One Wanderer Returning, One Leaving

Right now what I should be doing is gathering my tax information. Instead I am writing this post because I can't contain my excitement at the news that my son Tim is returning from Austria and will be settling, at least for a little while, in Lake. This means I will be able to see him on a regular basis, for the first time in nine years. It fills my heart with joy, and I am looking forward to a fun summer spent with three of my children, since the youngest boy is taking over his brother's wandering ways and leaving in April to go to Nevada to train for a bike trip from Arizona to San Francisco and down the coast to San Diego. I'm not quite sure where these wanderers sprang from, but I think it's a wonderful thing that they wander, as long as they return home.

I spent most of yesterday as a passenger riding to Ottawa airport to pick up my nephew and then going to Camden, New York to attend the wake of his Grandpa (my sister Jane's father-in-law). 390 miles as a passenger and 60 miles of driving to get to and from my brother's house made it a very long day, but I was glad to do it. As I told Ethan's Grandma, as she thanked us, that is what family is for. It also enabled me to spend some time with my cousin and his wife, something that hasn't happened in a long time. I appreciated the chance to reconnect and learn what is going on in their lives.

Camden is on Tug Hill and gets a lot of lake effect snow. This snow bank was on the edge of the funeral home parking lot. That is a huge Victorian house behind the snow bank. It seems they had a particularly snowy winter because this snow bank is somewhat melted.

All that riding gave me the opportunity to get some knitting done. I worked on my cardigan sweater, and I'm almost done with the body. I need to measure one of my sweaters to make sure I have the right length. I also started a pair of socks from some of my handspun.

I love the way these socks are turning out. I added stripes because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough of the main color. I tend not to knit with my handspun, and I am going to make an effort to do it more often. Although the yarn does provide wonderful insulating properties in my house, knitting or crocheting with it seems like a better thing to do. I'm thinking of making an afghan using handspun. I need to give that project a little more thought-crochet or knit would be one of the major decisions. When it comes to afghans I usually opt for crochet because it is faster, but I've never crocheted with handspun.

As I was taking photos of the sock this morning Seamus was busy sleeping on a pink sheepskin.

And Gerard was busy being his usual energetic self-scratching his neck on the carpet and almost tumbling down the stairs, embarrassing for a cat.

He also spent some time checking out the desk-seeming to have discovered it for the first time this morning, although it's been in that spot for over a year. Silly cat.

Gerard, Seamus and I wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Don't drink too much green beer! Do they still make green beer?