Lost in My Backyard

Living in Germany limits my need to drive. I have a car. I drive it every week. But living in the middle of the city means I don't need to drive very often and when I do drive it's only around town. So me taking a little pleasure drive yesterday afternoon was a rare event.

I didn't intend to go far. I drove to a park and walked around a bit and then drove out to a nearby lake. I finally got my fill and it was my intention to turn my car around and head back home when I started on my unexpected tour.

I was on a road where many of the industrial parks that line the river are located when I decided to drive home. It was my intention to drive into one of those industrial parks and make my turn around. As I approached a traffic light I could see the light for the left turn lane was green so figuring that it was as good a place as any I made the left turn.

You know before making that turn it would have been a good idea to realize that it wasn't a street I was turning on to but instead an exit for the Autobahn. The A2 towards Berlin, to be more precise.

Now I'm not frightened of highway driving. You don't live for years in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. without becoming used to highway driving. However there are two considerations here. The first is that a German highway and a highway in the U.S. isn't exactly the same sort of driving and second is the quality of my personal automobile. Perhaps quality isn't the right term. I actually mean the ability of my car to compete on a highway with people driving anywhere between 120 and 180+ kph. I drive a Toyota Econobox Starlet. A 1996 Toyota Starlet. It's not a beat up car at all - it actually has less than 20,000 kilometers (about 12,000 miles). It does, however, have an engine that's probably not larger than my head and I'm not entirely convinced that it's not run by squirrels on an exercise wheel. So as I was on the long exit to the Autobahn I figured that I definitely needed to stay calm and I definitely needed to bury my foot in the floorboard once I reached the top of the exit.

As I was merging into traffic (and thank goodness it was Sunday and therefore no trucks on the Autobahn) I hoped the next exit wouldn't be too far off so I could turn myself around. I was desperately trying to drive between 120 and 130 kph as to not get mowed down and as soon as I saw an exit I made for it as quickly as I could.

This led to the next problem. I had no idea where I was.

Not driving often means I don't know every little village and town that surrounds Magdeburg. In fact I seldom have need to drive outside of Magdeburg. I drive out to Aunt Annoying and Uncle Milquetoast's house, which is about 30 kilometers south of Magdeburg. I sometimes drive to my MIL's cousin's flat which is about 20 kilometers south. And once in a great while I drive about 15 kilometers west to a mall that's located in a suburb-like town outside of Magdeburg. For the most part I have no real need to leave Magdeburg because the vast majority of the shopping I do is right here and so are the vast majority of the people I know. If I do leave town for any real distance I don't even drive and instead take the train. If I know of towns outside of Magdeburg it's usually only because they have a train station there where I've stopped.

I found it appropriate the the town to which I exited was Lostau because I was indeed lost. I don't want to pick on Lostau but it's not much more than a wide space in the road, except they do have a lung clinic there. If you have lung cancer, you're probably going to do time in Lostau. Turning around somewhere and heading back towards the Autobahn proved to be difficult because there wasn't an appropriate place to turn around and because there was a big ass Mercedes wanting to to crawl into my trunk. I decided to drive on and find a parking lot in which I could turn around, knowing that already my search of parking lots had gotten me into this fix in the first place. I did find a grocery store but it was at the point where the road was torn up all to hell and only one lane of traffic could drive at a time. By the time I could get out of the construction area I was also out of Lostau.

Keep in mind that I was not all that far out of Magdeburg. Maybe...I dunno. Ten miles? I also knew I was heading south and that if I was heading south I should eventually come up to the Bundesstrasse 1 which would take me back to Magdeburg. My fear was coming to some fork in the road that wouldn't indicate to me which way to turn to find the B1 and me becoming snarled up in country road after country road. My other fear was me either driving so fast that I would perhaps miss any important turn I would need to make or driving slow enough to piss off every village rat on a Sunday outting.

After another few kilometers I saw a sign pointing me in the direction of Magdeburg and I drove directly to the B1. Looking back on it I shouldn't have feared. If there's one thing that Germans are it's sign-happy. They love to point out in which direction everything is located. Once I was on the B1 heading west I knew I had nothing more about which to worry and by the time I had made it to Heyrothsberge, a town just outside Magdeburg's city limits, I could see the spires of Magdeburg's cathedral - the cathedral that's probably not more than a kilometer from my flat.

