Saturday, March 24, 2012

Holiday

Before I run far away 
I need to take a holiday.  
Maybe it's a fall from grace, 
I gotta find a new place... 

It was spring break, and because both my husband and I are employed in the field of education, we got a vacation. For the first time, my office actually closed. In the past, I took vacation to be off when my kids were. And for once my husband also had the full week off. Usually, his staff, even though the entire school is closed, is on duty for a few days. This year too, which isn’t always the norm, 80% or so of the state had the same week off for their spring break. The kids are grown and gone but that meant Evan didn’t have to go to school either!

So we loaded the truck, and with a startling resemblance to the Beverly Hillbillies, except for the rocking chair on top, headed out. I know you’re probably thinking I’ve exaggerated when I said we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. But I assure you, I wasn’t kidding! We were already packed, with me and everything else in the back seat, because it was looking a bit rainy and the truck is, well, a truck, so anything outside might get wet, and an extra passenger. All was snug and we hadn’t yet added two car-seats, at least two more suitcases, assorted necessities, like toys, cookies, pillows, blankets, and of course, three littles. We stopped to gather them and finally, with ‘stuff’ piled in every possible place, everyone strapped in, three in front and three in back, we were really off. It was cozy. Let the break (?) begin!

And they loaded up the truck...
The trip to the mountain house in New Mexico, from our house in Texas, is about 300 miles. It takes about six hours and that’s with very few detours. We only stopped to drop our extra passenger off where everybody refreshed and we were on the road again. The littles are fairly good travelers. You learn to be when you live out here in the middle of nowhere.

I’m not sure what time we got to the house but it was snowing. Not just a little, either. It was really snowing. We unloaded and Alan went down the hill for supplies. One thing about the location of the mountain house; if the weather is bad there’s a really big possibility after going down you won’t be able to get back up the mountain. That is, if you can get down! Slipping and sliding, he made it down and back. I put some soup on and we settled in for the night.
Me in the snow

About 7 inches of snow.

What a view!
Pork 'n Bean soup...recipe on Family Flavorites Tab

The snow was beautiful. There was about 7 inches at the house. We made snow ice-cream the next day. The kids were going to make a snowman but it was really too cold! They went out and looked around then came back in for hot chocolate. I found a blanket, a book, and some knitting, and settled in on the couch! I was reading Mary Higgins Clark, “I’ll Walk Alone”. It deals with identity theft and kept me interested from the start until the end. By late afternoon the roads were clear enough to wander around and the temperature was starting to rise.
Reading and knitting...Mary Higgins Clark...one of my favorite authors.
I had a birthday while we were there. Alan made me a cake. He baked it in a 9x9 square pan. I asked if he knew there was a 9x13 pan. I asked if he followed the high altitude directions. I got a blank stare so I guessed he didn’t! He and the kids took me to eat then we came back to the house for cake. I had a little help with the candles!
The birthday cake!

We had a good time, relaxing and just taking it easy. It’s nice to be away from the everyday stress of life!
Where's the snow?

Where the deer and the antelope play...

A new start 
I've broken too many hearts 
And I don't have any clue where to go 
I don't know 
But maybe I'll be back someday after my holiday 

I saw a cool thing on Pinterest. It was weaving on an old CD. I had a bunch so I gathered some yarn and took some CDs and the littles gave it a try. Evan really liked it. Belle could do it too and chanted, “Over, under, over, under” the whole time. Caleb did about two rounds and he was finished. He’d much rather play dinosaurs! But they turned out cute, don’t you think? Oh, and to show how behind I am...they didn't know what a CD was. It's a DVD Mamye!
Evan weaving...over, under, over, under
The little's projects! Here's more creative ideas!

A holiday.
I'll set off on a new chase.
I gotta see a new face.
I need to take a holiday...


Saturday, March 17, 2012

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

As I was walking down the street one day,   
A man came up to me and asked me  
What the time was that was on my watch, yeah,
And I said, 
Does anybody really know what time it is? 
Does anybody really care? 

