- Rent, “Seasons of Love”

One year ago today my brother in law left us forever. There are so many moments from this past year that I wish I could capture for him. I’m still so sad and angry that he has missed this year of life, and all the ones to come.

We just spent a week with his children.  His beautiful fearless daughter who is already a young woman with his daring spirit.  His charming rambunctious son who would melt your heart even as he’s putting one over on you. They are surviving and thriving, but I know they have missed him every minute of this year.

My mother in law is hands down the strongest woman I know, and has weathered this year with grace. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for her.  And Wes, I know he has felt this loss keenly, and I feel so badly that there is nothing I can do to make it better for him.

We will always miss him, but I can only hope that the next 525,600 minutes will give us more moments to cherish and fewer of pain.

We flew in to John Wayne airport on Friday morning and headed down to San Diego to meet the family. Along the way we ate lunch in San Juan Capistrano, narrowly missing the Return of the Swallows. After living in the Midwest for several years I forgot what it was like to walk around an urban area and see fruit trees everywhere.

We had lunch at Sarducci’s Capistrano Depot and watched the trains go by (we were told they get 88 trains a day!)

Then it was down to Encinitas for Friday night Shabbat services and dinner with the extended family.

Saturday was the big day. We got up early and headed over to temple for the Bar Mitzvah. The day was mild and my cousin did a great job. This photo was taken the next day, but here he is meeting one of his new cousins.

The rest of the weekend was spent wandering Encinitas, eating good food and catching up with family we only get to see every once in a while.

There was a bit of goofing off:

Lots of time for the cousins to catch up:

And a cutie pie to snorgle:

There was even a bit of yarn tourism at The Black Sheep – a cousin and I went off in search of fibery goodness and were not disappointed. The store is beautiful and stocked floor to ceiling!

Unfortunately, after a weekend of fun we had to head back home. We got in late last night and returned to work today, and laundry and sundry chores this evening.

This is the time of year that visions of pumpkin casserole and Grandma Ruthie’s homemade stuffing and of course that chocolate cherry Bonnie Maziotta cake dance in my head.  Where we make the stuffing on Wednesday night and then on Thursday I put the mashed potatoes through the Foley food mill, and the little sis stirs the gravy. And we eat too much and talk and laugh.

It’s also the time of year I’m thankful: thankful for my family and most especially my wonderful husband, thankful that we all have good jobs and roofs over heads and plenty to eat, thankful that we’re healthy and happy and have survived another year.

The only problem is that this year I may have to go naked at Thanksgiving because I’ve been concentrating on what knitting projects I’m going to take. The yarn and patterns and implements are all packed, but nary a stitch of clothing. This is normal right?

James Allen Cameron
May 16, 1974 – April 17, 2011

We will love you and miss you forever.

I will always remember your wicked sense of humor,

your smile, and your toast to your big brother at our wedding.

The world just won’t be the same without you.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were awake, but cute as could be,

The cookies left out, plus milk just for he.

Me and my grizzly happy and warm

Another family evening, just one of the norm

Sooner or later we all went to bed
Arose in the morn, barely ‘wake and half dead.

White Christmas we saw, ’bout 8 inches of snow

Ate junk food a plenty, played cards and watched shows

Till on Monday we had to pack up the big van,
Filled with presents and luggage and nuts in a can

Hugged the family goodbye, and bid Christmas adieu
Sadly left little dude, hamming it up here for you!

I love this one of the “maids”:

The father daughter dance:

The cake and incredible flowers:

And of course, a little knitting. The wedding gift:

The pattern: Wool Leaves by Jared Flood

The Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool, Lake Chelan Heather colorway

The Needles: US 15′s

The Verdict: I hope this enormous warm woolly blanket keeps Beth, her hubby and their future family wrapped in warmth, happiness and love for years to come!

The rest of the album can be found here.

We got to run around and do various and sundry wedding errands and she appeased me by taking me to Trader Joe’s for some much-needed tasty snacks to stockpile at home. (since Kansas City has no TJ’s which is another story for another post!)

One of my favorite stops during the errands portion of the weekend was the Chicago Cultural Center. I hadn’t had reason to go before, but we went to grab some city brochures for out of town guests and Beth showed me the beautiful windows:

Saturday night was the shower. Managed to grab one pic of me and the little sis after the champagne toast!

And really, what trip to Chicago is complete without a visit to Wrigley Field? (though I admit this was just a driveby!)

I wanted to do something really special for them this year, so I chose to make them an afghan. I chose the pattern and the colors to (hopefully) compliment their decor and style. I made it lightweight enough to snuggle under in those brutal California winters. And then I held my breath as I put it in a box and shipped it to California, only breathing again when it landed yesterday afternoon. Here’s hoping they enjoy it!

The pattern: Log Cabin Moderne by Mason Dixon

The Yarn: Elsbeth Lavold Sily Wool

The Needles: US 6′s

The Verdict: Love the simplicity of the style and the ease of knitting, even if the garter stitch gets a little tedious on the larger squares. Will definitely be knitting this one again!

Wes assured me that this voice changing Storm Trooper helmet would be the bees knees for a certain five-year-old.

Over the past year or two my posting has slowed down. Sometimes I feel like maybe I shouldn’t be blogging any more since most of my posts are related to knitting, and since Ravelry gives me a place to chronicle those. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve completely bored all (any?) of my readers to death.

But then sometimes I look back at old entries and find this really cool journal of my life over the last five years, and then I think that it doesn’t matter exactly when I post or what I post, but just that I do post.

In short, this isn’t an eloquent post but please accept my heartfelt thanks for hanging in there with me. Here’s to another great year!