this rambling rose hardly ever actually puts out flowers . . . maybe a couple each year. and truthfully, i’m not a big enough fan of roses to go after a good crop; i marvel at them as growing things, but i don’t have a particular passion for them.
for some reason, this year they have come out in masses—the shrub is loaded with ’em.
(that’s just part of it). it might be that the generous compost in the asparagus bed on the other side of the fence is helping out.
ok, full disclosure: i have virtually no knitting content i can show you today. i spent a lot of time on secret knitting the last two days (which is progressing swimmingly), and very little knitting time on anything else.
i have sock progress, and that’s about it.
so i thought i’d talk about something very important that we have done each of the last two years here in june. because june is the month that claudia does a big bad bike ride for MS.
this is a cause that is very dear to my heart, and i like to help her achieve her fundraising goal in whatever way i can.
we lost my dad to MS four years ago. MS is degenerative disease of the central nervous system, which often results in disability, and has an unpredictable pattern or prognosis. you can read much more about it here.
a lot of progress is being toward finding a cure for this terrible disease. fundraising helps to keep research going, as well as offer support and services for people living with MS.
since claudia’s bike ride and knitters against MS fundraiser always coincide with father’s day, i like to create an annual booster drive in honor of my dad to make readers aware of her fundraising. last year knitters raised a whopping $40,000.
usually we have a big raffle to-do that accompanies this booster drive, but after some consideration, i decided not to do that part this year. we will keep it pure and simple and give from the heart.
i am making a $500 matching fund available. the event will occur on the weekend of june 28-29, so we have 18 days to spend it—last year, it took less than 3 days to go through it. i’ll give $5 of that amount for every reader that leaves a comment on any post between today and the 28th to say they gave (you don’t have to tell me how much, and it can be a donation you already completed before today). if we use up the whole $500 in one week or less, i will add a bonus amount to that. the goal is to send me to the poorhouse—make me give til it hurts.
so please, give to this great cause, and help me spend my money!!
and for that, you get more roses
ok, so it’s not the prettiest rambler, but it has some charm, right?
no?? well then, how about a pepper
51 thoughts on “we have roses?”
HI,
I gave a donation to Claudia and a raffle gift as well. “A Gathering of Lace” that was gathering dust.
I am so sorry for the loss of your Dad. I have a friend with MS and have seen the effect that the disease has had on her and her husband.
Thanks for letting me be a part of the solution.
Katrina
Alright, your generosity convinced me, I gave. Now it’s your turn to cough up!
Been meaning to contribute again this year…will do it soon and come back to let you know. It’s great that you do this every year in honor of your dad.
In the meantime, your roses made me think of Norma making rose petal jam…I had never heard of such a thing and am anxious to try it once my blooming starts. Thought maybe it would interest you if you hadn’t heard of it.
http://nownormaknits2.typepad.com/now_norma_knits_2/2008/06/154-i-think-you.html
We have two of those “wild” rose bushes in the front yard. I don’t to anything with them, they just bloom, same color as yours but ours seem to always be reaching for the sky! (note: I’m in the Pacific Northwest, maybe they’re trying to find the sun…)
Losing a parent is very hard and leaves you with an emptiness that can never be filled. Having lost both of my parents, I can imagine how you feel, especially at this time of the year.
I made a donation to Claudia and hope it contributes, in a small way, to finding a cure one day for this terrible illness.
I gave. My sister is the one riding with Claudia. 🙂 I’m very impressed with your generosity!
I donated as soon as Claudia announced this year’s fund drive. I’m offering a prize too, though I haven’t photographed it yet.
Your roses look lovely. 🙂 An unexpected delight!
beautiful gift, anne!
i donated the second i heard she was fundraising!
MS needs a cure.
thanks for what you are doing.
I gave, and am going to offer prizes to raffle, too, because I want to give more!
I donated. My mom has MS, too. Luckily, she’s doing okay, these days. (Knocking on wood)
I, too, donated as soon as Claudia announced it this year.
I donated to Claudia, but it was actually yesterday instead of today. You are very generous to so much. As I’ve whined about before, I have MS and it stinks. Not that I want a pity party or anything, but if advances can be made to cure or prevent this disease rather than just treat it that would be wonderful. The 4 major injectibles help to slow down the progression, but they are exremely expensive ($1,700 to $2,200 per month on average) and those with limited funds or insurance can’t even afford these medications. I’m sorry that a cure couldn’t be found in time to help your father… 15 years ago there were NO medications so advancements and progress have been made. With the efforts and support of everyone hopefully MS will be eliminated.
I love the roses and the pepper too!
I can’t type… that should read, “to DO so much”!
Everything you do turns to magic! Love the pictures of the plants, the sock, the yarn and the charity!
I donated as well.
What a wonderful idea!! 🙂
I donated–I have family that, God willing, will never need the help. But just in case….
How’s the bunny doing?
