wintry visit

A,
I was back in Wisconsin this weekend, and it was a constant flutter of nostalgia and being homesick. I was overjoyed to see my friends and family, but in a strange way I was almost just as affected simply by being in the town in which I had grown up. I was surprised by how the power of place could hold such an effect on my emotions. It made me feel small.

The reason for my trip was Sheri's wedding, and it was amazing to be able to reconnect with my high school friends and be present for this huge step in her life. It had been almost a year since I had been back, and it was good to reconnect. I love the moments where you can just pick up and continue where you left off and fill in the gaps along the way so that there is no awkwardness but rather excitement and joy.

This is a picture of Sheri and Owen (her new husband). Notice how Jesus is now between them. Ahh, the symbolism. My pictures are a little fuzzy, but the receiving line would not wait for my slow camera to work, and the Jesus picture needed to be taken.


Personally I like the rockstar wedding pictures the best.


It snowed a bit for me while I was visiting, which was a nice surprise. Well, besides the fact that it kept me waiting on the runway for two hours while the airport was being plowed. I got to try out my new mittens and scarf in the wintry climate. Check them out. Or, I guess just the mittens since there's no picture of my scarf on my camera right now.


I remembered what it was like to knit something for a practical purpose. I had carefully washed and blocked my knitted items before leaving so that they would be soft and shapely when I wore them. But I'm pretty sure that my hands could have dealt with scratchy and ugly just as well, as long as they were still kept warm. When your fingers start to feel tingly, you stop worrying about what is soft and beautiful and start worrying about getting frostbite.

I do have to say, however, that these mittens and scarf fulfilled their warmth as well as fashion purposes. The scarf could have been thicker, but I was working with limited yardage, so I would not change a thing. It was an exciting thing to feel as though I had knit with a purpose again and that my time had been put to good use. I was warm and snuggly in my knitted accessories and happy and full in this familiar place.

Now I need an excuse to visit you. You should to talk to me so we can come up with reasons together and so I can see you again.

K

umm, well, sorry about that voting thing

A,
I think you might be angry with me if you knew about my voting this past Tuesday. I am angry with myself as well. But in my defense, I was an hour and a half drive away from the county in which I am registered to vote. And, well, I was busy 8-7, 9-10. Polls were open 6-7, so I could have left at 4:30 in the morning to vote; but, well, I didn't.

Now, despite my unexpected non-participation in the elections this year, I had actually done a bit of research on the propositions and local government offices that were up for election. It worries me that people who go to the polls may be well-informed about the presidential elections but unaware that there are in fact other people on the ballot. I think we ourselves fell into this trap at some point when we considered voting for Dr. Hedstrom in the last presidential election. I know I did wrong by not voting and I regret it. But tell me this. Is it better to be an uninformed voter, or is it better to not vote at all if you don't do the research?

Though it was the source of my non-participation, I do have to say that I am in love with living in this city. I have a ten minute commute as opposed to my normal 90 minute commute. I don't have to leave for school before the sun rises, and I get to come home at a decent hour. I feel normal again.

James is taking his EMT course and he just learned how to do IVs yesterday and is quite excited about it. I asked him to explain to me how he would find the vein and how he would do the IV, but he could not find the vein in my arm. He's starting to boast again that he knows more than you, so I think you should have a talk with him and set him straight.

The house that we are renting for the month is covered from floor to ceiling in wall paper. Lots and lots of garish wallpaper. Even on the ceiling. It reminded me of that home stay we had with the interior decorator who went all crazy with her draperies. (You know, the one with the game 'The Exciting Career Game for Boys?') I think the previous owner of this home was also an interior decorator. It makes me nervous about how these people are influencing other peoples' decorating decisions. We also have a fireplace, which seems nice, but Hazel keeps trying to crawl inside and then she is full of soot and so every time she jumps around she lets off a puff of soot. It's good for her to have a new place to explore, but she's becoming brazen and unruly with her new freedom.

Do you get to have thanksgiving off? I am having a few of my group members over for thanksgiving which will be nice. Obviously then I will be staying in Arizona for the holiday, but in the end I found that I would be able to go to Sheri's wedding, so I will be home the weekend before Thanksgiving. If you find yourself in Wisconsin for some reason the weekend before Thanksgiving, you should let me know.

Keep me updated on how you are doing.

K

GO VOTE, DAMN IT.

If you're in America, go vote. If you already voted, tell someone else to vote. Check especially the outliers...the younger students who might never have voted before, newer Americans, people who have just moved to your area.

If you're not here in America, call us up. Make sure all your friends here have voted. Send off some emails. Plead for your favourite candidates. Why not? The actual candidates have done a lot worse. I feel it's totally okay as long as it's not family.

Have an older relative who might struggle getting to the polls? Drive 'em. (Call first.)

Then treat yourself to some chocolate.

We should all be represented these next four years.

Thanks,
A