My Father's 85th birthday

Wild Geese
Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Today is my father's 85th birthday. January 13, 1927 was the day he was born, at home, in Kingfield, Maine, to Augusta Barnjum Savage and Freeland Arthur Savage. I wonder, was there a midwife, or a doctor, or both, or none? I am going to Maine today to see my father, along with 16 other people who are all converging on the little town of Stockton Springs for a weekend of lobster, steamers, wine, pingpong, walking, laughing, and, I imagine, some tears. My sister Suzy will be there, and she is celebrating the end of a horrific year of breast cancer treatment, involving surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. We will all be so glad to be together. I want to be there NOW.

Spinning: I started the first bump of Spunky Eclectic "Night Owl" and am about 1/3 done. I don't quite know how I feel about spinning merino. Let's just say that I enjoyed the Norwegian Longwool much more than this...I LOVE the colors, though. What will this become?

Merino Fiber in "Night Owl" colorway from Spunky Eclectic

Knitting: Nightfall Sock #1 is done!!! Sock #2 will be cast on this evening during the trip north.

Nightfall Sock #1 - I like it!

Exercise: Catching up on yesterday and today: I cycled for 30 minutes yesterday evening, 20 of those minutes at a very (for me) fast pace). Today I did 30 minutes of free weights, some crunches, and 20 minutes of cycling.
Food/Water: Doing well on both counts. Sushi last night for dinner - oh, how I love it.
Weight: Friday is weigh-in day and I'm happy to report that I'm down .6 lbs from last week. That's not much, but it is a decrease. Have lost a bit more than a pound a week in the six weeks that I've been keeping track - and that includes Christmas. Not too shabby...