I'm Not Sure What to Think...

Today's been a rough day. Many of you know about our car being totaled in an accident on Father's Day. My back was injured, but I felt we were making some progress in getting it better. So this morning I was driving in my rental car to the dentist when someone rear-ended me yet again. All I could do was sit there and cry. Why do people not watch where they are going??? I was sitting at a red light and the next thing I know is that my car has been hit. Here's a photo of the imprint of the other car's license plate on my bumper. And the screw sticking out is from their license plate. Needless to say, this injury to my back is just as bad, if not worse. My emotions are very raw right now. Just riding in a car makes my blood pressure shoot through the roof and I'm quite paranoid about every car on the road. I'm not sure I'll be able to drive for a few days. We'll have to see about that.

So this afternoon I went to lay down again to rest. I laid there for quite some time just thinking...why???...why me??? And then I began to think about others around me that are suffering so much more than me. My son-in-law lost his grandpa this week. He traveled all the way to Oklahoma this weekend to say goodbye. He and my daughter were so glad that they went out to see Grandpa Bud last Christmas...because it was his last Christmas with them. I know they will miss him. It's hard losing a grandparent. And then there's the family that hit me this morning. The youngest daughter's car was the one that hit me. But her mom and dad were driving behind her. The mom told me that her oldest daughter had passed away yesterday and they were on their way out of town to attend to her funeral. Not too hard now to understand why this young gal's mind hadn't been on her driving. My heart goes out to them because this is such a hard time for them...and then they have to deal with an accident as well. Thankfully, none of them were hurt.

So I determined to get up out of bed and go look for things in my world that make me happy. I went out on the porch and saw Mr. Cottontail in our yard. This little bunny comes to visit occasionally. I walked over to him and he just sat there. He must have been someone's pet at one time because he didn't run away until I got about a yard from him. Then he happily hopped across the street and went under the bushes. It always amazes me how carefree he seems as he hops away.

And then I saw the hydrangea bush in my yard with these big beautiful blue blossoms on it. They are so gorgeous and keep coming back year after year.

And then came my darling granddaughter who just got home from daycare. Her sweet smile always makes me smile. She brings so much joy to my life...as do my two sweet, but very active, grandsons. So I have many things to be thankful for today. Even though my back hurts every time I move, and even though I still have to go find another car to buy, and even though it's going to take a while to get over being hit twice in about a week...I have much in my life for which to give God thanks. So I guess this is not such a bad day afterall.

Show and Tell Friday

First of all, I need to give you an update on my car accident. The car did end up being totaled, so we will be looking for a new vehicle... I'm thinking an armored truck might work. My back is healing...slowly. As long as I just sit and knit is doesn't bother me too much. It's the getting up and moving that causes me some pain. But overall, I'm doing better. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Wednesday was my birthday. It started out rough with an hour and a half wait at the car rental place. I wouldn't have minded so much, but my back was hurting and I had to reschedule my doctor's appointment because they took so long. But the day got better as Melissa surprised me with a chocolate birthday cake and Donna brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses. I received lots of birthday wishes. And I got to sit and knit at the Sit 'N Stitch time with some dear friends. For supper, my hubby took me to my favorite restaurant, Aubrey's, for a wonderful meal and my favorite dessert, Peppermint Pattie. So the birthday that started out frustrating turned into a wonderful day with family and friends. And it kept on going as Mimi brought me over a bouquet of garden flowers on Thursday night. Thank you to everyone for helping to make my birthday this year so special.

Now enough about me...it's time to share with you some wonderful creations that folks have made.





Carmen finished her Adult Surprise Jacket and did a wonderful job.


She also brought in her scarf she made out of Berroco Seduce yarn. This is a great little scarf that just takes one skein and has an easy pattern.



Then she shared her fairisle hat that she created using one of Mimi's Topknot patterns.









And finally a scarf she made out of Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn. She's been one busy knitter.


Rosemary brought in a scarf she crocheted that looks a bit like a piece of candy corn. Very creative.


And Kristina brought in another beautiful
doillie she made. I'm always amazed with folks that can knit on such tiny thread.

Don't we have some talented folks here at The Yarn Haven? Keep bringing in your finished projects so we can showcase them here on Show and Tell Friday!!

I've had a bad day...

Make that two bad days... I'm ready for just a normal run-of-the meal day. Why?

