Hope Begins

One of my favorite quotes, from one of my favorite writers, Anne Lamott:

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work, you don't give up." - Anne Lamott

I LOVE Anne's nonfiction, especially her essays where she discusses her life and her faith, and her stories about her son Sam, who is now grown, with a son of his own. She's one of the most reasoned voices in faith that I've heard. She has the kind of faith that I aspire to. What's funny is I'm not as fond of her fiction - her novels just don't draw me in. Not sure why?

I also love her writing book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, which my friend Phyllis introduced to me back when I was still writing regularly. I don't know why, but Anne's nonfiction is so much more poignant and funny to me, and just resonates in a way that few voices do. Even if you aren't a writer, you'll love the insights from this book.

She seems to have the kind of faith that allows for complexity, and I feel that many people with strong faith tend to simplify the world and the heavens, whereas Anne accepts and welcomes the complexity. Few others have the inner strength to laugh at it, while still embracing it.

So if you haven't read her book "Grace Eventually: Thoughts on Faith" you might want to. I especially love the audio version, since she reads it herself.

As we are now seeing the promise of Spring, and it's the season of both Passover and Easter, it's the time to examine our interiors - focus once again on our spiritual selves and experience that sense of renewal that allows us to go within ourselves for reflection, then rise above and outside of ourselves in a hopeful way.

Spring Clothes Shopping

I don't remember when I've EVER looked forward to Spring so much, or a year when it's been so delayed. We had an outright beast of a winter, as I know many other areas did also. And I'm usually a cool/cold weather person, but when it comes to warmer weather this year, I say, "Bring it On!" though I may not maintain that enthusiasm once our temps and humidity climb into the 90's as they eventually will do.

At any rate, being faced with attending many conferences at this time of year, and needing an "attractive business casual" look, I decided last night was the time to go clothes shopping. I really dislike doing that, since I'm not nearly the fashionista that my mother and daughter have always been.

Shopping is especially distressing when you want to "dress thin" while not BEING thin. And a short, plump middle-aged lady like me is hard-pressed to find clothes that truly don't make her butt (and gut) look big. There's a good reason why we always ask people, "Do these pants make my butt look big?" There are in fact outfits that, while not making us truly smaller, can reduce the emphasis on our overly abundant parts.

So instead of holding out on clothes shopping until the elusive day when I "get in shape," I've decided to buy a few pieces NOW. And what is unusual, instead of avoiding white like I usually do, I purposely have been very drawn to it lately. Not sure why. I bought a white purse, a white pair of capris and slacks, one black and white dress that is very cute, and a darling pair of white sandals. I also bought a new pair of black capri's with a sort of silverish belt. And in the spirit of spring, painted my toenails bright pink. Doing this mini Spring "self makeover" had me singing "Summer Breeze . . . . makes me feel fine" all the way to the office.

What makes you sing? What makes you feel good about yourself? Can you treat yourself to one new outfit? Even a visit to a thrift store can reinvent a tired wardrobe.

Weaving - Me?

Okay, Grandma Ferne dragged me into spinning, kicking and screaming, when she offered me her Ashford Traddy 2 years ago. Now I'm being drawn into the darkside of her favorite craft love . . . . . weaving. Granted, I haven't fallen in love with it enough to add a room addition onto my house for a floor-sized loom, as she once did, but I like it enough to make this (second) scarf on my small Cricket heddle loom.

And I've dusted off my sewing machine - in this effort to transform my too-short first woven scarf into a Little Zippy Knitting Notions Bag.

I have succumbed to the lure of a Kromski Harp 24" rigid heddle loom. Here it is all put together. Nice huh? For some reason, I had a heck of a time getting it assembled, and I kept thinking we had put it together wrong. But my Kromski dealer from afar, DakotaSkipper, who I "met" on Ravelry is the very best, most supportive person. She dropped everything when I told her we were having trouble, and wrote out a whole tutorial on how to put it together. She is excellent support not only in selling the loom to me, but in continued information and assistance.

Soon will come mug rugs. I've been obsessively read Jane Patrick's Weaver's Idea book and watching her 2 set DVD instruction about rigid heddle weaving. She makes it look easy on the DVD. The book is a bit over my head, but will give me just what it says - IDEAS and inspiration for a long, long time. It may take me a while to get good enough to try many of the things she mentions in the book.

Gosh, my head hurts. I'm overwhelmed with crafting information this whole winter and now into spring. But the crafting has kept me focused on something fun and creative when much of the rest of my life has felt out of control and in transition lately, so that's probably why I'm immersing myself in them so much. It still is (a bit) cheaper than therapy, but a whole lot more fun.

