The Story Of The Face-Planting Yellow Bird

I am way behind on blogging lately.  So black sheep of me.  And it’s not because I’m not writing.  It’s because I am, elsewhere and in other ways!  Life is amazing and crazy, but I’m totally enjoying the ride. I haven’t blogged about our new house or anything since writing a review for Andee’s book!  Our new home is simply totally awesome.  I can’t explain it enough – where you live matters.  Even when the changes seem small.  It matters.  This place is so good for us right now.  It’s not too fancy, but it feeds the soul.  And isn’t that what we all could use more of?  I must get some good photos and try to show you some of the amazing things happening in my back yard.  I have tadpoles!  TADPOLES!    Can you believe it?  I love it!

And school will be out for the kids soon!  Which even as a parent, I dearly look forward to.  Summer’s when the kids and John and I finally get to just connect as a family, without all the crazy running and stress because of this assignment or another, or because of club or school events, etc..  We think of a 40-hour work week as full-time work, but most kids, most good students, spend far more time than that on education every week.  It doesn’t seem to be until summer when we can just be ourselves and pursue our own interests individually and as a family together. And just honestly get some well deserved rest.  And me? I tackle some more focused work and planning done during that time too,  ‘cuz I work from home anyway.  Summer is my time to get ready for holiday shows.  And I’m adding a book to my work load as well.

Well, there’s a lot of news to share with you!  Including a couple of awards this blog has won (even while I wasn’t writing), how my daughter started her own blog (she has a quirky personality online and off) and how we’re getting ready for A-Kon in Dallas next weekend.  You should totally see Jess’ tail coat that she designed, then created a pattern for and then made, with some expert guidance from Paula, an amazingly talented seamstress in our town.  I am so incredibly grateful for her, because she knows how to help Jess with her far-too-advanced-for-me ideas.  Oh, and my son is in the middle of doing “flower-sack babies” for health this week.  It’s been rather comical watching him juggle “McGregor” his flower-sack baby AND his cat.   And of course there is much writing taking place.  Articles, books, etc..  I’ll have to tell you about them as I can/am allowed.  Oh yes, I will keep you in the loop.  (And hopefully, all this points to an income.)  Plus our high school Spain trip with EF Tours looms ever nearer, and we are fundraising like crazy suckers trying to get our funding together.  So much.  So much.

Well, I thought I’d start up on the blog again by telling you about an interesting experience I had yesterday. It involves a little yellow bird…
So I’m sitting outdoors with my laptop to work yesterday morning, enjoying the shade and pleasant temperatures. I know that later it won’t be this pleasant and I’m soaking up as much of my new backyard as possible. When suddenly a little brown and yellow bird plunges (falls, not lands) from above into the little flower bed next to me. At first glance, I thought it was a larger sized humming-bird with its slender beak. Then I see the color, size and shape and realize not at all. It looks like a warbler or a bunting, but not sure. Brown top, bright yellow breast.  The beak was totally different from I would have expected and the bird had white stripes on the side of the head on either side of its eyes. It looked kind of like a cross between a sparrow, chickadee and the yellow part of a goldfinch, with the beak of a hummingbird. Really slender little beak.

At first I really thought it fell out of a tree.  Then I thought it was diving after a bug in the mulch, but I noticed again that it was leaning heavily to one side. Suddenly it falls forward and does a total face plant!  With its tail straight up in the air and its beak straight down into the mulch! “Are you OK?”  I speak to it, then get up and come over when it stays still. It’s not dead, but it’s obviously exhausted somehow.

It doesn’t struggle much when I pick it up from its face plant and it opens its beak wide. One of its eyes droops closed a bit. It does not look like a baby to me, but I sense extreme exhaustion and hope he isn’t dying. I take it to the waterfall in my yard and get a drop of water on my finger to give it. Then I carry it to my bird feeder to pick up some seeds. I open my hand and it sits quietly in my palm, leaning slightly to one side, letting my fingers support it. I notice some tiny “ruffled” feathers on its neck. Which I then reach to smooth, wondering if it’s injured.

At that touch, after being so calm all this time, the little bird freaks out as if it just woke up and suddenly realized I was there, chirps at me and flies away, landing on my neighbor’s roof.  I watched for a while, it didn’t roll off.

I wonder if one of the neighborhood cats took a swipe at it? Or maybe a grackle or hawk? I looked for a nest above where it fell, but did not see one.

What a curious experience! I wish I could have gotten a photo!

Well, so that’s my latest little backyard adventure story.  I shall have to catch you up on the rest of life, my mis?adventures with a snake in my pond and maybe wrangle a few decent photos somewhere.  Until then, be well.  Stay safe.

And the winner of a FREE copy of “Texting Mitts” IS……?!

Happy Presidents Day week!

So last Saturday I published a review of Andee Graves new crochet book, “Texting Mitts.”  Along with that review came an opportunity to give away one free copy of the book!

