Summer 2015

It's been a horrendous summer for me. It started out very well with an amazing cruise in Alaska!  I'll get back to that at a later point, but now I need to tell you of my new "journey" that was assigned August 31st.

After suffering ten days of increased difficulty breathing, I left the beautiful Adirondacks to get the breathing back in order.  Unfortunately,   It wasn't asthma.   I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.  My left lung cavity had filled with liquid, leaving that lung useless and all my innards cattywanpus!   A week in the hospital, a little surgery and X-rays....I was finally permitted to leave... With an oxygen tank.  John DeWeese brought me to his house in Longmeadoe, MA where I have been and will be.

I am having treatment at St Francis hospital in Hartford.  Why I choose that hospital will be revealed in another post, for now I want to focus on my immediate story.  I have also gone to Dana Farber.  My cancer cells were tested to see if I qualified for any of the new approved drugs.  I did not. We hoped there would be more material to test for eligibility with new drugs being tested.  There was not, so those tests are being postponed until we see how the standard chemo is working.  Meanwhile, Friday Nov 6th I have my third chemo treatment. Later in the month I will have a PETSCAN.

The chemo knocks me out three days later and then decreasing for the next two.  I have the rest of the three week period pretty normal....now.

David and Tyler taking some time at Raquette Lake

The boys have all come to visit. Having Will and Katharine Ann here has been such a blessing.  I am stable now and dealing with insurance and other legal issues.  Friends have come by from "away" as they say in Maine,  I can get around myself.  John and I have been back to the Adirondacks twice, to Maine, and are headed to the Met for Rigoletto and a night in the city.   I have not been still.

I am writing this to get some facts out there. You may already know this or not.  It is very difficult to talk about from the beginning but I am getting much better at not dwelling on it but continuing to live as normally as I can.  We all never know when the time will be up, I have an indication but don't know for sure.

Let's continue living and make every day more meaningful. Carpe diem!

I plan to write more on this sage to keep those of you interested informed.
This blog is for those dear to me.   That's why I sent you. The address.  If you know of someone I might have missed, you may share it.  But be discerning, there likely will bei some very personal stories here. It's not for Facebook, ok.?

fabulous fall colors at Raquette Lake

Sunfish added to the toys at the lake enjoyed by many a cousin and family - and ME!

Me and John overlooking Columbus circle and Central Park after an evening at the Met!

Sunday Brunch with my Family

Sunday October 19th I had the great pleasure of having brunch in Dallas with all of my boys. This was the culmination of a great Texas/OU weekend. I planned a sales trip to Texas around the gathering of the boys for the weekend. After a week of traveling around Texas from Houston to San Antonio to Dallas and Fort Worth visiting many yarn stores I enjoyed a great weekend in Dallas.


Above is a picture of me with the guys. If I were still sending the annual Christmas card, this would be the photo of the year. the family was augmented by two beautiful young ladies giving me the female support that I have longed for!



Susie Presser and Katherine Ann Buck, pictured above were brought to this gathering by Tyler and Will. Tyler found Susie in Steamboat and Will, KA in Austin! Both great gals who share an allegiance with Alabama!

 

Here is the gang with the two pups, Silver who belongs to Tyler and Kinney Brown Dragon, son of Silver who belongs to Davey. An expanding family portrait!

 

Davey works in a beautiful restaurant in Dallas - Maximo's at Alpha and Noel. Tyler, in Steamboat on trees, John is in Dallas waiting on tables and playing the piano, and Will is tending bar at Carraba's in Austin. They are each taking care of themselves and continue to be great friends to each other. I only wish the geographic challenges weren't so large!

these pictures will help you see How they have matured and continue to enjoy each others company. I feel very blessed.

Tobacco Barns in Suffield

I haven't blogged for about a year here - and realize that I have missed it, if not for you but for myself. A sense of order and openness - back from the Creative Memories Days. With this gorgeous arrival of Fall, I will regress in future posts through some of the things I want to share in the passed year. Looking forward and looking back - lots to be thankful for.

Fall in Suffield and the height of the tobacco drying season. The area is famous world wide for the supreme tobacco leaves they produce for cigar WRAPPERS! Not the ring I used to love to get from Grandfather's cigars. It's all about the outside wrapper which requires an evenly dried, large tobacco leaf usually grown under tents to keep them from spotting in rain or sun.

