Running around doing errands yesterday, I stopped in my tracks.  I pulled the car over and began to take pictures.  It’s a miracle.  Who sees roses this beautiful at Thanksgiving?

I did what I always do. I documented it.

The weather has been very disconcerting.  It was the warmest Nov. 17 in 40 years.

I remember being in Miami during the holidays one year.  It must have been around 20 years ago now.  I was about 2 blocks from South Beach, and we had been doing a photo shoot. But we wrapped a bit early and I had a free evening and found myself…midwestern girl…in a Walgreens in Miami Beach a couple of days before Christmas. I had received a call from friends who had gone sledding and skiing and were spending the weekend in Wisconsin.  Could I get home in time to meet them there, they asked.

I wandered the aisles, listening to the holiday music, taking in the lights, the decorations.

I was so lost.

I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to celebrate the holiday without at least the CHANCE of snow, and a cold breeze and a winter coat.  Walking outside, I was greeted with the soft warm breeze, and the tealest of teal ocean colors. It was breathtaking.

But not Christmas.

I had that same feeling again today, even though I am playing holiday music. The weather report calls for storms tomorrow and snow flurries on Saturday.  Maybe then, just maybe, things will start to feel a little bit more normal.

I have been working on the knitting that had me turned inside out.  I spent 45 minutes just studying the scarf, trying to recognize my mistakes.  Finally, in what seemed like a breakthrough, I realized that I was not paying attention to the wrong and right side of the pattern.

Once I had it figured out, I decided to continue and not rip out the incorrect stitches.  I decided that this scarf would be a great reminder of a difficult time.  Things leave scars.  My scarf would have a scar.  It’s not horrible.

As you can see, on the right side of the fabric, it’s hardly noticeable.

The wrong side is much more obvious.  I decided that I didn’t want to go backward.

The only way to continue is to go forward.

I think I just might have a scarf by the time the snow falls.

And it’s time to get back to sewing too.