The Fruits Of My Labour

As most of you know, I love to knit. However, I rarely knit for myself. This winter my son asked me to knit a hat for him and it ended up being hats for the family. Because I am in Canada and they are in the US it is a little difficult to make sure the fit is right. So I knit up 3 hats and sent them down. The ladybug hat is just adorable on my granddaughter and probably will be too small by next winter. My grandson looks equally cute in the sheep hat but if it is too small next winter he gets to wear the third hat I knit for either his mom or dad. I know why it's too small for my son or DIL. On one of the rounds the stranding was too tight. I'll have to fix that for the next set of hats. Thankfully the winter is over so I have some time to get it done. When I see pictures of the knitting in use it makes it all even more worth while.

Life Is Very Difficult Sometimes

I can't even put into words how I feel anymore. This post should have been done weeks ago but I just couldn't do it after having lost my dad on October 10th. My Mother-In-Law passed away on October 23rd. I suppose we knew it was coming but I never thought it was going to be as quick as it was. In the end, the only thing I can say is God was merciful. The last two days of her life was full of incredible suffering. But Lindy accepted it as she did everything else in her life.

Thank you for being a second mother to me. Thank you for all the love you gave to my children when they came to visit, especially Henny. I will never ever forget and am so thankful for her last visit when you got to meet Elmo. You were so happy to see him.

You were the most incredible grandmother to Joseph. I think from the time you saw him in the hospital and he "smiled" at you, he had a special place in your heart for the rest of your life. You were an incredible woman. In all the years I knew you I never ever heard you raise your voice. You never had a bad word to say about anyone. There is an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled.

RIP Mom. I love you and miss you.

I Miss You Dad

I've never been very good expressing how I feel, especially in the written word. English was always the most difficult subject I took in school.

On Oct. 10th my dad left us. We may not have always seen eye to eye on things. We had many clashes over the years as children do with their parents. In the end none of that matters. I think we both figured that out about 15 years ago. I know he is at peace now. The last years were not easy for him as his health declined but it's still so difficult.

This picture was taken about 34 years ago. The little one is my oldest daughter. Daddy always smiled when he was with his family and he had a large family. There were 6 of us and he lived to see more grandchildren then I can keep track of and then there were the great grandchildren. He left a wonderful legacy.

I know dad is up there with mom and he's singing with the angels. Singing was such an important part of his life. As a Cantor he sang with so much feeling. You felt it in every word he said. Now I'm thankful for the videos and mp3s so I will still be able to listen to his voice.

Dad, I miss you more than words can say.

So Much To Tell

So much has happened since I last posted I don't even know where to begin. It's been a busy summer. My daughter came for a visit at the beginning of August and she brought her youngest along. His nickname Elmo and he is just adorable and a handful as you can well imagine. He gets into everything. I brought him to visit my friend and she has a dog. At first he was a little scared because Bianca was barking. Then she fell asleep and Elmo got pretty brave.

Meet my newest grandchild. She's a beautiful little girl. Her name is Sara Liba. She was born on Thursday and she looks just like her brother Mati.
Don't believe me? Here he is when his dad took him to a Brooklyn Cyclones game this summer.
Yesterday was my oldest son's birthday. I don't know where the time goes. This is Shmuel with his daughter. I've been blessed with wonderful children and lovely grandchildren. What move can a person ask for?
On the knitting side of life, I've been in a colour knitting craze of late. I gave Henny the first Dale of Norway sweater set I made for Elmo. Now that the weather is getting cooler I'm sure I'll have a picture of him wearing the set sooner rather than later.

This is another Dale of Norway set I'm working on for Sara Liba. The pattern is from book number 208 and the pattern the 10th in the book. Here it is before steeking. I did steeks for the front and back of the neck since there was really only one long cast off at the neck for both the front and the back.
Here's what it looked like post steeking.
Now the sleeves are in. This morning I picked up the stitches for the front button band. Once that's done I'll do the buttonhole band. Then there's the pants and hat to go but those won't need to be cut.
If that wasn't enough colour knitting, I'm also working on this pattern from the same book. This is pattern 7. It's for my girlfriends daughter. She had a baby girl on August 26th, I think, and this is going to be another steeking project. I'm only planning on doing the hat and sweater for this but after this I should be an expert at steeking.

