Remembering...

This is a woven wall hanging that I made for my friend Jess back in July 2013. I've been thinking about her a lot lately...

Things always pop up to make me think of her. But lately, I had finished the Lydon book Knitting Heaven and Earth. In the book, the author talks about how she knitted a sweater for a terminally ill friend and how she felt she was trying to knit her friend to the earth. Then last week, I read an article in the new Handwoven by Jenny Pelc about weaving memorial banners for loved ones that have passed. Was I doing that with the wall hanging? I didn't think about it at the time, but I think maybe somewhere in my heart I was.

When I was getting ready to go for treatments back in July, I started crocheting a baby blanket. There are no grandchildren on the horizon as of yet, but I felt compelled to start this little blanket. I went to Joann's, bought 3 skeins of neutral baby colors and started crocheting. I just felt such a strong pull to do this. Maybe I was crocheting myself here to Earth. I need to stay here. I want to see the grandchild that this blanket will eventually cover.

My friend Jessica did not win her battle with cancer. She was 38 years old and left 2 beautiful and sweet little boys as her legacy. She has been gone for a year. I know she is ok though. More than ok. And here's how I know...

I have to back up first. When my dad passed 12 years ago (has it been that long?), we saw a rainbow on the day of his funeral. My mom said that was his way of telling us he was happy. A few years ago, I was at work and feeling very frightened and depressed about having an acoustic neuroma. While sitting at the information desk, a little girl who I had never seen before, or since, came up to me and gave me this...

...she said it was for me.

Shortly after Jess passed, I was walking along the beach and thinking about her. I sat down on one of the benches to rest and look at the water. I was thinking how much I wished she could tell me what it was like and how she was doing. I glanced down the beach a way and saw two people flying a kite. And guess what was on the kite... yes, a rainbow. And that's how I know Jess is happy.

Vacation's end

A brief summery of week 2 of our vacation...

We took a dip in Silver Glen Springs in Ocala Natl. Forest. It was gorgeous and cold! The water, as Jerry likes to remind me at any given opportunity, is a constant 72 degrees, as it is at all of the springs in Florida. So you can either dive right in, suffer the mammalian dive reflex, and have to have your heart jump started again... or, you can go in gradually. I opted for the later.

Once you get used to the cold, the water feels wonderful, especially on a hot day. I floated in the crystal blue water, very blue, and listened as someone on one of the boats on nearby Lake George was playing the Grateful Dead. Home.

We went to the wine festival at the Log Cabin Vineyard in Satsuma. These are muscadine grapes, which are native to the southern United states. They produce a sweet, dessert wine. I bought a bottle of a white wine infused with key lime. Can't wait to try it!

And here the wine goddesses are crushing the grapes. There was also live music. It was a small but nice gathering.

Our neighbor across the street, Mr. Counts (he's a math teacher... no really) brought us over some of his homegrown veggies.

I spent a good part of the vacation knitting and reading. I'm reading this book by Susan Gordon Lydon. It is a really good read about knitting and the healing power of craft in our lives.