Finally - a Restful Weekend

Gosh, I just realized I haven't blogged in two weeks. I think that's about the longest I've ever gone without checking in here. It's been a busy time. Especially weekends. Lately my weekends are even busier than my work weeks. Just got back from a 5 day tradeshow that kicked my butt and wore me out. So as this weekend approached, I couldn't wait! Then heard the weather forecast was for a frigid return to winter. Sure enough, as promised, this was a freezing cold and even snowy weekend - and I decided yesterday (Saturday) was a day to just stay home and hibernate. Haven't had an all-PJ's/all the time day in forever. So it was PJs and the fire for me. How cozy. Amazingly so. Played with my fiber most of the day. Successfully set up my rigid heddle loom on my own, then started a scarf and worked all day on it while watching movies and videos and drinking coffee. Very fun! Totally indulged in bumming around and enjoying every minute of it. Cooked. One of my favorite new meals I've been eating on Weight Watcher's lately is sweet potato fries sprayed with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" and dusted with chili powder - just cut them up, put in a 450 degree oven for 17 minutes and voila, you have a taste treat sensation that Jennifer Hudson recommends, and so do I. I eat it with 1 cup of cottage cheese and if I want sauce, I dunk the fries in honey mustard. Did treadmill and listened to podcasts. Fun! Today, on Sunday, I had breakfast with my Mom and visited my Grammy. Came home exhausted, took a deep deep nap. Did some thrift store shopping with her and landed some WONDERFUL gray corduroys. Perfect. I forgot how, when I was a teenager, I wore cords constantly. Now I'm fully rested and feeling much better. So this was a good reminder of how important balance is in my life and probably for most people. I haven't been giving myself any down time. Duly Noted. Intend to do more vegging when my body calls for it. Sorry for the run-on paragraph. Blogger must need some rest too?

Fiber Fest in Jeff City

Just returned from the best kept fiber learning secret in the Midwest - the Jefferson City Fiber Festival that is held every year in March. This was my second year attending, and it's just the best fiber learning opportunity I can imagine, short of SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) - but SOAR is too rich for my budget, while the one here in my state is so much more affordable and convenient. Plus, we often get many of the same teachers.


My classes this year were all spinning ones - 1) Setting Yourself Free with Scissors - which was drum carding and spinning by using novelty fibers and leftovers from other projects, and combining them into glorious batts in such as way that it LOOKS like art yarn, but is much more pleasing to my eye - and is much easier to boot. This was the most fun and easy class I took all weekend. It was also my favorite. There's a better chance of me using this immediately in my projects than anything else.



You can see that I loved this so much that I spun the yarn, washed and dried it in my hotel room and then created this little neckscarf that coordinated with a hand-made button that a newly-met friend, Susan, offered me. Isn't it beautiful? She has a real button making talent. I wish she sold them online, but she only does them for fun. I hadn't spun chunky singles in a while and this was really a blast.

2) Spinning Cotton - quite a challenge, but boy I learned a lot. This class helped perfect my ability to spin on a high whirl, treadles fast, move my hands VERY fast and practice long draw, which has usually been impossible for me. We also learned to draft cotton using special cotton cards. I can't believe how much fiber a little bit of cotton spins into. It's a very short staple. It was a pleasure to watch Leslie use a supported spindle, I think called tahkli (pronounced "talk-lee").




3) Spinning Flax - the teacher was a fiber genius and I had a great time. We spun with these high distaffs that reminded me of something I'd see people marching around with in Rennaisance times. Huzzah! It is a really challenging but FUN fiber to spin. The teacher made us realize how much work goes into getting Flax from the plant into shape enough to spin, and it is really labor intensive. Flax eventually becomes linen. It softens up more and more with each wash.


4) Woolen vs. Worsted - how to tell the difference and change your spinning technique to match the type of fiber you are spinning. Very enlightening and in this one, I finally learned how to use hand cards, or believe so anyway. The teacher, Darlene, was very patient and helpful, but a 12 year old fellow spinner named Shannon really helped cement the concept of hand carding and made it "click" in my brain. We practiced worsted vs. woolen prep and we learned that cottons are best done with long draw, while long fibers which I normally prefer are best done with the inchworm beginner method which is still my fallback technique. We got to work with fresh lamb's fleece, washed but not carded, and I finally know a butt from a tip - and how to flick it then card it and spin it without messing up the alignment of the fibers.


Whew! Very fun but exhausting weekend. Not so much as a retreat as a brain squeeze - but it gave me enough ideas and material to practice on for a good long time. I highly recommend this affordable festival to anyone in the Midwest who can attend.

Rigid Heddle Class at Yarn Barn

I took my first ever weaving class over the weekend at Yarn Barn. It was a rigid heddle beginning weaving class. Project was (of course) a woven scarf. I took the class because I've had my Schacht Cricket loom in the closet for over a year now and it's high time to use it.

The teacher, Mary Margaret, is a lot of fun and has a huge enthusiasm for weaving that was infectious.

The other women in my small class were very talented and multi-craftal. So the whole time we are in there in class, I'm thinking everyone's colors look better than mine, their scarves look better, and they are much faster than me also. But that's okay. I'm usually the slow one in the class and that doesn't bother me. I tend to be slow at getting new concepts and skills, but if interests me enough, I eventually improve over time.

So everyone else in the class finished their scarves but me. Most people's scarves were 50 inches, a tad short but no big deal. Well I just took mine home home and finished it up last night. Very confident and proud of my beginning weaving, even though it was far from perfect.

But when I was nearly finished and turned the crank one final time to get the end of the weaving area and to try to put in my waste yarn at the end to finalize the scarf, the apron rod, when fully out of the crank, was flopping and made all my tensioning on the scarf go slack. So I couldn't finish it up properly. My intention had been to do the "twining" (end stitching) and put in the white waste yarn so that when it is washed and blocked, that is removed and creates a nice finished look and even tension.

Maybe it was user error - I can't remember the teacher talking about that apron flopping issue. And I don't remember it being a problem on anyone else's loom, but then I was the only one with a Cricket. It is probably user error.

At any rate, while the beginning of my scarf looks like this - all neat and tidy, the ending looks messy and not tensioned properly.