In order to win, since it was Presidents’ Day Weekend after all, I chose the entry question, “If you could make a pair of fingerless mittens to give to any president in U.S. history, who would they be for and why?” 

And remember – I said the answers didn’t have to be rational, they simply had to include the name of a U.S. president!  (I even snuck in my own reference to the latest pop-culture Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.  It had to be done, because I’m goofy like that!)

We got some creative answers (which I hoped people would have fun with)!  Here are some of the highlights:

From ripplestitchkin: “I’d make a pair of fingerless mitts for President Jimmy Carter. Those hands built a lot of houses for Habitat for Humanity, and they deserve a pair of cozy mitts!”

From SierraPelona: “I’d make a pair for our 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes. Because anybody with an awesome name like Rutherford should never be without texting mitts.”

From change it up editing:  “George Washington (1789-1797), Thomas Jefferson (1801-09), and John Adams (1797-1801) were all avid collectors and players of marbles. What better accessory for a marble-playing president than a pair of fingerless mittens?”

And the Aberrant Crochet winner…?
………… is Janelle Meyer!

Her entry:   “I would make a pair (or two) for Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a matching lap robe for use in his wheelchair.”

I love that!  Very cool!  Thanks for all the great entries and participation everyone.  I even learned a little real trivia!

So Janelle, look for an email from me asking for your postal address so your book can be sent to you!

Now before you get all sad if you didn’t win, check out two other blogs who still have drawings running for a chance to win a free copy of Andee’s book too!

But you better hurry, because their deadlines for entry are today!  Check the following crochet blogs out for more details and two more chances to win this book!

Poetry in Yarn - enter before 11:59pm February 20th.
Cute Crochet Chat  - drawing will be February 21st.

Thanks everyone for participating in the Aberrant Crochet giveaway for Andee’s book!  Stay tuned for more news coming soon.

Book Review and Giveaway! Texting Mitts by Designer Andee Graves

Well everyone, you’re in for a treat this weekend!  My crochet buddy Andee Graves has a new crochet book out called Texting Mitts!  And not only do I get to be a part of her blog tour celebrating the book’s release, but you have a chance to win a copy too!  If you can’t wait to get your “mitts” on it (see what I did there?) you can find the book at JoAnn stores and Leisure Arts website.  Which is good, because as of this writing, Amazon is temporarily out of stock!

So Who’s On The Tour?

Well I’m the last stop on this week’s blog tour, but if you’d like to catch up on the others, here’s the whole list of us.  A great list of crochet designers and enthusiasts you should consider checking out if you don’t already know us.

• Andee Graves, Two Hands Healing And Creative Arts
• Susan Lowman, The Crochet Architect
• Kathryn Vercillo, Crochet Concupiscence
• Jocelyn Sass of Cute Crochet Chat
• Lindsay Stephens of Poetry in Yarn
• Karen Whooley of KRW Knitwear Studio
• Ellen Gormley of Go Crochet
• Julia of Aberrant Crochet (me!)

As the last stop on the tour, I was trying to think about how I could really add to the blog tour for you and for Andee with my post.  And of course, rebel that I am, I gotta do it my way anyway.  And if it ain’t honestly informative, lively or fun, it’s not really my cup ‘o tea.  So Andee, readers, et all, hang on for the ride – I hope you like it.  Gritty or not, here we go.

First, let me share how I know Andee.

I guess Andee and I actually initially met online in the Crochet Liberation Front group on Ravelry.  But getting to know her really soared later when we finally met in person at the Crochet Liberation Front’s 1st Ever Crochet At Cama Retreat.

Andee and Me!

She was funny, laid back and we’re both October babies!  So we were both enjoying the crochet retreat as part of our birthday gifts to ourselves.  Hers near the beginning and mine near the end.    I liked her immediately!

I discovered Andee to be an enthusiastic crochet designer, and excellent teacher as I watched her interact with people.  She has a deep background in massage as well, and she demonstrated a lot of understanding about making the most of crochet while minimizing damage to your hands and wrists and more.  She gave an excellent talk at the retreat addressing carpal tunnel syndrome and other issues many crocheters face, which of course as someone fascinated with hook shapes and hand holds, I found fascinating too.  Plus Andee carves hooks at home too.  These aspects to her of course add to her foundation in design.  The importance of caring for our hands is a subject near and dear to her heart.

Onward For The Tour: Fingerless Mittens – Why I Like Them And You Should Too

Along those lines comes Andee’s most handy book full of fingerless “Texting Mitts” designs.  (I couldn’t resist.)

Let me tell ya – fingerless mittens are a must for me.  I’ve been in business for myself for 10 years now.  I started out doing shows and selling my finished goods.  And many of those shows were local outdoor festivals.  But while everyone else was suffering in the chill, I wore my wool cape and fingerless mittens and muffatees that were an asset to me “in the field.”

And today, while I use Square to accept credit cards at shows and use my smart phone for commerce, even at chilly indoor shows during the summer fingerless mitts can be an essential tool because smart phones don’t work without skin contact.   (It happens – Central Texas where we sometimes over compensate indoors for the heat outside!)

