Shades of Silver

I walked with a friend I only see every six months or so lately and was pleased to see she had stopped dying her hair which was now streaked gray/brown/white/blonde. On our last walk, I had blabbed about all the reasons I thought being gray was a good thing.

Why, after all, do we women want to look younger?

I read an essay by Anne Kreamer who found surprising results when she ran an experiment of being alternately gray and brunette. For those women who feel they might look dull and unattractive and fade into the background, if they were to let their hair go undyed, it's worth reading. However, to me, that isn't the point either.

Sorry I can't quote the author of another article I read many many years ago by a psychotherapist who said the main thing he noticed as people got emotionally healthy was that they got plainer looking as they were unafraid of looking themselves.

I look lovingly around me at my friends whose hair is now streaked many shades of beautiful silver and in some cases, wear a whole helmet of of gorgeous gray/white. Bring on the gray!

From SWEATers to SWEATy

Here in Maine we go from extreme to extreme. Despite the weather the mifflettes are multiplying (or maybe because of it) and this batch is made from vintage wool, French damask and linen circa 1900. Oooh la la! They ARE rather demure, aren't they?

m+ms, mmmm!

We eat awfully well at our house. We don't eat red meat or fowl and we do eat a lot of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and some fish. "Organic" has to be on the label to satisfy us too. But I have to tell you, I want something sweet after dinner every night. I've found that seven or eight m+ms have a most positive effect on me, and that is the quantity in a Fun Size package. When they're on sale, I think I must do my part to support the economy and keep this product moving off the shelves. mmmm.

What Happens When You Don't Swatch!

This is what happened because I didn't check my gauge before knitting a hat for a grandchild; it fits T instead! Of course he is delighted. He loves the hat and so it is his. It was supposed to be a child's SMALL!

A great thing though, was the learning of a new technique: attaching an i-cord to the hat rim. I had the darnedest time figuring out from the directions how to accomplish this. The directions merely said, "attach cord to lower edge of hat by knitting last st of I-cord tog with 1st st from hat through back loop." I gave up after several attempts and googled, " i cord attachment knitting" and up came a brilliant YouTube demonstration that put me immediately on the right track. I LOVE GOOGLE! I love the teacher who lives in my house and is always available!

Mifflette Angst

I'm struggling with mifflette design. I want them to be lovable for babies and children - soft, colorful, friendly and a bit modern, but I don't want to mimic others. There are so many soft toys being made these days. I don't want to add to the glut, yet I do enjoy the magic of bringing them to life from old sweaters and small bits of fabric, colorful emboidery floss features. Will this poor little mifflette end up in Goodwill in a few years? The little Steiff dog is pondering what next to chase and wondering why we humans fuss so.

Our friends at the cottage had these rocks transported right up to the water's edge of the beach in order to have some special summer gatherings in a circle. The middle rock is to be the table. How delightful to anticipate summer sunsets here upon occasion!

BUGS!

I wish I could take a photo right now of the bugs in the air. There appear to be more bugs than air. I know they wouldn't show up in a photo, but there are millions of them frantically spinning around, probably procreating.

It is an extraordinarily beautiful day here: perfect temperature, bright sun, lovely little breezes, newly formed leaves in all the most verdant shades of green. It's a perfect day to languish outside (0r even weed and cut back the growth between stones on the patio) except for one thing: BUGS!

Not to be foiled by them entirely, I invested this year in a bug-out headnet from LLBean. I do think it is quite clever, but gdi, it is MADE IN CHINA! It goes on over one's baseball cap, but under one's shirt. My bugs bite right through my yoga pants. OUCH!

I stayed indoors awhile, knitting new items that require certain family members to measure circumferences of certain young heads. ahem. ahem.

End of a Season

My dear friend K-H writes: "Some people come into your life for a season, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something... They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe me, it is real, but only for a season."

May we use the grand variety of gifts we are given each season to nourish our hungry selves.