In Memoriam

They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad to realize I'm going to miss mine by just a few days. - Garrison Keillor

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since DH's dad passed away.

Both of DH's parents had made arrangements to donate their bodies. I was completely unfamiliar with this process.

As a child of a minister, I am very familiar with funerals and burials, and all the assorted trappings. My father's grandfather and uncle were undertakers. I've grown up hearing stories of my dad's adventures at his grandparent's house (which, per custom at the time, was located on the second floor of the funeral home).

So when my FIL passed away, I was surprised at how simple the process was - there was no consulting with a funeral home or undertaker, no choosing a casket, no purchasing of a burial plot, no choosing a gravestone. The Medical School simply came and took the body away after the dead was certified.

A couple of months ago the family received an invitation to a memorial service.



It has become a tradition for the different educational programs that use cadavers to hold a Body Donor Memorial Service. The students have complete control over the planning of this event. This was held in one of the nicer classroom at the medical school. There were electric candles on the end of each desk and flowers about the room. Families had been invited to submit photos and these were in a slideshow format before the service. There were a few brief speeches: the head of the donor program and three students (the last of which had an exceptional speech). Then the names of the donors were read aloud. If family was there, the family stood up and a student presented them with a flower.

There were a number of things that amazed me that afternoon. First, the number of people who had donated in the past year were acknowledged - between 40-50 names were read. That was a far greater number than I had expected. Second, at the reception following the service, we were able to talk to some of the health care students who used the donor bodies in anatomy. We inquired whether they knew the name of the donor before this and whether they knew any personal details about their donor body. Many didn't know and preferred it that way. (I also didn't know they would keep the face covered when working on the donor body.) Third, I didn't realize that it was not only the medical students, but occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other health care sciences that use donor bodies.

Last year, my FIL celebrated his 80th birthday in March. There were a number of celebrations - the immediate family celebrated at least twice, and DH's parents had an open house. For the open house, DH's mom had ordered a sheet cake. The bakery had suggested half of a sheet cake... Well, the bakery was right. There was cake, cake, and more cake left over. Every time we saw DH's mom, we were offered cake. About 2 weeks after the open house, the in-laws were leaving town to visit the grandchildren. There was still cake left, so my MIL cut it up into pieces and froze it. When they returned from their visit, each evening, my FIL had a piece of cake for dessert.

My FIL passed away, at home, in his own bed,

after he had finished the very last piece of his 80th birthday cake the night before.

What a way to go.

In My Knitting Bag

Part of yesterday was spent with a fine group of ladies, knitting, chatting, and eating. I always feel revitalized after going to certain knitting groups, and this is one of those groups.

While there, I took photos of all the projects in my bag.

First up is the pair of socks. I have to admit, I haven't worked on them lately. The yarn is Socks That Rock, pattern is Ann Norling Adult Socks II: Play on Ribs.



Next up is the Lacy Kerchief Scarf and the yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Miracle.



Summer In Kansas in Wool in the Woods Ballet.




The edging is taking me forever. When there are directions that say "join on each of the following rows: Rows (2,6,10,4,8) twice, then (2,4,6,8,10) 36x, (4,8,2,6,10) twice, 4,8 (this should be the center stitch)"... OK, so I know I would forever be ripping out and starting over unless I was able to write this all out. The circled numbers are the rows to join on. So far, this system seems to be working with a minimum of tinking back.



Steam in Malabrigo Worsted.



Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf in Mochi Plus.



Crocus Cardigan in Lanett Superwash.



Lifted Stitch Scarf in Misty Alpaca Sock Yarn.


Arabesque Stole in Wollmeise lace.



I think I'm going to rip this back because I'm worried about how much I'll have to stretch this out when blocking in order to showcase the pattern. I think I need to go up a needle size or two.

The Crocus Cardigan is probably the oldest UFO I've got at this point. I can't even remember when I cast this on. It's definitely been at least 2-3 years ago. The next oldest is the Kerchief Scarf. If I don't finish it by the end of July, it will be a year old. But I really want to finish up the socks so that I can start another pair - this time from the toe up.

