Snowflake Monday

Today's pattern is the final snowflake I'm reinterpreting from my Christmas pillow. I wanted it to be one of the patterns in my next pdf booklet to raise money for Parkinson's, but we will not be able to participate in any of the fund-raising organized rides this year. I don't know if we will be able to ride together again at all, but I will never give up hoping.

I had begun working on a new snowflake pdf pattern booklet one year ago this month. I can't remember what day it was announced the 35th anniversary Ride the Rockies had been postponed to 2021, but I remember at the time being very thankful I'd still be able to do the phenomenal route this year. Lizard had received a brand new knee for Christmas in 2019, and by the time the 2020 route was announced, I knew there was no way he'd be ready. Both of us were so excited we wouldn't miss out!

What we didn't know at the time was Lizard would be getting a brand new back in August. We were forewarned prior to both surgeries that the trauma from each might make the Parkinson's worse. We had to take a chance because staying active is a key to fighting Parkinson's.

By August, Lizard could barely walk at all. He'd lost all hand/eye coordination, he'd graduated from speech therapy and actually made progress in communication, but his personality and ability to think were slipping away so fast, he was a shadow of the man he once was. We didn't know then that part of what he was going through was his spinal cord being nearly severed by arthritic constriction and a slipped disc. We did know it took more than seven years for the nerve damage in my back to heal following my own emergency back surgery.

Both surgeries were worth the risk. Lizard can walk again, and he's got the cutest sense of humor! The Parkinson's is worse, but we're learning to live with it. We're doing everything we can to slow the accelerated progress. And we're trying not to take a single day for granted.

I guess it's kind of a good thing we were able to live the lives we did prior to the two surgeries. We got to see so many things! We did more in the short 14 years we were married and active than some people do in their entire lives. Although it sometimes feels now as if I'm being cheated out of our weekend warrior adventures, I'm very grateful Lizard is able to walk again, even if slow, and even if his balance is off.

The final two years of his job, prior to retiring due to the progression of Parkinson's, I walked on the greenway almost every morning before beginning my own work commute, wishing he could be with me to enjoy the great blue herons, the mergansers, the kingfishers, the deer, the beavers, the muskrats, the snow, the blossoms, the fall colors and the ice formations. I spent about eight months of 2020 wondering if he would ever get to walk on the greenway with me again.

We tried walking every day we could after his back surgery and acute rehab in August. The wildfire smoke and heat, combined with his pain and faltering balance, made it difficult, but we kept trying. The time change put an end to weekday walking through the end of the year. I didn't want him to walk alone, I couldn't break free from working at home for even a lunch hour most days, and the ice around the neighborhood make walking extremely risky for him anyway.

We walked on weekends and holidays. And I could see him losing the progress he made each weekend because we were walking only two days a week. From Sunday afternoon to Saturday morning, he would lose all the walking progress he'd made, and we'd have to start all over again every single weekend.

I made a New Year's resolution to walk with Lizard every day, even if only for a few minutes, and even if only in our kitchen and living room. I've been blessed to be able to start working a bit earlier each morning this year and to clock out a few minutes early so we could walk safely in the increasing daylight. We're currently up to 38 days straight!

I remember when I was walking, trying to build streaks via a charity app on my phone. I'd get frustrated when the app would start me all over again if I didn't walk twice within the same 24-hour period. If I couldn't walk one morning due to storms or work deadlines, the app would start me over, even though I'd walk at lunch or in the afternoon or evening. I got fed up, deleted the app, made my own charitable contributions and vowed to keep track of my own streaks.

Then Lizard's knee surgery forced me to change my habits. I was never able to restart my streak until New Year's Eve 2020.

People make fun of resolutions and how quick we break them. I'm not always very good at meeting every goal I set, but I'm going to try to keep this year's resolution to walk every single day going for the rest of my life, if I can. It's good for me. It's good for Lizard. And it's fun. Even if we have to do it in the house!

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 6.5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Let It Snowflake Frame Instructions

Ch 41. Taking care not to twist work, sl st in starting ch.

Round 1: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), 1 sc in each of next 6 ch, [ch 2, 1 sc in each of next 7 ch] 5 times; 1 dc in starting ch to form 6th ch 2 sp of Round.

Round 2: Ch 6 (counts as 1 sc and [ch 5), sk next 3 sc, 1 tr in next sc, ch 5, sk next 3 sc, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp] 6 times, omitting last sc of final repeat; sl st in 1st ch of starting ch 6..

Round 3: Ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), [1 sc in each of next 5 ch, 3 sc in next dc, 1 sc in each of next 5 ch, 1 sc in next sc] 6 times, omitting last sc of final repeat; sl st in starting sc.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: Ch 7 (counts as 1 dc and [ch 5), sk next 6 sc, 1 dc in next sc, ch 5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch (branch made), ch 7, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch (branch made), ch 7, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in next ch, 1 dc in each of next 2 ch, sk next ch, sl st in next ch (point made, working back down spoke, ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, sl st in 3 ch between branches, ch 4, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 2 ch, sl st in ch below 1st branch, sl st in dc, ch 5, sk next 6 sc, in next dc work (1 dc, ch 7, 1 dc)] 6 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 7; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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