So if you’re looking for a useful kind of gift, that isn’t really limited to just winter use, definitely consider fingerless mittens.  I know folks who use them for typing at work too.

So What About The Book?

So what do I think?  Well, let’s start with first impressions.

It’s been awhile since I looked over a Leisure Arts crochet book.  And reading over Andee’s new book involved a colorful and visual experience I hadn’t remembered before.  So, being who I am, I had to make a trip to my local craft store to thumb through the books and see if it was my imagination or not.  Sure enough, I found that books more recently published by Leisure Arts were sporting a whole new design approach not found in my mother’s or grandmother’s books.  It threw me a bit at first, but in analysis, I actually think it’s good.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Colorful and color-coded text.  A definite visual plus.  If you like to use highlighters and colored pens in your notes, you’re going to be surprised when you see that a lot of the text is already color coded in helpful ways.  One such helpful note is how all the size variations are printed in different colors in order to make them easier to find quickly when you’re working.

Visual Icons.  Wherever you see a little video camera symbol like this one, it means you can go to the Leisure Arts website and watch a video demonstrating that specific stitch or technique!  Now ain’t that about time!

Shopping Lists.  I suppose this is something most good patterns already sport, however I do like the way they put it together, highlighting it and making it very easy on the eyes to read, complete with universal standard yarn symbols for the weight.

Easy To Read Stitch Glossary.  These back pages are pretty well laid out, with clear sections, making it easy to read and find what you’re looking for.

Large full color photos.  Many photos are a full-page in size and they seem to be very crisp to me.  If you are a visual crocheter, you’re going to appreciate these.

Three Column Layout.  I personally find three columns per page to be the sweet spot as far as ease on the eyes.  I like it way better than one or two, which is what I usually see.

The Designs/Patterns Themselves

“Texting Mitts” offers a pretty decent collection of fingerless mittens with different stitch techniques as well as design looks to try.  Whether your style is lacy, textured, casual, or tailored, you’ll find a design to suit your needs in here.  Projects range in skill from beginner to intermediate.  And all the patterns are designed for sock-yarn, or any other super fine lace-weight yarn.  I can see that the construction for all of these is geared towards flexibility and active use.  This is a plus.

If the tamer yarn color choice presented in the photos are not really your type, don’t worry, the design structure is solid for bolder, and earthier tones.

Also, if you’re wondering if this book is only suitable for making gifts for women, think again.  While looking over Andee’s book my 13 yr old son leaned over and pointed to a design he’d like me to make him.  (In camo or black of course.)  So don’t knock it until you try it.  I can’t help but wonder if it would have been a good marketing move for LA to have included a male model, even a teen one?

The two mitts pictured here are the ones that I took a little time with to try out the patterns.  These are the Seashell Mitts and the Twisted Cable Columns Mitts.  The Twisted Cable Columns Mitts will help you exercise your foundation single crochet (Fsc) skills.  But if Fsc has you stumped, Andee has a neat little technique for you to try in the Seashell Mitt pattern.  I would like to see a little more time taken to explain the round joins and beginnings when involving the cross stitch and chain 3, as there’s a step that seems to be assumed in there that someone with less experience might not be able to figure out.  Also, the patterns use stars, () and [] , so be sure to hit the glossary in the back to familiarize yourself with their use in the patterns upfront.  And it’s clear to me that swatching is going to be important for many folks as well.  I’m a more relaxed crocheter as far as stitches, so right off the bat my no-gauge test was turning out larger than it should have with the right sized yarn and hook.  So do swatch for size.  I would also have liked to see just one advanced pattern to ice the cake with.  But that’s just me.

The Upshot?

“Texting Mitts” is  an artful book with a nice selection of design variations and is full of what I consider “crochet intelligence.”  From a critical technique point of view, these designs have interest and challenge that will appeal to most crocheters.  All the patterns are fingerless mitts, but each pattern brings something new to the table in design or skill.  I encourage buyers to experiment with other colors and post their photos and their reviews.  Overall I like the new colorful and thoughtful layouts Leisure Arts has come up with for reading their pattern books, even if it does take me a little getting used to the change in colored text.  And I like the 3-column layout.  I think in the long run the attention to details like this will be very helpful both as a teaching tool, and for those who have eyesight issues.

Enough! I Want A Copy! How Do I Win, Win, WIN!?

I thought you’d never ask!  First off, this contest can only be open to US residents (I’m sorry, it has to be).  And it’s Presidents’ Day Weekend, so I thought we’d make this a little special.  To enter the contest to win a free copy of Andee’s book “Texting Mitts,” here are the giveaway contest rules:

• First, you also must be a U.S. resident with a domestic mailing address.
• Second, you should subscribe to both Aberrant Crochet (my blog) and Andee’s crochet blog.
• Then, leave a comment below, answering this fun holiday trivia question: “If you could make a pair of fingerless mittens to give to any president in U.S. history, who would they be for and why?”
  (Answers do not technically have to be rational, but must include the name of a U.S. president in history.) 
• Include your email and website/blog (if you have one) in the comment form. (Emails are not viewable by the public.)
• Winner will be chosen by Random.org!

