Rambling

This is my daughter putting flowers on the graves of our family for Memorial Day/ 4th of July.  Mom, Dad and Aunt were all in the military in WWII.  Nearly all of the graves here are always decorated, and the upkeep is pretty good, especially considering how much trimming  there is around the headstones.  My grandparents are buried here as well.

I have been busy knitting and hope to have this project done today or tomorrow.  I wish I had a better chair while I knit on the machine, but frankly I don't think there would be room!  I keep a squirt bottle at hand to discourage the cats from playing with the dangly bits; if they managed to pull it off the needles I would flip.  I couldn't even guess at how many hours I have spent so far, especially since I had to start over three times.

When I was a kid I tried to learn how to crochet from my grandmother and mother.  But anything I attempted was doomed; each row was crocheted tighter and tighter so overall the piece would look like an "A".  It was hard to keep a consistent tension on the yarn.  No one in the family knew how to knit, because Grandma had lost three fingers of her left hand in an accident as a child and therefore couldn't knit, or teach knitting.  I can hand knit (badly) but I enjoy the knitting machine a lot, it goes so fast (once you get going), where hand knitting is like watching paint dry.  Of course there are my other hobbies, like candle making, macrame, writing, ceramics, pottery, sewing, quilting, and on and on.  I'm nothing if not eclectic.

I'm pretty good at napping too.

On a forum that I read, I posted a topic asking what the bravest thing you ever did, and I have gotten some amazing replies.  The most touching one came from a woman who survived a chemical plant explosion in 1953 when her house collapsed, with herself and two tiny children inside, and then caught fire.  None of them were seriously injured, despite all odds, but 4 people died and 75 were injured.  The plant was making fireworks.  Illegally. In Texas.

Some of the other stories involved jumping out of an airplane, rescuing kids, braving bikers, leaving abusive situations, traveling alone to far places, boldly facing down shyness or fears and on and on. I have been impressed. So much goes on in our lives that no one else would ever guess.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "This vehicle protected by anti-theft sticker"