My Son The Soldier

My son Shlomie had to report to the army today. He knew this was in the cards when he decided to become an Israeli citizen. Originally he had to report in December but the date was pushed up. It's tough because he got married at the end of June and being apart from his wife will be difficult for both of them. Me, I'm a mom who will worry but because of his age (he's 25) I'm hoping he won't be in any sort of danger. Right now he's off to boot camp. I'm going to try not to worry and even though the time change can make calling Israel difficult, I want to be there to help support my DIL. We'll see how it goes. I know I'm a little bias but I think he looks great in his uniform.

Tonight is Snb night and I brought my Bosworth book charkha with me to play. Just realized I forgot the camera at home so I can't take pictures. I haven't forgotten about the picture I was supposed to post. I just haven't had the time to actually get the picture taken. One of these days I will do it.

I'm in the process of knitting a pair of socks for my BIL. I got sick of his asking but knitting these socks reminds me of why I don't like knitting socks for men. The feet are too bloody long. I'm not really liking it. I love the yarn. I am using some Brunswick Nylamb that I had it my stash and all I can say is SOFT!!! The yarn is a dark brown and that doesn't make it easy on my eyes but the first sock is almost done.

I'm also working on a scarf that someone asked me to knit as a store sample. The yarn is Mirasol Sulka in colour red onion. The yarn is a very lightly spun yarn that's 60% merino, 20% alpaca and 20% silk. This yarn is yummy. Because the yarn is so lightly twisted I'd sure love to try to spin with it. I'm using my Addi Clicks to try and keep the yarn from splitting and it seems to be working. I'm not having a difficulty knitting with it. The spinner in me keeps wishing it was fibre I could spin.

Where does the time go? My newest grandchild will be 7 weeks on Friday. Henny received the Baby Surprise Jacket I did for him. Now to find or spin yarn so I can make him another one. Still waiting for pictures of him wearing it. Will blog once I have it.

Finalist!!!!

OMG!!! I was just notified that I'm a finalist in the "I Made It On My Schacht" contest. This is the skein I entered. I only got my Ladybug at the end of July and the deadline for entering was September 1st. Lace takes a while to spin so this was what I managed to spin by the deadline once I got used to the wheel.

I don't really expect to win but I never thought I would make it this far. I am must amazed and so happy. I guess my spinning really is coming along. It feels like it took me forever to get here but I am very happy right now.

The good news as great after I got news from my brother that my dad was taken back to the hospital today. He has phneumonia again yet again. Not sure how long he will be in the hospital but all I can do is pray.

Worries & Joys & KW

It's amazing how quickly things can change in life. You go along almost like a robot - work, shopping, home etc. Then suddenly something happens and it changes your entire perspective. That's what's been going on around here lately. As you might know from my last post, my MIL was in the hospital and for a while there it was touch and go. I'm pleased to say she came home from the hospital on Sunday. There are no words I can use to describe how great that was. If that wasn't enough, my oldest daughter gave birth to her 4th child on Friday as well. He was 6 lb. 1 oz. at birth and just look at that head of hair. He looks just like his brothers. I can't wait for my SIL to upload more pictures. Henny came home from the hospital today and both mom and baby are doing fine. Name to follow on Friday. That wasn't the only celebration on Friday. My 3rd son Usher's birthday was on the 11th as well. He just turned 27. He is thrilled to have a nephew with the same birthday as his. See, hang in there and you can get through life's curves no matter what. You just have to have faith and pray. I know there are more challenges to come but right now I am grateful for the happy times and I'll deal with the challenges when they get here.

Yesterday was the Kitchener Waterloo Knitter's Fair. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it but since I had the good news on Friday I decided to go. I only stayed about 2 hours and overall I think I was pretty well restrained. I had only planned on getting fibre and I was true to that to a certain extent because I didn't buy any yarn. I picked up the lace flyer kit for my Little Gem. It comes with 2 fat core bobbins and the fast whorl. I'm hoping that will help the pull on very fine singles. I also bought the stylus with 2 stylus bobbins. Laurie from The Black Lamb was at the fair so I had her bring my order there so I didn't have to worry about it being shipped. Now I have to finish the second bobbin of puple corriedale I'm working on and get it plied so I can play with my new toys.

What I did buy at the fair was this silver GoKnit Pouch. I've wanted it ever since I saw Amy come back with hers. Don't ask me why I was so crazy for it because I'm not sure. It looks similar to the bag the Little Gem comes in and I can't stand that bag. This I fell in love instantly. I bought it from the Shall We Knit booth.

