Throwback Thursday - Truck

Back in December, Vicki mentioned Michael Perry and some of his wonderful books, including Truck. She also had high praise for Population: 485, so I found a used copy, read it, and completely agreed with Vicki. I listened to Truck as an audiobook, read by Michael Perry himself, and absolutely loved it. I can't exactly explain why; I have no interest in fixing up an old International Harvester pickup, but this book is about so much more. The book and everything that Michael had to say about life just spoke to me, maybe because trucks have always seemed to figure into our lives. My husband John has owned, worked on, and driven numerous old trucks.

This is the 1933 Ford. It did have a cool paint job, but was distinctly lacking in amenities like power steering, comfortable seats, leg room, and insulation between the engine compartment and the passenger's legs.

This is John's current baby, a 1968 Ford.

 

I don't remember what the mechanics were working on that day. It could have been the electrical system, exhaust, or any number of other things. I recently spent an afternoon in the driver's seat alternately pressing and releasing the brake pedal while John was trying to install brakes that actually worked. Fun times!

It is getting to the point where most of the important stuff works and we can actually drive it out of the driveway, although John's wondering posture (hands on hips, wondering where the oil is leaking from or what will break next) is still seen alarmingly often.

Justin is on his second truck. The first was a 2006 Ford F250 that was sadly was totaled in a slippery snow storm in March of last year.

That got replaced with a 2002 Ford F250. This is the truck that got him to Montana and back, but he's learning that older diesel vehicles require plenty of time and money to fix the fuel leaks, malfunctioning thermostats, heater cores, and serpentine belts.

While these have all been fine and occasionally useful trucks, I do have a favorite.

Old Dog wasn't much to look at, but he was the best truck.

No pretensions, just plenty of torque to get things done. None of our other vehicles could be driven into a field to pull out a tractor that was stuck in the mud, chained to old bushes with deep roots to pull them out, or taken for a drive on a summer evening and receive lots of smiles, thumbs up, and appreciative honks. Old Dog was what I pictured when I was reading Truck, remembering him with affection.

He developed problems with the electrical system, so we were never sure if he was going to start or stay running. Old Dog was fun to drive, but when he would come to a dead stop in the middle of traffic, that quickly crossed the line from fun to "oh, crap!" John eventually sold him and moved on with his vehicular affections, but I'm not sure I have. I drive a boring Subaru Forester, but someday I'd like to have my own (working!) Old Dog, complete with his name proudly emblazoned on the hood.

Am Cam Finale

Scarlet didn't bloom on New Year's Day, but she did produce four bright red blossoms soon after. Her crimson flowers, along with Minerva's multitude of blooms

 has made for a lovely Am Cam finale.

I'll be cutting the flower stalks off after these blossoms die back, allowing the bulbs to grow their glossy green foliage and store some energy to hopefully bloom again next year.

I can't imagine getting through the rest of the winter without flowers blooming,

 but never fear.

The parade of hyacinths is about to begin!

Ten on Tuesday

 

I wasn't going to write a Ten on Tuesday post for today (10 Favorite David Bowie Songs) because I couldn't seem to think of ten David Bowie songs. When I gave the topic a little more consideration, I realized that so many of his songs had provided a sound track to my life over the years. So, in honor of his music and a great songwriter, musician, actor (he'll always be the Goblin King to me), collaborator, developer of personas, and man who greatly influenced music as we know it:

1. Rebel, Rebel
2. Changes
3. Dancing in the Street
4. Let's Dance
5. Golden Years 
6. Space Oddity
7. Fame
8. Modern Love 
9. Young Americans  

Number ten is one of my favorites. David Bowie said that he appeared on Bing Crosby's Christmas special because "I just knew my mother liked him." That's a reason any mother can appreciate, and listen to what their partnership produced.

The New York Times says of David Bowie that "his message was that there was always empathy beyond difference", something we would all do well to remember, celebrate, and put into practice.

Christmas Knitting Retrospective

I'm not sure that two finished objects make up a retrospective, but since I managed to finish two projects in a semi-timely fashion and am talking about them several weeks after the fact, that's what I'm going to call it.

