Hi friends,

Thank you for all of your kind words about my grandma, the support and kindness has been very touching, and the love is wholeheartedly appreciated. Her passing has given me a lot to think about. The thoughts come to me during the day, the night, and I give them my full attention. I think they are helping me better understand death, life, passing, and the truly important aspects of living.

♥ ♥ ♥

My reading goal for this year is to read fifty books, and guess what guys? I am halfway there :) Two of the entries are short stories, but you would count baby socks towards your knitting goal, right? I want to share some of my favorite reads so far: (in no particular order)

The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter - I stayed up in the wee hours last night to finish this one. It is a beautifully simple, sweet story about a young Cherokee boy who goes to live with his grandparents, and learns the way of the Cherokee. I laughed and cried through this book. There is controversy surrounding this book and author, which I briefly looked at. The bottom line to me is, the language and lessons of this story are so beautiful that it is incomprehensible that someone could write it without believing in these morals himself.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch - I loved this book and a good series to get hooked on. A lot of meaning can be lost or gained during translation and I felt this was very well translated. There are beautifully detailed illustrations sprinkled throughout. I am eagerly waiting for the fourth book to be released next month! (I do have to say that the writing was annoying at times; there's always someone "lurking in the shadows" that is "unnoticed" by the main characters. It got old.)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Basically anything Neil Gaiman writes and/or narrates is magical. I listened to the Audible version and it was awesome. I am always torn between buying the print or audio version of his works, because I enjoy each.

Shadowy Horses and The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley - Such a beautiful writer!! These are books you can get lost in.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb - All of the above books are in my favorites list, but this one especially. It's a coming of age story, and after. It's a story about perseverance on life.

I will be back soon with what I've been knitting and spinning :) ......I bought a spinning wheel!

♥

tough

grandma and mom

My grandma passed away last Thursday at home. She was so special to me and I am still having a hard time believing she is gone. She's lived with us since I was young and has always been there. The year I was in kindergarten, I slept every night in her bed even though I wasn't supposed to. When we moved to the new house, they laid carpet in her room first so we could be the first ones to sleep in the new home, in sleeping bags. We spent many hours together crocheting side by side, or watching Wheel of Fortune and eating candy orange slices.

She developed a urinary tract infection mid-February and was never able to recover. I am relieved she is no longer in pain, the last few months were very difficult for her, and there's comfort in knowing she is with grandpa again. But even though we had time to say goodbye and prepare ourselves, the time to say the final goodbye was, and still is, incredibly painful.

One of the last things she said to me was, "I have always loved you, since you were a little girl." That is my grandma in one word: love. I hope I will embody the meaning of that word as much as she did.

rest in peace, grandma, we love and miss you so much xx