Packing, packing and more packing. Also having fun playing with my two nephews (one 6-year old and the other 2-year). Boy! They have tones to say and tell me.

More packing! Boxes and packing materials everywhere.

I am in New York helping my sister and family to pack and move to their new home.

A true vacation, finally. I am headed tomorrow to New York to spend some time with my sister. The start of the vacation was rather great, with the company summer picnic on private lakeside up north near Canobie lake. For the first time I rode the water jet ski, after being pursuaded by my boss. It was thrilling, exciting and a tad frightening going that speed over the lake. Over thunder squalls, cold beer and hot burgers, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Not too bad for few days of furious knitting. The pattern is so simple, no really, it is simply four rows of perfectly easy knitting. After a few rows, I have the pattern in the head. I did not have the Allegra yarn, so I substituted with Shine (60% prima cotton, 40% modal). And changed the color to a vibrant apricot.

Here is the back and the detail picture of the pattern. Put on some dark glasses, this yarn is meant to brighten anyone's day.

I received an email from my father couple of days ago, regards, the english language. It had its usual nutty phrases and gotchas. But the the following excerpt is priceless! Enjoy! (and thank you father!)

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP
almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP, so.......... . Time to shut UP!!!

Do you ever get that feeling that you are running so hard to catch a train that is hurtling away from you. And how hard you try or how hard you run and it is always just out of your grasp? That's where I am at for the last few days.

I believe that this train is going in some direction, dunno where, and going pretty darn fast. It is challenging and taunting me to try and catch, and me like a dufus am trying to. My fervent attempt is to run alongside, reach up and catch the handle bar sticking out back of the train. There are days when I can almost feel the metal of the handle. Those days are the most frustrating; because, I feel that it is so within my reach, when train pulls away just a tad faster. There are days, when I give up and sit down along the wayside. Funnily, when I am sitting the dopey train is just at the horizon, taunting to pick up and start running again. When I do sit down, that's when I get all philosophical about even trying to catch the darn thing. What's the point? Am I even meant to catch it? Maybe it is not my destiny (Whoa! don't even get me started on destiny/faith or beliefs).

I have been running for a long time now, and need to probably sit down and rethink this whole thing. Whatever that thing is! Perhaps that is where I should start.... what is this thing that is making me so overwhelmed!!