Thank you. I donated, my darling aunt who was an incredibly talented artist has MS, and the strongest most positive spirt, she has been a great inspiration to me and convinced me that I would find my creative outlet, boy did I ever….. This one is for you Aunty Norma….. Hugs
and for my new friend Joyce
Let there be a cure soon
I donated to Claudia. Watching the donations climb each day really makes me proud of knitters as a community!
Oops. I’d forgotten to do this. Thanks for the reminder. I donated.
Anne, that rosebush makes me smile – it reminds me of the wild ones down here. As for that pepper – do they always grow pointing towards the sky that way or is that one just special?
😀
I gave. It’s nice to be able to help a worthy cause. An old friend of the family is battling very advanced MS at the moment, and the more help I can give to the battle, the better.
For the second year, I was happy to contribute to Claudia’s ride. I’m continually impressed by the knitting community’s generous response to a wide range of causes, including Oliver!
My college roomate suffers with MS so gracefully that of course I will be donating $50 to the cure.
Anne, I made a donation at the MS Bike Event site a few minutes ago, on H’s credit card. 🙂
Your climbing rose looks a lot like my “Blaze” climber, which blooms twice a year. At one time, I tried to take it out, but it kept coming up, even when I didn’t water it all summer! Given the plant’s will to live, it seemed that I’d better start taking care of it. With a little “Miracle Gro” fertilizer in the spring, stingy water, and no other care, it regulary produces a lot of blooms in the spring, and a quite decent number each fall.
One of my best girl friends was just diagnosed with MS. I’d just picked out the shawl pattern I was going to do for her -cluanach – when you brought up the subject. Count me in!
You’re the best!
Thanks Anne!
I donated right after Claudia’s husband broke his leg as encouragement to keep the drive alive. MS is much to prevalent not to fight it every way we can.
I donated … today in fact. And I’m embarrassed it took me so long to get there….I’m usually earlier in the game.
I read, donated, came back, commented. Thanks for the matching gift, that’s wonderful.
And may I add that that pepper looks rather rude! The roses and the Twisted sock are lovely, however.
I gave.
🙂
Anne, your roses are lovely and so is your generosity.
I gave to Claudia’s ride shortly after it opened.
Hi, Anne–
I just made my donation to Claudia’s ride.
Love the garden photos–I can’t believe you have a pepper already! I’ve put in three small raised beds and have some things sprouting. I haven’t had a garden in years but I have to say watching yours grow the last couple of years has inspired me. I want some of those homegrown meals!
Kathleen
Just donated. YAY!
I also donated a prize this year. I hope whoever wins it, loves it.
Love the idea of honoring your father (and basically all who’ve lost loved ones to this horrible disease) by giving so generously. I wish I could do the same.
Well, I don’t really want to send you to the poor house, but I made a donation through the link you gave.
Okay, um. . . that, um, pepper. Way interesting. Where is Debbieknitter when I need her to giggle with me????
Hi Anne,
I gave. MS needs a cure.
Thanks for matching us!
Hi Anne — Happy to help you spend your money in such a good cause. I went to visit Claudia and chipped in a little bit/
Sorry to hear about your Dad. I’m a relatively new reader, and I had no idea. I think matching people’s generosity is a great idea, and I hope that you’re broke by next week! 🙂
Hi Anne. I donated to Claudia’s ride. And thank you for your generous matching funds. My husband was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago, so we both thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
I donated. Thank you for your generosity, Anne.
Thanks for encouraging us all to participate (I gave just now), and for being so generous with your matching funds! At the last place I worked, two women were diagnosed with MS in three years. It’s a tough one to live with. So sorry about your father.
Thanks for your very generous idea of the matching funds to support Claudia’s ride.
I have already donated to her ride.
sincerely, Lisa in Toronto
My comment is actually about your roses- if a plant is not flowering it usually means it feels too comfortable and doesn’t see the need to reproduce. When a plant begins to bud and flower more than normal, the plant is usually stressed for various possible reasons and is creating seeds in order to continue living through it’s “offspring.” The reasons can be anything though, from being rootbound, overwatered, underwatered, underfertilized, changes in weather patterns, etc. Just passing by and had to add my two cents! 🙂
p.s. stressing a plant isn’t necessarily bad- it’s just why they can flower more.
Just wanted to drop a comment that I made my yearly donation to Claudia today 🙂
I donated to Claudia a while back. I am especially glad for your matching fund since I just remembered I promised to find something in my stash for her to offer as a drawing prize and I haven’t done that yet. Time is getting short. Now that all my kids are on school vacation I should be able to get more of these sorts of things done. Thanks for the matching fund!
Just a quick note to let you know that I made my yearly donation to Claudia as well 🙂
Anne,
I gave to Claudia’s ride. Such a worthy cause to support.
Just a quick note to let you know I’ve donated to Claudia’s ride. (I hopped over here from Abby’s blog, since she just linked to your most recent lace pattern.)
Finally payday 🙂 I’ve donated to Claudia’s ride – in case there’s matching funds left.
Thank you for doing this – it is so generous!
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