Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff

May is such a beautiful month. Life is in bloom, the weather is starting to warm up, and
my soul starts to thaw from the winter cold. It is always a busy month with Mother’s Day
and the end of school drawing near. It is also the time of year when my desire to work
on cold weather knits starts to decline. I start to think about plant based fibers and
flowy, breezy garments. This month held no finished objects, but there was quite a lot
of knitting, including three new cast ons.

New Cast Ons:

Doctor Who Scarf (Tom Baker)

Reset Socks

Vanilla Socks

Works in Progress:

Shatar vest

Re-Make socks for Feebs

Highlights Tunic Dress

Gingerbraid

Kaylen Mesh Scarf

Goals for next month:

Finish Doctor Who Scarf by Father’s Day

Reassess WIPs- come up with a plan

Declutter (clothes, porch, toy room)

Continue next phases of the house project

Knitting did happen this month. Quite a bit, in fact. The problem came with the finishing
part. There has been no movement Gingerbraid. There has been no movement on the
Kaylen Mesh Scarf. There has been no movement on the Re-make socks for Feebs.
Good lord, that is a lot of stalled projects. I did pull out the Highlights Tunic dress, with
the intention of finishing it so that I can wear it in the nice warm weather. I have
absolutely no idea where I left off. I am not terribly in love with it, and I have some hard
decisions to make about where she goes from here. Do I have it in me to undo the poor
decisions made by past Mrs. Collins? I cast on the Doctor Who Scarf for the Husband.
I have it in my head that it is his Father’s Day gift, to keep me on track to finish in a
decent amount of time. I told him that he probably won’t have it on that day, but it should be around that time. This scarf is offending my delicate sensibilities terribly. The
asymmetry of it is making me twitch. So are all the of the ends I must weave in. I was
getting frustrated at the lack of finished objects that I had and wanted a pallet cleanser,
so I cast on some rainbow stripped socks to help me reset. Unfortunately, I had no
thicker weight sock yarn to use for contrast heels and cuffs, so those stalled once I got
the body of the sock completed. I had to put them aside until the yarn that I ordered
arrived. I will pick them back up once the yarn gets here. Then I cast on another sock to
knit while the Mother was in surgery. I grabbed a ball of man-sock yarn (that I bought
specifically for the Husband or the Father), for some reason. I also grabbed the wrong
size needles. I still cast on a sock in my size. The fabric is feeling very loose, so I am
not certain how I feel about this sock. I knitted the entire foot and heel but still am not
convinced that it is really for me. I will put it in time out and think about if I want to keep
going, or if I want to rip it out. I really feel the need for a finished knit. I thought rainbow
socks would be just the thing, but that hasn’t worked out yet. I may need to start
perusing for something fun to work on as a true reset.

