lunchtime knitting at NASA

this is the t-38 talon park at johnson space center.  sometimes i go there to eat my lunch, to get away from my office and coworkers and just have some peace of mind.

today, i continued working on my "fox tails" shawl.  it was gorgeous outside - a light breeze that was cool with the sun shining through the oaks.  to the left and out of view are the talon jets.  in the center is the shuttle mock-up and an actual cargo plane that carried the shuttles back.  

i evicted my kidney stones recently

for about 9 months, i've been growing a pair of kidney stones.  unfortunately, i wasn't able to pass them on my own and when i went in august and september to the doctor, he said he wouldn't be able to do scope and basket removal of them due to their location and size.  uncomfortable and miserable, i waited (im)patiently for the 6 month follow up scans and visit.

he decided i was finally ready to have surgery for this pair of stones.  i went in on friday the 13th (!) and said goodbye to two of them...

my ride...dad... asleep while we wait...

turns out, there were actually three stones, but one was embedded into the kidney tissue itself, so he left that one alone.  

sir winston was not thrilled with my hospital bands.  he was actually chewing on one in this picture in his attempts to remove it from my arm.  he's always helpful.

this morning, i got a report notification on mychart.  it had a lovely photo of one of my stone babies.  the report said my stones ranged from 1 to 4 mm, so this is the little one.

but i'm feeling better, finally.  still tired and still sore.  all of this and the surgery recovery in conjunction with my autoimmune issues have kinda knocked me back a bit.  i'm looking very forward to getting back to some sort of normal, with artwork and sewing (for me) and all.  i found some great fabrics recently that i want to make into dresses to revitalize my closet after having outgrown most of my favorites.  plus, i have my happy pill quilt that needs finishing!!  

sorting through memories

my brother returned from michigan with the car and trailer with the items we kept from my grandparent's house.  so now as a family, we are unloading and sorting items between us.  for the first time ever, i got to see this beauty of a quilt:

made in the 1930s, as told by the fabrics, by my great-great grandmother.  it is the only remaining quilt made by her hands.  my mother said it is "the ugly one" out of what they had when she was growing up.  the one that got used when someone was sick and then washed.  one that was supposed to have been thrown away when asked about it, but somehow it was saved.  i think that was my grandfather since he was good at saving the important things.

it is a beautifully pieced and well made quilt.  it needs a soak in some vintage quilt wash to get out some discoloration, but perfect otherwise.  my great grandmother was someone who paid attention to detail and had precision with her hands.  i wish i could have known her so she could have taught me what she knew.

yesterday marked a week since i said my final goodbye to the last of my grandparents.  a week since i held my mom and cried.  a week since i lifted her casket into the hearse and watched it be lowered into the ground.  my grandfather had been gone just over a month yesterday.  19 days apart from each other.  i've been missing them dearly.  i want to call and hear my grandmother's voice when i call to say hello, even if all she would do is complain about old age and ailments.

i hung up these butterflies last night in my studio over my drafting table.  they hung in my grandfather's room.  my grandparents had three sets of butterflies - two with this style and one of another style.  all three sets were different, but all three of their grandchildren got a set.  my mom pointed out this morning that they had three grandchildren and the sets had three butterflies each.  

i'm back...

i had all sorts of knitting on the plane time.  thought i'd knit in the funeral home, but i was kept busy enough with family (good and bad) and rude old ladies.  

i made all sorts of progress on the fox tail shawl though.  but pretty much only while on the plane.

the snow from 2 - 2 1/2 weeks ago was still there.  melting a little each day as the sun was out, but then refreezing each night when it dropped to 25 degrees.  my mom and i had a very short-lived snowball fight my first afternoon back.

i'm sure this is the last snow i will see at my grandparent's house.  i've seen a couple good ones over the years for good memories.

and now that i'm back and attempting some normal again, i got to knit while watching the pre-UIL competition for the intermediate and high schools in our district last night.  i did stop while my son's group played and i clapped for everyone.

trying to keep up with the lace pattern in the dark is tricky, so i probably won't try that again.  unless it's straight-forward knitting.

saying goodbye again...

two weeks ago today, i was saying my final goodbyes to my grandfather at the church, in the front row for family and as a pallbearer.  today, i finish packing to head back to detroit to say my final goodbye to my grandmother.

we were preparing her for a transition to memory care.  she was supposed to move in today, but she unexpectedly passed away the day the movers were coming.  stubborn as she was, she always insisted she wasn't moving from her home.  she did not; she only went to the hospital.

both of these beautiful people are gone.  three weeks ago, i had two grandparents.  today, i have none. my mother no longer has parents.  

i am thankful that i was able to comfort her at the loss of her husband, rub her back and hold her hand as she cried.  i am heartbroken that her memory failed her at a faster pace than before and that we all experienced her heartbreak and grief each time she remembered or asked.  i am grateful i got to see her in better spirits a week and a half before the sudden illness took hold.

but i think my grandparents are together again and in youthful bodies that do not fail their spirits.  i can only hope and pray for that.

getting ready to say goodbye

i fly out in the wee hours of the morning to say goodbye to my papa.  my skunker.  i'm trying to get ready for this, but i've been running constant since i first heard on friday, that i only get moments to let it sink in.

thanksgiving 2002

this guy.  he taught me to fish for tiny little sunfish on his friend's pond when i was 11.  he badly attempted to teach me to bowl (he was semi-pro and i was scrawny), even though my toes on my left foot ended up bruised more than i got distance with that bowling ball.  he was silly and called cats skunks and skunks cats most of my life - but only to me.  he told me i looked good when my grandmother commented on weight gain after a baby.  we'd take walks the summer i spent with both sets of grandparents, where he'd buy me bazooka joe bubblegum and a comic book.  i think he was secretly proud of his granddaughter drinking good dark german beer instead of girly drinks.

he was far from perfect.  but he was my grandfather and i loved him.  1930-2018.

leaving tiny "pieces of my heart"

it's valentine's day today and i decided to leave little "pieces of my heart" scattered around the NASA area in houston.

don't worry.  it's all good!  i'm part of a FB group called R-evol-u-tion where we create tiny pieces of artwork and spread them around town/state/country/world to bring cheer and love to others.  it is a world-wide project.

i left a piece outside a salon next door to the starbuck's while grabbing my coffee before work.  seemed appropriate since there was a little heart of their own in the window next to the door.

i left two pieces in the nassau bay post office.  one at a sorting table by the big box PO boxes and one above the set of PO boxes for where i work.

one piece is sitting in a sign advertising office space for rent from our property management company, just inside the main door.

this one is in the stairwell, outside the 2nd floor door that i walk every day.  i felt it needed a little love.

check it out.  maybe you will want to spread some cheer around your hometown.