One year ago today, I was paired with my new best friend, Joy. Though Joy is not her name, I refer to her this way because joy sums up in one word the blessings she has brought into my life. I can remember as clearly as if it were yesterday the journey that led up to this day: the sudden and very painful loss of my first guide after a brief illness, my reacquaintance with the white cane after nine years of trusting a dog to guide me safely around obstacles and in traffic (a skill, I was pleasantly surprised to learn, that you don’t forget, just like riding a bicycle), the emptiness of not having the pull of the harness against the fingers of my left hand, and my husband’s gentle reminders as I directed him with a series of forwards, lefts, rights, and hopp hopps, without realizing what I was doing, that he was not a dog. (I’m a little embarrassed about that one.) He would laugh and pretend to be distracted by a scent, just to make me laugh, too.
Shortly before I left for training in the Northeast, I discovered that we had a local yarn store and bought lots of yarn to take with me, packed in a suitcase all its own. I knew I would need knitting to calm my nerves, and wanted to start an afghan, which is still in progress. That trip to the LYS was the beginning of many treasured friendships, which Joy was directly responsible for, even though I didn’t know her yet. If I wasn’t going away, I may not have gone in there to buy yarn and would not have met such awesome knitters, whose friendship is central in my life.
I will never forget the day I met Joy. She seemed so young and inexperienced to me. She was happy, excited, strong willed and all over the place, very different from my docile compliant baby. She was confused by the sudden changes in her life. She wanted her trainer, and not me. I felt sorry for her. I’m a pushover, and knew she would be a challenge, because she would need structure, and I tend to give in easily.
Yet, I saw immediately that she was sensitive and eager to please. Although she did not know me, she obeyed my requests, eager to please both me and her trainer. She took the transition in stride and was playful and kind, always wanting to climb in my lap, lick my face, and nibble my nose and hands. She shared her toys with me, and often tried to feed me her bone. (She still does that, actually.)
On our first walk, I was warned that she was keyed up and would probably move pretty fast. She did, but even though she didn’t understand that I was her responsibility at this point, and even though we felt foreign to each other, she still showed a sense of duty and of pride in her education.
The weeks in training flew by. I didn’t have much time to knit (well, not by a knitter’s standards). If I wasn’t working with her, I was grooming her, doing obedience, playing with her (we had lots and lots of playtime), or attending lectures. I think it was a week and a half before I had the brilliant idea of cramming my knitting into my coat pocket to take on those daily trips to town. My instructor started to ask me how “his pants” were doing and when they would be finished.
Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
Last night, the weather was chilly, with clear skies and temperatures in the 50s. It was much like the weather conditions during our very first walk. As we walked in the crisp night air (such a rare treat in Florida, especially this time of year when we are experiencing record breaking cold), the chill invigorated Joy, and she fairly ran down the sidewalk, much as she had that first day on that first walk. “There goes Speedy Gonzalez,” my neighbor said, as we passed him and his dog in a blur. The two of us were one.
With her tail out behind her and her pull on the harness urging me to move faster (apparently, four miles an hour wasn’t fast enough), I reflected on how far we have come. She expertly navigated the narrow wheelchair ramps that I had to teach her a year ago were meant to accommodate both of us, and not just her. (This often meant that she had to walk partly on the curb, so that I could have even footing.) She thrilled at the prospect of passing barking dogs, rather than stopping to check them out. She guided me safely among low-hanging branches and kept a watchful eye on the traffic.
More than my guide, Joy is my best friend. After we came back home and had a good, hearty play, I sat on the patio with my afghan, which I have dubbed Joy’s blanket. My girl now, and always at my side, Joy contentedly chewed on her bone while I knit and enjoyed the smells the fresh night air brought to her nose.
Afghan with diamond panels made up of knits and purls; seed stitch border.
It is a common belief in knitting that if you don’t pick up a project in six months, you may as well give up hope of ever finishing it. Joy’s blanket often goes untouched for months at a time, but I’m glad it’s there. It is my comfort knitting, and holds all my treasured memories of my best friend, and all the people I have met, and friendships renewed, because of her.
As I write this, she lies sleeping by my side on the floor. The minute I rise, she will jump up, eager to fulfill whatever I might request of her. She is on call, 24/7, and she never complains.
To my best friend and loyal companion, here’s to many more years of joy.
RAM and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary last Saturday. Before I get to that, a quick update.
I finished my first pair of socks. I decided to do something other than the Jaywalkers and have a post in progress with details and my pattern. With everything going on, I haven’t actually had time to finish the post and hope too soon, along with photos.
I also finally got my hair cut and donated a whopping 16 inches of my hair to Locks of Love. It feels odd having hair to only just above the shoulders, but I am really enjoying the manageability.
Now, to the anniversary.
RAM and I took four days off and enjoyed a “staycation”. We spent Thursday troubleshooting the mess I had inadvertently made of my computer. My antivirus program had decided that my screen reader, which is used to translate the computer screen into synthesized speech and Braille (if a Braille display is connected) was a harmful program and decided to block it. This rendered my computer useless, and we had to fight to uninstall and reinstall the antivirus software.
At the same time, I had bought RAM a new computer for his birthday, which he badly needed. He was finishing up the transition from the old computer to the new one. You might think this was a boring day, but since we are both techies, we actually had fun.
On Friday, we took a day cruise on the ocean. This was Joy’s first cruise, and she loved it. We ate a delicious brunch and spent time out on deck enjoying the day.