This is the only fibre I got. It's Bombyx silk roving from The Rovin Spinner's. I would like to spin it on the charkha once I get a little better. I'm in love with the colours. Their two different colourways but they are both shades of purple so I figure I could use it to ply with some purple fibre I already have or some purple Rambouillet I should be getting in the next few weeks.

The Jordana Paige Knitter's Messenger bag I bought from Julie at The Needle Emporium. I had not expected her to have it because I didn't email her to remind her since I didn't decide to go until the last minute. Julie remembered it so I picked it up. I wasn't sure about the pink at first but I do like the pale shade of pink and I love the inside. It goes on forever like the Knitter's Satchel and I will be able to fit tons of stuff in it when I need to.
The first thing I bought were these buttons. They were the last thing I expected to get. I did not do buttonholes for my February Lady sweater therefore there was no need for buttons. Well these buttons had their own idea. I saw them at the Cabin Fever booth. It was the only card they had and they were just perfect for my February Lady sweater. So now I have to decide how I am going to put them on. I am first going to try sewing on the buttons and put snaps underneath. If I don't like the way that looks I get more yarn, crochet a border and do loops.

Where Does The Time Go??

My nephew Baruch is getting married today. Unfortunately, I was not able to get to NYC for the wedding. I spoke to my bother this morning and it's hard to believe that one of his babies are all grown up and one of the twins will be a married man tonight. Where does the time go? Don't ask me which one is which. I have not been able to tell them apart since they were babies. I know the twins are not identical but they sure look it to me. One is Baruch and one is Shmuel. The one getting married is Baruch.

Yesterday I went to Gemini Fibres for an advanced spindle spinning class. We got to play with some Fleece Artist BFL. It was great fun to spin. We did navajo plying on the spindle and other things. It was a great day with a group of very nice ladies. I had a blast.

If anyone knows me they know I couldn't possibly have gone there and come home empty handed. I prefer light spindles because I like to spin lace or sock yarn and Mr. Forrester found some more coloured wood that he was able to use to make more spindles. However, these are the last that he has of the wood so I won't be able to get more after this. I tried all of them. There was a very small one that I didn't quite get along with but I did love this one and the one below.

There are still two more that I want to pick up and I'll be back up at Gemini next week for their spin in so I'll probably get the other two then. One more is a coloured wood spindle and the second is a Padauk wood spindle.

I usually lean towards purples when I buy yarn and fibre. Once in a while another colour will hit my eye and I have to try it. This is one of those fibres. The colour is called cinnamon and it's a merino silk blend. I am looking forward to starting to spin this fibre but I am going to spend the afternoon trying to finish plying this fibre that's been on the bobbins way too long. It's about time I try and get back to spinning. It's been way too long.


I also bought a spinning book called Spin Control by Amy King. I've only had a chance to glance through it but I am looking forward to reading it cover to cover. Next I can't wait for Abby Franquemont's Respect the Spindle book to come out later this year.

Last but not least, to all the dads out there, Happy Father's Day.

Where Does The TIme Go?

I really don't know where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday that my daughter Henny was born and Joseph is 14 today. Paul woke him up this morning to wish him a happy birthday and then he ended up staying awake. He tried to go back to bed but kept getting disturbed so he gave up. Before I left for work I wanted to give him a birthday kiss and he almost freaked. He said I could give him a hug but not kisses. When did this happen? Can I turn back the clock to the days when he was little and cute and let me give him kisses? It's not like there was anyone in the house who would have seen. Paul said that he misses the younger days and before you know it he'll be out hanging with his friends and we'll hardly see him at all. That's so true and it's scary.

Look what I picked up at the post office today. It's the second custom spindle I ordered from Tom at Golding Fiber Tools. I decided on an owl because my sister was an owl collector. I was debating between a barn owl and snowy owl. I received a sketch of a barn owl but the shape would have been the same for the snowy owl. I decide on the snow owl and wanted dark wood. The wood is Bog oak and I have to say that the pictures don't do it justice at all.

I have one more spindle in the works from Tom and then I'm done for a little while. The next one is going to be one of his scrimshaw spindles and it's going to be a lighthouse. I think I'm out of ideas for now but if I think of anything else I know where to go to have it done. The spindles spin like mad and are the most special things.

Happy Chanukkah to all that are celebrating. Good thing it's 8 days long since tonight is the start of day 2.

I'll post about my trip to the Purple Purl tomorrow or Wednesday.

Did You Blog Yet?