May was good. It was busy, but what month isn’t? It started with a nephew’s 18th
birthday (Sister #3’s son). Holy crap, how are six of my rental children adults now?
That just doesn’t seem real to me. We went to his birthday party and that was really
nice. It was good to see him being celebrated, since he is generally so quiet. The
following weekend was Mother’s Day weekend. Friday night, I had dinner with the
ladies. We went to a restaurant that we had all been to before and had enjoyed ourselves.
This time, it kind of missed the mark. We still had a great time together, but not all were
satisfied with the meal. On Saturday, there was a school music festival that Feebs was
performing in. She did great. All the kids did great. After the festival Feebs and I took
the Mother to lunch. It was a series of unfortunate events, from the “special menu” to
the incorrect order to the second lunch that was necessary once we got home. We did
manage a nice, if slightly strained, picture of the three of us. Sunday was a bit of an
emotional day. I couldn’t think of anything to do and ended up just sending us home to
do regular Sunday stuff. I realize it is mostly on me, but I tend to feel very unimportant
and like an afterthought to everyone on Mother’s Day. I feel like crap on every single
Mother’s Day and tend to get a lot of anxiety each week that leads up to it. At this late
date, 11 years in, I would rather just cancel it going forward. The following week was
fairly busy. We had Open House for Feebs on Tuesday, the last one of elementary
school. Then I had my eye specialty appointment on Friday. We didn’t plan our day
well and had to mostly skip our yummy Redwood City restaurant. All was well at the doctor. My vision issues have cleared up nicely, I think. Once we got home,
Feebs and I ended up heading to the Father’s house for the weekend. We had a nice
weekend with him. He surprised Feebs with a golf cart ride to McDonald’s and a really
cool light show at the Galleria. We played cards and Feebs had a blast every time she
won a game. The Father cracked up every time Feebs did her “I’ve got my eyes on
you” motion. We left fairly early on Sunday so that we could go to FHs bestie’s 11 th birthday party. He had it at his house with lots of school friends. Feebs had a really
good time and participated with everyone. That week was another very busy one. I had
round two of my infusion appointments. They weren’t bad at all. Nothing compared to
the 5-day treatment schedule. I felt a little achy and headachy on Thursday night/
Friday morning, but I am hopeful that I just needed to hydrate more. Feebs and I
attended her 6 th grade orientation/ walk-thru at the new school. It was informative and
helped her to get a feel for how the school is laid out. She is excited by all of the clubs
at the school. On Thursday I had to report for jury duty… The one time I can’t serve is
the one time they send me to Richmond. I have wanted Richmond each time I get a
summons, and I always get stuck going to Pittsburg. I got to see the old health center
and it was so sad. The poor little dilapidated building that holds so many memories.
Apparently, this was the 3rd pull of jurors and girl, it was a 23-day long trial! I understand
how important it is to do your civic duty and serve on a jury. Any other time I wouldn’t
have tried to get out of it (and I swear, they ALWAYS pick me). This time, however, I
had to put in for hardship. The jury selection was scheduled for 10:25 on the following
Tuesday. The mother’s surgery was scheduled for 10:30 on the same day. There was
no way I could be in two places at once. I was terrified that they wouldn’t release me,
and that I couldn’t be there for her surgery. Thankfully, I did get dismissed. We had
ladies’ night on Saturday. It was good to check in with my gorgeous golden girls.
Things are moving forward for the northerly one. We will all be going to help clear the
decks once all the dust has settled for her. The littlest O didn’t make the cheerleading
team, which was sad. The only good thing is that they will be able to have a summer
and get to come to Feebs’s party. The following Tuesday was the Mother’s surgery. It
took 5 hours but was a fantastic success. She came out of anesthesia very well and did
amazingly during her whole hospital stay. She did better this time than she did 20 years
ago, when her body was younger and more adapted at surgery. It bothered me, not
being able to go see her every day, but she did so good and all went so well. The
Father came on Thursday night so that he could attend Feebs’s 5 th grade promotion
ceremony. It was so sweet. The kindergarten class came out and sang to them and
wished them congratulations. I almost burst into tears, remembering her as a little 5-
year-old. She did so good and was so proud of herself. Weather’s made her a really
cute money lei, and she was thrilled to receive it. I can’t believe my girl will be going
into Junior High… Crazy times. Oh, and Stage 1 of the house project was finally
finished!!! The windows, siding, and trim are complete. We have a new front and side
door. The French doors were walled in and now there are now functioning windows on
our porch. And Feebs FINALLY has a window in her bathroom. Hooray! We have an
appointment for Stage 2 (which was unexpected), and it will repair and replace all of the
interior trim that was torn away or missing with the new window structure. Stage 3- front
yard landscaping will be scheduled once the garage doors are in and after we have paid
for Stage 2. Stage 4- decks probably won’t be completed this year, sadly. I live in wonder if we will ever complete that stage. That is one thing that I have wanted to do since we bought the house, but something else always gets prioritized over it.

May is done, and June will be pretty packed. I can’t even describe how relieved I am
that the Mother’s surgery went well. I am so glad that it is done and behind her and now
she can start healing. I am glad that my May treatment went well, and June is
scheduled. I am happy that Feebs has finished the first chapter of her school life, and
we all have survived so far. I am thankful for my chosen sisters and the constant
support that we give each other. I am thankful that Summer is on the way and warmer,
longer nights are approaching. I am thankful for all that I have and everything that is
good in my life.

And because I haven’t updated anything since the beginning of the year, here is the
current Knitting Bingo card.

Loves,

M