Clover Shawl

It's not often that a knitter receives hand knit gifts herself.  I guess people assume, well, she can make it herself!  Although I do make myself plenty of beautiful knits, it still tickles me to receive a gorgeous item that I didn't have to make.  It's sort of like cooking.  Sure, you may love it, and you may enjoy knowing exactly what you're eating, and you may take pleasure in serving yourself and your loved ones.  But isn't it delightful to sit down and indulge in a meal that someone else lovingly prepared just for you?



J, E, Jacqui in Clover Shawl, AM, and AC at a friend's wedding



In the above picture, I'm wearing the The Clovers, a shawl knit for me by Tricia, sfcorgi on ravelry.  I suppose this shawl was more of a prize than a gift.  I won it in Tricia's auction to raise money for the susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for breast cancer that she did this fall.  I am so happy that I was able to contribute to this cause.  Hopefully someday there will be a cure for this disease that touches so many of us, but until then early detection is our best defense.  In fact, that is the key that saved two of my online knitting buddies, Katie and Stephanie.  This past year the two of them, both in their late 20s and early 30s (the same ages as the women pictured above), beat breast cancer that they discovered early on by doing self exams.  Tricia's Susan G. Komen 3 Day fundraising page is here.  If you would like to contribute, donations can be made until November 1.



Book Review: One Day

Even at quite a young age, I loved When Harry Met Sally.  I loved the idea that two people can dance in and out of each others' lives as acquaintances, friends, lovers, and enemies, and maybe, just maybe, end up together.  The easiest way to describe One Day by David Nicholls is to say that it's  a British version of the Nora Ephron modern classic that spans 20 years yet only looks at one day per year of these two star-crossed friends' lives.  But that would be doing this novel a disservice.  One Day is not only a story of two friends, but also the story of how each individual overcomes personal demons and comes into his or her own.  Sometimes the arc of their lives intersect, sometimes they do not.

Emma and Dexter meet on the day of the college graduation in 1988.  They both feel an attraction towards each other, but their lives are quickly moving in two very different directions, so they choose to remain friends instead of embarking on a surely doomed relationship.  Emma, a distinguished scholar, ends up working in a tacky Mexican restaurant for years instead of unleashing the political literary guru inside her.  Is she stuck in this dead-end job because of the recession as she proclaims, or is Emma herself lacking in talent or determination?  Dexter, a mediocre student, launches on a world tour only to fall into a lucrative yet short lived career as a television personality upon his return to England.  Will he remain an overnight sensation or will his hardpartying and womanizing ways be his downfall?  This is only the beginning of each of their lives.  Peppered with nostalgic pop culture references, Emma and Dexter experience 20 years of personal growth, failure, career changes, and life changing events, all while remaining a part of each others' lives.  While a bit archetypal and predictable at times, I found both Em and Dex's journeys to be entertaining, and their interactions so very real. 

Verdict:  One might think that 20 years of will-they or won't-they would get boring, but Nicholls' storytelling device of revealing only the events of July 15 of each year kept me turning pages, often in frustration over a missed encounter or the rabid desire to read more about Em and Dex's sexually frustrating trip to Greece.  Don't expect a stuffy literary masterpiece when you pick up this novel, but do expect to be completely absorbed and invested in the events and outcome of this lifelong friendship.  And if that's not enough to convince you to read, a film version starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess is slated to be released in 2011.

Paper Cranes for Neil

I've been quiet for a while, partly because I've been busy, and partly because I have so much to say I don't know where to start. I'll begin with some horrific turned good news. Most of you probably don't know this, as I couldn't bring myself to blog about it, but about three weeks ago one of my sister's best friends was in a bad car accident. On January 23, 2009, he was driving home with another friend on a narrow, winding country road near our houses. No one knows exactly what happened, but somehow he lost control of the car, spun around, and hit a tree on the driver's side. The passenger came home from the hospital the next day with a concussion. He still won't/can't talk about the accident. The driver, Neil, the sweetest kid I know, was airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson hospital in New Brunswick, where he remains in ICU with severe head injuries. For a while his future was uncertain, but I am so happy to say that for the past few days he's been opening his eyes, trying to focus on people's faces, and moving his right hand and leg. Today he showed the most hopeful signs of progress and moved his eyes toward sounds. His parents have been blogging about Neil's journey here. His family is really wonderful. They're so generous, kind, and full of honest loving faith. I've been thinking about them and Neil a lot, and now I'm so relieved to have something more than hope or a prayer to hang on to.

My sister has been organizing some of their friends to make origami paper cranes for Neil. Here's a link to the facebook group. According to the Japanese, one thousand paper cranes = one thousand good wishes. Neil's father spent some time living in Japan, so this custom has special meaning to the Stone family. So far Sarah has between 100 and 200 cranes, which still make lively and colorful decorations, but it's far from 1000. If you'd like to make some, email me for our mailing address and we'll add yours to one of our garlands for Neil's room. The doctors and nurses say that Neil will be able to move to a rehab facility soon. Hopefully there he will have even more room for our good wishes!