It’s a strange feeling to not know what time it is. Especially now, with clocks and information everywhere! But that’s what happened. Darn daylight savings time!

It started when the clock in the truck was wrong. Then there was the crossing to another time zone. Add ‘springing forward’ to the list, one time on the microwave, another on the clock on the wall, still another on the cell phone and one more on the clock in town. The satellite TV had another time that didn’t match the cell phone time, which was supposed to be correct but did match the microwave which wasn’t supposed to be correct. Finally, because it was ‘vacation’, I decided it just didn’t matter!

I went to bed when I was tired. I woke up when I woke up. I ate when I was hungry and had enough time to do what I wanted to do. There wasn’t a bedtime or a wake up time. There was no need to be anywhere at a certain time. There were no deadlines. It was nice. Timeless.
Now the clock in the truck is right. The microwave is reset. The clock on the wall caught up. The cell phones are spot on. The satellite is off, but that’s because it originates from another time zone. And the clock is ticking.

Only a few more days and it all begins again. The busy will hit. Go to sleep. Wake up. Hit snooze. Go to sleep again. Wake up. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. Be here. Be there. Be early. No time to say “Hello, Goodbye”. Don’t be late.
http://tattly.com/products/youre-very-very-late
Springing forward doesn’t seem to get me any extra time. It is a little less dark when I leave for work in the morning and it’s definitely still daylight when I come home. But I won’t have the time to do the things I want to do and I won’t take the time to do the things I have to do. I know it’s my fault. I seem to waste time instead of saving time. But it doesn’t really matter. Time goes on, regardless.

And I was walking down the street one day, 
A pretty lady looked at me and said 
Her diamond watch had stopped cold dead … 
And I said, yes I said,
Does anybody really know what time it is? 

I had some extra time this week…well, not really. I should say I took some time this week and read a book or two. Now I can knit in most situations. I can knit under the table. I can knit in the dark. But I can’t knit and read an actual paper book. What I can do is take a bubble bath and read a book. So I did. I took long, glorious bubble baths!
Good book and easy knitting. Lacy cowl in progress. Go to Ginny's blog for more yarn along stories.

Others were either sleeping or busy. It was a nice quiet time. I like ‘easy’ reading when I get to read for fun. I really like mysteries and I don’t know what they’d be called, but ‘chick flick’ books. You know, the kind with happy endings. Most of the time you can make mine fiction.

One book I read was called “The Nosy Neighbor”, by Fern Michaels. It’s about a lawyer who gets tired of defending criminals she knows are guilty. She moves to the suburbs to get away from it all. She has a shady fiancĂ©, but meets her nosy neighbor who saves the day. Easy read and I enjoyed it.

Purple Mobius. To frog or not to frog? See more creative projects!
I did weave another one of those bracelets, neither of which I finished by putting on a clasp or closing to be able to wear. I made a mobius, just a quick easy one, to use some yarn I liked. But I think it’s too long so I may take it apart. Also, I started another cowl, in a lacy pattern, that I’m just winging. Maybe it could be worn besides in the winter. But it’s looking a little long as well. Seems lately I spend a lot of time making something then taking it apart. It’s just another way to use my time.

Does anybody really know what time it is? 
Does anybody really care? 
No I can't imagine why.
We've all got time enough to cry...


Saturday, March 3, 2012

She's A Lady

Well she's all you'd ever want,  
She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner.  
Well she always knows her place. 
She's got style, she's got grace, She's a winner. She's a Lady.  

Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady. 

I was reminded the other day how fortunate I am to have a daughter like mine. A situation came up, a questionable situation, involving the use of a design with no credit to the original designer. She was the designer and saw something from her blog, recreated on the cover of a magazine.

If I saw something I had designed, on the cover of a magazine or anywhere, I’d know they’d probably thought of it themselves. In her case however, it was almost a sure thing that her design had been the inspiration for their cover. She’s very well known in the blogging world, especially in the baking blogging world. There were many similarities in the picture on her blog and the cover picture. In fact, the magazine admitted their error and sent her a formal letter of apology.
Sweet Sugar Belle and the magazine...