My answer to the trivia question?  I would totally make a pair of fingerless mittens for President Abraham Lincoln and Founder Benjamin Franklin.  Benjamin Franklin wasn’t ever president of the United States, but he was a diplomat who traveled the world and he spent time out there in a storm with a kite! And Abraham Lincoln?  All that writing, lawyering, giving speeches and leading a country during one of its darkest times.  I bet some fingerless mittens would have been appreciated by them both.  And Abe as movie legend in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter?  Wielding a pen in congress and an ax in battle?  I bet some fingerless mitts would have comforted sore hands after a long day of saving the world!  

OK, so now how about you?

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PLEASE NOTE…

1. You have until Tuesday, February 19th at 2pm CST to enter…

2. That means the giveaway will close Tuesday, February 19th at 2pm CST.

3. A winner will be chosen via random.org later in the day.

4. I will announce the winner on my blog shortly after (so come back to check!)

5. Please be sure to have your email address linked to your comment or there is no way for me to contact you!

And that’s it!

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GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!      HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND HAVE FUN!

Oh, and disclaimer: I have not received any monetary compensation for putting on this giveaway.  Though I did receive a copy of Andee’s book to review.  So this contest is purely for fun!  I mean, just in case you’re wondering.  They say it’s always good to be clear about these things.  So, there you have it… clear?  We love you!  Enjoy!

PS – All photos courtesy of Leisure Arts Publishing.

Whazzup Crochet?

SO!  It’s been quiet in Aberrant blogging and social-media land lately thanks to our moving and helping family move.  Really, my last blog post was not meant to be some kind of prophecy.

Honest!

I had just finally reached a point where there was no way to focus on anything but putting one moving/buying/selling-a-house foot in front of the other.  Overwhelming!

Additionally, for the first time, I didn’t succeed in my annual NaBloPoMo.  And I didn’t even crochet for most of this winter!

:: the horror ::

I know what you’re going to say.  That I had good reason for it.  And I did….

But, yeah.  Well.  I’ma still kicking a couple of stones over it.
But, now we’re finally at “done” point!

OK…  Well, so I’m not totally unpacked.  (Not even much.)  But I expect that to take a while!  And we are moved out of our two big storage units now too!  Whew!

Trivia fun (make me feel better): How many boxes do you have yet to unpack from your last move?  And from when was that?

Stay tuned because I get back to blogging this weekend!  Starting off with a cool award I won and reviewing a friend’s new (her first) published crochet booklet!  A suite of great projects y’all!

And I have stories to tell!  (BOY do I have stories to share with you!)

So stay tuned and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Do something fun with great people this weekend and don’t forget the chocolate!
(Make mine dark!)

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Sometimes You Have To Quit To Succeed

When you’re beating your head against a wall, it may just be time to quit.  After all, repetitive head-wall collisions are not very productive, nor comfortable.

This is true with anything in life.  Whether you are struggling with a design you’re creating, a stitch technique, figuring out a pattern or raising your children.  In order to think and see clearly, sometimes removing ourselves from a stressful situation is the proper course of action.

In order to come back afresh after a break. 

It might seem counter-productive when the pressure is on, but this technique can help resolve all sorts of situations where things aren’t going the way we want or need them to.  Even when we’re doing everything right.  Temporarily walking away can help us return with a different view and sometimes even go so far as to help us reboot.

As a pianist, I have often used the technique of “walk-away” for a couple of days when I had trouble with a piece of music I was working on.  Sometimes you practice and practice and yet there’s still a part that just isn’t coming out right.  And that’s when it’s really important to switch gears and work smarter, not just harder.

When increased practice and working harder don’t produce the desired results, the answer more often than not is to step completely away from the music for a day or two.  And miraculously, when you come back – voilà – everything falls into place and you can suddenly play the music. It’s an interesting phenomenon, but it works.

There are some important reasons to use this technique in music.  When working harder isn’t making it better, you risk planting seeds that you don’t want.  Your practice begins to ingrain the habits of the wrong notes, and then mistakes start becoming part of your muscle memory and performance. “Practice makes perfect.”  But practice can also make mistakes permanent.  Additionally, frustration can “poison” the music and the end performance and result.

The same is true for our hobbies and art, when I’m struggling with a crochet design or even the times when we’re dealing with difficult people or situations.

Sometimes you have to pull yourself out of the forest and go visit the coast in order to come back and see the trees again.

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Crochet Holding Positions For Hooks – A Tutorial (Take 2)

Well guys, I don’t know how it happened, but my video post a couple of days ago for crochet hook holding positions posted the wrong video!  It posted the discussion on hook ergonomics instead!

