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