Well, on Sunday my hubby, son, granddaughter and I were coming home from the shop. As we were pulling into our subdivision, a teenage driver was paying more attention to a bicyclist he knew than where he was going. He came up to the road, kinda stopped for one second, then started turning left. You know where this is going, don't you. He pulled out of the subdivision, just as we were pulling into the subdivision. I saw him pull out and braced myself. While the impact wasn't huge, it was enough to mess up my back...probably because I had hunkered down for the hit. And I'm sure our car will be totaled as the frame has shifted...so I'll have to go looking to buy yet another used car. Folks, this is the 4th wreck we've had in 15 years!! People who aren't watching where they are going continue to run into our car. The 3 other times we were rearended...at least this time they chose a different part of our vehicle to smash. But I'm getting a bit tired of the inconvenience and hassle of it all...not to mention the pain and suffering I have to deal with.

So yesterday I went to see my chiropractor and I will be seeing him mucho times for the next several weeks as he tries to get my back working well again. He told me to go home and rest my back...even take a nap. Yeah, right. For you see, my daughter had come over to do some laundry with her two boys so I could use her car to go see the doctor. When I got back she left to take the boys home for supper and then was to return them so she could go to work. She called a short time later and said that my youngest grandson was screaming that his head hurt and that he had thrown up. She couldn't determine whether or not he was just throwing a 3 year old tandrum or if something was really wrong. She started on the way to our house when Gabriel closed his eyes and just went out. It was at this point that she realized that something was not right. So she drove directly to the hospital where we met her at the emergency room. He was pretty out of it and kept trying to fall asleep. Turns out that big brother had thrown a toy at him earlier in the day and it had apparently hit him in the head. After they did a CT scan, they determined that there was no internal injury, but that he did have a mild concussion. After he woke up a bit, they gave him a popsicle so he was a little more alert...and we were all relieved and smiling again. They finally released him about 9 pm and we went home.

So after two pretty stressful days, I'm just ready to have a calm, uneventful day. Perhaps I will just sit and knit today at the shop in order to get some balance back in my life. I am very thankful that no one was seriously hurt in the accident...and also very thankful that Gabriel is OK. Life does have its ups and downs, doesn't it. Thank goodness there is knitting to make everything all right again.

Show and Tell Friday

Today for Show & Tell we have a Baby Yeti that Linda made out of Berroco Plush yarn. She changed the hood to a collar and it looks every nice.

Then Girl Scout Troop 680 from Beaver Creek brought by some blankets for Project Linus. Way to go, girls!

Kori FINISHED her Great North American afghan in about 7 months! It will take the rest of us another year and half to complete this afghan in our KAL. Kori's started another one so she can keep coming to our KAL. Talk about an overachiever! Seriously, Kori, it looks great. Can't wait to see your next one!

And Ann finished her Topknot Bucket Hat made out of Noro Silk Garden. This is such a cute hat and we have the pattern and the yarn in stock.

Hope the heat and humility is not keeping you from your love of knitting. We've got some new summer yarns in the shop, so stop by and find something cool to work on this summer!

Market News

I'm sorry I didn't get to put up any Show and Tell items last Friday, but the reason I didn't was because I was at TNNA's Yarn Market in Columbus, Ohio. Lisa, Melissa and Diane went with me to try and find some wonderful new yarns for you. We had a lot of fun taking classes from some folks like Valentina Devine, Sally Melville, Cat Bordhi, Laura Nelkin, Barry Klein & Laura Bryant. We'll have some new classes coming up as a result of what we learned. Here's a photo of me in the Yarn Dyeing class....

and the sock yarn and sock blank that were the end result. Rest assured that you'll see a lot of new items coming in over the summer as we prepare for a Fabulous Fall!!

Show & Tell Friday

Today was Customer Appreciation Day at The Yarn Haven. I hope you all know how very much I appreciate your business. I know you have many choices of where you could go to get yarn. But I'm glad you choose to come to our shop to satisfy your fiber needs.

For Show & Tell today we have Mary's diagonal scarf. She made it out of Cascade 220 superwash yarn. I'm afraid the photo doesn't show the diagonal lines very well, but it is very nice!

Also Terry brought in some socks she made. So many socks...and yes, she also made the 2nd sock for each! No second sock syndrome here!

And Kelora made this beautiful shawl out of one of Evelyn Clark's Designs. Classic Elite Silky Alpaca yarn was a great choice for it. Gorgeous!

Thank you for bringing in your finished items so we can showcase them here on our blog for our Show and Tell Fridays. We've got some great knitters and crocheters out there.

Have a great weekend!!