I just finished knitting another gnome!
So, now I have two!
I love these little guys! Aren't they adorable?!
They're made from the "Yuletide Gmome" pattern I found on Ravelry. The pattern is written to knit them on straight needles and sew each section closed. Way too much work, too much purling, and too much time. Luckily, other Ravelers have posted directions for knitting them in the round. That's a lot more fun and I think they look a lot better that way.
Sorry for so few posts lately. Life has been crazy busy. That seems to be the norm lately. Whew! But, I'm still working on trying to post more.
Here's a little of what's been going on....
My husband's grandfather had just passed away on my most recent life update. Since then, we've all helped grandma go through things and get grandpa's things out. She wanted to do that quickly as she felt it would help her. She has tough days and that's so understandable since they were together for 75 years. But, she's so incredibly strong too. She's been keeping busy and moving forward. She's an amazing woman that I find myself becoming more and more impressed with and inspired by everyday. I love her so much!
My parents came to the funeral and my mom was doing really well that day. She was a LOT less negative and repetitive that day and very pleasant to be with. I really cherished time with her that day. It gave me hope. However, she has a lot of bad days. My dad says that she can change like the flip of a switch. It's becoming increasingly difficult for him and we are all trying to figure out the best way to handle it all. When we go over, it upsets her. And, when we stay away, it upsets her. She usually doesn't show that anger and upset when we are there but after we leave and every day in between. My dad says she just goes on and on with negativity of things that aren't true. She thinks my brother and I hate her. SO not true!!! She goes on and on that I don't call her. But, when I do, she doesn't answer her phone. When I do talk to her on the phone by calling my dad, she doesn't remember.
She passed the driving test but wasn't able to get a doctor to sign off for her to drive. So, she lost her license. That has upset her a lot. But, it's given her a reason to go to the doctor...something we were having a very hard time getting her to do. She's had one gerontology appointment so far and a brain scan. She still needs to go see a psychiatrist and go back to the gerontologist for results on everything. To get her license back, she'll need to get approval from the doctor and start the license process from the beginning...driving test, written test, etc.
I feel for her. I understand that this must be SO frustrating and difficult. But, she just won't let us support her and love her through it. That's what we SO want to do. Shes pushes us away, leaves when we go over so she won't have to see us, and won't allow us to go to the doctor with her.
She's angry that my brother and his wife keep bringing food over too. But, she doesn't cook and they need to eat! My dad is getting stronger and doing better and better (except this stress which isn't good for him) but my mom continues to lose weight. She's so tiny now and it has us worried. She's lost close to 50 pounds since last summer. I hope the doctor can get to the bottom of everything that's been going on.
After the funeral, my husband and I went on a trip to Utah for a week. He did a mountain bike race, we did a little shopping and exploring, we ate great food, we did a little hiking, and we relaxed. We really needed a little get-away! I'll try to post about that soon.
Have a great weekend! :-)
