I'm Cold

I'm back from Minnesota,

but I find I am still cold.

Could be the low temperatures here in California.

I need to remind myself of this:

Hope you all have a wonderful 

first day of December!!!!

Pink? Where?

Happy, Happy Pink Day Everyone!

Yes, once again it's time to link with our friend

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

for Pink Saturday.

So I looked around for some pink.

I found red,

remember these?

They are on my feet.

And of course, I found black and white.

I've got this around my neck.

I'm also wearing my sweater a lot these days.

Yep, I'm in Minnesota.

Where I can't find a single pink right now.

(I'm so very glad I knit - brrrrrr)

LOL, so here's a flower.

It reminds me of warmth.

I'm Loving It!

So much going on.

But I somehow found

time to . . .

yep, 

knit.

I took this Alpaca blend

and 

went to work.

and look!

 Very versatile.

It's a scarf,

a neckwarmer

or just a real pretty accessory.

As I said . . .

I LOVE IT!

 

And it has a cute little cable in it.

Have a great day everyone.

P.S.

Yes, once again

it's Pink Saturday.

As many of you know

last Saturday

was the Phoenix MS Walk.

When we arrived the sky was pink tinged.

I'm so very proud to walk each year 

in honor of my mother

with my daughters.

And the other 'colorful' walkers.

My daughters thought we should have tutus 

next year.

Or perhaps a soft and fuzzy boa.

The best part of the Phoenix M.S. Walk?

It goes through the Phoenix Zoo

and the Botanical Gardens.

So we saw:

 and

 So very cool.

 Loved the flowers, too.

 Most of all I loved the walkers.

Thanks to everyone who participated

and to all those who gave.

Please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

and join the other 'Pinkies'

 On Pink Saturday.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Day

once again.

Please join all the PS ladies 

at Beverly's  

Pink sharing:

Today is . . .

The Phoenix MS Walk

and I'll be there,

wearing this

If you'd like to donate to the cause

please go here

The Handyman, Part VII

A house is only a home when someone loves it. 

My mother created a home for her family. 

In honor of the Phoenix MS Walk tomorrow, I would like to share:

The Handyman, Part VII

I was greatly comforted by the fact that Mom had shown no pain at the end when she closed her eyes and took her last breath. 

For more than thirty years she’d fought MS valiantly, never complaining about her life or the pain we knew she experienced. 

For thirty years she was confident that a cure would be found. 

For thirty years she gave her best effort.

After Mother’s death I spent hours going through her photographs. 

We should have realized that Roy was an angel, or a ghost, after all everyone who came to visit had their photo taken for the albums and had their name written in one of the guest books. 

But yet Roy had eluded them both. 

Impossible.

No matter how I tried, 

I couldn’t get Roy out of my mind. 

And then I realized Roy was sent to be the one who would help my mother let go of this world.  

Mother was a caretaker: 

of her family, 

her friends 

and her home. 

How could she leave this world if those things were not taken care of? 

How could she leave loose ends? 

So Roy came to help her realize that he’d watch over my father and their home. 

He would be there to help with the roof, 

the back-stairs and the kitchen. 

He’d be there to watch over us, just as Mom had done before him. 

He was there to let Mother know that we’d be okay.

In the early morning hours, I sit beside the fireplace and I speak to my mother. 

We have long conversations in my mind and I hear her advice loud and clear.

I hear her words of encouragement and I know she is with me.

And I know and believe that the cure for MS will be found.

And lives will be saved.

That my mother's story is one of faith,

hope and love.

 In the early morning dark

He dreamed of the spring woodflowers

Standing in the ground,

Dark yet under the leaves and under

The bare cold branches.

But in his dream he knew their way

Was prepared, and in their time

They would rise up joyful.

And though he had dreamed earlier

Of strife, his sleep became peaceful.

                                                         

                                                      Wendell Berry

Please help support the finding of a cure.
For anyone interested in sponsoring my walk
here is the link. 
Sponsor Jean's Warriors
it's named after my mother, Jean.
May you all be blessed this day.

The Handyman, Part VI

A house is only a home when someone loves it. 

My mother created a home for her family. 

In honor of the Phoenix MS Walk the first weekend of November, I would like to share:

The Handyman, Part VI

After fighting with Mother regarding Roy, my father finally decided to talk to him about the repairs that needed to be done at home. 

When Roy didn’t show up for appointment after appointment, my father stopped by the nurse’s station to find out about this handyman visitor that Mom had.

The nurses shook their heads. 

“We have a handyman on staff and his name isn’t Roy. It’s Jeff. And I don’t think he’s ever met your wife.” 

No one knew a Roy. 

There was no record of a visit.

We knew with MS that at some point Mom’s brain would be affected, 

but this was a shock to all of us. 

You see, she still knew all the stats for the PGA. She knew all the golfer’s names, 

the names of their wives and children, 

which tournaments they’d won and lost and where they’d come in if in the middle, 

not to mention exactly how much money they’d won so far that year. 

How could she remember, and be so clear about all that, and still have an imaginary friend?

The doctor’s reviewed her medication. 

The psychologist came by. 

The psychologist remembered my mother from previous visits where he asked about her health and was surprised by her will to live and her firm belief that MS would be defeated soon. 

This man, who only came to know her as a bedridden woman with no voice, 

was inspired by her faith. 

Miracles occurr everyday, she told him.

No one could find a reason for Roy. 

Yet Roy continued to visit Mom on a regular basis and Mom continued to renovate from her hospital bed. 

Dad humored her. 

And I’d smile when I’d get the letters.

And then on a Saturday morning in March, 

Mom died peacefully.

As we’d known would happen, 

Roy did not attend the memorial services, although we all kept watch for him. 

My father and brothers and I huddled around Mother’s urn along with other family and friends 

- the mother of the three children that visited Mom regularly, 

the man who for years made the wildflower cards and wrote her letters, 

the many staff members who had long since retired or who were able to get the day off, 

the psychologist, 

the nursing home minister

– everyone came by except Roy. 

Roy never appeared.

For anyone interested in sponsoring my walk
here is the link. 
Sponsor Jean's Warriors
it's named after my mother, Jean
May you all be blessed this day.