A graduate at last

Tomorrow is my graduation with  a Masters in Social Work after 2 years of hard work.  Sadly, I won't be in North Dakota to walk with my class but I will watch online.  I have a tremendous feeling of accomplishment though now I have to start looking for a job! 

Last weekend Guitar Guy and I flew to Iowa to attend our grandson's 7th birthday party.  It was a short visit but there were plenty of hugs to go around.  We are hoping to make it back sometime this summer for a longer visit.  We also are waiting for our first granddaughter to make her appearance sometime in the next month.  That will send us off to Florida for some cuddle time with the wee one.  Of course, knitting is in progress.  I haven't blocked anything yet but will post pictures eventually.

Guitar Guy is off to the Social Security office today to see about applying for Social Security disability and/or retirement. He's doing pretty well since arriving back home and has been enjoying time with friends and riding his motorcycle.

That's the news from our house.  What's going on with you?

Guitar Guy coming home soon

The good news for this post is that Guitar Guy is coming home in a few weeks.  He will be continuing treatment at home and can't wait.  School, work, and internship continue for me and I just keep plodding along.  I am liking the earlier sunrise and later sunset.  For the first time in months, I'm not driving to internship in the dark!

Knitting time has been at a minimum but I am working on a baby blanket.  It's a lace pattern that is giving me fits.  No matter how I count, I think I've missed a few yarn overs and had to catch up.  

Now off to work on my paper.

And the race to the finish begins

We got through the holidays and mostly had a a nice time.  Guitar Guy spent the holidays with his siblings and I spent Christmas with our son and family.  New Year's weekend, the cats and I vegged, watched TV, knitted, and caught up on sleep.  It was really nice to have 3 days to just let down and putter. 

Now I'm back in the groove and plugging along on my independent study project.  324 out of 500 required hours of internship completed so I'm over the hump!  That doesn't mean that I get to quit when I hit 500 (which will probably be around the end of March).  I have to complete the semester, which means I'll be there until the first week of May.  I just know I'll feel better when I hit that magic number and know that the minimum requirement is met!

One more cup of coffee, then off to work.  Hope you have a great day and week!

Plugging along

The best part of the last month was a visit from our son, daughter-in-law and 2 grandsons, while Guitar Guy was home for 2 weeks.  Now he's back in Florida doing chemo and I'm plugging away on internship and work. It's no fun, but it is what we both need to be doing right now.

I am knitting socks for the grandsons but it's slow going.  Just not very inspired this year.

Off to a full day of in-home visits with my clients.  Have a great weekend!

Difficult times

I haven't been around here much in the last few months.  My social work internship has started and the extra time is crunching my schedule.  I knew it was going to be busy between August and May but had not counted on Guitar Guy being diagnosed with colon cancer.  We were totally taken by surprise and life changed in an instant.  He's currently in Florida with our daughter so that he can have access to Moffitt Cancer Center. Surgery is done and now we wait for the recommendations on chemo over the next several months.  Keep a good thought for us and give your loved ones a hug.

School Days and Summer Vacation

 I had a wonderful week in Iowa with my son and his family even though Guitar Guy didn't get to go.  It was hot and sticky so we did mostly inside activities.  These photos were from the Children's Museum, where we spent part of an afternoon.  They have a whole restaurant set up for making play pizza complete with menus, a drink station and check out. Although the boys liked the "blue room" with all of its building components, the airplane room is their favorite. Many activities and play planes to pretend to fly.

The summer semester is winding down. Only one more week of classes and a few projects to finish this weekend.  We will have to write a major paper on the social work standards before the 16th and my internship starts the 25th of August.  Not looking forward to the commute back and forth to Bullhead City for 8 months but I'll survive.

Hoping you are having some down time this summer to enjoy family and fun!

Father's Day and Life in General

This is my 5th Father's Day without my dad and by now I thought it would be easier.  Then I remember that I still can't walk through a Mother's Day card aisle without tearing up and my mom has been gone for 27 years.

This isn't the deep overwhelming grief I used to feel, but instead a bittersweet ache for the time we had and a wish for just one more hug. (My dad was a great hugger in his older years!)

Although he could be critical and cranky, today I will remember the love and laughter he brought to my life.  For that I am truly grateful.


I haven't been around the blog much in a couple of months.  Life has been stressful and I've gotten little more done than what I absolutely have to for work and school.  The heat is reminding me how much I have grown to dislike Arizona summers.  I have no motivation to knit and still need to start cross stitching my grandson's Christmas stocking.  The good news is that I'm almost half way through summer semester and have a short vacation with family planned in July.

Now I have a paper to write and maybe a trip to the grocery store.  Do I know how to live it up?