Ever since I got back from NYC on August 25th Joseph has asked me "Mom, did you blog yet?" I've been so busy trying to get Joseph ready for grade 9 and when I went back to work on Tuesday the madness really began. I had tons of work waiting me for.

I don't have much time for blogging this morning either so I am going to leave it all to pictures. I've got a picture of some FOs. The second Flower Basket Shawl I did for the Ravelympics 2008. The first one is in NY with my daughter. Yarn used is 4 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Silk in colour Indiecita.

I also finished the knitting on the oval doily. There is a version of this doily in the Japanese book Knitted Lace Vol. 1. There is a version in Anna January 1998 and Muestros y Motivos Tricot Hogar 1 - the Spanish lace book I have. It still needs blocking but I haven't had the time. Hopefully that will get done this weekend. I used 2mm needles and 4 balls of DMC Cebelia No. 20 in red.

The rest of the pictures are what I was able to get of the grandchildren.

Oval Doily

Flower Basket Shawl

Liba

Shimon

Moe

Mati

Elisheva

Pride & Joy

After months of hard work, yesterday was Joseph's confirmation. Since pictures are not allowed during Mass we were allowed one picture only with the Bishop after the Mass was over. With time limited this was the best I could do. It's a little grainy but Joseph looks great.

This is Joseph with his godmother. He asked her to be his sponsor as well. Valerie is such a special lady. She is going through some difficult times and when Joseph asked if she would be his sponsor all she said was "I would be honoured."


On the knitting front, I've put the monkey sock aside for the moment. It is going to be my "on the go" project, for now. I've started the alphabet blanket from Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits book. I couldn't think of a more appropriate gift for a teacher that's expecting her first baby. I'm using the Elann.com Sock It To Me yarn in cream. I would like to dye it when the blanket is done. No pictures yet but I've started N, O, P, Q, R and finished S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Not bad for a weekend of knitting that included a confirmation. I'll try and get some pictures taken tomorrow.

Oh So Busy!!!

I am feeling so overwhelmed right now. So much to do and not enough time. I had to go to the dentist today for a cleaning. Joseph went as well. I took today and tomorrow off because I wanted to spend some family time during Joseph's March break. Except for the trip back and forth to the dentist, it doesn't look like much of that is going to happen.

Tomorrow I have to go with my friend to the funeral home. After that I have to go shopping. Saturday morning is the funeral. Then I have a spin in with some friends. I am so looking forward to that. I haven't had time to spin since I got the last bobbin done. After our spinning get together I have to go to Etobicoke and make some nut mixture. I'll come home and crash when all is done.

I also have to take Joseph to look for a suit. He needs a suit for his confirmation. I wish I knew where in the GTA I can get husky sizes. If not I am going to take him to a men's clothing store and see what can be done with alterations. His confirmation is April 6th so that should be enough time.

I got some sock knitting done while going back and forth from the dentist. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. The TTC was more crowded than I thought it would be. I suppose it is due to March break.

Now I am back to working on the doily. I want that done by Sunday morning so I can get it blocked while everyone is out of the house.

I just have to remember to breathe while all the madness is going on.

What Does Your Name Mean?

I saw this on Chronicles of a Lazy Knitter's blog and couldn't resist. I don't agree with everything but I found it interesting and do think some of it does describe me.

What Rochelle Means

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I had good and bad news today. First the good news. My brother called and my dad was released from the hospital today. He went to a rehab centre because after a few weeks in a hospital bed he needs to get his muscle tone back. The muscles quickly atrophy when you don't use them. I am not quite sure what will happen after the rehab place but I am so glad he is not in the hospital.

The bad news was my best friend lost her MIL yesterday. Her family is going through a rough time but at least her husband came home from the hospital last week so he will be able to go to the funeral. She was in her 90's and it was expected but these things are never easy. My friend's husband is battling cancer right now and had some nasty reactions to the chemo. He was told this could happen but when his mother got really bad he was saying he would have to be let out of the hospital to go to the funeral if she passed before he was ready to go home. The good thing is it didn't come to that. I think he will only go to the funeral but he will at least be able to do that much.

On the knitting front I am almost done with the Fuchsienblüten doily. I only have about 20 rounds to go so I should have it done this week. I love the way it is working up. When I finish this one I might just start another Niebling since I seem to be on a roll.