Plus my scarf was only 36" - hardly scarf size. Not to mention fringe - shesh I can't remember how to make neat fringe at all. She showed us. I've seen first scarves from 6 years olds that look much neater and cuter than mine. Shesh!

So I'd say that my enthusiasm and interest in weaving far exceeds my talent. But I'm always open to get better - it can only go up from here.

Dare I Say It?

My friend Elysbeth and I were just talking the other day about how, we are both truly supstitious about revealing possible good news until it is a "done deal." Inevitably talking about a positive possiblity jinxes it. But as many of you know, my husband has been out of work for several months. Last time I bragged about him getting a job, it a short-lived contract job that lasted only a few months, so I'm hesitant to mention this for fear of jinxing it.

But shesh - I am so happy about it I am about to pop. Bob got a job, yeah! Granted it's a contract job that may only last 6 months. But considering how desperate and worried we were, it's such a relief. He's been looking for so long. When I say he's been LOOKING for a job, I don't mean casually, I mean with his whole heart and soul and constant effort. He had a really rough time. This job came about because he kept calling and following up with every single possibility. Just when his hopes had been dashed on one possibility, he heard that he had an interview with this new one. And they moved fast to interview and hire him. Yay!

Hip hip horray!!! (Now I'm still keeping my fingers crossed). Thanks to all of you who were supportive, sympathetic and said prayers or sent some good vibes our way.

This is a much needed piece of good news. Whew!

Resolution Roundup

Remember I made some resolutions in January? Well I decided that I should periodically, maybe once a month or so, check back on myself and see how I'm doing with those so they don't fall by the wayside.


So I'm going to brief recap what they were and how I'm doing:


De-junking and decluttering: This is going pretty well. So far I've managed to begin organizing and removing a lot of extra boxes and old items from my basement. Also have gotten my knitting/guest room into organized enough shape that Luann was able to stay there recently. I still have more I could do in there to make it better, but it's a start. Also started on the kitchen. Still a long ways to go in kitchen, baths and closets. Have been good following my rule about removing an item of clothing from my closet for every new item brought in. That works really well!


Artist's Way is the Way - write Morning Pages to start journaling again on paper. More importantly, once a week, go on an "Artist's Date" where I explore new activities that are fun, creative and unique - that spark my soul. Did I forget about this or what? I haven't done much with this. I like the idea of journaling/doing Morning Pages every day, but so far, this hasn't worked well into my life. I have done a few "artists dates" where I do some fun activity that stimulates my creativity - and that part I'll keep doing because it really seems to keep me somewhat sane during a tough time. Bob still doesn't have a job, so times are depressing and worrisome. Maybe some journaling would help?


Become a Mentor for my daughter and move out of the Parent with a capital "P" mode. I've started working on this. We've made some progress. This is a big one, but needs to be kept on the front burner. She's really grown up but there were some life skills that remain to be taught. If she learns from us, that's fine. If not, I need to continue stepping back and letting her live her own life and develop the skills - even if it means learning some things the hard way. It's tough, but I'm getting thicker skin.


Spend more time with people and less time online. Trying to do this. My biggest challenge on this remains Ravelry, but think I'm spending less time on it overall. I'm trying to arrange some "real life" get togethers with my friends and have started returning to the Saturday knit group to meet up with some people. also am going out with a coworker to a gym to exercise and do a bit of venting. Am still connected with my close online friends such as Elysbeth and Phyllis. Am doing some reaching out by phone. Talking.


Follow Weight Watchers new program, or whatever method works for me to get about 1,200 calories a day until I reach a healthy weight. This is going really well! I've been back on WW plan for nearly two weeks and have been doing good. Slow but steady wins the race. I've been writing down food and looking up the points. I've been concentrating on eating veggies, protein, fruits, healthy but limited carbs (whole grains). Feeling MUCH better. Trying to eat less frozen meals and cooking healthy foods. Trying new recipes is FUN. Will share some of those soon on this blog if anyone is interested.


Consistently exercise each and every day. This is for both physical and mental health. I have returned to doing the treadmill at home regularly and also joined a gym near my work. Have been working out with a friend of mine from work. She motivates me and it's more fun to exercise together. We've been going at lunch, and also occasionally go after work for longer sessions. This week I'm taking aqua arobics and a yoga class. Definitely lifts the mood and helps the body too.


Take a vacation - Bob and I took the Vegas anniversary trip in January. Really a blast. We are too tight on money to plan anything else yet - but when the weather really warms up, we hope to occasionally take some weekend trips by car, or if we're still broke and can't afford to stay overnight, we'll do daytrips. I got the daytrip book from the library.


Wear my pedometer every day. Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. Yes.


Watch my language - speak less and act more. Avoid gossip, backstabbing and careless use of speech. Hurtful putdowns, sarcasm and bad tone of voice should be recognized for the poison that it is. Kind speech and thoughts lead to kind and gentle actions. Strive to be "soft centered." Ohhhhhhh. Hahum. This one has been the most difficult. Least focused on. I've recently said some pretty harsh words to the cable company - but now I'm out of that business relationship. (grin). Seriously, haven't worked on this much. Need to. Sometimes when my life is hard, I become hardish around the edges, and sometimes resentment leaks into my core. I don't like that in myself. Besides, being gentle and firm, and patient, lends better results than harsh anyway.

