full recovery.

Thanks for catching up with me today.