Throughout this short lived ordeal, emotions ran high from people on both sides of the issue. The magazine had a Facebook page. Some of Callye’s supporters asked the magazine to credit her for the cover photo. Others attacked like sharks. It was like they were waiting, circling the Internet watching for traces of blood to appear in cyberspace. Callye was the blood. And she hadn’t done a thing.

I don’t know how others see me, but I think of myself as fairly easy going. I try to avoid confrontation. But like most people, I can be pushed only so far before I’ll fight back. For years I watched my mother be walked on like a doormat in various situations. Without even realizing it I vowed I wouldn’t be that way. I wouldn’t let people push me around. As I’ve gotten older, the push limit has become a lot shorter. It still takes a lot but when that last straw has been reached it might get ugly.
Sweet Sugar Belle

I read the comments and the attacks and the accusations towards Callye and I tried to keep calm. I thought it best not to be involved, mainly because I didn’t want anything I did to hurt her or her blogging success. As the day went on and people were ruder, my resolve weakened. Callye, however, didn’t say a word to address any of this. She said, "Mom, the best thing is just to be gracious".

Graciousness is about how you make the people around you feel. Francis Bacon said, “If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world”. It’s important to learn to respond graciously to criticism, especially mean-spirited and angry feedback. Responding in kind is not the solution. It brings no value to the situation and often causes more animosity. It’s tempting, though. It might even make you feel good. But that’s only for a moment. In the end, there’s no winner. Nothing positive is gained.

I’d like to take credit for her graciousness. But I’m afraid she didn’t learn it from me. In fact, the other day when she had a ‘microphone experience’, (another blog post), she said, "Mom, I’m just like you. I said something bad and they heard me". Yes, I wanted to say something bad, especially to the haters bashing my little girl. And I did comment in a couple of places on that Facebook page. But I went back and deleted them. I stayed away until late that night. Then I went back again. One lady had taken it upon herself to personally attack Callye. Another joined in. I replied.
On the Martha Stewart Show

I was rethinking what I’d done and was going back to delete what I’d typed when Callye texted me a little after midnight to let me know the magazine had come through. That was when she received her formal letter of apology, the guarantee of a nice gift and the promise of being featured in a future magazine. Besides that, the mean, spiteful comments were deleted from their page. Mine were attached so they were gone too. Even a magazine can act with grace.

I’m proud of my daughter for so many things. I'm proud of her success. I’m proud of her for not acting like me. I’m proud to be her mother. I’m proud of her for being a lady. I hope someday I can learn to be as gracious as she.

Well she's never in the way 
Always something nice to say, Oh what a blessing. 

Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady. 

I went to a fun class today. They called it paper clip weaving. You don’t really weave on a paper clip but they are incorporated into a loom.
Paperclip loom, warped

Side view of loom

It’s weaving, like normal, but the paperclips make it so that there aren’t a lot of warp threads to weave in at the end. There are some limitations, as in length, but it’s a portable project that looks like it’s going to be fun.
Warped loom ready to weave

This will be a bracelet when it’s done. I’ve only worked on it about an hour and it’s coming along. I’ll post a picture of the finished project soon. If you want to see some finished projects and great ideas, head over to Our Creative Spaces and look around.
The start of a bracelet

I finished the ivory cowl, too. I don’t have plans for it and may end up gifting it.
Plain cowl--ivory yarn with a sparkle
Rolled edges on top and bottom

I saw a t-shirt once that said, “I knit so I won’t kill people”. It struck me as funny but really there’s something to it. It does keep my fingers busy so maybe I can’t type rude things. And if I stick yarn in my mouth maybe I won’t say rude things! One of these days maybe I’ll be a lady.


Well she never asks for very much and I don't refuse her. 
Always treat her with respect, I never would abuse her. 
What she's got is hard to find, and I don't want to lose her.
Yeah yeah. She's a Lady.

Talkin' about that little lady, and the lady is mine.