Saturday........

Here it is--Saturday morning, and I'm off to work--AGAIN!! The place I don't want to go to, the place that I'm so tired of, and here I go AGAIN!!

There were many stresses and turmoils this week......so many underlying tensions that erupted to the surface--people exploding at each other, everyone stressed to the max...and I have to ask myself "why"?

Yes, I know.......I have been told by many to take the "why" word out of my vocabulary. But, I need to know....am I to stay....am I to go.....is this the place where I am to bloom where I am planted?

It is very difficult to be a "shining light" in a place of darkness, and I feel my light growing dimmer by the day in that place. I pray for strength each morning to carry me through the day. I sit in my car before I even enter the door....pray for God's blessings upon this place.

My patience and strength are wearing thin, as are everyone else's.

I go today because I am scheduled to go--not because I want to go. I don't like feeling this way, and I spend time crying on my way to work....I have even cried at work at the mention of words that may strike me the wrong way.

Nothing to do about it today--I must go, and that's that!!

Moving on:

Cara had her wisdom teeth removed on Monday, and she is doing well following this surgery. The only complication was when Lydia accidentally bumped her head into Cara's cheek and one area started bleeding again. Other than that, the surgery went very well.

The repacking of Cara's incision has finally been called to a halt. We did this the last time on Wednesday, removed it yesterday, and the general concensus of the doctors is to now leave this open and HOPEFULLY the remaining open area will heal on its own. I hope it heals closed now--two months and one week following her C-section!!

I've been taking some knitting or crocheting to work with me--trying to relax a little during my 1/2 hour lunch break. I usually don't seem to accomplish much with the exception of a few rows.

I was working on a dishcloth yesterday (yes, another dishcloth!), and one of my co-workers was admiring this. She said that she would like a few of them. I asked her what colors she would like, and she said, "Exactly what you have there".

So, a three dishcloth sale made during my lunch!!

Now, that Cara is a little more settled, we're going to start her crocheting lessons so that she can get started on hotpads. Dishcloths, hotpads--easy to make, easy to sell. I'm looking into which flea markets are the busiest and best around this area.

I'm also thinking of making some of the market bags that I made for CHRISTmas, 2009, for Lindsay. Many of her friends have admired these, and these bags have been used for many things besides marketing.

Work this morning, knitting this afternoon. Tomorrow, Lindsay is coming over, and we're going to work on getting some things reorganized--things that have been left undone since she, Cara and Ryan moved in the beginning of November. Lindsay is a nonstop worker and a great organizer, and she will be a wonderful help to me.

Andrew will also be here, and Lindsay seems to be able to get him motivated--directing him to move this, take this out to the trash, up to the attic with this. So much more gets accomplished with us doing this together.....and I feel the burden of all of this lifted with the help.

Instead of looking around and thinking "I don't know where to begin", there is someone else here to just dig in and start somewhere. When I have the "blahs" (which I do!), it is so easy to just not do anything.

Oh--any suggestions? Someone is my Small Group has a birthday next week. We enjoy celebrating each other's birthdays together. This person is very special to me, and I want to make something special to celebrate his birthday.

Problem being--he is not a "cake person", and we just celebrated the January birthdays last week with a cake.

Any suggestions for a dessert (or refreshment) that I can make for his birthday?

Beth

The Creek is Rising!!

Due to the torrential downpours we had yesterday morning--in additon to the rain from the north--the creek behind my home is the highest and widest I have ever seen it.

I was going to a meeting last night, and a large portion of the two lane road I travel on was covered with deep water--so deep that the police were directing traffic around this area. I took a different route home--not really looking forward to driving in the dark through or around all of this water.

I always sit on my deck in the morning with my first cup of coffee--regardless of the coldness. The only time I don't do this is if it is raining. So, yesterday was completely out of the question. The rain was pouring and the wind was blowing.

This creek flows fast, but it is usually a silent creek. Tonight it is moving along so swiftly that I can hear the roar of the water from my deck.

And then I saw two white things floating along with the water. Some poor family forgot to move their Adirondack chairs back from the bank, and they were floating down the creek!!

Then along came a portion of a beaver dam!! Poor beavers!! All that work to have it washed away!!

It's dark now, but I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow when I come home before the sun goes down. The creek is almost to the road in many spots, and several houses have their basements flooded. Trees that usually are on the edge of the bank have several feet of their base surrounded by water.

I am glad and thankful that my home sits high above the creek with no danger of flooding.

