A post from the calm

Death has crept into my dreams this week. The normally sweet respite of sleep has turned on me, and my dreams are filled with sadness and suffering. It's been an emotional week, to say the least.

A week ago right now, we were on a flight to NY for H's grandpa's funeral. Lyle passed away last Wednesday, after a long collection of illnesses.

We returned Sunday night and awoke Monday to the news that my mom's kindergarten classroom had been destroyed in an arson fire overnight. -Story and pictures here.- (Coincedentally, this occurred on the 10 year anniversary of my grandma's passing.) As of now, my mom is doing much better, though she was in quite a state of shock and grief earlier in the week. The woman is amazingly resilient... by Tuesday she was back at school, sorting through the few remaining papers, and preparing for the return of students next Monday, following spring break. She's even finding blessings in this... the records that she dearly loved but didn't know what to do with when she retires in June all melted - problem solved. She was hoping for a color printer for her class, and now she can get one. No one was hurt. Many silver linings. I'm just glad she's doing ok.

Next in the inbox on Monday was news that my dear aunt Eleanor is suffering greatly with intractable jaw cancer. As she is 94, there is not much that the doctors can do for her, and she is in awful pain. Her condition is bringing so much sadness to the family - a family who is unaccustomed to expressing sadness. It's a difficult time, and hard to know what to hope for.

All of this has made me restless this week, and it's been hard to concentrate on much. I've been able to sit and spin for a while to calm my nerves and zone out.
Here are some recent results:
This is 2-ply yarn, made from the merino top I dyed a few weeks ago.