Friend and Fiber Filled Weekend

Last weekend my friend Luann came up to stay with me for the weekend and to hang out. We wanted to attend a nearby spinning guild meeting. So we had the perfect excuse for a friend and fiber fest.

On Friday night, we made dinner together and stayed up late talking, spinning, drinking coffee and getting our fiber ready for the spinning group.

We made more snow dyeing cakes also - taking advantage of the little bit of snow that was left on the ground. We made some really gorgeous green with a mixture of lemon lime Kool-Aide, dark green food coloring and some lemonaide Kool-Aide. We made a total of 3 batches of dyeing.

The spinners we went to see were having a Crazy Batt drum carding challenge. Luann brought her Louet drumcarder up for us to use. Saundra encouraged us to include all kinds of things in our batts, including cut up scraps of fiber and pretty scarves purchased from thrift stores, as well as our old yarn and roving scraps. We cut them up and included them in the batts.

We went to Yarn Barn to visit the store Luann had never been to. We had a good time and tried out all the wheels. When we got home, she showed me how to do a bit of frame weaving on her rectangle loom. The neat thing about this type of weaving is that you don't have to warp the loom. She left it with me to borrow so I could finish up the scarf we started together. Unfortunately I can't remember how to it! I'm going to try to figure it out again on my own, but if not, then she may have to give me a refresher course. In a couple of weeks, I'm taking a rigid heddle weaving class at Yarn Barn.

It was a really fun weekend.

No, It's Not a Snow Cone

Last weekend, faced with nothing but cold and snow, and fighting the worst case of cabin fever, I decided to try my hand at "snow dyeing." My friend Luann had been doing this with success, and so I decided to try it. From my understanding, you can dye fiber, yarn and even cloth with this method and it's really easy and fun.

Using a 9 X 13" cakepan, I filled it with about 2 inches of snow. Then laid my fiber down in a thick layer. I used plain mill ends. Then I laid about 2-3 more inches of snow on top. Tried not to pack it down hard. Because this snow was light and powdery, it worked really well. Then I took about 10 packages of Kool Aid and lightly sprinkled the top of each pan - I had two panfuls of "snow cakes." 10 on each pan - so I used a total of 20 packages of Kool Aid for each 2 pan batch. I later realized that the yellow Kool Aid wasn't going to be dark enough for what I wanted, so I decided to turn it green by adding some blue food coloring.

I let this sit on the kitchen counter at room temperature for several hours. In fact, if you did this in the evening, you could let it sit out overnight. Just be sure there is a tablecloth, dropcloth or something underneath in case the pan spills over. (By the way, you can use other types of dye besides Kool Aid, I just happened to have those on hand and they were cheap, plus I wanted something non-toxic since I was planning on using the oven to bake in the dye).

After the snow has totally melted, I placed it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. I took it out of the oven, let the pans and the fiber cool to room temperature, then just rinsed them out and set the fiber to dry on a screen in my basement.

I like how the colors came out. I noticed that because I let them sit in the dye water as the snow melted, the roving was darker and more saturated on the underside then the top. That variation was fine with me and I liked it. Some people might prefer to use a pan with holes, like a colander, so that the dye water could drip down as it melted and escape the fiber pan. Like I said, this seemed like too much bother to me, and I liked the effect created by the method I used.

This was so fun! I like the spring like colors achieved with Kool Aid. But I'd also like to try this method sometime with acid dyes. It is a really cool method that allows the dye to seep slowly into the fiber.

Making snow dyed cakes gives me something to do with snow other than make snow ice cream. Goodness knows we've had enough snow for now . . . and maybe getting some more later tonight? Eeks. Better wash my cake pan and be prepared for the next round of snow cakes. If you try it, let me know how yours turn out.

Drum Carding Up a Box of Valentine Chocolates . . . Err Fiber That Is

Did something unusual last night. I had been thinking about entering this Fancy Kitty drum carding contest on Raverly for several weeks now. There were three categories: natural batts, colored/blended batts and finally art yarn batts.

The natural and blended contests were taking place in the middle and late January and with our vacation and during the throes of getting back in the swing at work, I didn't have time to enter those categories.

And I'd practically forgotten all about the final category contest until I stumbled upon it again in the early evening on Rav and decided on a whim, "What the heck, I'm going to enter this contest, just to do some more batt creation and aim for a specific thing this time - a Valentine's theme. So I threw caution to the wind, and along with it, some merino, hand-dyed mill ends, white angora, brown mill ends, lavendar merino silk blend and tons of sequin strings, pieces of ribbon as well and sprinkled in some angelina for some extra sparkle and glitz.

Finally much of that fiber I dyed up last summer, in the August heat, at last I found a use for all that red, pink, and peach fiber.

I managed to create, photograph and post my drum card art batt in time for the contest deadline at noon today. Yippee! There were several really lovely batts submitted, so who is to say what will happen, but I'm glad I put myself "out there" and definitely learned a lot by trying to create a specific themed batt. Lots of fun!

Now I can't wait to see what this batt will look like spun up. I don't have a project in mind yet, but will come up with something soon.

Edited to add: I didn't win - another lady did whose batt was called "Hunka Hunka Burn'n Love." I'm still glad I entered and I'm happy with the batt I made. Will be doing more with my drum carder now that I broke it out of the fiber closet.

Bracing For the Next Wave of Winter

Okay, last time I wrote about what a fun little snow overnight that I had with my buddy from work. And I know some parts of the country have it far worse - winter has been a real bear this year for folks nearly everywhere.