My daughter, Cara, had all 4 of her wisdom teeth removed yesterday. She wasn't feeling too well from this surgery, and hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for her. I have to work this Saturday, and I'm scheduled off tomorrow afternoon to make up for this Saturday schedule.

If all goes well, I'll be able to go to her home, let her get some much needed rest and have my granddaughter, Lydia, all to myself for a change!! I'm really looking forward to this!!

She is getting more content by the day, smiling, starting to coo and truly responding to other's voices.

My work is still a matter of great stress. I received my Daily Verse in my email before I left for work. God often speaks to me through music, and reading this verse immediately placed a song in my heart and mind that I carried with me through my day, and this helped immensely.

To read more about the verse, please visit The Power of Your Love where Peggy has posted about this specific verse and also our song for the day!!

See you tomorrow with some pics of the creek (hopefully)!!

Beth

Of Dishcloths and Hotpads

Hmmmm...............I've been looking in my dishcloth drawer, and honestly....it looks very sad. Many of my dishcloths are old, tattered and worn. Some have hardly any color left at all...just faded away with their many washings.

So, I decided to start working on some dishcloths. As each one is completed, it is placed in the drawer and an old one is placed in the "rag bag" to be used for dusting and floor scrubbing.

Dishcloths and hotpads--start a project, finish a project in no time--mission accomplished!!

Let's see what I've managed so far this year:

This is the January KAL for the Monthly Dishcloth group:

and here we have the Mid-January KAL from the same group:

This one is from the Knit Dishcloth group for the beginning of January:

This is from a pattern that I've had for quite some time and use over and over again:

Cara has decided that she would like to learn to crochet, so I'm going to start her off with these hotpads--easy, quick, only one stitch:

She and I are thinking that if she gets the hang of this, we can go to some flea markets during the spring, summer and fall with our wares and hopefully end up with a little extra cash in our pockets!!

I told Cara that if we take Lydia along we'll be sure to have more people stopping by to at least look at what we have for sale.

Making her silly face just before breaking into a smile!

Amongst all the many blessings my family has experienced, I'm feeling somewhat down due to my job situation. This job is becoming overwhelming and very mentally exhausting.

I've been dealing with this for some time, and I'm to the point where I basically work and sleep--with a little knitting and crocheting in between just to keep my mind off the job. But thoughts of this creep in even when I am sleeping.

I think the time has definitely come for a change.

Beth

A New Start

It's been 5 long months since I've posted anything at all!! I don't know where this time has gone, but a lot has occurred....

Where to begin....

I'll start in the beginning of November:

Cara, Ryan and Lindsay found a house nearby to rent. The three of time moved, and now we're back to Andrew and me--just as we started out back in February of 2009.

God chose November 26, 2009, to bring my granddaughter into our world. Yes, she was born on Thanksgiving Day at 8:36 a.m. weighing in at 8 pounds 12.4 ounces and 21 inches long.

And, I want to add a big thank you here to my youngest daughter, Lindsay....who cooked the entire Thanksgiving Dinner by herself while I was at the hospital--waiting and wondering. The whole meal was completed by the time I returned home, and she did an excellent job--probably better than I could have at that point!!

Unfortuately, Cara had an infection in her placenta that extended into the amniotic fluid. This infection was causing some distress to both Cara and the baby during labor, so an emergency C-section needed to be performed, and the baby had to spend 1 week in the NICU.

Cara had a fever went she went into labor, and the baby was born with a fever also. Many tests were performed on this little one--including blood cultures and a spinal tap. Many prayers were prayed during this time by many for both my daughter and granddaughter.

And God answered those prayers. Neither the blood cultures or the spinal tap revealed any organisms that may have spread from the amniotic fluid to the baby, and she was deemed fully healthy and able to go home at one week old.

So, I proudly introduce to you:

Lydia Caroline

One Day Old in the NICU

Lydia is now 7 1/2 weeks old and keeping both of her parents busy and on their toes. Cara is exhausted most of the time. Her C-section incision became infected necessitating a readmission to the hospital for I.V. antibioitcs, and this is still not completely healed.

I've been repacking her incision--first every day--now we're down to every other day--and this is slowly......very slowly healing.

Lydia has progressed to smiling, cooing now and again, and we all have fallen completely in love with her.

5 weeks old

I never realized how the love of a grandmother could be so completely different from the love of a mother, but it is. I can't explain how or why, but being a grandmother is a totally wonderful experience that I am thoroughly enjoying.

Yes, I am still knitting and crocheting...no pictures today though....the batteries are dead in my camera and need replaced....I wonder why?

Beth