Blogging in Alphabetical Order A =

 I will continue the  practice of blogging in alphabetical order when I don't have donations to share with  you all. 

Abandoned,  Anxiety, Arrest,  Assistance.  Those words are a few I came up with that start with the letter A and have a connection with homelessness.  Feeling abandoned must be a daily occurrence for folks who are homeless.  They might feel abandoned by friends, by family, by co-workers or even by the military.  They might take up residence in an abandoned building.

No doubt they also experience much anxiety in the daily lives.  Anxiety  about finding food, being warm enough, being arrested.  Often they are the first suspected of a crime.  It's a sad existence for certain.

I read a statistic on a website filled with too many numbers to quote them all, but it indicated that on a single night in January of 2017, 553,742 people were homeless across the US.  65% of that number were homeless people who were sheltered for the night while 35% where un-sheltered.  We work to ease the burden be they sheltered or un-sheltered individuals.  

We do what we can do to ease the burden, to help warm, to help people feel less abandoned by society.  One thing we do is make afghans.  We knit them, we crocheted them and donate them.  Additionally I often piece together squares or strips to make an afghan.  The above brown afghan, Coffee Latte is one I started about a week ago.  It's being knit in simple garter stitch.  I'm also still working on Blue Ocean as well, though it's going a bit slower.  It's a ripple using the stockinette stitch.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Crocheting and Warming Ohio's Homeless

Thank you Barbara F for this thoughtful donation of crocheted scarves and hats.  I love the variety of color and sizes in the hats, and that you added size tags to them.  Notice too folks there are 2 hats that match the scarves so we have lovely sets.  The green hat and scarf has wonderful detail, please click to enlarge the picture folks so you can see what I mean.  I believe the stitch providing so much interest and texture is the popcorn stitch?  I like the look, but have never enjoyed making the stitch, lol.  It is super think and squishy.

Many thanks Barbara for your long time support of Bridge and Beyond.  Ohio's homeless benefit from your dedication.  Please keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting Cotton WashCloths, Always a hit with Homeless Shelters

Thank you Christina D for this awesome donation.  Sorry the picture is a bit blurred, I must have moved.  Christina has been busy collecting personal care items as you can see.  She's also included ladies panties and 21 lovely cotton knitted washcloths in the always popular corner to corner style.  This pattern has probably been made more than any and is often referred to as Grandma's favorite.

Please click to enlarge the picture so you can see all the fun colors in Christina's washcloths.  She's included some bright cheery colors the ladies will love, and some nice darker colors for the men folks.

Extra thanks for delivery to my doorstep Christina, much appreciated.  Please keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Crocheted Scarves Warm Ohio's Homeless

Solids, stripes and variegated yarns oh my.  Look at the variety in these scarves.  Something for everyone.  Some are more narrow and shorter for the younger set, and others are a bit wider and longer for adults.........some colors suitable for women, others for men.  Thank you Kathy S for this thoughtful donation of warm crocheted scarves for Ohio's Homeless and those in need.  As I type this scheduled post, it's another ugly cold, damp, snowy day here in Central Ohio so know these scarves will be well received.

I often wear scarves even in the house to have the added warmth around my neck.  As we age, arthritis seems to add to our discomfort of being cold, so scarves really are a terrific item.

Keep up the good work Kathy and know you make a difference.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Drum Roll, How Many Blog Posts?

The signage has nothing to do with Bridge and Beyond, nothing to do with homelessness, or yarn, or knitting or crocheting.......but, I thought you all might enjoy a chuckle.  It's been so cold and snowy around the country, thought we could all use a break.

As I was updating numbers this am for items donated because I was writing and scheduling 3 posts to publish, I noted it had been awhile since I had updated the number of blog posts written.  I keep that number under The Bridge and Beyond Blog Badge. 

AND.......wow, look at the number!  I was surprised to see how close we are to our 2,000th blog post.

2000

-1984

   16...........

2,000 blog posts with pictures of wonderful donations, and posts with stories or articles about things connected to being homeless.  

Hope you'll share a post or two with friends as we make our way towards 2,000.  As I write this post, we're having another cold, snowy day.  I heard the snow plows go down our street twice during the night, no doubt once each direction.  Oh, I'm sooooooooo ready for spring.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Knitting Helps Homeless

Thank you Laurabelle!  This is an awesome, Laurabelle.  What a nice variety of scarves, hats, cotton washcloths, and some personal care items.  I've always been a big fan of blue and green together so really love the stripped hat on the left.  Please click to enlarge the picture so you can see the details of this thoughtful donation.  

As you can also see, there are a couple of hat and scarf sets!  Those are especially nice.

Thank you Laurabelle and we're so happy you joined Bridge and Beyond.  We're thrilled to have you join us in warming and caring for Ohio's Homeless in Need.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.