Leberblümchen

Tuesday night I decided to start another lace project. It's a small oval doily that is from the Kunst Stricken kleine und große Decken called Leberblümchen. I finished the knitting last night and blocked it this afternoon. This particular version calls for the sts to be cast off instead of crocheted off. After I finished this I found the same oval doily in Muestras Ymotivos Tricot Hogar #1. In this version the doily is crocheted off. I think I might knit it again after I finish the new doily I just started. This new one is from Burda Special E418. It's number 34 and the name of it is Fuchsienblüten. It is another Herbert Niebling design. I'll post pics once I have some progress to show.

My dad is still in the hospital but my brother says he is making very nice progress. To put it in his words "If you didn't have anything to worry about before you have even less to worry about now." I am encouraged by this. Menachem said dad will have to go into a rehab facility after the hospital because with the Parkinson's Disease and all that time in bed in the hospital he will need the rehabilitation before he can go home. I just can't wait for Menachem to call me and tell me dad has left the hospital.

Now to get back to some knitting. It's the best way I can think of to spend a snowy day. The next best thing would be spinning but that will happen tomorrow, I hope. Now if only old man winter would leave!!!!!!!!

How Fast Do You Type

I saw this on Robyn's blog and I had to give it a try.

80 words

Speedtest

I could probably do better but I get nervous when I take tests. I found it interesting that even that this stage in my life that is the case.

My dad is still in the hospital. I spoke to my brother last night. He was running a temperature and they took blood to see if they can figure out what's going on. There are a few other things that he is concerned about but we'll have to wait and see how things go. I am still hoping he will be home by the end of this week.

Nail Biting Time

I just heard from my brother. My dad is having a pacemaker put it this morning. They moved him to CCU and the procedure is scheduled for 9 this morning. Of course that doesn't mean anything. Menachem was on the way to the hospital when I spoke to him and he will keep me posted. I'm a nervous wreck. I knew he needed the pacemaker but I wasn't expecting it so soon. When Menachem gave me the update yesterday he said they couldn't do it yet because they needed to wait for the pneumonia and UTI to clear up more before they went ahead and did the surgery. Now he's having the surgery this morning. That's a change I didn't expect in 24 hours.

On the home front, Paul has been battling a cold for over a week now. He went on course last week and got sick the first day. Because he was taking a course he couldn't take any time off. Tuesday he told me he thinks he needs to see the doctor. That's a sure sign he's really not well because he never wants to go. He went to the doctor yesterday and she said he has sinusitis and put him on antibiotics. He was barfing like mad in the middle of the night and I don't know if it was a reaction to the meds or not. He's home today and I'm at work. I hate that because I would rather be home making sure he's alright. Having said that, he probably is better with me at work because then he could just sleep and that's what he needs most right now.

UPDATE: I just heard from Menachem and he said the procedure went well. The did it with a local instead of putting him under and he's awake, hungry, complaining, and eager to go home. That's always a good sign.

Thank Goodness For Diversions

The phone rang at my place very early Sunday morning. Whenever the phone rings before 9 I always worry that something bad has happened. My brother called to tell me my dad was taken to the hospital. I am not quite clear as to when but it was sometime between Saturday and Sunday morning. All I knew was that my SIL had preformed CPR to save his life. Needless to say I didn't leave the house at all on Sunday so I could be around to get more information. I live in Toronto. My dad lives with my brother in Monsey, NY. Dad's health has been iffy for quite some time now but I have never been this worried before. I still haven't had a definitive answer as to what is going on. They never did, to my knowledge, get the test results on Sunday. My brother just said "well it's Sunday," like that should explain it all. It's the last time I want to hear my brother make fun of the Canadian medical system. I get the feeling it is much worse in the U.S. and it costs a lot more there too. Now my brother is telling me dad might need a pacemaker. Whatever it is I can't wait for him to go home. I spoke to dad for about a minute (he never talks longer than that these days) this morning and he is hoping to go home by Friday. I certainly hope he does. Prayers are always welcome.

There was no way I was going to be able to concentrate on the lace project I am currently knitting so I decided to do some spinning instead. I finished the first bobbin of the Purple Club fibre and started the second. This is the completed first bobbin. I've started the second but I won't be spinning again until Friday. I think I need to get some knitting in now so I will try and get back to the test knitting for a few days and see how close I can come to a finish.

Home At Last

I arrived back home last night. The trip was great but I am exhausted. I have to head over to the Purple Purl today and bring something for Miko. After that I am going to relax for the rest of the weekend. Monday it's back to work, yuck!