But honest to Pete, it's getting pretty wearing already. January is really locking us in very cold temps and threats of major "snow events" not to mention ice. Which is worse? Not sure. Snow is pretty and sparkly the first few times and then it gets annoying. Still I'd ten times prefer winter over summer. We had ONE warm springlike day (yesterday) where it got up in the 50's - that was a mere tease, because winter is returning with revenge.

The thing that most annoys me about winter is that everytime I plan to go someplace, my plans are subject to derailment. Like last weekend when I was going to an Artyarn workshop in Harveyville, KS, I ended up coming home early. Scardy cat of being stuck in the middle of Kansas with an ice threat. (Plus I missed sleeping in my warm bed - as you get older and more set in your ways, you miss your own house more than you might imagine).

Anyhow, I attended one day of Jacey Boggs' artyarn class and then came home Saturday night - so I missed the whole second day of class. The day attended was great - well the instruction was at least. I had a bit of technical difficulty, when the little piece that acts as the delta orifice flipped off Rhoda the Roadbug (my spinning wheel) and I didn't have any superglue to reattach it. That's all it would have taken - a few drops of superglue. So note to self: add superglue to my spinning supplies.








At least I had a chance to experience Nikol's delicious cooking. Someday that girl is going to come out with a Yarn School cookbook, and when she does, by gosh, I'm going to get it. Nikol is the owner of the school and host to those of us who visit.


Here's my friend Christine, who was kind enough to drive us to Harveyville.







I learned a lot about art yarn - which is now more appropriately called "textured yarn" - Jacey's term and I like it better than "art yarn" because textured yarn is really what it is. It's all art yarn right, we're all fiber artists making art? But some of us try our hand at making big, funky, yarn with texture. I don't honestly know how much I'll be spinning this type of yarn in the future, because I tend to more traditional yarn. But then again, it really does help make you a better spinner overall to learn new techniques. Plus, I love corespinning.

I see much, much corespinning in my fiber future.

So now as we face this next week - with a long three days of extended "snow and ice events" leading into my work week, I wish you all a nice fire to curl in front of with your spinning wheel, favorite novel, or kntting/crochet project. Enjoy and try not to get too stressed about all the activities you are missing. This will just help us appreciate spring all the more when it DOES come, right?

Snow Day Hen's Party

Well last night through this morning, we had about a 9 inch snowstorm. It came down fast and pelted us. This is only the second major snow of the season so far.

It was a really slick and BIG storm - the roads were a mess. Luckily I'd packed some extra work clothes in my car for just this kind of snow emergency. My plan was to stay at a nearby hotel, as I've sometimes done before. But a coworker friend of mine, Diane, invited me stay at her house overnight. I was reluctant to do this, because frankly, it just felt "weird" staying at someone's house - encroaching on their personal space. But she insisted she didn't mind - so she drove me home.

Let me just say, it was a fantastic idea. We had a blast! What is usually a hum-drum mid-week evening turned into one of the most spontaneous FUN sleepovers I've ever had since I was ten years old.

We started by cooking a delicious casserole for dinner. It was a recipe she'd never tried but had found on the internet. It's called "Fiesta Chicken Casserole." It has chicken (we used frozen chicken), salsa sauce, sour cream, shredded cheese, black beans and Campbell's condensed chicken soup. The recipe called for pie crust as a topping, but instead, we decided on crumbled tortilla chips for a crunchy topping. Then we baked it in a 13 X 9" casserole dish for 40 minutes. It came out SO delicious! Piping hot comfort food, and I bet it could be made to be less fattening by choosing the low-fat versions of the ingredients. My kind of cooking, inexpensive, and delicious.

Since she likes to sew, she showed me gifts and things she's made for family members. She is a really craft-oriented kind of person that can make fancy gift packages with a theme. She makes diaper cakes for expectant mothers full of all sorts of baby stuff. And she makes just really clever things. I enjoyed sitting in her sewing room and brainstorming cute sewing, knitting and quilting ideas - she doesn't know how to knit (yet) but I have a feeling our craft obsessions might rub off on one another eventually.

Her home is one of those homes that is just COMFORTABLE. From the moment you step in, you feel at ease. Not fancy - just clean, comfortable and welcoming. Before night fell, we watched the birds as they scurried from the snow and into her bird feeders. She has different feeding stations for different birds.

Then after dinner, we sat up and watched her favorite sit-coms - her current favorites are "The Middle" and "Hot in Cincinnati" - while we watched, I snuggled in a warm blanket on her couch and finished knitting the Gimme Five Vest from an old issue of Knitters that I was finishing up using some art yarn I spun. I haven't had time to block it yet, but here's an idea of what it looks like. Pretty cute for a fast knit. It's a drop stitch design.

We stayed up until 11:30 just giggling, talking and watching the snow fall down, covering the deck, the driveway, the road. It was a real hen party. She had a comfy guest bedroom for me and a guest bath - just perfect.

The roads weren't well plowed in the morning, but by afternoon, the streets were clear so I could return home. But I was SO glad I stayed with her rather than risking a long commute at best, or an accident at worst.

And this snow slumber party also made me glad I'd said "yes" to one of those serendipitous
opportunities to open up my world to happy everyday adventures.

Viva Las Vegas!

Well, I already am working on making this a more exciting, fulfilling year.

Starting with one of my resolutions to take more vacations - we just got back from a Las Vegas vacation. What a blast! Bob and I haven't been away together in far too long. It was an anniversary trip - so we wanted a romantic getaway.

