Now I can finally say - one year to go! DH left in the wee hours of Monday morning, December 14th.
That rucksack is heavy! He actually had another minipack strapped to it as well which made the whole thing stand out about 3 feet from his back.
I've gotten a quick phone call and one email to say he reached his transition point safely. I thought maybe after I'd said goodbye to him at 2 a.m., I'd go back to bed and have a nice little cry. But either I was too tired or I was afraid I wouldn't stop crying and still no tears have been shed.
It's a relief to have this thing begun. I miss him terribly, but at least I feel like every day, every moment is closer to him coming home. I can honestly say the last week of waiting was harder than this first week of being on our own. Nights are the least fun, of course. For one thing, it's really cold!! It's in the 30s during the day and low 20s at night. I miss having my husband there to snuggle up with. I find myself reading a few more pages, knitting a few more rows, or watching one more episode to delay that moment when I have to turn off the light and lay down alone in the bed. It's just so quiet.
It's been nice to have a few new distractions, though. Here's one:
The dog in the camouflage hoodie is Boomer. Boomer is visiting us while his mom, Melissa, takes a vacation back to the States. I hope Melissa is eating lots of American food and shopping at Target and getting gas at 2:30 in the afternoon just because she CAN. Both Josie and Boomer were curled up in front of my space heater, but of course Josie got all offended when I pointed the camera at her and trotted off. Boomer has a lot more energy than Josie. Josie will play with you for about 6 minutes and then just walk away and go lay in the nearest soft corner. Boomer will play with you forever.
I've also been quite distracted with my loom. This loom is supposedly great for beginners and children and in this post, Faith describes how she warped it while 38 weeks pregnant with 3 small children underfoot. Which made me feel totally defective when I read the instructions over and over and over again and finally had to resort to You Tube to get the thing warped.
I always forget that in spite of how much I knit, I'm really not good with my hands and I cannot interpret written assembly directions. Let's pause for a moment and remember what it was I did for 5 years in the Army. Oh yes, I was on the bomb squad. Luckily, a loom won't blow up and I did managed to get that sucker warped, even if I still have no idea how to tie a surgeon's knot. (Honestly, the directions say "It's like starting to tie your shoes, except you go around twice." Huh?? I can tie detonation cord around a block of C4, so I guess however I tied my warp threads will just have to do.)
The kit comes with the blue and green yarn and I rightly figured that my first project would be wonky as heck, so I am happy to use up the free yarn first.
It's a mess, but after only a few inches, I'm completely enamored of weaving. Keeping the edges neat is tricky and I can see too many places that I didn't get the shuttle through all the threads properly. I can't wait to finish this one and warp something else. I think I'm going to try some of my cotton yarn next and see if I can make a dish towel. Dish towels are practical and like dish clothes, who cares if they aren't perfect?
*Remember the 80s rock band Europe? They had that sappy ballad "Carrie"? Well, they are in concert somewhere nearby and there are posters up advertising it all along our route home. I can't help but get that stupid song of their's in my head every time I see one. "It's the final countdown...dadeedaDA! Dadeedadadaaaa!"



