A Mile in My Shoes

Oh Well....

I shouldn't read Ann's blog before planning to post on my own.

She's very good at rendering me completely speechless.

Excuse me while I ponder on her words from today, and yesterday....

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

It all began 3 years ago....

Why Blog?

I feel like I should apologize for the unannounced hiatus. 

I have many "reasons."  Too busy... that would be a lie because I've wasted plenty of time on other things.  Lack of interesting photos... not true, I've taken some good photos....

The truth is, this blog is like a door into my brain.  My brain is one of the reasons I started this blog.  It's a very busy brain.  Never a quiet moment.  Always thinking, weighing, worrying, singing, etc, etc.  You know - doing what brains do.

Blogging has provided a way for me to share some of those thoughts racing around at 100 mph.  It's almost soothing going through the process of selecting which thought, chasing it down, capturing it, and then processing and organizing it until it is presentable enough share with all of you.

Honestly I haven't blogged as of late because I haven't wanted to let you all in. 

All the thoughts I've got right now seem too trivial and simple to write ("Here, look at this, I started knitting again!"), or too deep and personal to share ("Guess what?  I'm still dealing with secondary infertility and I'm really down about it.")

But all this time I've been reading your blogs.  I can't thank you enough for what you're sharing.  It helps so much.  I learn so much!  I check on so many of you on a daily basis.  I laugh, I've cried, I pray for you and your situations. 

As I've been reading though, I've had this pang of... something.  This past weekend I realized what it was.  A desire to belong.

Quickly followed by the thought "But you do belong, dummy, you have a blog, remember?"  That busy, busy brain....

So here I am.

I'll post a real post soon.  Maybe tomorrow, maybe later today.  Maybe now.  We'll see.

I just have to decide what to talk about.  Which thoughts to let out.  Hmmmm....

Another great blog-find

I just stumbled down a rabbit hole and found myself at Rocks In My Dryer.  She's fantastic!  For example:

No Evidence of Progress?

Wilderness

Just the little bit of encouragement I needed today!

7 interesting things about me

I was tagged by Mason Moments and Man Transformed!  I think I've been tagged for this before, but I'm too lazy to check my own archives to see if I was.  Here is how it works: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I got my first cavity at the age of 31.  Actually, my first and second cavity were discovered at the same time. I didn't have an actual hole in my teeth, but my dentist got this new laser-tooth-checker (I'm sure there is a more high-tech name for it) and he found them sort of like one would find a stud with a stud-finder.  I was very sad, I actually thought I could go my whole life without a cavity.
2. I've never been a regular bridesmaid, but I've been Matron-of-Honor 3 times.
3. I can crack almost every joint in my body.  I was always told it was bad because it would cause arthritis.  I asked my doctor and he said that was an old wives tale, so I kept doing it.  I've now discovered it's bad for a different reason -- loose ligaments.
4. I taught myself to tat in high school (correction: my dear hubby reminded me that it was in the first two years of marriage that I did this.  He still remembers me with my little book, sitting on the couch talking to myself and being very frustrated.  OK, now I do too!)  and for a while I collected tatting shuttles.  My favorite one is made of bone.  It's not an exquisitely carved one, on the contrary, it's very old and simply done.  It has two different types of nails holding it together in the middle.  I like to imagine it was made by a man in a covered wagon as a gift to his wife as they traveled west across the Great Plains.
5. I'm afraid of spiders.  I spent a week and a half in the jungle in Ecuador on a missions trip as a  senior in high school.  When we came back, I noticed I had a large hard lump on my elbow.  My dad took me to the doctor.  After examining the lump, the Dr. gave a sly sideways look to my dad and said "It looks to me like a spider burrowed under your skin to lay her eggs."  And I dissolved into hysterics right there and then.  He quickly reassured me he was just joking and that it was probably just an allergic reaction to a bug bite.  My dad laughed.  I did not.  It still gives me the heebie-jeebies to think about it.  Spiders and I have an agreement.  They can live, as long as they stay outdoors.  If they come in my house, all bets are off.
6. I love babies.  Luv 'em, luv 'em, luv 'em, luv 'em.  I love the way they smell, the way they sound, the way they melt in your arms.  If you have a baby in my presence, and I don't ask to hold them, it's only because I'm not sure I will be able to give them back when my time is up.
7. I absolutely love thunder/lightening storms.  My favorite thing is to drive to the lake and watch the lightening over the lake.  I love it when the rumble is so low and strong that the windows rattle or when the wind is so strong and fast that it whips through the trees.   It reminds me of how strong our heavenly Father is and I marvel at the control He demonstrates.  Then, afterwards, the earth smells so earthy.  Everything seems fresh -- washed clean. Like the new start offered to us each day.  There is nothing like it!

Let's see...  I tag:

Jessica
Heather
Allena
Christy
K
Melissa
Dean

I could be a winner!