The first FO is a hat for Justin. Every morning during his internship, he had to check the eight-foot tall fence surrounding 140 acres of the ranch. He did this on an ATV in all types of weather. Neither snow nor rain nor sleet nor temperatures below zero kept this young man from the swift completion of his appointed round, but even with a hat on, he still got very cold. If one hat didn't work, maybe two would do the trick, so Run the Fence to the rescue.

His double-layer, reversible hat did keep him warm. I really wish these colors were available in nice wool instead of this icky acrylic, but it is washable and much better suited to a 22-year-old male than something requiring hand-washing.

The second FO was intended as a Christmas gift, but I didn't finish it until more than a week afterwards. When I knit Nostalgia for Ryan's birthday, he said that he wouldn't mind having a pair of fingerless mitts with just black and grey stripes. I found the exact yarn he wanted, so Your Wish is Granted. The photos aren't great because there wasn't much light when I finished them at 1:00 am, just five hours before taking him to the airport to head home to Colorado. But I did finish them, and they are proving useful in the 3° temps he's had.

Now it's time for some selfish (and warm) knitting for me!

Oh, Really?

Knitters and people that live here beg to differ!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, no matter what weight yarn you're knitting with.

Throwback Thursday: From the Needles of Sylvia Becker

Back in the beginning of December, Mary wrote a lovely post about a sweater that her mother-in-law knitted for her almost 35 years ago. Reading the story and admiring Mary's bright green sweater reminded me that I had something very similar.

My sweater is a stranded  pullover instead of a henley and is knit with acrylic instead of wool, but it was also knit for me by my mother-in-law. She made it as a Christmas gift the year I was a senior in high school, so that makes it 41 years old. I remember feeling very loved and quite grateful that she had taken the time to knit me a sweater and I wore it all through college. After college I moved to Florida so the sweater was put away in my cedar chest. I did wear it when I left Florida and moved to Syracuse, but I haven't worn it in several decades. Even though it's acrylic, it seems to have shrunk over the years, as I can no longer fit into it :-) It does still has a special place in my cedar chest, next to all the baby sweaters and booties that Sylvia knitted for my sons.

My grandmother taught me to knit when I was a young girl, but I wasn't really a knitter when I first met my mother-in-law. We never knit together and I regret that. For many reasons, she hasn't knit in years, but was generous enough to pass on some wonderful vintage patterns to me when she stopped knitting. When I knit a baby sweater, it's from the same pattern that Sylvia used to knit sweaters for her children and grandchildren.

Maybe someday I'll have a daughter-in-law that will wear my sweater and grandchildren that I can knit sweaters for with the handed-down patterns, but even if those things never come to pass, Sylvia's knitting legacy still continues, and I thank her.

Let's Go To The Alpaca Farm!

Ryan and I have a tradition of going to our local alpaca farm, WoodsEdge Farm, when he visits us here at Christmas. Not a big fan of shopping, Ryan's solution was to suggest a leisurely trip to WoodsEdge where we admire the animals and he thoughtfully purchases a Christmas gift for me. This is our fourth year, and it's something I really look forward to and wholeheartedly enjoy.

We went last Saturday and were greeted by this adorable
Huacaya alpaca soon as we got out of the car.

After he posed from many angles and made sure we had properly admired him,

 we wandered over to check out the yaks that are also bred and raised at the farm.

They are large and imposing animals!

We had a wonderful time admiring sweaters, vests, socks, and yarn,
considering, trying on, chatting with Brent (one of the owners), and shopping. 

I am the lucky recipient of a beautiful and warm sweater from Ryan, and a lovely scarf that I purchased. (You can tell how much I love my gift because I'm willing to post a very rare selfie.)

I think these are Suri llamas. Even if I've misidentified them, they're still gorgeous.

WoodsEdge is a working farm year-round, but the farm store is only open on weekends from November into January. Brent mentioned that next weekend would be the last time they are open until November, with the added bonus that they are having a sale. 

 

Guess where I'll be next weekend!