After making it home I walked up to my flat, walked straight into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of Absolut Citron that was in the refrigerator, took a swig directly from the bottle and was then ready to go into the living room to let B know I was home. I had earned that swig.

As it turns out, despite B living his entire life in Magdeburg, he's never been to Lostau himself and wouldn't actually know how to drive there. I have one up on the native.

Still I should have just stayed home and knitted.

Friday Shuffle - Needs a Shave Edition

We spoke with my MIL tonight and she sounded more like her normal self. Has anything changed between her and Gerd or was it just a fluke or have we been overreacting? I have no idea but I do know this. I can't micromanage the life of a 74 year old woman. If she's not happy and she wants our help or encouragement then we'll give it - otherwise we can only try to relate to her in the way we always have and if that means dealing with Gerd sometimes then we'll have to do it. You know I probably wasn't the easiest person to deal with in the first couple years I was with B and I'm sure he changed somewhat when I moved here so maybe it'll only take some patience all around. If I'm not that thrilled with the guy and she is then I'll just have to get over it.

On to the biggest event of my day:

While I was out today to mail back some rental DVDs I saw a bike parked in front of the mall that was covered in fake fur. Most of it was black fake fur but there were some parts covered in fake fur that I can only describe as fox-like. I wanted to see who would have a fake fur bike but what was I supposed to do? Hang out until the owner of that fuzzy ride returned?

About a half hour later as I was sitting on a bench near my flat, shaking a stone from my shoe, the fur covered bike passed by me and I looked up in time to see it's rider. Just an average university student-looking type. I was so disappointed by that. I wanted to see someone who looked as outlandish as the bike and who couldn't be mistaken for anyone but a person who would glue acrylic fur to a bicycle.

Evidenlty these days I am expecting too much from my fellow man.

Let's shuffle. Bixente, the iPod - hit it.

1. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) - Nancy Sinatra
2. Falling Down - Oasis
3. James Dean - The Eagles
   
4. The Right Place To Fade - Lindsey Buckingham
5. Dixie Chicken - Little Feat
6. Evil Is Alive And Well - Jakob Dylan
7. Hidden Treasure - Traffic
8. Shining Star - Earth, Wind and Fire
9. Longview - Green Day
10. Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
    

Yes. Him Again.

I hate to keep harping on the same tired subject but every week I grow more irritated with Gerd and it's getting to the point whether I'm not sure if I'm actually irritated with him because he deserves it or if it's merely because I believe he deserves it.

Today the medical supply guy came by our apartment for us to see a push wheelchair he believed would suit B. It seems like just what B needs but to even get the process of him obtaining this chair started we have to have a prescription from our family doctor for this specific style of chair. This evening B was telling his mother that we'll need this prescription and normally his mother would be all over getting that done - she'd want to take care of getting it herself because that's just the thing she loves to do. Instead she said nothing and I suspect it's because he told my MIL that he didn't like Gerd doing stuff for him behind his back. I suspect she told Gerd and he got miffed or even downright pissed about it and now he's pressing her to not do anything for him, or at least as little as possible. It's not that I can't be bothered to go get this prescription myself. I certainly can but it's normally the sort of thing that my MIL insists that she take care of so when she didn't even mention going by the doctor's office it struck B and I both as being a little funny.

Lately my MIL sounds very matter-of-fact on the phone. Not unfriendly but not herself either. She sounds distant and distracted - like she's trying to say as little as possible and end the phone call when she can because her talking on the phone is disturbing Gerd or something. When he's not home she's completely normal again and chats her head off.

I'm detecting a distinct "us vs. him" thing with her. It's as though she's divided between her loyalty to her son and her loyalty to Gerd. In August I was with my MIL when she ran into a longtime friend of hers. My MIL said "I haven't heard from you in so long!" and the lady said "Well I want to call but when I do it always seems like it's a bad time for you and you can't really talk to me.". That definitely caught my attetion. And my MIL's brother and his wife, who used to come visit her every week, seldom come visit her. It's not like my MIL was relishing her visits from Aunt Annoying and Uncle Milquetoast anyway but I believe they don't care for Gerd - at least Aunt Annoying doesn't - and they like to limit their contact with him.

Like I said this may be real or it could be all in my head. Maybe I'm making the evidence fit the conclusion I'm drawing. We want to like this guy and get along but B and I both think he's controlling her and maybe even trying to isolate her.

I hate that we have to feel this way. B was always so close with his mom and it feels like we're losing her.