It was so fun to escape sub zero temperatures and 5 inches of snow to go away to Vegas and just step off the everyday world for a while. The glitz, the glamour, the "over the top" nature of Vegas was just what our heads and hearts needed right now.

Although Bob is very tolerant of my knitting and fiber obsession, I decided to leave it behind for this trip. I just wanted to focus on our relationship, seeing the scenary, being together and vegging out. We became children for 5 days - being goofy, silly and just doing whatever we felt like as the mood hit us.

We haven't been to Vegas since Emily was in kindergarten and boy has it changed in all those years!

We tried to do something different everyday. We went to the Pawn Shop store where the History chanel TV show is filmed with Rick and his dad the "Old Man" and Chumley and the son "Big Hoss." Though we didn't get to see the stars in person, we saw them taping out in the parking lot as we drove by one day. Another day, we went in and toured their shop. Yes, there is a line waiting to get in. We spotted a few items in the shop that have been featured on their show.

We absolutely LOVED the Freemont Street Experience - it's in downtown Las Vegas night activity. They've taken 5 blocks of streets and put up a big 90 foot lighted ceiling overhead to link them together and turned it into a place where you can go, shop, walk around, eat, drink, gamble, and just have fun. The whole area is ablaze with people dressed up, with outdoor musicians, including one really talented saxophone player named Carl Ferris. That guy is amazing. It really puts me in mind of a Mardi Gras type atmosphere, even though I've never been to New Orleans to accurately compare the two.

I'm no fashionista - but one thing I noticed was that many MANY women there, tourists and locals alike, were wearing these quilted jacket/vests. Though I've seen them around for years, I've never seen so many in one place - it's like EVERYONE was wearing them. So I went to Ross's discount clothing store - and they have those shops everywhere in Vegas, and bought one for myself. If you are cold, wear a whole jacket or sweater, right? But these somehow keep the core part of your body warm and so all you need to wear under it is a long sleeve blouse and you stay pretty darn warm without the bulkiness of a full coat or jacket. Really neat. Now I know why they are so popular.

We had a chance to see several shows - including Cher's Farewell Tour. Oh my gosh, that woman is a knockout at whatever age she is now. She gave an amazing performance and I'm so impressed with her talent. I always watched her Sonny and Cher show on TV when I was a kid, and what a chance to see her live.

Of course, we ate and ate and ate. But we tried to eat two meals a day instead of three. We ate most mornings at a favorite place called Arizona Charlie's - having the $3.99 egg and steak special. Delish!! That's what we're eating in the photo at the top.

Well anyway, we are back to reality. Wah!!! But it's okay, really. In fact, going back to a normal routine wasn't half bad, and we came back really refreshed.

The Artist's Way to a Great New Year

Many many years ago, in 1995 in fact, I discovered Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY. It was a fad back then, and since I was working as a paid freelance writer as a career, in addition to being a stay-at-home Mom at that time, the program was one that naturally appealed to me. Nearly every writer, artist, musician and free spirit who I encountered during the mid-90's was reading and doing, and discussing the 12 week Artist Way program.

The way it works is each week, there is a corresponding weekly chapter that you read about in the book, and then exercises related to whatever the theme for the week happens to be. In addition to the weekly reading and activities, there were two over-arching activities that a person does regularly throughout.

Two overarching and critical activities:

Morning Pages - each day, you write 3 pages of freehand journaling per day, preferably in the morning, before you go about your morning rountine - it's a first of the morning "mind dump" and is a mental dump not unlike the physical dump that happens each day in the bathroom. Rather gross, and I apologize, but it's true. Instead of the sweet little diary entries that many of us learned to write as kids, this is a release of all the mental stuff that is clogging up one's creativity - all the gripes, complaints, annoyances, fears and mental limitations that are preventing you from moving forward in every area of your life. You flush these negative feelings about your career, your relationships, your friendships, your finances and anything else into your Morning Pages and then release them, freeing yourself to move forward with your day less encumbered and hopefully freerer.

My feelings about this used to be mixed - I believed in "postive thinking" at the time, and was worried writing these bad, negative things would make me a negative person, since I tend to lean toward the negative anyway. Well, contrary to my fears, doing these Morning Pages each day really did make me feel better and perform more effectively. It truly DID seem to foster my creativity. Don't know why but it sure did. Just to be safe, I counterbalanced the Morning Pages with a separate small notebook I called "Evening Pages" and they were just a short list of 3 things I was grateful for that day - the good things that happened that I could appreciate and thus end the day on a high note.

Just to clarify: the Morning Pages aren't ALL negative - it is simply stream-of-consciousness writing - you write about absolutely anything that occurs to you until you write 3 complete pages - it can be about anything. But it's yours and should be totally uncensored. One thing that I used to do was write, at the beginning of the notebook, a caveat for my loved ones, just in case anything catastrophic ever happened to me and they read it. If I were concerned that something seriously might be miscontrued that I'd written in anger, then I might considered tearing up or removing those pages after the vent was complete. Kind of like writing a letter or email just to get the thoughts out - but never mailing it.