Eek! Sorry!  I’m not sure how I did that, but since there are already some comments on the earlier posts, and I don’t want to confuse anyone, I’m just going to completely re-post with the correct video with the correct title today. 

So what follows is a video demonstration of several hand positions people use when crocheting and advantages/disadvantages to each.  Hope you find it helpful!  And please share!

Choosing The Path of Tears

One of the reasons I got involved with charities and volunteering is because it’s a choice.

Memories were triggered for me today….

Once upon a time in college I did a lot of work with severe and profoundly handicapped children, affected mentally, physically and developmentally.  The forgotten ones in our world, the ones who are often wards of the state, whose families have abandoned them because they can’t take the pain or because their medical need for care is too great.

One of the medical facilities I volunteered in had designations on every bedroom door as to whether or not to resuscitate or try to save the young life that lived within.  We walked into those rooms each time knowing that the child we worked with today might not be there tomorrow.  And though we were officially there to help with physical and educational therapies, most of us knew we were also there to hopefully make a difference and help make the quality of life for one young living being a little better.

I thought for a time that I would go into that profession as a music therapist.

And then I watched nurses and professional after professional working with these kids, their pro hearts grown hard and cold.  Because it’s too painful to get too close and they had a job to do.  They couldn’t afford to break down.  And so many no longer responded to the cries of the children when they were scared or in pain and there was little comfort from their caretakers.  It’s not that they were mean or anything, or that they provided less than excellent care.  It’s just that they had lost their ability to be soft inside.  There were only a handful of professionals who seemed to have held on to their compassion.  And it was far too few.

After witnessing it again and again, I finally realized that I couldn’t do the work I was doing as a means to feed myself in life.  I did not want to take a chance of becoming hardened and cold because years of a broken heart made me so and because it was my job.  I didn’t want to have to make ends meet in life this way.

So I chose a different path, the one of a volunteer.

As a volunteer, I know I can walk away at any time.  I generally haven’t been paid even when I organize events.  But I *choose* to be there.  I have no other reason or motivation to be there other than to serve.  My next meal does not depend on the volunteer work I do.  And though my heart may be broken again and again in service, and I may receive little thanks, my compassion remains intact.

It is often a path of tears, but it is also one of heart.

Ergonomics In Crochet Hook Design And The Hands That Use Them

Yep, working on some surprises for ya!  Oh, I haven’t forgotten our series of crochet hook design discussions, it’s just taking longer than I’d like.  It’s taken me a few days to complete this one, but here it is.  Let’s just say my new camera birthday present hasn’t been as user friendly as I would like. 

Anyway, check out the video, let me know what you think, add to the discussion and stay tuned for supplemental articles later this week. 

Catch ya on the up-swing!

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Crochet Holding Positions For Hooks – A Tutorial

I made a video today about the variety of ways we hold and use crochet hooks! Check it out below!

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How About A Brainy Game That’s Truly Brainy? Advancing Science With Play…

Yesterday I was introduced to a new concept in crowdsourcing – using games to solve biology problems.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of crowdsourcing, it’s a model for production and problem solving, distributed on a large-scale to a “crowd.”  In other words, work is distributed to a mass of people, and those people get bites of it done.  This can be used to solve problems, or just get “stuff done.”

Crowdfunding is a cousin to the idea, what with KickStarter and others who help fund projects via a collective of people.  Each person contributes in general a small piece of the solution, but together the “crowd” levies a formidable impact.

Most of us in the blogosphere have probably heard of crowdfunding, even participated in it.  But crowdsourcing for real life biology problems might just be a new one for you like it was me.

Enter stage right an idea developed by Carnegie Mellon and Standford University call EteRNA.  It’s a free game developed by scientists to explore the basis of designing RNA, something that is apparently considered the “dark matter of biology.”

Personally, I like puzzles and games and find that it helps my memory, the flow of my work day and even helps give me a break when I need to walk away from work or a stressful situation.  The challenge of solving a puzzle is both rewarding and in many cases, meditative for me.  However I also get bored once I’ve mastered them.   So the idea of working with real patterns that might actually help advance science?  Well that got my attention!

The concept of the EteRNA game is based on learning how to “fold” RNA.  Apparently, there are ways that RNA will fold and ways it will not.  However, it’s my understanding that when they gave the problems to computers to do, they weren’t having any luck in getting the answers they needed.  However, when they took the concept to a game, just in the short while it’s been around, players of the game have solved many problems.

It’s not the easiest game up front, let me just tell you that.  I have no background in biology, nor do I understand some of the concepts they are presenting with the RNA stuff.  However, I have an eye for pattern.  Get me into something and though I might not be able to explain it to you, I will find a pattern.  And that’s the part I bet they’re counting on.

CMU has set the game up well to carefully step you through some tutorial basics to help you learn the ropes.  I recommend taking your time and following them.  And then to just explore and be patient. I’ve been through several puzzles and each one is quite different, and yet based on a similar set of rules.