I didn't have a chance to do any posting while I was in NY. It is hard to believe how much the grandchildren have grown. Sunday was Yoni's Bar Mitzvah. He's the boy in the hat. He's the one that broke him wrist just before I went to NY. He did a fantastic job on the speech he did at his Bar Mitzvah. I am couldn't possibly be any prouder of him. Shayna is the oldest and the last time I saw her was when she had her appendix out in May. She has grown into a lovely young lady. Liba is going to be 7 in March and I can hardly even believe it. She's in grade 1 now and learning to read, add etc. Shimon, the boy all the way on the right, had a blast on Sunday. He was walking around the hall with the microphone singing and dancing and completely enjoying himself. He's a little genius that one. He's 5 by the way and boy can he add. He was playing with Rummykub tiles and adding them up. He hit his max when he added 27 tiles together of various denominations and he got it right!! I was amazed. The little guy, his name is Menachem Mendel but everyone just calls him Mo, he had his 3rd birthday about a month ago. When I was in NYC in May he wasn't talking at all. He is such a chatterbox now. You can't shut him up. Sadly, I won't be back until August, I think and they will all have changed enormously again by the time I see them again.

This little guy is Mati. He is such a happy, sweet baby. His first birthday is at the end of this month. When I saw him in May for the first time he hardly had any hair. Of course when you grow a boy's hair until he's three, it's not such a bad thing not to have too much hair when you're a year old. Still, by the time he turns three he'll have pony tails and just look adorable. They always do. By the time I left yesterday he was actually smiling whenever I smiled at him. When I first saw him on the 24th he wasn't exactly sure. He just looked at me like who is this crazy woman.

I got pictures of Elisheva as well but silly me accidentally formated the sd card so a friend of Usher's is trying to restore the card for me. I'll know later today if he was successful or not and then will post some pictures of her when I get the card back. She looks so much like Henny did when she was a baby but she has cheeks like Chana Leah had. Her cheeks are so pichable. You just want to pinch them or bite them or something because they are so big.

As for knitting, I finished the first of the Regia Galaxy socks in the airport on the 23rd and actually managed to knit the second sock while I was in NY. I left the pair down there for Henny so I don't have any finished pictures. I've started knitting the January Sockamania club sock using some Knit Picks yarn but I am not really happy with it so I think I am going to have to restart the sock. I find this yarn is thicker than what I would call fingering but the yardage is right - 220 yards to 50 grams. I think the sock yarn is called Memories or something like that. I believe it's discontinued. I just have to decide what I want to do. I'll probably decide later today.

Before and After

My daughter Henny's youngest had his first haircut on Sunday. Menachem Mendel is now 3. This is the before picture. Here is the after. He looks so cute. It is amazing how quickly they seem to "grow up" once their hair is cut. It is almost instantaneous. This little guy looks a lot like his older brother Shimon. Now that he has his haircut they look more alike than ever before. Want proof?
Here is Shimon. When they get older I think people are going to think their twins. Happy Birthday Mo. Bobbi loves you.

What To Do?

Tonight was the last of the open houses for high school. The application has to be handed in next week. I must admit that I am very prejudice about the school we went to tonight. I don't like it. I don't want Joseph going there. I wasn't impressed at all with the place. I probably wasn't impressed because I don't want Joseph going there. Why, you might ask. Paul's niece and 2 nephews went there and none of them graduated. The way the school is set up is totally different. It isn't structured at all. You learn at your own pace. If you decide to slack off you'll pay by, most likely, not finishing. Joseph, in my opinion, is the type of child that needs more structure. This school doesn't have that at all. He decides what classes he wants to take on a given day. He checks in when he gets to school but there isn't attendance taken in the classroom.

The school he went to last week I was thinking would be alright. Then I started hearing things about this school. One of the teacher's at Joseph's current school has a son in the same class as Joseph. She told me the other night she wouldn't send her son to that school because she is afraid he would get beat up. The kids say the school is a gang school. So that leaves me with the choice I wanted all along. The question is, do I force Joseph to go there or not? The kids say it's a "gay" school because it's an all boys school. Aside from the school having a great learning reputation, the fact that it is an all boy school is an added plus, if you ask me. If you ask the kids, it's a definite minus. Of course, as they told us at the open house last Thursday, the parents don't realize there is an all girl school down the road so even if the kids are not in the classroom together they are not worlds apart. I am torn. I really haven't got a clue what is the right thing to do anymore. Decisions, decisions. Choice isn't always a good thing.