Happy Anniversary (to me!)

Some people never meet their soul mates. But I did. And I had the amazing good fortune to marry him 11 years ago today. Happy anniversary, my love! My life is rich because you are in it.

A friend read this poem at our wedding. It's one of our favorites. :)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Gal with a Hook

Never let it be said that this is not an equal opportunity blog. As evidence, I present my latest acquisition: a set of steel crochet hooks.

Yes, there has been stealth crochet happening in this studio, as well as stealth knitting!

And more importantly, I want to thank all of you so much for leaving comments, even though I have been so ridiculously busy that I haven't been able to visit you very much. You all rock! And it's so awesome to read comments! You all regularly make my day. :)

Back to hookin'.

Friday Eye Candy, Cute Kid Edition

Do you see this face?

That is the younger of my two sons. I have referred to him in the past as Dr. Destructo. But he is now in need of a new nickname.

This young man astonished me today in a way for which I was completely unprepared. I always knew that he was something special. He said his first word, crawled and walked early. He loves people and collects friends wherever he goes. Then he remembers all of their names and asks after them. He is brave and vulnerable at the same time. And he is smart. My gosh is he smart.

But back to today.

I won't go into details, except to say that this little man is capable of mountains of love and forgiveness, hugely out of proportion to his diminutive size. His elder brother apologized to him today (it was a serious apology, if you get my drift) and told him what he would do to make the situation up to his little brother. And from the little one? No gloating, no anger, no temper. He listened quietly while his big brother read a letter of apology, looked at him with all the love in the world, said "thank you; you're so nice!" and then gave him drawings and other little gifts to make him feel good.

All I can say is this: I have struggled throughout my life to become a better person. To be as positive and forgiving and non-judgmental as I can possibly be, sometimes with mixed results. But my four year old son? He has already surpassed me. And I am in awe of him.

...of Rings and Things

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! #1 Son (and all of us) were incredibly touched and happy to receive them! :)

#1 Son received something big for his birthday: something very very cool from his grandmother, who, somehow, always finds the coolest cards and the greatest presents (although, to be honest, this time her son played a big part!). Here is #1 Son looking at me through the tripod:

And here he is looking through the eyepiece:

A telescope! And a fairly powerful one, too.

The other night (on his birthday) we went out around the corner to the elementary school and set it up, where we saw Jupiter and four of its moons. (Cool!) Last night, we went here:

and waited:

and my knitting waited with us:

and waited some more:

and then: wow. We saw Saturn and its rings! We could actually see the rings! It was totally and completely amazing (and I say that from a Star Trek geek point of view, remember). And we had to revisit Jupiter, of course. It was an awe-inspiring night. Wonderfully clear and lovely. From our perch on Geysers Road, we could see the Russian River, the vineyards, the lights of Santa Rosa spread out before us, and of course, the stars and planets. We left feeling tired but happy.

And then...misfortune struck.

On the way back home, I noticed my wedding ring was missing. It had been loose, and once I had felt it slipping off my finger when I was rummaging around in my knitting bag. We stopped the car. I searched through my bag and through the car. No ring. We continued home, where I dumped the entire contents of my bag into a box (no small feat, let me tell you). No ring. We searched the entire car. I felt sick. I kept telling myself "it's only a symbol, it's only a symbol." I was absolutely distraught. My husband, being able to tell that I probably wouldn't sleep at all, asked if I wanted to try going back up there to look for it with flashlights.

YES!

So back we piled into the car, the kids now in pajamas with their favorite blankets and stuffed animals, and my husband and I armed to the teeth with flashlights. I formulated plans: if we couldn't find it, I decided to rent a metal detector. I had already had a ring mishap before on a bike ride and I would find it this time as well! I said to myself as we drove "I am the ring; be the ring." (Am I a complete dork or what?!) And we decided to pull slowly into the turn-out, shining the headlights on the area in which we had been star gazing. And there was a glint. I could barely dare to hope that it would be this easy.

But it was! The flashlight revealed my ring lying patiently in wait. Joy!

I know it could have been replaced. How many times did I say that to myself?! But this was the one my best friend and husband placed on my finger at our wedding ceremony. This is the one that was engraved with our initials and the date of our wedding. Yes, it is a thing. But, to me, so very very important. And I was so incredibly happy to find it! And now the night will stand with the best memories of rings: both wedding and sky.

Happy Birthday, MiniMan

#1 son turned the big 08 this morning at 4:50 a.m. Wow, did that 8 years ever go fast!

Happy birthday, little man. You are personally responsible for changing my life, and I love you more than I could ever say in words.