Gracie's Desire

My stepdaughter, Evona and her children, Elias and little Gracie were here from San José last weekend. It had been Christmastime when we saw them last, and weren't they a welcome sight!

Elias has turned 12, and is doing that summertime growth spurt, he's handsome too and quite tan this year from hanging around poolside. Gracie's as cute as a bug. It's true! how else can that cuteness be described? She's all smiles, until she's not, then she's like a little dark cloud. This visit though, the clouds were all gone. 

But boy, is she busy! Like a little butterfly, or maybe a hummingbird is more like it, she moves quickly from one thought/activity into another, endlessly. She saw a fancy stemmed glass, she wanted water from that. When she needed to wash her hands I handed her one of my handknit linen quest towels, which up 'till then hadn't been used, she did her business, dried her hands and brought the towel out into the living room whipping it around, wringing it and throwing it into the air. She found my stick, a five foot length of smooth eucalyptus, and wanted to know why I would keep a stick behind the front door, picked it up and started to move around our tiny apartment with it held horizontally, risking bumping into the new HI-DEF, or any number of my paintings. She had to find out what the rug-thing in the living room was made of. When I told her it was a cow hide, she denied it, but then became intrigued by its slippery feel and started to roll in it, taking the sheepskins with it and making herself a cocoon. She found a lost earring and a few buttons under the bed. At the playground she was a pro at climbing and wiggling. Ooftah! she was all over the place and into everything. After they all left, I was very glad to head to bed early. She wore me out!

A classmate from highschool lives here in Petaluma with his family. His daughter is the same age as Gracie. We saw him on the 4th of July, looking for the group who had her with them. I couldn't help but feel empathy for him. It was so much easier to chase down a kid when I was in my twenties and thirties, and here he is in his fifties hunting down his daughter. 

Gracie let me know she'd like mittens and a little hat knit just for her in pink and purple. If she can get only one color, she wants purple. Elias wants a hat and mitts too. With his I have to watch not to include a "gang" color in them, which in our neighborhood means red and blue. So I guess a little pattern writing for childrens' hats and mitts is in order next.

Here's a photo of Gracie and Honey taken over Christmastime; she's pouting because we won't take her to Toys R Us on Christmas Eve. You can see what I mean about the cloud.