Joy sits on deck.
I had started a pair of socks for RAM on the bus that morning, and got to knit a few rounds on the ship.
There is also a casino on the boat, and we had fun playing the two-cent machines. We ended up playing $40, and I won back $20 of it, so not a bad day. We don’t do this often, but when we do, we have fun.
What amazed me were the other passengers who recommended that we sign up for some sort of card where you could earn bonuses for gambling. When we told them that the last time we were on the boat was two and a half years ago, they laughed in our faces.
As I listened to them talk among themselves, both this time and on past trips, I heard stories of how they would lose thousands and thousands of dollars in one night. I can’t help but think how sad that is. If they just want to throw the money away anyway, let it do some good in the world! Give it to the Church or to charity.
When we got home, I cooked dinner, and we watched “Definitely Maybe”, which we never got to see in the theatre. We toasted our anniversary at midnight.
We got up early Saturday, and met RAM’s parents for breakfast. After that, we relaxed by the pool for a while and got ready for dinner when the weather clouded up. We had dinner at Courtine’s, a local French restaurant that is simply divine. Their house salad dressing, a creamy garlic, was so good that I told them they should bottle it. Turns out, a lot of people had the same idea and now they do! Of course, I couldn’t leave without bringing a jar home.
On Sunday, we left for Orlando after church. Of course, I knit all during the car ride. We stayed at a pet-friendly motel so that Peace could join us. We celebrated RAM’s birthday at Charley’s Steakhouse. (Did you notice that our anniversary and RAM’s birthday are a day apart? This was on purpose. Am I smart, or what? hehehe) We had been planning a trip like this for a while. I had wanted to take him to Charley’s on his birthday, but we wanted to wait for his birthday to fall on a weekend to do it. The fact that this year happened to be the year, and that it fell right into our little staycation, was just too awesome.
On Monday, we went to AES to look for a new microphone for one of our ham radios. They didn’t have the microphone, but they did have a Yaesu FT817, which RAM had been drooling over for a long time. The appeal of an FT817 is that it’s a QRP rig. This means that it only transmits up to 5 watts output, which is not very much power. (For reference, it can take 100 watts to power a light bulb in your house.) The challenge to using this radio is to hope for the right atmospheric conditions to talk all over the world with this tiny amount of power. The radio is also portable, so he can use it anywhere.
RAM had surprised me with an anniversary present–we weren’t supposed to exchange presents this year because of our little vacation–so I insisted that it was finally time for him to have his radio.
My present was a little piece of technology called a Victor Reader Stream. As the world is going digital, so are talking and Braille books provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of congress. This little player reads all NLS books, as well as specially copy-protected books from other organizations that make books available to those with documented print disabilities. The player is also compatible with Audible.com, a commercial online source for audiobooks. It can also read text files and web pages.
Being an avid Braille reader, I hadn’t given the text to speech options much of a shot until I got my first laptop, and it wasn’t always convenient to connect a Braille display. Now, I see possibilities. I could download digital knitting books, patterns, and instructions, and have them read aloud as I carry them out. This is just like having another person reading instructions as I do them. Not to mention I can read virtually ANYTHING and still knit at the same time! Now, that is cool.
I was excited, dreaming of all those possibilities. I knew the package would be waiting for us when we came home. But for my knitting, I probably would have died from excitement. As it was, I had the rest of the leg, heel flap, and heel turn to keep me busy on the way home.
The weather was rainy Tuesday, so we took care of some paperwork and spent the day lounging around the house. I finished the gussets and started the foot for RAM’s first sock in between RAM and I troubleshooting why my antivirus program was blocking certain e-mails and working on more paperwork I had let fall through the cracks.
Wednesday, I came back to work and have been running ever since. RAM’s first sock will be finished by the weekend (if I don’t have time before then). (Of course, now I have this sinking feeling that I don’t have enough yarn. It’s a top-down sock, so I may have to frog.) I am looking forward to seeing the girls at Knit Night again soon. I don’t live far from where we meet, and I’m excited because the sidewalks are all finished. I can’t wait to be able to mix in some walking exercise with my knitting fun.
Until next time!
RAM and I have two very special friends named Fred and Joe. They winter here every year and were introduced to us by my grandparents while my grandparents visited us last year. We visit when they come down for the winter. They make us laugh and are a delight to be around.
Fred and Joe are heading North at the end of the week, so we got together for dinner last night for our final goodbye for the season. RAM and I were treated to dinner at an oceanside restaurant where we ate right on the beach. (RAM and I had wanted to treat Fred and Joe because we won’t make it to Fred’s 90th birthday party this summer, but they insisted that it was their turn because we bought last time.) The salty breeze and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore were the perfect backdrop to this delightful dinner.
We will miss our friends dearly and wish them a safe trip home. We look forward to getting together often when they come back down next winter. Who knows? Maybe I can get Joe back into knitting. She gave it up out of frustration. Who can blame her? Her introduction to knitting was an intermediate sweater class!
RAM and I came home to a knock on the door. It was I. bearing Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies in a beautiful gold keepsake box and a beautiful card from her and her daughter. They wanted to thank us for fixing their computer on Monday. RAM and I were deeply moved by their gratitude and will treasure the card always. And you can’t ask for a more pleasant end to a delightful evening than sharing excellent chocolate chip cookies with friends.