The true beauty to me of this process is the BARNS. Incredible long rectangular structures that are very much the same as they have been for hundreds of years. Although there have been many technological attempts to simplify the process, it still has to be done the natural way. the barns are slatted so control air flow and are geometric visions while they are in use

Amazon Reviews

August is slow in the yarn business so I have been laughing out loud at some very funny reviews on Amazon. This was all new to me since I thought amazon.com was a pretty serious site of commerce. It turns out that there is some real viral marketing going on there from the grass roots (or who knows where it is from but the big marketing companies might feel threatened). If you haven't seen these, I hope you enjoy the ride. If you have, and have some to add for me to see - bring 'em on.

I will give a quick view of some of the finds that have come across my computer and try to be relatively brief, you can get into much greater detail on your own, waste a day or two following links, and be amazed at the creativity out there. Or, you can get back to work, whatever that may be.

The first is the the "Three Wolf Moon T-shirt" - seems pretty simple and straightforward.


and then you might notice that there are 1363 reviews. of a t-shirt? what is this about? Read on... there are magical powers for sure here. and then you notice little things like 13,670 out of 14,222 found this review helpful. People have a lot of time on their hands.

After you have had the chance to read some of these reviews, jump over to youtube and check out this and you will actually witness the magic.


You may have noticed a reference to "Tuscan whole milk"... which leads you to think there is something else you might want to get from Amazon. Here, again, are some great reviews

My personal fave is the second one by Edgar from Baltimore... could this be E. Allen Poe? Such beautiful writing! Oh - wait, you can hear this read to you here

And lastly on this guided quest, I want to share, from other products you might be interested in the great reviews for "A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates (Paperback)"Such a terrific reference work! But with so many terrific random digits, it's a shame they didn't sort them, to make it easier to find the one you're looking for."

So simple and yet so powerful!

A special thank you goes to my brother John Babson who brought these wonderful finds to my attention - he really does have too much time on his hands!!

If you have more to add to this - please leave a comment and share with others. Consumerism rules!

July Fourth 2009

The fourth of July proved to be a beautiful respit from the rain New England has been facing for the last... shall I say 40 days. Finally summer felt like it had arrived! The weather was perfect and my friend Cathy (Walker Hopkins) from way back in high school orchestrated a beautiful weekend in Madison, CT. It was great to be with old friends. Kathy (with a K) and Doug Velsor - again, since High School only he didn't go to the Academy - came down from Vermont to soak the sun and friendship. Cathy's Aunt Susan joined us from NYC with tales of city life and theater people.

Here is our group watching the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra Concert on the Green - Great seats Cathy!

Fire works on Friday, biking and walking on the beach, even found a great consignment store in Centerbrook... Peonies - had some good stuff and reasonable prices - I resisted but it was good to know.


One of my favorite visions at the concert was this little not quite 2 year old who got quite animated when I pulled out the camera. Having left scrapbooking behind and not fully moved into the bloggosphere, I am again reminded on how easy it is to make friends with little people when you take their pictures! All of the kids were amazingly well behaved throughout the two and a half hour show!






Cath even had sparklers for us to light for the finale.

texas annexation

Texas Traveling




Living in New England suits my soul as the changes of scenery and seasons are much appreciated. It's a great territory to sell yarn in and I get to many beautiful places. However, I truly miss the boys and the Texas connections. Being an enterprising person and looking out for opportunities that can meet my needs, I approached a couple of my vendors who do not have representation in Texas and was successful on annexing the state to my New England Territory. I know this may sound a bit wierd if not sacriligious, but it works for me! Having three sons that are living there, missing them a bunch, this combined business with pleasure in a beautiful way.

the last weekend in May, I headed to Texas to check out my new territory and spend some "quality time" with the boys. I arrived in Dallas on Friday, rented a car, fetched John from his condo and went to see Dave at the restaurant he is working at... Maximo's at the corner of Noel and Alpha (if you are in the area - stop by and say HI). John and I then headed to Austin for the weekend and to start my yarn prowl. We arrived at Will's appartment arround 11:30 and I was one tired puppy. After meeting Will's roommates and his girl (good job Will) I headed for bed while they stayed up till who know's when.