Scrooed and Popped Dots

Scattered, unrelated happenings ahead. Here we go.

• Hair Scroos. Ohdearlord, how did I live before I found Hair Scroos? I didn't know where to find them but read somewhere online that they can be easily be found in Germany at all drugstores. In reality it seems that what was meant was all drugstores except the first two I went to looking for them. Third time was indeed the charm and I found them at my local Müllers. As you can see by looking at picture they appear fierce and tricky but in reality they're quite easy to use. The trick is to twist the hair you wish to have pinned up and then you simply screw in the Hair Scroos at strategic points to hold up your hair instead of using conventional hairpins. And since they screw in, the pins don't fall back out. I love them. I put my hair up all the time now. I'm running around my flat looking like a prissy schoolmarm with my hair up in a cute little bun one day and a chic French twist on another day. And yes, I do resemble a compound dwelling, poligamy marriage wife wearing Holly Hobbie's wardrobe when I French braid my hair and Hair Scroo the bottom of it underneath the upper part of the braid. No crazy aerodynamic bangs though.
  
  
• Did I learn my lesson last month and get my pair-a-month socks knitalong project finished in plenty of time? No I did not. I don't even have the heels knit on them yet and here it is the 22nd. I told y'all this was going to happen!
  
  
• I need some new double pointed needles. In reality I merely want them but perhaps if I say "need" instead of "want" enough then I'll be able to justify spending a tenner (plus shipping!) on two sets of dpns. The call of nickel-plated Harmony dpns is strong and my will is weak.
  
  
• Popcorn. You irresistible little minx, you.
  
  
• I'm not ashamed to say that while cooking supper tonight I danced around the kitchen while listening to Bixente, the iPod. And I thought using wooden spoons as drumsticks was a fairly inventive touch.

Oops. Popcorn's done. Tschüss.

Friday Shuffle - Fried to Perfection Edition

It's been rather dead around here for the past couple of days. It's not that I haven't been busy - but it's only been more of the same. My life tends to run in a pattern and I haven't deviated from it in the least. Chores, errands, grocery shopping, take care of B - same old same. Things are so ordinary that I can't be bothered to even dig for new cliches and are resorting to faded classics like "same old same".

And right now there's only really one thing on my mind. French fries. Right now I'd rassle a bear for a plate of hot, crispy French fries. For some really good fries I'd even pass over the ketchup and mayonnaise.

In the absence of fries, let's shuffle instead.

1. Spiralling - Keane
2. Oh Very Young - Cat Stevens
3. Mohair Sam - Kitty Daisy & Lewis
4. Lied 1 - Stück Vom Himmel - Herbert Grönemeyer
   
5. Here Comes My Baby - The Mavericks
6. Victor Jara's Hands - Calexico (Useless trivia: I used to live a couple blocks from Victor Jara Strasse and yes, you have to go down Salvador Allende Strasse to get there.)
   
7. Love Man - Otis Redding
8. The House Is Rockin' - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
9. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
10. Hard To Laugh - Pursuit of Happiness

Dig on your weekend the mostest. Dip in ketchup if necessary.

Time's A-Wastin'

That's what my mother would always say to us kids when we were dragging around and not doing what she wanted done that red hot second. Of course she's the one who usually has to be prodded into getting herself into gear and getting done what needs to be done but that is neither here nor there. In Miss Virginia's world we do as she says, not as she does.

But time is a-wastin' and if you're a citizen of the USA living overseas, whether it's permanently or temporarily, and you haven't arranged to register to vote and get an absentee ballot sent to you, you really do need to get yourself in gear and get it done. Now. I mean get it done now and get your hips on down to the post office to get things mailed immediately.

"But Dixie!", you cry. "We have no idea how to do vote from overseas!" Don't fret - it's quite simple.

First go to VoteFromAbroad.org and fill out the handy-dandy application. Just answer all the questions it asks and after you check it for any errors, print the form (you do have to have Adobe Acrobat Reader but if you don't already have it, there's a link for downloading it). Second, get to the post office right away and send it - airmail if you're cutting it close to your home state's deadline.

Have questions about what form is for what and so on? Check the FAQ section.

Even though we live overseas, we should still care about our homeland and we still have a vested interest in what happens there. Our families and friends live there. We may be living there again. It's important that we make our voices heard in this election, even if our voices are overseas. Register to vote, apply for your absentee ballot and do it today.

Don't make me get Miss Virginia out to fuss at you.