So check it out.  If you’re a teacher, definitely consider showing this to your students.  I heard that the #1 “folder” for this game is 12 years old.  And who knows, if you’re geeky like me, it just might be one of the more fascinating things you’ve done with a spare 5 minutes here or there.

I’ll be there as AberrantCrochet of course!  Seeing if I can get close to the top.

So what do you think?  Have you tried the game?  Do you think an artist’s eye might have an edge?

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School Is A Prison

“Go do your homework!” I tell my son, exasperatedly.  Unfortunately, he has extra homework this weekend because he was sick for 3 days earlier this week.

Then I hear it.  Drag, scrape, drag, scrape.  I look up and see this:

Ball n’ chain…

And I hear him say, “It’s like a ball and chain, only it’s a backpack.  School is a prison. Ugh.”

He looks up with his little quirky grin.  The one where he’s trying to keep a straight face, but can’t help but chuckle at his own clever joke.

On the one hand, I bust out laughing with him.  He’s turning out to be quite a funny young man.  However, I feel for him.

I’d rather he were outside riding his bike, building a fort, inventing a robot or something else right now.

So much homework for these kids.  And so little time for life.

It’s All About The Overcoming… Ruminations

Maybe not #Crochet Ruminations, but ruminations nonetheless….

Everything about success in this life is about “the overcoming” of a variety of things. Overcoming is what growth is.

There are folks who seem to think that if everyone agreed, then all pain would cease to exist and everyone would be happy and successful. That somehow disagreement and a positive atmosphere cannot coexist in the same space.

However, I do not find this to be true.

Disagreement is essentially a growth opportunity to overcome something. Whether that is overcoming our own ignorance by learning new things from a dissenting point of view or overcoming the limitations of a single viewpoint by combining several points of view together into a successful bundle.  Whether it’s overcoming by standing our ground in the face of opposition, or simply overcoming the discomfort of being in disagreement itself.

Just because someone disagrees with me or I with them does not mean that harmony does not exist between us.  If anything, every opportunity to be shown another viewpoint is exactly that – an opportunity to grow.

Everything is destroyed and rebuilt every day.

Our points of view, our shedding skin cells, the food we eat.  We must take life, consume it, digest it and purge it.  Or we do not exist.  There is always some level of risk, discomfort and disagreement.

Everything in nature bears this cycle.  Every choice we make is a reformulation based on what we know and experience up to this point.  With every shift of our paradigm, so do we shift… somehow.

And the lesson?  That this moment is always about movement and evaluation.  We do not stop moving, choosing, shifting and evolving. We do not stop.

Everything is about the overcoming.

NaBloPoMo Haiku

Jennifer over at Another Jennifer had a great idea for a NaBloPoMo post.  A NaBloPoMo haiku!  I enjoyed the yarn related haikus back in August, so I had to jump on writing a haiku for another thing I’m passionate about.

Here’s mine:

NaBloPoMo rocks!
It pushes my writing skills.
I’m my own rival.

I wrote it today, so I’m posting it today, even though I already posted earlier.  After all, with NaBloPoMo you’re not supposed to bank posts.  You must write every single day.  That’s the point of the challenge.

So, here we go.  A second post for today that does not count for extra credit.  Woo hoo! I’m getting wild now!

How about you?  What’s your haiku poison?

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Ever Know Someone Who Has To Be “An Expert In Everything?”

…even in fields they’ve never touched?

Our very distinguished daughter. (I love you honey…)

I’m reminded of a conversation with someone once about selling the home they’d lived in for 25+ years. The owner voiced many concerns over the idea and work she wasn’t sure might need to be done or even the paperwork involved.

“Have you talked to a real estate agent? They could really help you know what you need to do and talk to you about the market right now,” I said.

“No,” she said, “I already know everything I need to know about my house and this neighborhood. There’s nothing worthwhile an agent could ever tell me.”

O_o?   Seriously?

I think my eyes glazed over right there.  I thought we were having a worthwhile discussion up until that point.

In my mind, this type of mentality is the very source of division and stagnation.  When people claim to “know” how everything works in areas they have no perspective.

There is wisdom and growth at the center of many approaches and views. Thank goodness for the experts in my life who can give me other viewpoints and ways of seeing things.  I am not eternal enough to contain all the truth and insight of the universe.  I have expertise, experience and a perspective that is very useful in many ways.   But it ain’t everything.

How about you?  Have any “know-it-all” stories?  How do you handle them?

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She Will No Longer Be Ours….

The sun is shining today.  We haven’t seen sunlight the last few days and it’s been cold and dreary.  Exceptionally cold and dreary for us here in Central Texas at this time of year.

And it’s killing me that I haven’t been out doing shows.  This is the kind of weather when my crochet sells really well at the local shows.  We don’t have a lot of winter here.

One of my best outdoor shows ever occurred when a cold front moved in about mid-afternoon.  Until then, folks were milling around in shorts.  Then the cold wind came in and suddenly my booth was full of earlier admirers who now had a “reason” to buy, or at least an excuse.  They could now justify buying some yarny things.

