Too much to handle?

This came off the Net years ago ........ I've no clue who originally wrote it, but I came across it in my files the other day & thought .. ya know, this makes sense ..... so here it is once again:

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle
When 24 hours in a day are not enough
Remember the mayonnaise jar ..... and the coffee ....

A professor stood before his philosophy class & had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he pick up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now,", said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check ups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the drains. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. It goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Clever sod.

Blue Rainbow Socks

The first of a pair of socks I'm knitting for a friend. The long blue color runs in this yarn hide the triangular structural knitting pattern and just leave the oddly shaped & angled stripes to make one wonder how in the world *that* was managed. Knitted with the Rainbow Sock pattern found in Ravelry's library.

Wee Tiny Sock Swap, December '09

The wonderful package I received in the December 2009 Wee Tiny Sock Swap. :)

Reducio 8 mini sock swap

I received my Reducio 8 mini sock swap yesterday ..... all the way from England! And was I ever spoiled!! You can see one shot of all my goodies, another of the really cool package Ron's contribution (candy!) came in, and the last shot is of the wonderful sock (in Gryff colors, of course!) and the mini Molly sweater as well as the 2 mini skeins of yarn.

The sock & the tiny Molly sweater would have made my day, all by themselves! They are so fantastic! The sock is so small I can barely fit my pinkie into the top of it. And as for the sweater ..... I fell in love with Molly's sweater the first time I saw it & now I have a tiny one of my very own to pet & fondle & show off.

Actually, I've got a trade in process to get a full size Molly sweater of my own - but that won't happen until next month. Until then, tho, I have something I can imagine with. And the yarn on this tiny model is so soft, I expect it to purr when I pet it!

Mini socks, again ......

Okay ... .so I'm addicted to mini socks ..... you can blame it all on Meggles! ::grin:: See ... I test knit for her (one of the best things to happen to me this year .... ) ...... so I get lots of kewl things to try out & patterns to see before everyone else does .......

Anyhow, it sort of bit me in the ..... well, you know where .... and I find myself picking up my size 0 or 00 needles & a bit of yarn to knit a mini sock when I need to chill out ..... so here are the two I did the past couple of nights ....

The one with the soft, muted tones is knit from a Red Heart worsted weight yarn that I split. The yarn is 4ply & I split it into 2 2-ply strands ... gave me just enough to make my mini sock. I really love the colors & I had so little of it left over that I barely managed my little sock.

The other sock .... well, it's a personal pattern right now. See, I have a mini skein of this really kewl yarn in shades of green & teal with some yellow in it. The color stripes aren't really very long and when I began a normal mini sock with it, the colors didn't have time to make any sort of pattern so they ended up looking all muddled. Which I didn't like. And I wondered, you know, if maybe the yarn might look better if the rows were longer. So I wondered if I might be able to figure out how to knit a sock sideways. Yep, sideways. This is the result of the first attempt. Hopefully, with some help, this can become a 'real' pattern that can eventually be shared ........

My birthday gift :)

Mr Wiggles is my birthday gift this year. He's the sweetest, most loving little dog. I used to hate chihuahuas because my first stepmother had one that bit & was a mean, nasty little dog. He's the only one I'd ever had much contact with so I thought that all chihuahuas were like that. They aren't! Mr Wiggles sleeps curled up tight against me, and hates to have me out of his sight.

When we have to leave him locked in the car (like if we stop at the store on the way home from somewhere) he whines & cries & I can just hear him saying 'MOMMY!! YOU FORGOT ME!!!!!!!.' And when we get back to the car, he jumps in my lap & licks my face, like he's saying he forgives me for 'forgetting' him.

Color Me Happy

A mini-skein of yarn I received in a swap ....... which I'm trying to duplicate. Wish me luck!