Creepy, But Still Soft And Fuzzy

All in all it was a pretty good weekend. Sort of crappy weather but I was in the mood to be all nestled in and snuggly.

The highlights:

• Yesterday B told my MIL that while he appreciates the help Gerd gives, he should not go behind B's back again to make appointments for him or anything else along those lines. Ask B first and then proceed - it's that simple. My MIL thought B was overreacting and insisted that Gerd did it with only good intentions. Yeah, we get that but it's not the point. My MIL is the sort of person that thinks nearly everything can be overlooked if the offender didn't mean any harm. And at the age of 74 we're probably not going to be able to change her way of thinking. Stay tuned to see if things subside in this area or if more hours of grumbling and being pissed off are in our future.
  
  
• Thank God and all his angels for the medications the doctors give my mother for her Alzheimer's disease. We spoke with her early Saturday evening and she was lucid for the entire hour we were on the phone. So many conversations with her have had her drifting off or her sort of checking out on us - she'll suddenly sound as though she's drunk (my mother does not drink at all) or is falling asleep - or she'll suddenly start talking in nothing but non sequiturs. This time she was as sharp as a tack. I know these sorts of encounters will eventually be fewer and farther in between until they stop but I'll take as many as I can for as long as I can.
  
  
• Last night B and I watched Zodiac and I'm happy to report that the story of the Zodiac killer still creeps me out no end. I remember my friends and I talking about this story back when I was maybe nine or ten years old, a couple years after the murders had stopped - this story and the Charles Manson murders - and it scared us all silly. Little kids being spooked by murders that happened a few thousands of miles away from us. It was the sort of thing we'd talk about at slumber parties and every creak of the house would make us jump with fright. But what made the Zodiac thing even creepier is that he was never caught. And I credit blame it on starting me on my true-crime story fascination.
  
  
• It's been a festival of yarn here today. Remember my lovely friend, Kay, who sent me a fabulous box o' yarn a couple weeks ago? She sent more. She's crazy like that. Crazy sweet and crazy generous and she's spoiled me like crazy. This time she sent another couple balls of the Rowan Soft Tweed yarn like what was in the last shipment - yarn so lovely and soft I want to kiss it - but she also sent eight balls of Gedifra Belisana in an incredible shade of lavender. It's wonderfully soft but not kissable as it's made with a lot of kid mohair, a sure fire recipe for fuzzy lips. Then there is my knitting pal, Alicia. Alicia and I belong to the same knitting website and we belong to a group that has taken on the challenge to knit a pair of socks each month for a year. In order to keep us motivated many of us have taken on accountability partners. The rule is that if we fail to knit a pair of socks by the end of the month, we must send our accountability partner enough sock yarn to knit one pair of socks. Unfortunately Alicia had a very busy August and she failed to meet the deadline. I was willing to let her slide but, as Alicia wisely pointed out, it wouldn't be much of an incentive to keep on track if we let one another slide and not pay the penalty. And I was glad she was insistent about paying up because today I got a hank of some truly stunning hand-dyed sock yarn that she picked up at a fiber festival. And it's done in shades of purple and green. I can't tell you how much I love purple and green together, especially if it's in muted hues like this yarn is. You know normally I knit socks for others but this time, the socks I make from this yarn are going to be mine, all mine.

The days are turning colder already. I need to knit faster.

Friday Shuffle - Slightly Puny Edition

I have a sick-boy husband today so there are no events this Friday that warrant my reporting them to you unless you want to hear about how he mumbled over and over "I think that soup made me sick". I was not the maker of the soup - his mother was. I blame Gerd. He didn't have anything to do with the soup but he needs to be blamed for it anyway. Maybe his control freak vibes got all in it and they decided to take possession of B's digestive tract.

And yesterday I watched five episodes of Weeds and four episodes of Twin Peaks so I could hurry up and get the DVDs back in the mail. Today my eyeballs today are spinning around like pinwheels and last night I dreamed about Laura Palmer and that forwards backward talking dwarf. "Sometimes my arms bend back." Creepy.

Yeah, we're a couple beauties today. Must have distraction. Let's shuffle.

1. Louisiana 1927 - Aaron Neville
2. I Wanna Be Your Lover - Yo La Tengo
3. Have A Little Faith - Michael Franti & Spearhead
4. Does Your Mother Know - ABBA
5. No Reply - The Beatles
6. Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
7. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
8. Do You Believe In Magic? - The Lovin' Spoonful
9. Rise Up With Fists - Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
10. Shower The People - James Taylor

Y'all enjoy your weekend. As for me I'll be forgetting about today and knitting me up some itty bitty sock.

