I went home this weekend which was, as it always and forever is, lovely. I had Thursday off from work, as I mentioned, and took Friday off, and it was nice. I love my parents so much. My siblings, too, obviously, but I didn't see them much this weekend as it sometimes happens. But my parents are just fabulous. Also, I love getting to visit my pup. I hate that she doesn't live with me, but at least it gives me a good reason to go home more often. As if I need a reason.
Anyway, point of my story is that I left this morning instead of later in the day on Sunday as I normally would. For the fifth year in a row, my organization and another Catholic organization up here in Denver had their annual flag football game, and beforehand one of the people I work with had a Broncos gamewatch. My plan initially was to leave early this morning, go to Mass up here, then go to the gamewatch. But, as often happens, I didn't leave as early as I planned, and then left even later. I was going to go to Mass in the evening up here, but then randomly decided I'd stop in Castle Rock and go there, since they have an 11:30 Mass. I felt guilty because I definitely wasn't dressed Sunday-appropriate since it wasn't really planned, but on the bright side it'll give me a little more compassion for people I see in church on Sunday wearing jeans. (Of course, this being Colorado and fairly more casual than some other parts of the country, most people wear jeans at Mass anyway.) But the Mass itself was surprisingly nice. The music was your typical Breaking Bread stuff, of which I'm not a huge fan but it's more common than not around here. The priest who's up there used to be in the Springs, so I was familiar with him and I like him. The church itself was quite pretty for a Colorado church. I mean, still not my preferred style of old-school cruciform or just the two basic columns of pews, but it was pretty. And there were a lot of windows, except for the wall behind the altar (where the crucifix is), which allows for some great views of the mountains. The church is kind of on top of a hill, too, so it maximizes the beauty. I've always thought Castle Rock is a nice little city, but it's even prettier than I realized. I think I could live there if I ever had a reason to.
New subject.
Last week, I finished a Broncos-colored striped hat and scarf for my younger brother, per his request. (Boy, did I have a hard time finding the perfect shades of orange and blue in the same type and brand of yarn. I literally spent at least half an hour pondering two
sliiiiightly different shades of orange in two brands of yarn, and it was tough because I really liked the orange of this one brand better than the orange of another brand, but the blue of the second brand was better than the blue of the first, and I couldn't really mix and match because the yarns weren't quite the same size or feel. It was really quite the herculean effort to make a decision and get myself out of there. So they're not perfect color-wise, but they're definitely pretty ok in the end, I think. I hope he thinks so too...) Anyway, rather than do a lacy, fancy, probably girly-ish scarf pattern for his scarf, I opted for a basic workhorse 2x2 rib. Just a basic ol' scarf. I alternated colors every 16 rows, and I just really enjoyed doing it. I love the intricate patterns that make people say "Oh wow, you're so talented!" when they see them (though I myself would never presume to call myself "talented") (that was a reference to the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma, by the way, in case you missed that), but sometimes it's so much more relaxing just to do a very basic, very easy pattern that I barely even have to look at while I'm working on it.
So, long story short, I decided I should make more scarves using that basic pattern. I have a lot of yarn. A. LOT. of. yarn. An embarrassingly large amount of it is yarn that's a bit more fancy, more high-maintenance, more expensive, which I don't have any business owning, really (and, for the record, I would like you all to know that I haven't bought yarn in almost a year, aside from the previously mentioned Bronco colors and a ball or two needed to finish some projects here and there. Well...and a few other things. Most of my stash was created during grad school which, in hindsight, I don't know what the heck I was thinking. I suppose I could start selling it if I get really desperate). But I also have a number of skeins of yarn that was my go-to yarn for the first four years I was knitting. Before I discovered yarn stores and all the goodness that lies within them. So, I decided I should do something with these extra skeins I have, leftovers from previous projects. I've always wanted to do more charity knitting, but never have - there was a time in grad school when I was going to start knitting baby blankets for pregnancy centers. I'm not sure why that one never materialized; possibly because blankets, even baby blankets, are more time consuming. Scarves, though? If I got off the internet and just knit after work every day, I could probably whip out at least two of these babies a week. It's getting colder, and I always feel guilty for not doing much for homeless people like I know I should. So, they're going to get some stripey scarves. Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling, I might do matching hats too, but that might be dumb. I don't know how they distribute these kinds of things, so if anything, I might just make a pile of basic hats sans stripes. Solid blue, solid black, that kind of thing. But first the scarves, because hats are sometimes more of a pain. I'm excited about it. I get to reduce my stash and do something good with it. Of course, what I should do is finish the three or four projects I already have on needles, but like I said, sometimes my mind needs a break from cabling and yarn overs and remembering a pattern more intricate than knit two, purl two.
New subject.
Everyone I know is in a relationship.
Ok, that's obviously absolutely, totally, and in all other ways false, but some days it really feels like that. Today is one of those days. And it's great, being around a lot of awesome couples and families (working where I work, big Catholic families are pretty hard to avoid), but sometimes it just makes me feel so much more single than I already do, and I didn't even think that was possible. I just don't know. I just don't get it. And in lieu of anything else making sense, I'm thinking about going on a retreat to an abbey up in northern Colorado in two weeks. I really don't feel called to that, but maybe I'm just not listening. It's entirely possible. I think I'm exceptionally good at ignoring what God puts plainly right in front of my face. If nothing else, it would be a weekend away from...everything. Everything except nature and God. Sounds kind of lovely. And maybe what I really really need right now. I feel like I need a change, but I'm not quite sure what or where or how. Maybe this could help push my reset button and help me figure out what setting I should be operating from. Or at least be a nice, relaxing weekend with nuns, nature, and animals. Three very good things. Oh, and I'm sure lots of prayer. And Jesus. (But that kinda goes without saying.)
