Mystery Knitting Project...Once Again

Hi there!

Well, here is the next part of the pattern for my mystery knitting project. It sounds like you are enjoying seeing this put together piece by piece. I'm glad, because I am having fun showing you bit by bit. *Ü* So, what do you think these are? I like the texture of these pieces, although having to knit one and purl one slows me down. For someone who is not the fastest knitter, this can get a smidge frustrating. I'm happy to say I fell into a groove and the second one came together much faster than the first. The end result is definitely worth the time it took, I think.

Not only have I been working on this knitting project this week, I was also working on another one, but in crochet.

I'm teasing you yet again, but for a good reason. I promise I'll show it off soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this little snippet.

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In other news, my dad emailed us Sunday to let us know he was flying out to International Falls, MN on Monday. My grandmother got pneumonia a week or so ago and wasn't responding to treatment. The nurse told my dad that she was in the process of dying. He spoke to her on Saturday, when he got the call and she recognized him, but she hadn't eaten for several days, so it was not looking good. He arrived on Monday evening and saw her. She recognized him again, but couldn't speak at this point. I'm sorry to share that she passed away on Tuesday morning. My dad was at her bedside and said it was very peaceful. My grandmother was 98 years old and had a good long life. I had seen her a few times, but growing up with her living in MN and us in CA, visits were few and far between. I got to know her better than my other grandparents who died either before I was born or when I was very young. One thing I'll always remember are her "bangs." She made bread from scratch and always took part of the dough to create deep fried donuts, which we called "bangs" in my house. Talk about one of the yummiest treats one can have! Yum! Rest in peace, Grandma, I love you, but know you are with my mom now and watching over us.

Yesterday I had a strange feeling in my throat. It didn't exactly hurt, but it didn't feel right. So, I laid low as much as I could so as not to allow it to burst into a full fledged sore throat. (I normally volunteer at the school on Wednesdays, but didn't want to infect Jessica's classmates-so I stayed home). Thankfully, today it feels back to normal! Yay! (and whew!)

This week has been Spirit Week for the girls at school. They wore "crazy" hats one day (really they weren't that crazy but I didn't tell them that). They wore pajamas one day, yesterday school colors and today they get to wear a professional sports team shirt (Go Broncos!) As part of Spirit Week, they will be having an assembly after lunch where the teachers compete against the students (chosen by raffle tickets they earned by participating in the above days) in various activities. I didn't know about it until too late last year, but I agreed to help today, so I'll be going to that. Right after school is the Sock Puppet Making Class the girls wanted to take, then we have swim class. It's gonna be a busy afternoon! But it should be fun.

Last night I attended an informational meeting at our elementary school. It has been selected to become an IB (International Baccalaureate) school, Primary Years Program. It is a program that focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside. What it means is that our school will shift to being a kind of magnet school where they will teach units of study that incorporate all the subjects and additionally, they will be taught Spanish. It's a more rigorous academic program. It sounds like an enhanced version of what they already do there, but there is a ton of support for the staff to make it work. There is middle school that has the IB program (not our home school though) and our home school high school also offers the same type of program. Because our elementary school is our home school, the girls are automatically in the program, and they will offer 100 spots for other students. It's going to be interesting and exciting to see how this works. The teachers are staff are very excited about this, which is terrific.

Okay, I've got to gather up supplies for the puppet class, so I will close for now. Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope to share again in a few days. In the meantime, I appreciate your time and encouraging thoughts.