Popping the liberal bubble

During the past few weeks I have been feeling so proud that I live in a country where people care about civil rights and are able to elect the strongest candidate for president regardless of his race and that all types of people, all over this country, have rallied in support of gay marriage. People have shown that they believe that all law abiding citizens are entitled to the same rights and privileges.

I live in one of the more liberal cities in one of the most liberal states, and I am proud of this fact and grateful to live here. I am also a Jew and my city has a sizable Jewish population. I became complacent. Living in my liberal bubble, I believed that racism, bigotry and antisemitism happened in other (less enlightened) places, but not here -- Not here in Newton, where the public schools are closed for the Jewish holidays and not here where we give truckloads of food to food pantries and knit mittens and hats for the homeless.

But despite the open minded values and world healing actions of my synagogue, some person decided to spray paint a Swastika to the entry sign of my synagogue.

Let this be a reminder to all of us that we should never take our freedoms for granted. All over this nation we need to continue to fight hate and denial of civil rights, because if we are threatened here in this liberal bubble of Newton, MA, we know that the rights and freedoms of all are at risk in this country.

P2K

I'm still alive - and still knitting

It has been quite a while. This summer just sped by, and it seems that I just got caught up in all of the traveling, relaxing and having fun with the family. Before I knew it, I was back in school and going 75 mph. It is a crazy life we live. I always think that I will be able to get the mess in my house under control if I just clean 20 - 30 minutes a day - and that is true. The thing that I forget is that I am exhausted at the end of the day and have NO desire to clean at all - thus the incredible mess in the house!

I discovered "Facebook" this summer. I had been on it for a while, but many of my high school and college friends are now on it, so it has been fabulous hearing from those people again. I've gotten together with some, have talked baseball with others and generally caught up on the past 15 -20 years. That has been TOTALLY AWESOME. (Is my '80's culture showing?)

I finally finished this sweater for my daughter. She LOVES it. It took me about a year and a half, which is really embarrassing, but I found it really boring to make. Every time I would pick it up, I would kind of snooze after a couple of rows. I'm glad I finished it, and also glad that she is so happy. (even though she has goofy smiles in these pictures.)

Hope life is good wherever you are.

P2K

Teacher's Swap

QuiteCool (aka Amanda) on Ravelry was my swap partner in the Teachers who knit swap. I got some great goodies. I love the knitting needle bracelet, and I can't wait to make the "Amanda" hat. How thoughtful! I also love the teapot cloth. Amanda called it a rag, but I don't think I can use it for something where it will get so dirty!

Thank you so much Amanda!

Wednesday night friends

For a few years now I have been knitting with friends on Wednesday nights. We have met at coffee shops and lately at the Watertown Library. It has been fantastic! It is an eclectic group of (mostly) women, and so nice to sit and knit and not have to worry about the stuff that usually consumes my thoughts. It may be one of the things that always keeps me knitting on a regular basis - the excuse to keep connected with these people and also connected with all of the people that I have virtually met through the internet and Ravelry in particular.

Last night, though, I used my "evening off" (from the family) to have dinner with an old friend. She uses the same day care that I do, so I run into her a couple of times a week, and we get to chat for a minute or two. But last night, it was just the two of us -- no husbands, no kids, no special event - just us. Can I tell you, it was so TOTALLY fantastic. She was one of the people that I did things with on a regular basis when we were both single (the mid to late 90's) and we realized that we hadn't gotten together, just the two of us since my first daughter was born in 2002.

The thing that was so great was that we were talking at a deeper level immediately. Not heavy, just honest - it probably helps that we see each other so regularly, but it was just so great to just dive into things without background info.

Life gets so busy for everyone. Between work, kids, family and trying to not let my house fall down around my ears (a losing battle), I feel like I have lost touch with some important people in my life. Luckily I do have the knitting group to have the socialization on a regular basis - but those non-knitting friends are really special too!

P2K

Summer

The summer has finally started, and really there is no better time for a teacher. Sure I love teaching, and I really enjoy my students, but I REALLY enjoy the summer!

We started things right this year by going to Westport, MA for a week. We usually go to the beach there, but it is an hour and a half from our house. So, my husband had a great idea to rent a place (see picture) which was such a fabulous idea. It was a lazy vacation with trips to the beach, zoo and plenty of time to enjoy the backyard. The kids flew a kite and balsa wood airplanes, and we had a chance to enjoy the local strawberries (unbelievably good!) and LOBSTER!

I got to do a lot of knitting. 2 interesting observations for you:
1) I am knitting my Clessidra socks (almost done with the 1st) out of blue moon fiber arts yarn. Westport was really humid and everything was slightly damp. The interesting thing was that it brought out the vinegar smell in the yarn. I don't know about you, but vinegar always reminds me that the yarn is hand dyed, and you feel even more decadent using it.

2) I also did more work on a sweater for my daughter that has been sleeping for about a year. (luckily she doesn't grow too quickly!) Anyway, I think I haven't worked on it for so long because it is all stockinette. That is CRAZY boring! I feel like I have some strange knitting tick as I knit and watch television. I think I probably slept and knit the sweater at the same time. I have another sleeve, a pocket and an i-cord to go. I am going to have to watch something REALLY exciting and finish this silly sweater. So to answer the question of "Do you knit complicated things so that people will be impressed?" The answer is, NO! I do it, so I will finish the projects!

My goal for the summer is to write more. Hopefully I'll stick to it.

Wear your sunscreen.

P2K

still chugging along

Well another week, and I still have been faithful to the same 2 projects. Am I maturing? I doubt it! I am almost finished with another skein for the blanket, and the first sock.

I read a horrible book over the weekend - actually, I didn't finish it. I figured that life was too short to read bad books - ESPECIALLY when they are my entertainment. I can try to get through some important literary work - but this was DEFINITELY not one of those, and it was just bad. The author did a great job of having you feel how aimless the main character was, but it did not keep me reading. The protagonist was always sleeping around, and so I thought of my knitting - I know a strange hop - but it related to my inability to commit. I have started LOTS of projects, but my finishing rate is about 1 for ever 4 or 5 I start, which is frustrating. So then I think that I won't start anything new until I finish everything - and that is just unrealistic (and as my husband says, knitting is my hobby, so there aren't any rules - he's such an enabler! - one of the many reasons why I married him!!!!) But I do think I should have some rules about starting and finishing - any thoughts are welcome.

Sorry no pictures!

P2K

I missed May!

Happy June! I hope all is well with everyone (if anyone even reads this any more!) I have been busy with life - working, cleaning and just the usual things that go on around here. Work has been crazy - my seniors finished up, but they also had to take their AP Psychology tests in the middle of May. I think they did well. They sounded very positive about the test which can be a good sign.

We also got our class assignments for next year, and at the moment I will be above the union maximum, which has had me in quite a tizzy. The response from my director when I pointed this out to him was, "you shouldn't be so good." Hmmmm - how does one respond to this? Isn't that always the way - if you do a good job then usually you are rewarded with more work. In general I don't know how to deal with this. I have an easier time if people don't feel like they can depend on me, but...... I feel worse about myself. Or.... I try hard and get rewarded with more work. It is a strange world in which we live.

The Red Sox are back, and I have been doing a lot of knitting. I have been faithful to 2 projects - my nephew's blanket and my Clessedra socks (pictured above). They are the perfect balance of ease and difficulty. Knitting wise, I feel satisfied, and my eyes are not wandering to other projects.

Summer is coming, and I can hardly wait.

P2K