Before I Delete This Photo Off My Phone

As usual, not much and too much going on here. 

Been retired nearly 500 days so far, and it is splendid, but one thing people don’t talk about is the silence that otherwise would have been punctuated by most-of-the-time pleasant and unexpected conversations during the work day. 

Despite best attempts to stay in touch, I am witnessing some folks drift into obscurity, some of these people I cultivated, what I thought were friendships, for 22 years. 

That being said, a few people have made the effort, and one in particular is a young man, who is young enough and i’m old enough to be his mom. He has taken up a big part of my heart and is the son/nephew/playmate I never had. Very special. 

So this past April when he moved into a new apartment and landed a new job, I did the unthinkable: I started to crochet an afghan for him. 

No pattern. Freehand. The center squares are traditional grannies join-as-you-go, and then worked in the round in an assortment of stitch combinations. Worked in acrylic Caron yarn cake with a 5 mm/H hook.

It is a bit wonky, and I know I added too many stitches n my corners but hope it will get all sorted out with an aggressive blocking when finished. 

Other than this, I managed to go to Rhinebeck for NYS& W, and I think it will be my last time going. I have been going to the festival since 2007, and tbh it is too crowded & chaotic, and I am seeing fewer & fewer familiar faces. I used to look forward to this event to connect with long distance friends and enjoy a perfect autumn day. 

But my reality isn’t everyone else’s reality. Ever since the beginning of covid19 my life has revolved around assessing risks for all activities, and sadly the crowds are just too oppressive for me & causes too much anxiety where the anxiety eclipses whatever enjoyment I might have derived from it. Not sure what else to say on the topic, but i want my life back, and very few people are taking this seriously. And in many ways I feel like a ghost haunting my grave that no one visits—kind of like this blog. But, whatever! These are high quality problems to have compared to the existential crisis that at least 50% of this country is experiencing right now.