Transformation in Twelve: November 2011

Hopefully I'll be able to update this with photos in the days to come, but Solish/Siegel Thanksgiving went off smoothly this year. Though I'm not sure anyone actually reads this, I will weave a story for you that reaches back to Thanksgiving 2010.

I arrived in San Francisco at about 10pm Monday night, having left Corning at 5pm after working for most of the day. My flights went off without a hitch, my spirits were pretty high, but I was crispy fried and ready for a bed. I'm not very good at sleeping when I fly west, at least, not the first night. I usually come home, munch something tasty from the fridge, and then end up reading, on my computer, or "cleaning"/rediscovering things in my bedroom. My sister and I stayed up until about midnight, her reading a book for school, me sorting through bags and boxes from my last visit home. I kept at it for another hour and finally fell into bed.

A quick caveat about my bed: it's wonderful. It might only be a twin, and the mattress might be the one I got for my original "big girl" bed, but there's a quilted mattress pad that makes it soft and cozy. On top of that I have delicious Pure Beech sheets (this time in a soft green), and a down comforter. Over everything, I have a hand sewn quilt bought at a craft fair in Maine, a gift from my aunt Jo and uncle Sam. It's blue and done in the log cabin style. I love it.

The next day my mom and I drove my sister to school, after eating breakfast with my dad. My mom had some work to finish up and at about noon got frustrated enough to throw in the towel for the day. I'd been buzzing around the house, cleaning, exploring, knitting, etc. We drove to Filoli Estate but they were closed for the season. We then decided to conduct a driving architectural tour of the area near our house, with a focus on seeing the Woodside Store. This place is one I remember from my childhood; a 3rd or 4th grade trip on which we learned about tin-punch lanterns and striking redwood shingles using a "froe". I'm sure we also used the 2-man saw with a lethal blade, patterned to sweep wood chips out of the cut! We continued to explore, and then went to pick up my sister. My mom drove me up the peninsula to meet one of my dearest childhood friends, Daniella, at Copenhagen Bakery. Bakery, coffee, food... delicious! She had a banana surprise (chocolate covered banana on top of cream, jam and a cookie/biscuit!) and I had an almond croissant.

When my father came to pick me up, she gave me a bottle of home brewed mead, and my dad and I hit the grocery store to grab things for dinner. Dinner was amazing. Mashed butternut squash, pork loin, corn and pepper cakes, and roasted root veggies. The next day I focused on getting ready to ride to the Ranch, and getting crafty things around. I picked my sister up from school around noon and we stopped at a great local, authentic Mexican restaurant for burritos!

We arrived at the Ranch around 6pm and had vegetarian pasta with bread, butter, sauteed broccoli, and salad for dinner. Thursday was a bit subdued, as we were remembering last year. We made Turkey, a roast, amazing chestnut stuffing, pies, and most importantly, Grandma's vegetable soup. I couldn't go without it. Last year, she was very sick, but she waited until everyone had eaten dinner before she decided it was her time to leave us. Thankfully she was in little pain until the end, and the only person who was late was aunt Jo who couldn't get away from work easily. It was very hard and everyone was a blatant mess about it. Of course, flights were changed/cancelled, there were tears and a hush over the house. I'll never forget how her breathing would stop for a few seconds longer and Papa would look up with tears in his eyes, struggling not to go with her. His heart was breaking for all of us to see and parts of our hearts were breaking too.

So this year, we made her turkey, and her roast, and her vegetable soup using her good dishes and celebrated family and her life. We had Thanksgiving the way we have had it for many many years (the roast added after she developed an avian protein allergy). We spend much of Friday, remembering her. Papa has spent the last year, cleaning the garage and working on projects with his newly clean space to celebrate Grandma. He's created a beautiful arbor with benches, a fountain, a magnolia tree, a rock (waiting for a plaque), and holes for grape vines to be planted in. He's thought up mosaic projects to honor her and written a beautiful poem that he shared with us at a ceremony we started in that special memorial spot at the Ranch. We said a prayer and read his poem and words from my mom, and then proceeded to the cemetery to say Kaddish, more words, place Ranch stones, and to release monarch butterflies for her. We feasted afterward with fish and chips at our favorite place, The Little Hut in Morro Bay.

Dinner was Vegetable soup (which I can now make for Jake, having successfully made it without Grandma telling me what to do), and then dad and Elena and I headed back to Palazzo San Carlos so I could fly out at 7am. It was a hard but beautiful Thanksgiving with everyone there (Sam and Jo too!), and I came back to NY in time for the Shaw/Bloise Hunters dinner and Indy playing sax in the Parade of Lights on Market street.

I've been very "knit-happy" recently, and finally made some progress! I managed to spin, skein and wash my first ever hank of handspun wool! I'm in love with it and believe it wants to be a cozy, lacy hat!

I'm very excited to see how the project turns out, though I'm worried that I won't have enough yarn to make the piece. I may have to try to make more...

First skein!

I've continued to spin, and been successful at a skinnier "single", though I have yet to skein and wash it. I have managed to finish a few scarves to sell at a local boutique here in Corning. Hopefully the sales go better than last year. I'm not sure that any of my handspun will be sold yet, though I do know that the price of those will be much much higher than that of pieces made with acrylic. Not astronomical, but if I'm using handspun, I think they're worth more!

These are the beginning of my collection, each one done in a different style. I'm excited about them, and hopefully they sell!