That's a Step a Step Too Far

It's been a little over a month since we talked to the medical supply guy about getting B a new push wheelchair. He was supposed to call B back to talk with him about what other chairs would be available for him and Mr Medical Supply never did. Not that we cared. This whole push wheelchair thing is a pretty low priority for us. It would be nice to have sometimes but it's not a necessity for our daily lives.

My MIL and Gerd, however, see this situation differently. They're under some impression that if B gets a push wheelchair that he'll be able to go over to their apartment. Nice idea except for a couple things:

A: If B is able to get outside then he wants to be...you know...actually outside! If he wanted to be in an apartment he'd just stay home.

B. B can't go directly into the elevator in my MIL's building. He'd either have to go up or down a flight of stairs.

C. Gerd thinks we can get around this problem by him (did I mention that Gerd's nearly 67 years old?) and someone else carrying B up or down that flight of stairs while B sits in the wheelchair. Jeez louise - he's a disabled human being with virtually no control over his balance, not a washing machine! Is B being a quadriplegic not enough? Are you just working making him brain damaged as well? B's been a quadriplegic for 25 years. His bones are like glass. His joints are delicate. If you drop him, he will definitely break.

Every few days my MIL would ask B if Mr. Medical Supply has called and when B would say that he hadn't, she'd get all twitchy. She's big into following-up everything anyway. But like I said, we just didn't care about it all that much so we'd promptly forget about it.

Today B called his mother around noon to check about some soup she was cooking and wanted to share with us. During the call she said "Today Gerd went by the medical supply place and talked with the medical supply guy and he made an appointment for the guy to come by there tomorrow.".

Oh I'm sorry! Are we now too ignorant to make our own appointments? Gerd is our new liason with the outside world?

"And he'll be there between 9:00 and 9:30."

Noooo. There's only one person we allow in our apartment before noon and that's the insurance company nurse when she comes by for her quarterly inspection. And that's because we have no other choice. I was shaking my head at B as if to say "Uh uh. Not good." and B's was saying to his mother "That's awfully early for me!" and she replied "Well you'll just have to get ready a little earlier!".

"And Gerd will be there too to put you in the wheelchair Mr Medical Supply is bringing by for you to try!"

Oh hell no! That's definitely not happening! There is no way I'm going to be able to get B awake, washed, shaved, breakfasted and dressed by 9:00 and he's really not going to be able to sit up in a wheelchair at that hour. In the mornings his muscles and joints are very tight and cramped and it makes him dizzy to sit upright at that hour, let alone tolerate the jostling it takes to get him in a wheelchair. That sort of thing is for emergencies only and this sure as hell isn't any emergency. B doesn't even give a crap if he gets a push wheelchair anytime this year. And this is before we even take into consideration that it's before noon that I have my chance to do the things I need to do. I've got to get grocery shopping done and housework done and errands run tomorrow morning.

By then B was furious. He has tried very hard to be tolerant of Gerd and overlook any idiocincracies Gerd has but this was too much. We never asked Gerd to go see this guy, never told him to make any appointments and sure as hell never told him that an appointment at 9:00 would be okay. This is the exact sort of behavior that keeps B and I from really ever getting close to Gerd. This sort of control freak crap. It's one thing when my MIL does stuff for B - she's his mother. It's one thing when I do stuff for B - I'm his wife. Gerd is our nothing. He's not related to us. He's never taken care of B. He's not family. He didn't just cross the line - he completely erased it. And he's brainwashed my MIL because she doesn't say shit to him about this kind of interference. It's like last summer when he went to our dentist and made an appointment for B without telling B he was going to do that. He insinuates himself into our lives and it's too much.

B put his foot down and said no - he wasn't going to have this guy come over tomorrow and certainly not that early. My MIL replied "Well that's the only appointment he had! It's already made!" and B said "I don't care. Call him back. Tell him I'm sick. Cancel that appointment.". My MIL called and left a message for Mr. Medical Supply and was told he would call us back for another appointment. She sounded a little miffed but her miffed couldn't even begin to compare to B's fury over this. Normally he's so easy going you have to punch him in the face to get him to raise an eyebrow but today he was seething for hours.