Make sure to stop by 5 Minutes for Moms to sign up for one of their Mother's Day give-aways!  I signed up for the first one, an Apple iPod Nano!  It would so much fun to have one of these....

It could even make doing the dishes fun!

O-pa! It's Socktoberfest, ya unso?

My grandmother's sister was a wonderfully warm and soft woman that would fill your pockets with candy and treats if you came within 10 feet of her.  Her house had a unique pleasant smell, and I loved visiting her, I always sat in the armchair underneath the cuckoo clock.  It was my great-grandmother's house, and one felt very connected to the past just sitting there.  She always made you feel like whatever you were saying was incredibly interesting, and would pepper the conversation about every 10 words with "ya, unso".  It could be said many ways, like: "yaaaaaa, unso."  or "ya, unso!"  or "ya? unso?"  It was her version of mm-hmm.  I miss my Aunt Gloria (in this part of WI we pronounce aunt like "aww-nt", instead of "ant")  and fully intend to be just like her when I grow old.

So it is Socktober at last!  In celebration, I dug out everything I can find that has to do with socks:

I know there is more, but this is what I could come up with for now.  It's a measly sock yarn stash, compared to some, but it keeps me busy.  There are the Christmas stockings, about 5 socks in-progress, and yarn to make about 13 more pairs.  I have two of my favorite books there, Knitting on the Road and Simple Socks Plain and Fancy.  I also use Folk Socks a lot, but I can't seem to locate it.  I get a lot of sock patterns from Knitty (Cookie is my latest favorite sock designer!) and Interweave Knits (I have every issue since winter '99 although there are about 3 that are M.I.A.)  And if you knit socks, then this is a great place to visit.  Clara has a great article on finding the perfect sock yarn.  And if you are shopping for sock yarn, you might want to go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,  and/or here (disclaimer:  I have not done business with all of these sites and cannot recommend them based on experience.  I have no idea if they all are reputable or not.  Some I buy from and some of them are just a major source of eye candy for me.) 

My latest fun sock find is this mini-sock blocker key chain! It is too cute!  I couldn't just get one, so I ordered a few more for some friends (yes, Vicki, one's for you, too bad I didn't get to Neenah this weekend!)  It's a great use for those tiny balls of yarn left after making your socks.  I know, you think you're saving it to darn your socks when they get a hole in them....this is more fun, don't you think?  I ordered it from Felt Up designs, and it arrived in a brown envelope with "Felt Up" in big pink letters on the front.  I'll bet the mailman wondered what he was delivering....

If I'm going to be realistic, I'll probably spend Socktober working on my Christmas stockings, and most likely won't finish both.  We'll see.  Two of the in-progress-socks, the plain ones, are slated to be frogged.  As for the other balls of yarn, their futures are unplanned.  I am thinking of finally trying the Jaywalker pattern on my rainbow LL (Lorna's Laces).  And I was thinking of making lace ankle socks (from IK) with the dusty purple LL.

As if my crafty schedule wasn't full enough, I picked up yet another String Thing.  (I'm starting to feel like an addict that develops a tolerance and needs to seek out new things to achieve the same high.  I wonder if there is any type of fiber 12 step program....  Although I don't really want to quit....)  Punch needle embroidery!  I got a million little skeins of Sheep's Silk at 90% off (that's $0.32 a skein) when a local craft store went out of business about a year ago, intending to start punch needling.  Well, my dear friend Paulette took me to a local Quilt show this weekend, and one of the vendors had the little tool I needed.  A Cameo deluxe punch. I think I need to stick to embroidery floss related crafts.  They are crazy-inexpensive.  I love the primitive folk-art look of this craft.  I want to make a ton of these for Christmas presents.  I would have to say I have a favorite source of patterns already ~ M Shaw.  Maybe I should say they are a great source of inspiration.   I can't bring myself to spend $15 for someone else's doodle, when I am fully capable of making my own doodles.  For the angel I did yesterday (in practically one sitting, we are talking immediate gratification here)  I just doodled on a piece of paper and used some transfer paper to get the pattern on the fabric. 

Other than all that, homeschooling is going well.  I found some GREAT new books that I absolutely love.  Keeping a Nature Journal could be for anyone, What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know is part of the Core Knowledge series and is an invaluable resource, and then Life Skills for Kids is just a great book for anyone with children.  I also ordered a few Crazy Games on the advice of the Great Knitter Laurie from our knitting group, and we are having so much fun with them!  They are a lot harder than they look.  I was telling my brother (while we were driving) about the other night when I solved all four of the new ones (Tim has only solved one) relatively quickly, I said "Mike, I'm a freakin' genius..."  and then immediately missed our turn.  He had a good laugh over that one.  It's good to be humbled every now and again....

So, anyway, there are plenty of things for me to do today, I should probably stop here so I have something left to write about tomorrow!