To be concerned or not to be concerned...that is today's (well, this week's) question.

I'm not going to say exactly what has me concerned or not concerned, but I do have some thoughts to throw out...throw away?...today. First off, I love living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone (which can be a scarey thing, but also a good thing). There are times, however, when it would be nice to live in or near to a larger city...or even a town with a population 10,000+. You see, here's the thing. Our medical coverage here is what it is...and sometimes, it stinks. Not because of the quality of care, or the training and expertise of the phsycians, nurses, and staff who work there, but because we have a clinic...and it's closed on weekends. In case of emergency, call 911 and/or drive 30 miles to the nearest hospital. Also, because we're a small town far from a larger town or city, any tests that are performed here on-site, have to be routed down to a clinic or hospital at a larger town or city, analyzed, and then re-routed back up here. In other words...hurry up and wait. Years ago, when our daughter was 4 years old, we had to wait three days for blood test results to make the loop so that we would know whether or not she had cancer. Gee...I wonder who didn't sleep for three days? Once again, we find ourselves in a similar position. The question is, should we be concerned or not? It's hard to just keep focused on the every day things that need doing. But I have to say, I'm getting much better at it.

The box

There's something mysterious and exciting about a cardboard box, especially if it's a large cardboard box; the kind that things like new water heaters come in. Whatever "it" is, that mysterious something, it's alluring enough to capture the imaginations of not just the very young, but the moderately young as well.

Two days ago we purchased a new water heater that came in a lovely and large cardboard box. Once installed, I moved the box into the family room downstairs and pretty much forgot about it. That is until my 16 yo daughter, Kirstin, discovered it standing there in all it's fantastical glory. She sat on the couch gazing at it with a pleased smile lighting her face. You know the kind of smile...the one that says "Hmmmm. What have we here?" A moment later, the box was lying on the floor on it's side, and Kirstin was happily crawling inside of it. It made me happy to see that my oh-so-grown-up and cool daughter, no matter how she's tried to hide it over the years, still has a large and creative dose of little girl imagination in her; the kind that still believes in myths and magic.

Last night the box became a tent. My youngest daughters installed blankets and a pillow in the box so that my youngest could spend the night in The Becca Cave. This morning, they've cut a couple of vent holes through which I am now seeing a little hand "talking" with thumb and fingers like a sock puppet without the sock. I wonder what they'll do next? I guess I'll have to wait and see. I really can't wait.

It's above 0 today!

Okay, so it might seem silly to get excited about the temp., but it's been sub-zero lately and now that it's (*gasp!) 16 F outside, it feels positively balmy :-)! This morning it was -20 F. Embarrass, MN, started out their day at -39 F. (Those temps do not include windchll.) Needless to say the cold weather puts me in the mood to make warm and fuzzy things. So what am I working on? Nothing, ATM. However, I do believe I'm going to try to finish up David's wooly socks today. Don't you just hate getting that second sock done? I saw a technique on Knitty.com, however, that I really want to try...maybe on the next pair of socks I make. It's double knitting...but it's knitting two socks at the same time. I am very excited about giving it a try. But...there are, as usual, things around the house that need doing first...like laundry, taking care of the kids, and helping dh with him school work.

I will post pics here when I begin my double knitting project. I might just have to try it sooner than later.

Quiet Time

It's 6:30 a.m., David has gone off to school, the kidlets are all still sound asleep, the dog is snoring and I'm having my second cup of coffee. Life is good. I can't believe I haven't posted anything for so long, but that's going to change.

Since last July, I've gone back to school...again. David has also gone back to school. (I'm studying medical billing and coding, he's studying practical nursing.) I've also joined Ravelry and am loving it! It's a place where my creative side gains inspiration and motivation. My knitting, unfortunately, has been mostly in my head lately. I'm very ADD and have a hard time trying to keep up with housework, and 6 people's school work. Oh, I did get a couple of knitting projects done, though. One was a duplicate stitch Cinderella sweater and the other was an earwarmer/keyhole scarf set for the neighbor that I made using Patons Bohemian. Talk about soft and squishy! *sigh It wasn't a terribly fun yarn to use, having practically no give, but it was just so soft! I'm not sure I'd use it again, but who knows?