Imaginary Friends

So, a couple other blogs I like a great deal…

First, there’s Julia. Julia has three kids…all obviously well above average in smarts and at least one well above average in mischief. And she writes about the kids and her life with such humor and loving exasperation that she can reduce me to tears. From duct-taping her daughter into her clothes or locking her in her room or otherwise containing her, to finding a good school for her older son (see the duct tape post above),to taking the kids swimming...she always makes me laugh. She may spend some of her time weeping, I don't know, but she converts her life into great gobs of good humor.

Then there's Kate, over at needled. Her blog is a recent find for me, one I found by following a link in another (now forgotten) blog. First I realized that she is a designer I like (I love her design in the latest Twist, which is a round yoked sweater with a cityscape worked in the yoke), then I realized that she is in Edinburgh, a city I love, and has beautiful pictures on her blog. And then, as I read back, I realized that she is a young woman recovering from a stroke...and her writing about that recovery is so honest and so painful...just makes me want to hug her. And she is attacking that recovery with such vigor, though I'm sure that it is frustrating and exhausting. But she is out walking the hills around Edinburgh again...and I'm sitting here in Maryland and rooting for her recovery.

Finally...this one is just for my brother. The blue blog is one I read semi-frequently...I tend to lose some interest when Alison gets into her sewing. I can appreciate her skill but I prefer knitting. And her constant calling of her little girl "Wee One" seems a little twee for me...though I understand why she doesn't want to use her kids' real names. But her last few posts have been all about her trip, with her husband and sans kids, to Iceland. And I think her words and pictures will only whet my brother's desire to visit Iceland some day. It does look fascinating.