Chickenlips Knitting

Bought myself Mason-Dixon Knitting as an early Christmas present, and gave their no-frills Log Cabin Bath Mat a whirl. Instead of holding 3 strands of cotton yarn together, I used a single strand of Sirdar Denim Ultra on size 15's. Now I see I could have gone down a needle size, but c'est la vie, as they say in the Engineering dept. (That's a really inside joke, and you'd only get it if you worked where I work. But I digress.) Anyhow, it's probably sproingy enough to be a bath mat, but since it came out to such a loose gauge, I'll probably use it as a throw rug for the icy bathroom floor. I would have done that in the first place, but who wants to see a picture of Chickenlips' unwashed bathroom floor? I thought so!

Altered States















Remember that totally weirded out, suspension-tank movie of the '80's with William Hurt? It has nothing to do with this photo--I just wanted to work a movie title into the post. This is the result of the fine dusting of snow we had earlier in the week. It's probably difficult to see, but I liked the look of the snow on the bare branches of the chestnut tree in the back yard. I'm starting to slow down more in general, and notice the little things--in many cases fleeting evidence of the change of seasons--that I no doubt have taken for granted much of my life, especially when I was rushing to grow up, then frantic to escape being grown up, only to struggle to catch up on my emotional growth while I raised my little girl and myself at the same time. I can only ascribe it, meaning this slowing down, to age. For some reason, I'm feeling like an old gal tonight, not quite up to the job of doing the blogosphere equivalent of stand-up comedy. I do feel that way from time to time, but it seems to make those around me uncomfortable when I try to talk about it. My husband, (who is four years younger than me I might add,) my teenage daughter, and 27-year-old office mate will say quickly, "You're not old!" Well, they're right. I'm not old. But I'm no longer young, either. And whether it bugs the sweet, well-intentioned people around me to hear that or not, it's a frickin' part of life, and it's really OK with me--being older affords me certain new fringe benefits and freedoms, after all. Such as AARP membership, helpful salespeople tentatively checking to see if I qualify for a Senior Discount, and the ability to express road rage without feeling guilty afterwards. Yes!

And I knew if I rambled long enough, the above part of this blog entry would eventually reflect the title I chose for it. Thank God for blogs. I no longer have to have a point!