For gratuitous cat photos, I found some photos of the cats taken shortly after we arrived home with our little orphans.





You can see why my SIL called the calico cat "Ugg." And this was an improvement from when we first got her.

Your knitting and crochet time

Day Seven's Topic:
Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

My typical crafting times are late in the evenings before bed, on weekends wherever I can fit it in, at the laundromat, at knitting groups around the area (although I don't get to them as frequently as I'd like), at the regular Late Night Knitting at a LYS, and in the car providing that it's highway driving (DH's stopping and starting get me carsick faster than you can say, "pull over, I need to get out NOW") and that I've take Bonine. On our trip out to Montana last December, I used the Knit Light, which worked well. My only caveat is next time I will plan ahead and have a project with lighter colored yarn to work on once it gets dark and I need to use the light to knit. Note to self: Delicate lace projects may not be the best knitting on bumpy roads.

If I'm at home, either the TV is on, or else I'm watching movies on my computer, or listening to podcasts on my computer while knitting. I've got so many podcasts to catch up with that I haven't begun to listen to audiobooks.

I also have knitting projects for both solitary knitting and "company" knitting. Company knitting requires relatively simple patterns that I'm unlikely to mess up when my attention is divided between conversation with one (or several) people and, when I inevitably mess up the pattern, it has to be pretty easy to tink back. I would never work on Summer in Kansas while out with a knitting group. It took me over an hour yesterday to do 10 freakin' rows (with only 17 stitches per row!) because I kept messing up. While it would have passed the galloping horse test, I just couldn't ignore the mistakes.

As for snacks, there is always a Diet Coke by my side. I may, or may not, have chocolate; the hotter the weather, the less likely I am due to the melting. I don't snack while I knit - now while I read, that's a whole other story. Snacking and knitting aren't compatible activities in the Haus. I don't want to have to keep getting up to wash my hands and I don't want to get any crumbs from the Toes family of snacks (you know, Cheetos, Doritos, Tostitos) or salt and oil from chips in my wool. In fact, I try to use my knitting as a way to avoid snacking in the evenings. I've been pretty good about not having snacks in the Haus - but when they are, they're not near the knitting.

My favorite place to knit? Overseas, on a train, headed to somewhere I've never been before.




Oh, what joy!

Something to aspire to

Topic for Day Six
Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make but can admire the result of those that have.

A skill I'm not ready to tackle? I don't know about other knitters, but what I knit is based on what strikes me at the moment. I don't pick the project based on the skill I will learn; I learn the skill based on the project that I just have to cast on right now. One example is Jared Flood's Girasole pattern. Prior to knitting that, I had never attempted Emily Ocker's circular cast on. The day will come when I will be overcome with the urge to cast on that fair isle sweater, or the shawl pattern filled with nupps.

There are any number of items I may never be bothered to knit. While one shouldn't tempt the fates by saying "never," I can pretty safely predict that I will never knit myself a pair of culottes. (Any of you children of the 70's out there still traumatized by the parentally-enforced wearing of the culottes?) I admire those who knit with cobweb lace yarn. I don't know that I ever will - it seems so fragile. I'm not into dishcloths, but I will probably knit a few and donate them when learning to knit continental; the idea of knitting swatches to learn a technique seems so useless to me.

Knitting that I absolutely admire and will probably never attempt are any of Debbie New's projects. Schoolhouse Press carries notecard sets with Debbie's designs on them. I think my favorites are the Granny Squares, the Knitted Teacups, and the Tiffany quilt. When I found out that those knitted teacups were not starched, etc., but would collapse when placed on their sides, I was completely blown away. Amazing woman, that Debbie.

And now for something completely different

The topic for Day Five:

This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.

OK, in an effort to save you from having to read some badly written haiku, I give you this.

A Typical Saturday at the Haus.