Last weekend was likely our last of the year at the lake.  We've had some memorable winter visits over the years, even celebrating Christmas there a couple of times.

As fun as it is to get away, I am very much looking forward to a weekend at home.  I have plenty of work/cleaning/organizing to do.  And I'm sure Katie could use some help.  The floors at her apartment (including a stinky process for carpet glue removal) will be done on Monday!  She plans to be completely moved in by Thanksgiving and, even with a few days for airing out, I think she'll easily make that deadline!

I may or may not have a tiny new baby in my viewfinder at some point this weekend -- very exciting -- and it's been a while.

On Saturday afternoon, I'll be attending a special event sponsored by my LYS, Iris Fine Yarns.  "Changing the World with Sticks and String: Knitting Activism Past, Present and Future" will be presented by Alison Gates, Associate Professor, Arts and Visual Design/Textiles Chair, Women's and Gender Studies, UW-Green Bay.  There's a link to a PDF with more information on the Iris Special Events page (click on "Registration Required") -- and, by the way, if you're local and think you might like to attend, registration for this free event is required (registration deadline was last Saturday, but I doubt they'd turn anyone away).

I'd sure like to cook something this weekend -- the girls gave me a gigantic covered skillet for my birthday and I've yet to use it!  I've wanted one for years, and even more with all the cooking I was doing recently (until VERY recently).

Well, I'll be back tomorrow -- doin' this NaBloPoMo thing, you know!

I am thankful for my three sisters and for my brother.  I am thankful that we can talk often or not, laugh or cry, argue and fight, and that we bounce back every time.  I am thankful that, so far, we've managed to keep speaking to each other.  Generally.

I'm thankful that we make time for each other -- and live close enough to each other, presently, to get together often.

 
I'm thankful for determination and hard work, neurosurgeons and oncologists and nurses of all sorts, and for good thoughts and wishes and prayers and knitted blankets.

So far this year, November has been way better than October in the weather department.  It's a little hard to believe that Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks and that Christmas is comin'.  I know that Christmas is comin' because commercials don't lie and my mailbox is filling with catalogs.  'Tis the season.

We walked down and traipsed through the abandoned and deteriorating cabins at the old Hiawatha Resort. 

I stopped at a gas station in Wausau on my way up north on Friday -- a terrific Mom & Pop place that's definitely on my list.  It's nice to know where the good ones (i.e., clean bathrooms) are.  I found another on the way home -- looking for the first, but being distracted as well as having picked the wrong exit -- it's nice to know there are two!  Anyway, on the way up I bought some water and a Diet Coke and a bag of nut clusters because I was a little hungry.  I went out to my car and smartly decided to open the bag of nuts while still parked rather than wrestling with it while driving.  I pulled and pulled and pulled and could NOT get that bag open -- at all, I couldn't break that seal even one little bit!  This has been happening more and more with all sorts of sealed packaging -- or it opens, but splits WIDE open or spills or splatters.  Ugh.  I am strong as an ox, but I don't have a grip anymore!  I think I'll get a little scissors -- maybe foldable -- to carry with me all the time.  I actually went back inside and asked to have the bag cut open.

...oh, what a relief it is!  a) It was the same old oncologist -- she's actually very young and, while there's something to be said for a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective, no one was unhappy with the way things were.  b) (for BEST) My sister's tumors have either shrunk or stayed the same!  The clock has been reset once again.

Random celebratory sunshine photo.

Thank you!  Keep those good thoughts.

When I heard this song on the radio yesterday, I knew I'd have to post it today.  Thirty-four years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost -- it was my senior year at a small high school in far northern Wisconsin, not far from "the big lake."  To my ear, this is one of the best songs ever written.

* * * * *

Well, apologies, but I'm still catching up.  What was I doing?  Where was I going??  What am I in the middle of???  How many thousands of emails and blog posts behind am I (I think I'll be hittin' the "mark all as read" button today)?  There's a zillion old things in the hopper with a couple of new wrenches tossed in... *sigh*

Good thoughts, wishes and prayers for my sis today... she's meeting with a new (not by choice) oncologist... the support group is, by her request, lighter than it's been so... anyway...

XO

Ha!  I had a great weekend away -- the weather, the company, the food -- couldn't have been better.  I am really looking forward to spending next weekend at home, though.

A couple of photos will have to do today... I've got lots of catching up to do!

No trip to the lake is complete without a pic of the deer across the road.

 
Mike and his dog, Sam, below.

 
No one was around when I arrived on Friday, so I unpacked my car and put stuff away, then settled in with my knitting.  Michael came in -- he'd arrived earlier but had gone to get worms.  He gave me a little woolly lamb made of sherpa with a ceramic base and face -- he and his wife thought of me when they found it -- and told me that Sam had shown great interest.  I set it on the table next to me as we continued talking.  Sharon and Ann came in and I noticed some white fluffy stuff and broken bits of ceramic on the rug as the commotion of their arrival died down ... little sheepy remains!

I slipped on shoes (no socks) and a lined denim shirt (over my nightgown), grabbed my camera and ran outside this morning as Michael went out with a thermos full of coffee and his dog for a little fishing.  It was a little frosty, but I didn't really notice 'til I got back inside.  Then, I stood at the patio door with my own cup of coffee and watched a young buck travel east through the front yard, crossing paths with a glorious red fox heading west.  Pretty neat.

Still partying!!  Heh.  I'm up north with my sibs, so writing this today (Nov. 6th) to post tomorrow (Nov. 7th), just in case I don't have internet... NaBloPoMo waits for no man or woman to finish their cake.

The twins are in this photo -- Michael was just wee and Annie wasn't even a twinkle yet.  I trust you'll be able to pick them out of the crowd, we three being our mother's children and all.

Carry on!

And it is!  I don't know what to say about my birthday this year.  Last year was the big 5-0 and I had made a lot of changes in my 50th year in this world -- sort of continued along that path in my 51st, though with perhaps a little less gusto.  Still... continuing, going, growing, moving, changing, learning, exploring, doing... as long as I'm doing those things, the years don't really matter.

Eat cake (in moderation)!