I keep coming back to . . .

what happens when? Or if?

What happens when I can't keep up the activity pace I've set for myself?

What happens if I hurt an ankle or knee? [My knees have been ... um ... vulnerable in the past.]

What happens if and/or when my enthusiasm begins to lag?

I can't really say 'what happens when the weight loss slows down?' because it can't get much slower than 1.25 pounds per week.

Can it?

I read somewhere recently that 50 is the new 'middle-aged.' If it is, then I'm solidly there, as I left 50 several years ago. When I was a little girl, and even when I was in high school, 50 was – no two ways about it – old. One writer describes it as

that point in your life when you shift from seeing the future in terms of your potential and begin to see it in terms of your limitations.

So maybe I'm getting there, since I'm wondering what if and what when. But I'm still seeing a bright future, filled with meaningful relationships, activities and successes.

My dad has frequently said he's the youngest person in the family, because he's been Young [our last name] longer than any of us. I think I'll keep thinking Young.

I've been knitting! Finished a couple to-be-felted turtles and started a fish. The turtle pattern also includes instructions for starfish, so I might do a couple of those and then one more fish. That will make an aquarium full of swimmy creatures for each grandchild. [You're old when you have grandchildren, aren't you? But my mother was only 39 when her first grandchild was born. So I guess you don't have to be.]

I also started the lovely Krista Cap-Sleeve Tee from White Lies Designs.

I'm not using the same yarn that's called for in the pattern, but instead found in the yarn closet an unlabeled cream-colored ribbon that knits to 4.75 stitches per inch. [The pattern gauge is 4 stitches per inch.] I think I'll like it better at a finer gauge, especially for warm weather.

I did a sleeve first, and will send it through the washer and dryer today to see if the row gauge tightens up. If not, I'll have to do more calculations when it's time to shape the armscyes and sleeves. The sleeve I finished looks too long and narrow to me, but I haven't taken the time to actually figure out what the measurements should be from the original suggested gauge.

At any rate, it's a very pretty design, and quite unlike anything I've ever made for myself in the past. I just hope I don't feel like I'm dressing up in someone else's clothes when I wear it.