Happy Birthday, Grandma

Update: Just got off the phone with Gram. No relatives there at all. Just Gram, not even my parents. All of them went out shopping and I talked with her for half an hour. My uncles will arrive in the afternoon, which will be my bedtime. And Gram said that Stuart will be there. Too bad I'm not. Miss all the relatives, camaraderie and food.

My paternal grandmother's birthday is on Sept 9 this year(based on the lunar calendar). I've been busy catching up with my mum on my Gram's birthday bash, which is on Saturday. She'll be 87. All of Gram's children will be back for the bash. Some of her grandkids - me being half way across the world, Shaun, Simon and Stuart are working and some busy with school, will not be attending. I did call last night to talk with her but she's too busy catching up with my aunts and their husbands. I'll call again tonight to catch up with my other relatives. I'll call Gram on the 9th so that she'll have more time to chat.

She used to chat for five minutes & asked me to get off the phone. Now, she talks for about half an hour. She's a proud and stubborn lady. She rarely complains & when she does, it's a serious matter. When she told my mum that she has to wait 30 minutes before she can get off her bed in the morning, I know that her legs are bothering her much. Anyway, off with my rant. Below is a picture of blooming sweet autumn clematis, vining on my neighbor's rusty fence.
Happy Birthday, Gram.

I have to renew my passport. After calling a couple of Consulates, I found out that I can go to NYC and have it renewed in person. I don't have to send my papers to the Consulate in DC and they in turn, send them back to Malaysia with a turn around time of 3 to 6 months. At the moment, I'm trying to get my papers and schedule line up to go to NYC. I hope that the machine is in working condition when I go to the Consulate. Hubster said that he can take his furlough days to look after the kids. And the kids are upset that I'm going without them. I'll post a notice on Etsy and the blog when I know for sure.

I have been on hiatus from sock knitting for a couple of years. I have 4 pairs on the needles. Below is a picture of the first pair since my hiatus. It's M2's Halloween socks. I have 2 more pairs to be finished soon - just have the cuff to go. The last pair, I'm trying to knit short row heel and am having a tad of problem with the instructions.
I still have to seam up the kids Einstein coats from last fall. Hopefully, I seamed them up before the nippy temp hit us full force. Gotta run now. Have to catch the relatives before they all head out for the big lunch celebration. Ta ta for now. Talk later.