It was awesome for me of course.  But I also noticed the sense of relief in people’s eyes as they bought what their heart smiled at.  For themselves.  People don’t generally buy for the holidays here until the first chill.  Which often isn’t until December.

But we actually had freezes the last two days! Freezes!  We don’t usually see those until like… February!

And now…

The sun is streaming through my kitchen window, as I sit here and type, my coffee steaming nearby.  I’m using Grandma Leona’s coffee mug today.  All the letters have long since washed off, but it still sports the little waving alligator from the blood bank she regularly volunteered for.  She was O-.

I look out the window at the bird feeder, hear her little chuckle and I feel blessed.

This is my favorite time of day in this room.

The sun is uninhibited.  My kitchen is alight with a warm glow.  It only happens during this morning window of about an hour, as the sun peeks between the oak and pecan branches just right and streams through the windows.  Even my cats know this time of day in this room.  They surround me.  The glow has always made me smile.  It even makes the dirty dishes look a tad romantic.

Dear son is feeling better but still home sick and restless today.  As he flips on some rock music to do his homework by, I am reminded that I have a lot to do.  But I want to hang onto this moment a bit longer.

Today is the last day I am owner of this house.

I wonder what mornings will be like in the new house?  I’ll have lots of time to find out.  But my time here is running out… like a slow drip, falling slower… or is it faster?  But nonetheless winding down to the last drop.

“Good to the last drop….”

Sixteen and a half years….  It’s a long time.  I glance around.  The height chart on the door frame long since erased so we could show the house.  All trace of little fingers gone.  Scribbles on the walls, long since cleaned and painted over.  We do get to lease back this home for another month until we close on the new place.

But tomorrow it is done.

She will no longer be ours.

But I suppose in a way she already isn’t.

Still…
I’ll hang on to her today…
Just a bit longer.

I don’t want this day to end too quickly, or to end without thought.

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Five Positive Things…

I remember hearing once that humans need an emotional and experiential bank account, just as much as we might need monetary savings.  That every positive experience is a deposit into that bank account.  And that every negative experience draws against our savings.

Since negative experiences use up so much energy (why is that?), it’s important that we have a larger bank balance of positive things to make up for the negative draws that come in life.  It’s our job in life to invest in our positive returns.

However, when the balance sheet gets out of whack, when negative experiences (and actions) outweigh the balance of the positive, we can actually go bankrupt, emotionally and mentally.  The withdrawals finally pushing us into the red and even taking a toll on our physical health.

I believe that attitude is a magical place of being that magnifies our experiences, both positive and negative.  I believe that when we focus on nothing more than survival, we do not really live and do not really fill up our banks.  I believe when we are too afraid to take risks, we deny ourselves potential growth in returns.  I believe that the relationships we forge in this life are gems that accrue interest.  And that the memories and experiences we choose to create are like the parable of the talents.  We are all given them.  How rich and colorful they are is up to us.

No matter what experiences others may place in my path, I have the ultimate power to create any experience for myself that I wish.  And with good tending, those positive experiences beget more positive experiences.  And eventually, my returns are so great.  Like stocks, my “money” begins to work for me to make more “money…” and I am simply rich… if I choose to be.

I don’t believe the Law of Attraction is simply a wishing game, but a life of active investment and participation.

And so…

I choose…

1. No matter how tired my dear hubby may be, he comes home to me with an evil smile, a swooning kiss and a love I never doubt.  Today he worked from home, which made it easier with son home sick too.

2. I had the most amazing meal tonight, especially for a Tuesday, cooked by my dearest.  Going out to eat is often a disappointment thanks to him.  He cooks on Tuesdays while I take dear daughter to taekwondo.  And to think we’re saving money!

3. The people at Whole Foods were incredibly positive and polite to me today.  I’m sure they are all the time, but I haven’t been there in a while.  It was nice to have someone cheerfully ring me up.

4. I spent some lovely one-on-one time with my daughter today.  We shared a few jokes and hid a t-shirt for dad for Christmas.

5. My son was home sick today, but between naps and moaning, his fever came down and he read 3/4 of a book and enjoyed it.  Two years ago, he couldn’t see well enough to enjoy reading.  Today, we have just 10 more sessions of vision therapy to go.  (We hope.)

6. (I had to add one more.)  Our house is officially sold in just little more than another day.  I have spent 16.5 years here.  I spent 17.5 years in the house I grew up in.  Change is afoot.

What about you? What are five positive things for you?

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Talents and Weaknesses – Crochet Ruminations

Something to keep in mind is that talents and weaknesses often go hand in hand. Sometimes if you look hard at a weakness, a talent (part of the solution) will show its face.

Not everything is completely as it seems. There are hidden gems and opportunities everywhere. We have but to look.

What about you? 

Meditation for the day:  What weaknesses do you see in yourself or in the world that can be turned upside down to find a strength or talent? 

