Didn’t I say I was going to be here more often?

How did that work out?

You weren’t sitting at your screen just waiting for me to reappear were you? If so, I hope you got up to walk around every now and then. Sitting for too long is bad for you. It’s what they say, anyway.

What did you do this year? I knitted quite a bit and you know, it does keep you sane even if you decide to join every single Knit-along or Mystery-knit-along that comes into your inbox. No, I didn’t join all of them but there were more than in a normal year. I started out in January and it just kept going. October had five and December had three. Now, I’m trying to finish two of the Advent KALs so I can move on to January with a clear project slate.

No, that won’t happen. There aren’t enough days left in December to finish the two that are right here.

One is from Casapinka and is the Secret Life of Cats (and Dogz) shawl which will end up longer than I am tall.

The other is from Ambah O’Brien and I chose her Radvent Cardigan pattern and had a second set-back over the weekend when I discovered that I used the wrong size needle when I got to the body. I’m still knitting my way through the pile of frogged yarn on the floor.

Once those two are done I’m going to be moving onto a three-month knit-along with Laura Nelkin’s fans. We can knit whatever we want from her pattern collection. A friend and I have chosen Creatrix which is a lace shawl. I will keep telling myself that a quarter of a year is three months.

Then, there’s Dandelion which is a striped and patterned pullover from Vogue Knitting. I’ve got the back done and the front is in progress. No pressure there to get it done. Here in Michigan it’s sweater weather most of the year. After all, not all sweaters are long-sleeve turtlenecks.

What else?

Over the past 20 years many who are from my past life have believed that I was the ‘bad guy’ when I left my first marriage. It has eaten at me for too long. My oldest daughter won’t have anything to do with me and claims that I have destroyed her childhood with the choices that I made.

First of all, she was a teen when I left and her life was not destroyed. It’s only been over the past five years where she has turned against me and she’s in her mid 30s. It was when her father remarried that this all came about. Apparently, there is no room in her life for a step-mom and mom at the same time. It’s painful and has been causing me to feel downright sick at times.

After reading books regarding the mind and taking an online course I do believe that this coming year is the year that my story is told. I’m not sure it will happen here or just in a journal. It will happen. Too many people from my past have used the line “it’s water under the bridge” when they see me suggesting that I’m the one who needs forgiving.

All of my choices were actually reactions to someone else’s actions that were extremely hurtful to me and just wrong when you make the decision to love and protect someone while standing at the alter then fail to do so more than once.