November's almost gone

My brother just reminded me that I haven't posted here since the beginning of the month. It's not that nothing's happened; I've just been lazy.

Have you ever watched first and second graders play basketball? Rose is playing this year. They've not quite got it down yet, but they're trying. I noticed that the refs (I think they're high school boys) never call them on 'traveling.'

The Graves County school system has eight elementary schools, so they have their own league.

I also went to Massac Junior High, where Lexi is a cheerleader, and watched seventh and eighth graders play. What a difference! And the cheerleaders are good, too. Cheerleading has changed a lot since I was in school in the late 1950's.

On the 11th, I went to a Veteran's Day program at Rose's school. The following day was a teacher in-service day or something, so Rose came home with me for the night. She wanted to knit, so she picked out a ball of yarn and a circular needle, and I cast on a few stitches for her. She did a few rows, and then took it home with her. I may have lost one of my good Addi needles that I paid at least $10 for twenty years ago.

I'm ready for the Walk through Bethlehem next week (except for zig-zagging across the ends of 62 bookmarks). The loom is dressed, folded, and ready to be picked up.

When they come for it, I'll also have them take these things.

The rustic stool is what I will sit on as I weave. The partial bolt of fabric is some I bought almost ten years ago to make curtains for my back room. Since I have not made the curtains by now, I probably never will. They can use it in the fabric stall to make 'bedouin headdresses', with lengths of the blue stuff to tie them on with. The two bags hold the 'miniature rugs' I wove for the kids to 'buy' with their 'shekels'.

The rest of the stuff I will carry with me on Wednesday.

The white basket holds 156 two-inch squares. The sign says they are four for a shekel, and they can sew them together however they wish. The larger basket has my weaving supplies and the fingerless gloves I wear.

Then there is my costume.

The brown is a long gown with sleeves. The white is a rather long, open-fronted vest to go over it, and the striped fabric is my head-covering. I can't find the 'rope' I used to tie the gown with in prior years, so I'll use one that goes with a long sweater I have. My long underwear is there, too. (It's cold weather here, and we'll be outside.)

Another thing I've done in November is knit two dozen tiny hats. This is a project to spread the word about seafarers and the work of the Seaman's Church Institute. The director of their Christmas as Sea/Christmas on the River program will be in Paducah on December 12, with tags to put on the hats. Then we are supposed to 'hide them in plain sight', for instance, on the ketchup bottle at a restaurant or supermarket. I'm not sure I'll be able to meet her then, because that is the day of Rose's school Christmas program. I'm hoping that I can do one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Aren't they cute?!?