Monday, June 04, 2007

Update, "Worry Knitting"....and Just What Kind of Plants Is The Flower Fairy Buying Me???

*

Second Update on my Niece:

Phew! My niece is better! She finally got out of the hospital, albeit after a few complications. She is still not working yet, and she is on medication----but she is out of bed and was able to go to a movie this past weekend with her mother. It's going to be alright!

Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!

During all my worrying, I knitted my head off for my two co-workers who, as you know, are going to have babies. Here's a couple of things I knitted during that time:

First, I finished the aran sweater I had started for Belinda's baby. Those buttons are not attached---I just layed them on there to "see" if I like those buttons. I also put a few snippets of yarn down on the bottom to show you that I intend to make a tassle to attach down there. Per my usual knitting rebellion (where I refuse to use a pattern) I made this sweater up as I went along. But I did buy a Walmart baby garment to get the sizing measurements for the size I wanted--and then I did the math to "get gauge". (And Lord-Have-Mercy, have you ever tried to "get gauge" on dang aran knitting? Impossible....) There's one stitch error in the front and one in the back, but I left them in.

Next, I kitted a silly sweater just to see what the "Red Heart Strata" yarn (I believe it was called) in Walmart is like. I wanted to see if I liked how it printed out and if it's okay for baby sweaters. The sweater doesn't "thrill" me---I can take or leave this sweater----but it's a functional garment so what the hell. I laid these heart buttons on there to see if it would improve things. (Those buttons aren't attached either---as I'm still "thinking" about them, too.)

I've still got to sew my tags onto both sweaters---and block them.

Anyway, "worry knitting" aside, once again I want to thank all of my wonderful readers who sent their prayers and good wishes for my niece. It is good people like you who keep me going in my dark hours. Although I have not met you in person, I want you to know that I read (and re-read) each and every one of your comments and emails frequently--- and I think about you all the time. You are such good people and I thank the Lord every day for friends like you.

Thank you for caring---it means more to me than you'll ever know.

Anyway, after the scare with my niece, onwards I plunged, working my head off as usual.

But I've been a little melancholy. As I stated before, I've been lonely since the mockingbird babies grew up and flew away. And the empty nest is still hanging there in the hanging flower pot on my balcony. I can't bring myself to take it down. I put "fake" leaves in it to hopefully attract the birds to come back, but no luck. So it hangs there....a bittersweet reminder of that fun time when I had the mockingbird family to watch.

If you remember, I told you that my sister had tried to console me by promising me that the Flower Fairy would visit me and "replace" the hanging plant that the mockingbird family had used for their nest (and subsequent rearing of their little family). This is because I had left that plant alone for their convenience--- and of course it died.

But I didn't care about the plant---we all had fun watching the little mockingbirds grow up, didn't we? That was truly one of the funnest experiences I've ever had in my entire life. (Is "funnest" a word?)

I am now making a scrapbook of the pictures I got of the mockingbird family (and let me tell you, I took a lot of damn pictures---in fact, I took so many damn pictures that my head still looks like Swiss Cheese from all the dadblasted pecking that the father mockingbird performed on me while I played "bird papparazzi"....)

But I don't know scrapbooking from shinola. I've made 3 pages for the book so far---and they look stupid. And also, I confess that I had no IDEA how expensive scrapbooking supplies are. I also had no idea how much dang time it takes to arrange your "pieces" on a scrapbook page--- what with cutting the picture, putting some little narrative letters on there, finding cute "stickers" for your "theme", etc.

Anyhoo, I've completed three pages so far and believe ME, they look very amateurish. In fact, they remind me of the scrapbooks I used to make in Vacation Bible School when I was 8 years old, heh! But oh well---I like them and what the heck! And I'll have a visual memento of the darling little birdies growing up.

Anyhoo, my mother and sister kept good on their promises and bought me some new plants. My sister bought me two beautiful hybrid impatiens and my mother bought me a big, fat, beautiful green fern. I immediately hung the lovely things out on my balcony and they truly make the balcony an even more lovely place than before.

Here's a pic of the fern. I like it because it's lushness fills out that corner quite nicely.

But then this morning, as usual, I woke up and ran, still in my "night clothes", to the balcony for a "look" at the day ahead and...what's this?.... I spied that female mockingbird in the dang fern. My brand new fern.

The fern? Now, why in the hell would she be sitting in that fern, I thought to myself....

I mean, I truly thought that the poor mockingbird parents were angry with stupid me for annoying the hell out of them during the entire time they tried to raise their family. I thought I'd never see those birds again. And, indeed, they did disappear when the last baby flew away.