Artist's Date. Once each week, you plan something fun, creative and enriching to do to enhance your creativity. Rather it be coloring in a coloring book with crayons, spending the afternoon sitting in the park listening to classical music, spinning or knitting, or touring a museum or gallery - whatever it is, lofty or mundane, you do it unfailingly each week - preferably a different activity to add variety of stimulation into your life. Julia Cameron suggests the importance of doing this activity individually and not with spouse, friends, children, etc. However, this activity is so vital that I find myself sharing it with loved ones sometimes and find it enriches both my creativity AND my relationships with others.

In order to get back "into" the Artist Way mindset, I decided to buy The Artist's Way CDs so that I can listen to them in the car. Anyway, I am going to be starting The Artist Way program again as part of my new year's routine - so feel free to join in if you like.

In case you are put off by the word "Artist" and find yourself thinking, "But I'm not an Artist (with a capital "A") - why yes you are! We all are.

2011 Intentions

One of the creative dynamos I admire is Nikol, sometimes known as "Thrifty Knitter" and founder of Yarn School. Who else but she could buy some old forgotten school buildings in the middle of rural Kansas and turn it into a creative mecca for artists of all kinds, including fiber artists and musicians? That would be her!

Anyhow, each year, Nikol creates what she calls an Uber List for the year - and as best I can determine, this is a list of things she wants to accomplish throughout the upcoming year. The list isn't exactly a set of New Year's Resolutions, but seems to fall somewhere on the borderline of yearly goal setting and practical annual "to do" list - a super-duper list or as she says "Uber List." Adapting this format for myself, I want to set intentions to get OUT of the passive mindset and spring into action to create a more interesting and fulfilling life.

So here are my beginning plans, and I'll be adding items throughout the year as I get an in-depth vision of where things are going and where they NEED to go. A lot of things are very fluid right now and need to stay that way - but they need to be moving in the right direction.

De-junking and decluttering: For every new clothing item I bring into the house, give away at least one item, to a thrift store, charity shop or whatever. Same thing with yarn and books. Instead of buying magazines, read them online or download the patterns. (Exception: This does not apply to Spin-Off - which I always treasure, save and pour over again and again). Organize yarn room and fiber storage closets. Destash what I no longer love.

Artist's Way is the Way - write Morning Pages to start journaling again on paper. More importantly, once a week, go on an "Artist's Date" where I explore new activities that are fun, creative and unique - that spark my soul. Find weekly soul-enriching activities that can help me emotionally, creatively and spiritually recharge.

Become a Mentor for my daughter and move out of the Parent with a capital "P" mode.

Spend more time with people and less time online. Since getting my very own "smart phone" recently, I can see why the masses have become attached to these things - and why I sometimes see people texting other online people in the ethers, while ignoring the In Real Life people sitting right in front of them. Thank goodness I am not on Facebook, what a time sink that is, right? Ah hem, but honestly, my personal addiction is Ravelry and it's getting out of hand. Though it's a great online tool and database, it has become an emotional pacifier. Nuff said.

Follow Weight Watchers new program, or whatever method works for me to get about 1,200 calories a day until I reach a healthy weight. Don't just rely on frozen meals as I did before on Jenny Craig, but really learn to cook healthy and frugally. Eat at home and at the dinner table, with family time - to talk, share and nurture one another instead of eating constantly at restaurants or in different rooms in front of the TV.

Consistently exercise each and every day. This is for both physical and mental health. If joining a gym doesn't work out, then find a weight bearing and stretching routine that I can do at home, and develop a routine that I can do consistently. I did really well exercising last year on the treadmill - keep this up but expand to some weight-bearing and stretching exercise as well.

Take a vacation - a real "couples" vacation with my sweetheart. A significant vacation and really UNWIND and reconnect with him. This one is already in the works, and I hope we get to take several mini getaways throughout the year.

Wear my pedometer every day. Aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. I seem to be much more active and fit when I do this.

Watch my language - speak less and act more. Avoid gossip, backstabbing and careless use of speech. Hurtful putdowns, sarcasm and bad tone of voice should be recognized for the poison that it is. Kind speech and thoughts lead to kind and gentle actions. Strive to be "soft centered."

Happy New Year everyone!

Turnaround

As I told many of you a few weeks ago, I was not planning on using a "guiding word" this year as I have in years past. But yesterday, when I was doing my yearly contemplation and meditation, I was given a word, "Turnaround."

I am not sure exactly how I am going to use this word - but I know it's what I - and my whole family - needs to do. I am feeling like a victim with many personal things that have hit me hard this year and hurt. Hurting has taken a toll physically, financially and emotionally. Knowing I'm not alone and that MANY people I know are hurting, and hurting much worse than myself, doesn't make it easier. But I can only control the way I react to the events that have occurred and fight like the dickens to turn things around for myself, while lending support to those who need it.

So in 2011, it is my intention to turn my attitude around - to kick my own *ss and stop whining. Do an about face - buck up in my attitude, and do whatever needs done to make things better.

I am NOT a helpless little reactionary victim. I am a strong, smart woman who, with God's help, can solve problems, make things better, turn my failings around and be a better person. I can do whatever I need to do, and I will do it.

Now please, universe, don't see this as an invitation to hurl more *rap my way - because I will duck too when that is the smartest thing to do.

Have a good year everyone - now I'm going to go solve some problems and make a new plan. And while I'm thinking, I'm going to be cleaning out and organizing a few of these out of control messy rooms around my house - such as my craft room.

EVERYTHING is going to get an overhaul around here, especially me.

The Ultimate Gift

At this time of giving, as many of us scramble to find just the right gift for our dear ones, while trying to stay in a budget, it occurs to me that the most precious gifts are ones that we can't give.

