The supermoon just cleared the trees behind my house. It is really bright tonight, shining through my window, joy from the east. This moon is both special and hilarious at the same time: the Beaver Supermoon.
Oh, we have beaver here in Colorado! I used to go with my children at dusk to a local state park looking for them in a pond with a beaver lodge. The kids and I have seen adults and youngsters (kits) over the years. Sometimes they were in the shrubbery by the water, sometimes swimming across the pond, and I’ve even seen one chomping on a tree. I’ve accidently startled them (those tail slaps on the water will get your attention), and I’ve glimpsed them swimming across the water with a branch in their mouths. One summer we could see the drag marks in the wet earth as large sections of trees were dragged down to the water; these woody treasures provide both food and building material for the lodges and dams. Beavers are pretty special as their work in waterways create essential habitat for other species. This moon gets its name from the increased activity of beavers preparing for winter. It is also a larger moon this month, hence the name Beaver Supermoon.
I’ve been simultaneously busy and stalled out lately. I have finally recovered from the absolutely horrible flare of never-ending tendonitis that forced me to abandon my knitting for almost a year. This is what my right wrist looked like last year at this time.
The x-ray report after this adventure had the word “severe” sprinkled throughout it. My rheumatologist tested me for gout and pseudogout: both negative. She did write me a prescription for emergency prednisone and painkillers in case this happens again. Then the flare dragged on, and on. Then there was the car wreck and other adventures. I kept hopefully buying more yarn, and stockpiling new patterns, hoping that someday I could return to knitting.
Two weeks ago the pain finally stopped and I started knitting in earnest again. Look at what I managed to accomplish!!
And just like that, I stalled out, consumed by endless yarny possibilities. I have all of this yarn! I have all of these dreams of new sweaters dancing around in my head; so many possibilities. What should I knit?????
As fate would have it, I also finished a book on the same day that I took that sweater off the knitting needles. Help! Double indecision!!! So many books waiting for me on my Kindle. Help. I’m on fire to get going, and unable to make a decision. Help me Supermoon, help!!!!
That’s how I ended up spending the day as busy as a beaver, kitting up yarn with patterns to make new sweaters. Yarn was wound, and a sweater was cast on… but I have two more sweaters that I have located needles for and I’m going to cast them on too. Three sweaters at once? Sure. Why not?!
The grey/pink yarn combo will become a Renaissance Sweater. The yarn in the middle (there are 5 colors there) is destined to become a Colorica cardigan. The yarn on the right has already been cast on and is becoming an Alchemist Pullover. There are some kits for more sweaters, but those are the ones that are seeing action right away. Why these three? Well… one is colorwork, one is a cardigan that will involve some lace and purling, and the third is just too cute to not get made right away. My hope is that no matter what my hands and wrists are up to, I will be able to get some knitting done.
Then there are the books. So many books. If I’m knitting three sweaters at once, maybe I should have several books going at the same time too. In that spirit I am reading and listening to all of these.
I’ve started reading Buckeye, listening to The Wedding People, and I’m pretty sure that I need a little Three Pines action right away, so it is going to be in action soon, too.
There are several other books nagging at me. I told them to go hang out with the yarn stash overflow. Still, they call to me. The yarn calls to me. I have fought my way through the indecision of making choices when surrounded by great possibilities. Is this what beavers feel when faced with a new stand of aspen? Whatever. I have made the decisions, I have made a start on the first sweater and the first books, and like the beavers that gave tonight’s moon its name, I am full of purpose and I have big plans.
There is a lesson here. A year ago, I was in a terrible flare, unable to knit or even read. The best I could manage was an audiobook, and even then, I had to play it over and over as I had trouble concentrating and following the story. I sought help, I tried new drugs, I stuck to my special diet, and I did my physical therapy. I came through that time, and now I am here, shining bright again. Just as the moon returns to full force at the end of each cycle, I have managed a comeback too.
In my excitement over the knitting and books I haven’t forgotten the chemo hats, port pillows, and zipper pouches that I also have to get done. Saturday, I get to meet up with all of my friends again for a sewing extravaganza to produce more zipper pouches, and one of my friends wants to take the three quilts that my sister started; they will go to a program for children getting their first bed. Who knew that this was a thing? Like the beaver, I hope that my work will ripple out and bring change in my community around me, supporting lots of new life.
Shine on Beaver Supermoon. Shine on.
Yarn, Books & Roses 