Share your experience below!

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Suffering in Korea – Veteran’s Day Tribute To Grandpa Chester

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.

There are many veterans in my family, including my husband. But at this time, I think most of my two grandfathers, each who served entire careers for the army.

My Grandpa Chester wrote letters and poems for Grandma Leona while he served overseas.  During her last couple years of life, Grandma shared these letters and poems with me and asked me to type them up for her.  Some of the letters were getting brittle and I wanted to preserve anything she’d let me.  I marveled at the works she showed me of his hand.  Grandma said Grandpa was always a little self-conscious about his writing, but it was something special to her.

The following is a poem Grandpa wrote during his time in Korea.  I asked Grandma if I could share this on my blog sometime.  She said she thought it would be alright, but I never did post it before she died.  It seems appropriate today.  I plan to include this along with other writings from my family in a book someday.  Seems we’ve all aspired to create through pen and paper, typewriter or keyboard.

God bless you Grandma and Grandpa – I miss you both.

If you wish to share this, please send people here so Grandpa gets proper credit.  Thanks.  And please note, this poem is presented exactly as it was written.  I did not think it right to change anything even though some of the language might be sensitive.

Suffering in Korea

Below the Russian Border
Korea is the spot
Where we are doomed to serve our time
In a land that God forgot

Fighting the mosquitoes
Digging the ground with picks
Doing the work of gooks
And too damned tired to kick

Down with the lizards and snakes
Down where I get blue
Right in the middle of nowhere
Ten thousand miles from you

We freeze we shake we shiver
It’s more than we can stand
But we are not convicts
We are guardians of the land

We are soldiers in the ordinances
Earning our meager pay
Guarding the people of Korea
For two sixty a day

Living with only memories
Just waiting to see our gals
Hoping when we get home
They haven’t married our pals

Nobody knows we are living
Nobody gives a damn
Back home we are soon forgotten
We belong to Uncle Sam

And when we get to heaven
We will hear St. Peter yell
Bring in those guys from Korea
They’ve served their time in HELL.

By: Chester William David Combs

Grandma told me she thought this was written in 1949.  However, it seems the US did not get involved in Korea until 1950 and I believe Grandpa was actually in Japan in 1949.  Or at least officially.  Still, there was something about my grandfather being part of a special group serving in Korea that I don’t have enough information about, nor that Grandpa would talk about.  All I know is he had some part in helping to set up the new government and grandma was presented with a gift from the new Korean …  someone?  I’m not sure.  But grandma had this poem stuffed inside a letter and she still had the gift from Korea.

Copyright, all rights reserved.  Again, if you share this, please do not copy and paste.  Please send people here so Grandpa gets proper credit.  Thanks. 

Let’s not forget our veterans.  Thank and hug a veteran today.

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A Day Of Volunteering For A Steampunk Event – NaBloPoMo

Well, the kids and I volunteered to help out The Robot Group (from Austin) at a steampunk event called Showdown At Unobtainium.  It was a long day and the kids had a blast.  TRG brought out several teckie items for folks to check out, including a spin art exhibit, some electronic musical do-hickeys and a robot that draws pictures on eggs.  Amongst other robots and engines brought.  My kiddos are involved with KidBot, a spin-off from TRG.  And they helped out with the spin art and Lego Mindstorms demos, amongst other things there.  They’ve grown up going with me to shows, so they fit right in without a hitch, talking to people and making everyone at home.  The guys said they really appreciated it.

Along with us in the “Mad Science” section was Austin Hacker Space, The Edge of Imagination Station who brought a very cool stop animation demo and Besser Education who served some very interesting ice cream experiments made with dry ice.  The version of ice cream I tasted was slightly cinnamon with chunks of a variety of hard candies ranging from wintergreen to orange.  Definitely a different experience.

I took tons of photos, acting as unofficial photographer for TRG’s efforts, which I will have to upload tomorrow.  I also met a few interesting people I would like to blog about.

So stay tuned for better details – after some sleep and some morning coffee!  I’m beat and my feet are giving out on me.  Night folks!

Your Age Is Not Relevant – Crochet Ruminations

There are plenty of hobbyists who have crocheted for a very long time when they think of start dates to present.  However, it’s a little tiring when someone like me gets a lecture about crochet from someone, just because they are older.  When I know for a fact they’ve never lived and breathed the art as I, they’ve never explored their skills the same, nor taken the risks I have. And I’m pretty sure if we added hour for hour, effort for effort, my “crochet age” would likely dwarf theirs in a second.

I’m just excited when others are crocheting.  I don’t care if they’re as fanatical about it as I or not.  But I don’t appreciate being talked down to, simply on the basis of age and with nothing to do with skill.

I don’t know why crocheters do this to each other at all.  Painters don’t do this.  They recognize artists wherever they are on the time line.  Potters don’t do this.  At least not in my art circles.  But crocheters (and knitters) will.

Age alone does not equal knowledge and skill.