When I saw the mama bird in the fern this morning, she was making weird movements---kind of like a "shimmy" movement. Silly bird, I thought--- for taking a "birdbath" in the few drops of water left on the fern from the recent hard rains we've been having. She could go over to the church next door where they have an actual fountain somewhere which would provide a better birdbath.

I went to work as usual and didn't think another thing about it.

For awhile.

And then.....I started thinking about it again. Because I thought I remembered that they say that mockingbirds sometimes build nests in the same location as their old ones---or else they sometimes even USE their old nests again.

Surely not, I thought to myself......

But all morning long I kept wondering and wondering. In fact, I wondered---would they build another nest?

I finally couldn't stand the curiosity any longer. I KNEW that I was being unrealistic---because it hasn't even been 2 weeks since the last baby bird flew. I really KNEW that I was thinking crazy thoughts....

Okay, I KNEW I WAS NUTS.

But suddenly I became overwhelmed with my stupid thoughts and couldn't help myself. God, I worried, I'm going even more nuts than I've ever gone before....

So I suddenly jumped up, startling the hell out of my co-workers---and ran out of my office saying I was going to go home and "get a Swanson's Pot Pie for lunch" ---- and I drove home. And then I ran out to the balcony. And, just as I figured, there were no birds in sight----the fern was swinging in its place, peacefully, in the Texas wind.

"See?" I told myself. "You're imagining things. You are WISHING for something that doesn't exist. Bo, you truly ARE going insane and this time it's no joke...."

But, still, stubborn as a mule, I had to look.

I clambered up onto the chair under the fern..... peeked up over into the fern's center area ----and I looked....

You could have knocked me over with a feather.......a mockingbird feather....

*

*

14 comments:

Runs With Scissors said...

I'm so happy that your niece is better.

Are you even kidding me with the new nest?!!! The eggs are beautiful! I'm waiting for Daddybird to come back, though.

Now to the sweaters. They are beautiful, too. I actually have one just like the first one, buttons and all!

Glad that your life is resuming some form of normalcy!
~RWS

Anonymous said...

Yippee, I can't WAIT to see new pictures of new babies ... man, those things REPRODUCE fast!!!

Have you found a hard hat yet? :-)

And so glad all is going well for the niece ... hoping it continues.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. More mockingbirds. More birds to follow their progress. I check your blog daily to see how your neice is doing, and checking on the birds.

Nice job on the sweaters. I did worry knitting this week and weekend, but it didn't come out as nice as yours.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

Janet said...

The sweaters are beautiful!

Taueret said...

ha! those naughty birds! So glad your niece is better.

girlvet said...

I love your blog! Your stories are so much fun. You are really a talented artiist too. Write more often.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad your niece is recovering.

Another nest - more holes in your head?

And the nice thing about worry knitting is having something to show for all that worrying. Lovely sweaters! Lucky babies.

Lisa said...

Thank heaven for meds. I'm glad that your niece is better.

The baby sweaters look great!

As for the mockingbirds....we need to get you a suit of armour from as Ren Fest.....

Can't wait to hear more tales of the new family as they sprout up.....

poody said...

Ha ha You know Bo you can warteer the fern but you have to be very careful with it. Just enough water around the edges to keep it alive! I guess the dad likes you better than you thought!

poody said...

P.S. I love the little sweaters too. My fav is the 2nd one! I love it and the heart buttons too! Do yourself a favor and wear a pith helmet when you go out on the balcony!

danielle said...

I am so thankful your niece is doing better!

I love your sweaters...can I knit like you when I grow up? I think you dont like the Strata sweater that much because you are comparing it to your Awesome Aran!

Dang girl...why wouldnt you think those mockingbirds would come back? Altho the landlord is a bit nosy...look what she did for them...updated their digs from a dead plant to a lush fern!!!

I have a hard hat from the time we toured Hoover Dam (something they no longer allow thanks to 9/11) - want me to send it to you??? It is a lightweight one but might work...

Brewgal said...

I am SO glad your niece is doing better! I hope she continues to improve.

T-Mom said...

Cool! I lost my nest of baby rabbits--I think the neighborhood cats got them, but it was a stupid place for a momma bunny to build a nest anyway. I'm so glad you get a rerun!!

And I'm very glad about your niece. Good news is such a nice change.

Anonymous said...

Loving the mockingbird egg pics. We don't have them in the Old World (Scotland). Any nature stuff is great. Especially horses. We have them here but you wouldn't have them there if the Spanish hadn't reintroduced them. Did you know that? Probably got that from Wikipedia. It rocks.