The Modern Ranch Wife

Every fall I pack my bags and head home to Tennessee to visit my parents and the rest of my family. You see I am the only one in several generations to move more than an hour away. I moved across the country. Which might as well be across the world to my family. However in the fall I go home ALONE! You may think well that’s weird, but I leave my kids, the fabulous grandkids at home to attend school and allow them and their busy schedules to mix with my husband. It is a lovely experience for them trust me. I on the other hand get to spend uninterrupted time with my mom and dad. It is fabulous.

Well mom and I have become quite the knitters. She picked up her needles after close to a 50 year hiatus last November on our girls trip and I started this past July. She is a little deeper into it than me mostly because she lives so close to yarn stores and knitting classes that she is always doing something. For me Ravelry and You Tube are my closest friends.

Now to say we are excited about yarn is an understatement. We love it like a baby seeing the bottle headed his way. The excitement that emerges right when we walk into a new yarn store, is like nothing you can compare. The rush of colors and textures. Well it’s enough to cause at least small heart palpitations! It is just so fun.

Now we have yarn at home. We have yarn in bags we take with us everywhere. We have projects started and projects almost finished and finished projects. However the excitement of finding a new more beautiful yarn is exhilarating.

I am beginning to think we are moving toward yarn hoarders from simple yarn collectors. Mom however is so organized I could vomit. She puts her skeins of yarn with the chosen pattern into ziplock bags so she is ready for her next project to start. I mean she buys yarn with a project in mind. Crazy! My yarn stash looks like a store. I think I could actually open one. I have no idea what I am making. I just like yarn and I buy a skein or two. The majority of my projects are hats. (Well we live in Wyoming on a ranch. We work outside everyday. The kids have recess at school unless it is below zero, so a multitude of hats, scarfs, and cowls is essential. Well I can justify it anyway.) With making hats I only need one skein, so I’m okay with my stash. If I start making big things well I will be in trouble, but for now I’m good. I can usually find a fun hat pattern and then look for the yarn in my ever growing plethora of spun wool. I love wool. It is so soft and warm and I love sheep. Therefore I love sheep ranchers and I need to support them and buy more wool! Wow see how that all just worked out. I should buy some wool yarn today.

Well if you are a yarn shopper as I am. You have heard of a yarn crawl. Yes, YARN CRAWL! It is a fabulous little idea where yarn stores team up at certain times if the year and give away prizes. You travel to each store on the list collecting a stamp from each one and your name goes in for drawings. Sound Fun? Well it is! Wish we had one in Wyoming. I would do it like every month! I would be so broke I would have to go work for the sheep ranchers so I could buy more. Anyway when I went home it was already over.

Mom and I cleared up our disappointment like big girls and did what only grown ups do. We made our own! That’s right. We traveled all around East Tennessee and western North Carolina visiting so many yarn stores. We had a blast. I drove and mom finished so many of her projects I almost demanded a switch. But, she does have more projects started and I hate unfinished projects. I will say we saw some of the best stores ever and met some of the nicest people.

My mom works midnights at a hospital, so you can imagine that when she is off work she doesn’t exactly go to bed early. After a long day of driving and shopping, we would come home, unload our purchases and knit! Yes knit! I spent more time on Ravelry than I knitted, but it was productive. We would knit until around 2 or 3 am and then turn in. My dad would also stay up reloading bullets. He was our supper in the middle of the night guy. It had been years since I had Taco Bell at midnight.

My trip came to an end and I returned to ranch life and my knitting has slowed down due to cattle work. Mom however has taken several more classes and finished a few more projects. Next time I think we should hire a driver so we can both knit as we travel. That would is a splendid idea and down the road we would go just as happy as can be