Saturday and Sunday were spent with John, Will and Katharine Ann (KA) and the pup the two or them were foster parenting while I was there (they have had quite a few and doing a great job with this). We went for Barbeque, to Greenway springs, in and around Austin, eateries, and just a generally good time. I even gave them a little space on Sunday as I headed out to Yarnorama in Paige Texas for a little drive by. Very nice store with a full table of ladies knitting a variety of wonderful things and talking up a storm.



This Will, John and one of Wills roommates at this video game van rentable for parties. The van pulls up in front of the party person's house with two games on the outside and inside full of screens and games for the party to enjoy. this one was full of four year olds doing parallel play! I am sure you are all wondering if this is a good idea.... but some people think it is!


The expressions on the faces tell the story...







Rudy's barbeque was a highlighted meal in Austin. John Will and KA are enjoying the feast! Note the picture at the top.




Here's John at the automatic hand washer... keeps away the swine flu germs I hope... maybe not since everyone used it. We survived

The week was full of yarn store visits and kid visits. Two days in the Austin area netted 7 store visits between San Antonio, Austin and surrounds, and Wimberley Texas. Going into a yarn store is like coming home. They are all so different but all so similar. Each has it's own colors, sense of design, fiber dedication and general personality. This is why they can exist comfortably even when located near by. Having the daily focus on my business, I was able to keep busy and let the boys be. Sometimes their late hours get to me, but since I had things to do from 7 am on, I was busy and content. I would return to meet them around four and we could wander around, eat and wander some more! It was great.



These pictures are from the Old Oak Ranch yarn store and sculpture garden located in Wimberley Texas, in the Hill country West of Austin. A great destination for all fiberologist and friends as there is Texas beauty all around - and some great fibers too.














Tuesday evening John and I returned to Dallas. There i also added to the mix of adventures visiting with a couple of good friends from back in the day. I hadn't called any friends because I wanted to focus on the boys and yarn. I wanted to keep my options open for availability when they were. Davey working in the restaurant business can be unpredictable. As time alloted and availability of a friend coincided, I was furtunate to get in a couple of great quick catch up visits. I even was there for the engagement announcement of one of Davey's good friends and the 30th birthday celebration of another of his friends. What a joy. Sharing in these happy milestones is a piece of the puzzle of life that I am missing by being far away.




Here's a picture of Sue Jones, an amazing lady who makes me laugh. It was her son who got engaged. Here she is pictures with her trailer preparing for her first official outting with the "sisters on the fly" group. Man, is she lucky! I hear-tell that she had a great time.


I didn't take enough pictures to represent all the good times I had, even totally missed a picture of Davey. I intend to go back in the Fall and will, hopefully be better about telling a story with pictures.

I returned from that trip and had to turn around and travel to the yarn convention in Columbus and a visit with my Dad and brother. More to come to get this all up to date.

Old Friends - book ends

May 14th - Cathy Walker Hopkins' birthday. By happenstance, luck, or "fortunate circumstances" I reconnected with Cathy after a winter of quietness, just in time to get to share her birthday! Needing a reprieve from the quiet respit that Suffield offers between yarn calls, a social visit was a welcome relief. Gracie and I headed to Madison.

Silliness comes at all ages, and we all need some of that. So here we were, 5 full grown women, each with a diverse background and stories to tell, convening in honor of a dear friend.

Cathy and I have been friends since High school, where we would knit during our classes, not knowing how ahead of our time we were. Still knitting, I gave Cath a skein of a personal favorite yarn of mine - the Blue Heron Rayon Metallic - the Denim color will be terrific with her coloring.
Simon and Garfunkel - Old friends- I have it playing as I write... "time it was, what a time it was.. I have some photographs...." but here's the line I forgot was there " how terribly strange to be seventy." Woof (as John Robison would say) - what were we thinking. How terribly strange to be sixty would work as a concept - although not for the rhyme. What a journey.
Friendships a precious and as I have moved a bunch I realize how important it is to be "intentional" about friendships. How quickly they can fade into oblivion if not nurtured and cared for. In our fast paced world, although communication tools abound, the preciousness of shared history needs our attention. If you have taken the time to read this, maybe you would take minute to call a friend you haven't talked to in a while and let me know how that worked for you. It works for me. let's share.