I subscribe to Daily Word - a Unity publication, and I get it online each day in my mailbox. Yesterday's message really hit home with me. At this time of year where many of us feel so frazzled and overwhelmed, I find solace and insight in these Daily Word reminders. It's amazing just how much the "word" of the day hits home. It's uncanny at times!

Yesterday's word was Grace. The message from this day is so 'on point' that I'm going to carry this little print out in my purse as a reminder that no matter what happens, I can choose to respond rashy, out of my frazzled human mindset, or I can pause a moment, listen in my spirit to find that place within myself that experiences Grace. Here is an excerpt of the affirmation they provided for the day:

"As I respond to a difficult situation with compassion and understanding, I am expressing God's grace. I am allowing the holiness within me to surface and to flow effortlessly from me. As I embrace adversity, remain strong under pressure or look for the good in a difficult situation, I am acknowledging that all is not at is appears. By experiencing all things with love, I draw forth the grace of Spirit. The gift of grace is powerful and strong. Grace is part of my being, and I am at peace."

Though I'm not in control of what gifts I'm given, I CAN control what I give to myself - the important gifts don't cost a thing, but are most precious. So what if I did that - gave myself that gift of Grace? It's a choice. Today, I have the where-with-all to unwrap that gift.

What inner gift do you most need to give yourself right now?

Fun with Corespinning - Art Yarn

Ever since reading Diane Varney's "Spinning Designer Yarns" book that was recommended by my first spinning instructor, I've been wanting to learn more about how to spin "Art Yarn" or sometimes called "Designer Yarns." I missed a chance to take a class Camp Pfluffypluck with Lexie Borger because at the time, I was a rank beginning spinner and wasn't ready yet.

So then last fall or winter, I bought Jacey Boggs DVD of Sit and Knit. I've been watching it periodically as well as reading everything I can find on how to spin art yarns. Over the past few months, I've been playing with the techniques such as making corespun, cocoons, coils. To be honest, I'm not even sure which is what all the time!

But I've been messing with these techniques and seeing what I can come up with. The first shot here shows the singles I spun from some multi-colored Targhee roving that I bought a few weeks ago at Yarn Barn. I corespun it on some laceweight yarn.

The second shot shows how the fiber looks when combined with the novelty commerical thin yarn I plyed it with.

Finally you see it finished and skeined up. It's a bit loosely plied but I think it will be okay. If it knits up well enough, I'm going to knit a vest. I may need to make a few more skeins of the stuff, but first I need to be sure I like the way it looks knit up in a swatch or "sample."

In January, I am going to take an art yarn class with Jacey Boggs. I'm really excited - not only because I get to learn the techniques, but since the workshop is being held at Harveyville, where Yarn School is held twice a year, I'm sure it will be a blast! I've taken classes from Nikol but never been to Harveyville yet.

What I discovered is I'm starting to understand WHY people make art yarn. Even if they don't want to use it in their knitting because maybe it's too wild, garish and "over the top", nevertheless making the yarn itself is so fun and creative, it makes you feel good just making it. Even if it never turns into a wearable garment. But I'm hoping this yarn will. Fingers crossed.

Ahhh . . . . Can I Just STAY There and Never Leave?

Usually when I go on business trips, I don't mind them, and realize they are a built-in part of my job, but not necessarily fun. As a rule one hotel quickly starts to look like another. This week's trip to Colorado Springs was an exception. While there, I stayed to The Broadmoor. It felt more like a working vacation than anything I've ever experienced. From the moment I stepped off the shuttle, it felt as if I'd stepped into a resort from the early 20th century.

In fact, if you've ever seen the romantic movie, Somewhere In Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, the Broadmoor has that kind of old World elegant ambiance and charm. Nestled into the mountain as it is, with both a lake and mountain view, combined with the fact that their Christmas trees and lights were ablaze for the winter season. Ah, simply breathtaking!

Oh my goodness, this was hands-down the most beautiful hotel with the most exceptional service that I've ever experienced, bar none. My stay there was remarkable. Whew. The staff working there clearly love their jobs, regardless of what role they play. No one is "just" a door man, a desk clerk, a housekeeper - they are representatives of a hotel they serve with pride. Imagine if I took that same sense of pride and pleasure in a job well-done that this staff displays? Good idea - I'm going to add that to personal goals I'm working on right now. How can I work even more intently, but with pleasure and a focus on total quality and a sense of the importance of what I do each day?

Also, the trip reminded me that all of us have "magical places" that we each savor. No matter where I stay in Colorado, I am amazed at how the mountains refresh me and renew my spirit. Colorado is really a place that tunes up my love for life.

Even though the bed was luxurious and extremely comfortable, I found myself staying up late at night so that I had time to read, write, soak in the bath, meditate, pray and reflect on the year drawing to a close, and the new one fast approaching. I luxuriated not only in the serene environment and sense of place, but in the chance to go within myself and reflect. So the balance of work/play/relax made me realize the importance of aiming for that balance in my everyday life to create a happier daily existence back home.

Wow. Even though I am back, I brought home a little $8 mousepad featuring this lovely scenic hotel. So whenever I get frazzled or harried, I can recall sitting by the cozy fire or walking on the lake path gazing up at the breathtaking mountain. It's another place that I will always treasure for the serene person I allowed myself to be while in that sacred space.

Quote: "You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience." - Teilhard de Chardin

What place creates magic within you?