Thanksgiving Day went surprisingly well. Before I left I got a few things done around the house. My oldest sent me a text asking when I was going to be picking her and her sister up to go over to my mom's. I thought that they would be ready when I got there, and they almost were. We stopped at the spring to get water. The weather has been unseasonally warm here, but we were chillened with the water splashing around us. I used the funnel, but the girls shunned it, preferring to let the merry gurgle of water dance about. I was nervous and anxious, my brother sent me a text when I was about six blocks from my mom's asking if we were still coming. I hate being late to things, even if it's only ten minutes.
My mom went to great effort to keep the foods as close to their natural state as possible, leaving the squash, sweet potatoes, and peas unbuttered, unsalted, unpeppered, and unseasoned. I really appreciated that, I thought I would be okay, but something bothered my mouth anyways. When I showed her my knitting project she was quite excited. My mom doesn't buy much for herself, but recently she splurged on new knitting needles. They came in a black and white package with a scarlet ribbon, I wasn't sure if she was joking or not when someone said that these are the brand that people use to knit for the Royal Family in England. She let me use a set of her bamboo needles, she also sent me home with a selection of needles that had been given to her that she wasn't going to using.
Yesterday I learned that there are different types of knitting. My mother was taught by old German women, she holds her yarn in her left hand. My sister learned when she was in Germany and the girl she was watching was knitting for school so she was using both hands and pushing the yarn through. I guess the way I'm learning isn't quite as efficient as these other methods, but so far it's working for me. A book my mom has goes through the seven different ways to knit, I suspect there are others out there, but for now those are out of my grasp as a beginner. My middle sister is expecting a girl so my mom is making a sweater for her baby. I flipped through a book of patterns becoming more overwhelmed with each turn of the page.
I'm not going to dwell on this, but yesterday I learned something that was particularly crushing. I don't always see what is there. At times I'm seeing what I want in a positive manner, other times it's less so. In other news a cousin of mine had a baby that they named Jerusalem Joseph. Her husband does something with film (produce, edit, everything?) and so does she, I think they met when they were in {insert foreign country} filming a documentary, they turned the baby's birth announcement into a pretend ad for a fim which is in keeping with their sense of humor. My cousin looks great, I liked her first husband, but this guy seems to be a much better mate for her so I'm happy for all of them.
Her brother recently married a Colombian woman, I haven't heard a recent update, but earlier he had remarked that they were having trouble with her paperwork. Everyone has their two cents to add to the immigration debate, I personally don't see a reason to limit entry into this country. I believe that the wealthy have an obligation to those with less. Many of the people I know today are here because long ago the United States was a place to flee to when there was political unrest, religious sanctions, or famine in the land they called home. I don't believe that the immigrants will take anything away from citizens who are already here, and if they do, I believe it's up to us as a 'civilized' country to find new ways to accomodate a radical influx, historically assimilation has been a powerful strategy.
I try hard to see that the good fortune of others doesn't mean I have to give anything up, and I've more recently learned that something giving things up help moves you forward as opposed to being so focused on what you have that you can't see the plight of others in greater need. Scarce resources drive ingenuity, plenty is frequently squandered whether it's time, money, food, or intellect. Each election seems more disheartening to me, a snatchy grab for the center stage without real character backing it. If there was an election today I'd probably vote for Bernie Sanders since he seems to be making the biggest push to clean up the environment, I view that as a crisis that needs immediate attention, and he seems to have some integrity and personality unlike many others running.
On a more personal note I have to figure out what I'm going to do for food next week when I have the girls. Living without a fridge has taught me how much food I bought that I didn't need. It will be an adjustment for the three of us. My ex stopped by to pick the girls up yesterday, but he didn't have time to check out the fridge. I'm trying not to be bitter about that, it really shows me where the relationship is at when a turkey dinner takes precedence over helping someone who doesn't have refrigeration. It's so hard to see the new girl getting him to do things I never could and still can't. It hurts more than I want to admit even though I wouldn't want him back.
I went on Facebook to see pictures of my cousin's new baby, friended my oldest daughter, and wondered what people see in that place that seems to be an inundation of ads and invites to play games, but to each his own. It's apparently a better way to keep track of family news, I just learned about the new baby who was born back on November 2, but I'm not going to log on and check it fanatically in case someone in my family posts something I want to know about. If I'm not in the loop it's probably my own fault. My mom sent him home with leftovers. Several times she mentioned how excited she was that I was learning to knit. I'm excited to as it's a new positive thing in my life that needs some cheer and hope. Things aren't horrible, mentally I'm much better off than I was, and physically too. So I'm grateful for the progress, and hopefully there will be more.