A is for Attitude

We’ve been trudging along, this blanket and I, for just a little while now, and I can honestly tell you that I’m bored to death. I didn’t want to say it, because really… I have so far to go and if I turn on it now it’s just going to get ridiculous. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. You get more of what you pay attention to, and so I’ve been trying not to pay attention to the part where every time I pick this blanket up to do another 79 miles of the knit stitch I am overcome with the urge to haul off and purl the snot out of a row, just to mix it up a little. I am instead trying to get Zen with the blanket. Me and the blanket. The blanket and I. Me, the blanket and 79 miles of garter stitch in neutral colours. Which I love. A lot. Enough that I don’t miss any other kind of knitting at all. Totally.

Blanket Size Check ’09

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That’s Megan and Pato, who have a message for everyone.

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They’re very, very grateful (and are starting to send thank you notes) to everyone who sponsored them for the Bike Rally. ( Meg’s hand is much better too.) They have until June 30th to meet their fund-raising goals (pledges will be accepted after that, but if they don’t make their goals by that date then Ken is the only one who’s wearing the gold “top fundraiser” jersey, and Meg and Pato feel like they can’t let him out-do them) and both of them are out all day today, beating the bushes, making phone calls, dropping off cards and doing their level best to get there. Considering that they are the youngest people in the Toronto-Montreal Ride this year – and six days riding a bike across a chunk of Canada to raise money for People With Aids isn’t the way most 17 year olds are spending their summer, I’m sure they’re going to have a lot of success. (Added, for those who were asking for a place to click… you can sponsor Megan here and Pato here, if you like. They’d be very appreciative.) One of the interesting things we’ve noted as the kids fund-raise for this goal is that on average (though there are many very generous exceptions) people donate less to kids than they do to adults. Ken riding his bike on the same trip has had a much higher average donation than Meg and Pato. Meg has a theory that this is because Ken’s friends are grownups with resources, and her friends are working for minimum wage at the local grocery… and she might have a point, but the truth is that even with the formidable help of knitters, Meg and Pato have worked really hard to raise this cash, train for the ride….and I’m really, really proud of both of them. Joe and I keep thinking of what we did the summer we were 17.

Without going into any details…the kids are sort of ahead of us in the philanthropy department.