Early this evening Mr. Medical Supply called and B apologized for having to cancel but he just couldn't make tomorrow's appointment and Mr. Medical Supply said he understood and repeatedly apologized for not having called himself in the weeks before for an appointment. He offered to make another appointment with B and what do you know? He had all next week available to come over and meet with us. There was no squeezing B in and certainly no need for us to have met with him tomorrow morning at 9:00. B also told Mr. Medical Supply that he had not authorized Gerd to make any sort of appointment and that it was all being done behind his back.

My MIL is coming over tomorrow afternoon and I suppose B's going to have to have a Come To Jesus meeting with her over Gerd overstepping his boundries. We appreciate his willingness to help but he's going to far and is trying to control freak us. We've already been suspicious that he does it to my MIL already but it's her life and she'll have to put up with it or end it as she sees fit but he's not going to pull that sort of bullshit with us.

In Twitter-like Bursts

Here's all that's been going on for the past couple days:

I finished a pair of baby socks for Darling Mollie's sister's baby.
I started a new pair of baby socks for the same baby.
Second pair of baby socks required me to learn how to do a picot hem.
You don't know what a picot hem is?
I didn't either until I made it.
That was some fiddly-ass shit to do.
Turned out cute though.
Started to watch a couple movies.
Got bored with both of them and stopped watching them after twenty minutes.
Ordered new panties.
Did laundry.
And laundry.
And laundry.
And it's still not all done.
Ate four tomato sandwiches.
Not at once.
Wished my friend, Lisa, was here to give me a pedicure.
French braided my hair over and over until my arms gave out.
Found out what a Hair Scroo is.
Decided that I must have some.
Cleaned my jewelry.
Played Hearts on my computer.
Had an old lady tell me I smell good.

It's not all that happened but a good cross section of events anyway.

Friday Shuffle - Cutting to the Chase Edition

This may have been the most uneventful week of the year so far. With the exception of receiving my fabulous box o' yarn, nothing has transpired. The only time the phone rang all week was when we got a call from the technical university in Dresden to ask us about our travel habits on August 28th. We'd been chosen at random by the mayor of Magdeburg's office to take part in this little collection of data so they can study...something. They wanted to know where we'd been that day, how we traveled, for what we traveled, how far we'd traveled. Okidoke. If you want to know that it took me 90 seconds to walk to the bakery, I'll be happy to tell you about it. Other highlights of the week would include me finding a small spider web by my bedroom window occupied by a spider the size of the head of a pin, getting a fabulous parking spot at the grocery store and me sending back a top that fit me weirdly.

Anyway, there's not much to say about today or any day this week so let's not tarry any longer. Bixente the iPod is here to liven things up. Let's shuffle.

1. Old Brown's Daughter - Great Big Sea
2. High Lonesome - The Gaslight Anthem
3. Marrakesh Express - Crosby, Stills & Nash
4. Killing Floor - Mike Viola & The Candy Butchers
   
5. Sequestered In Memphis - The Hold Steady
6. Brimful of Asha - Cornershop
7. Randy Scouse Git - The Monkees
8. Our Town - Marshall Crenshaw
9. Invincible - OK Go
10. That's Amore - Dean Martin
    

Just Happy

Someone who is very generous and very kind and very, very sweet has sent me a great big ol' box of yarn. Not plain Jane stuff. Really gorgeous, luxurious and interesting yarns. Yarns for socks, scarves, wraps and blankets. I am so overwhelmed by her generosity that I can hardly describe how special she's made me feel and how grateful that I am.

And I cannot leave this box of yarn alone. It's getting ridiculous. I keep looking at it and petting it and reading online about the qualities of each kind she sent me. I look up projects made with this yarn and think about what I want to knit with it.

What's worst of all is that I want to knit it all. Right now. All at the same time. I can't decide on what yarn to grab first and cast on. I can't make up my mind which project I want to tackle now and which ones can wait a month or two.

But what I think about most is how lovely people are to me. How sweet and thoughtful they are. The lady who sent me this wonderful gift wished to make me happy but I'm not sure if she knows how deeply her kindness has touched me. But it did. And I just had to brag on her (and, I'll admit, show off about the fabulous additions to my yarn stash) and once again affirm that there is a lot more right with people than there is wrong. There is a lot more generosity than selfishness. There is much more joy taken in the happiness of others than joy taken at the misfortune others experience. The world may make us feel more cynical but I'm convinced that in the end we're better to one another than we give ourselves credit for and that's most reassuring.