Good Morning Starshine

The earth says hello… 

It’s 7:00 am on a Sunday. What the heck am I doing up? It’s the weekend and my chance to sleep a little later. And I blew it.

I am definitely not a morning person. It’s not that I don’t like morning. I just don’t like to get up. There’s no particular reason. There’s just something about early morning and staying under the warm covers that seems to encourage my best sleep. I’m really a night owl, not caring to go to bed early. I’d much rather stay up until midnight or so then sleep in until I wake up. Unfortunately, like most people nowadays, I have to work and work starts in the morning; extremely early in the morning.

Snooooze

After I’m up it’s not so bad. But not immediately. I need time. I’m not one of those cheerful, full of conversation, smiling morning people. I more resemble Oscar, as in the Grouch, not the hotdog. Talk to me and I may answer with a grunt or something unintelligible. I move slowly and long for caffeine. After a cup of coffee or a Coke even, my blood starts to circulate and I slowly wake up and return to civility.

A long time ago when aerobics was the dance exercise of choice, an early morning class was offered. It sounded great because it would work perfectly with my schedule, allowing me to go to class and then come home and get myself and everyone else ready for the day. The first class came and I was ready. I had worn my sweats to bed so I could sleep a little later so I was set when I woke up. I headed out the door with great anticipation. I arrived to see a bunch of Barbies, decked out with full makeup and color coordinated fashionable exercise attire. What the heck? I quickly moved to the back row to find a fellow teacher, a male, in sweats, bleary eyed, messy hair, like me. After I warned him not to look at me and explained what the consequences would be if he uttered one word about my appearance at school, we began the routine. I was immediately a beat behind and if they went left I was going right. I stayed in that class for about a month until, secretly relieved, I realized early morning exercise was not for me.

Aerobics in the early morning is just a blur...

I still wait until the last minute to get up, pressing the snooze button however many times I can get away with it. I get ready and head out the door for the hour long trek to work. Maneuvering the road I’ve witnessed the sun rise many times. In the winter the sky is pitch black when I leave and the sun may or may not be coming up by the end of the drive. In the spring and summer though, it’s lighter when I leave and I see the sun peeking over the horizon the entire trip. The colors are amazing. Oftentimes the moon is on one side of the road while the sun is on the other.

Holding my phone up in the car. Notice the mirror?

Morning is a great time to reflect and plan the day. For some people that is. Me? I’ll stay up and decide what I’ll wear and what I want to do for the next day the night before. I’ll watch re-runs or a movie without interruption or work on a project. I’ll quietly slide into bed beside the morning person I married. When the alarm goes off I’ll squeeze every minute of time I can at daybreak, staying in bed under the covers before I have to get up and face the day.

Early morning singing song… 

I finished the Sassymetrical! I didn’t have enough of the beautiful handspun yarn but I managed to blend in some different skeins I had, pretty well if I do say so myself, and the average person won’t be able to notice. It’s way too hot to wear it right now, but in a couple of months it will be just right. I’m ready for fall already!

Front of Sassymetrical

Back of Sassymetrical

Up close with pin

The first light color is where I started adding different yarn

I haven’t had much time lately but I did finish an easy read mystery. Surprise! There were a lot of giveaway books at the library where our family reunion was held this summer so I picked some up. They are older, but they were free!

“Caught in the Shadows” is about a computer hacker who, while doing her job, stumbles upon some secrets of her own past. It’s full of twists and turns making you wonder about the true identity of the ‘bad guy’ all the way to the end. I’m reading another, “A Window Over the Sink”, and it’s funny and nostalgic but it hasn’t grabbed me yet. I’ll finish it, because that’s just something I do but it may take a while. And I might squeeze in a couple of others in the meantime.

A lot of good it did me to get up at 7:00 except that I was able to catch up on a couple of shows I like that I’d missed and I got to knit some on my ‘secret’ project. But I’m rested, just like I would have been if I’d just stayed in bed. So all is well. Good morning!

Good morning Starshine. 

So happy to be…

Material Girl

Living in a material world,

And I am a material girl.

You know that we are living in a material world.

And I am a material girl.

Can she make it on time if she pushes snooze again? She doesn’t know but she’s willing to risk it. Already? There’s the radio again. This time she has to get up. As she stumbles out of bed she knows she shouldn’t have pushed snooze. Now she has to hurry.

She rushes to the closet wondering why she didn’t take the time last night to get organized and figure out what she was going to wear. Surely there is a clean pair of black pants in there. She thinks she can never have too many pairs of black pants so she buys them whenever she finds them on sale. Those don’t look too bad. A little wrinkled, but she thinks she can smooth them with a wet rag and the blow dryer. It’s quicker than ironing.

There’s a black tank top. That will work. Black is supposed to make you look slimmer, right? There is no way she’d ever wear something sleeveless at the office. It’s too cold. Besides that those arms are pitiful. Where is that jacket, the blue one, with the black buttons? There. That’s a lot better. She always tries to hide her many imperfections.

Finally, with a to-go cup of coffee, she’s out the door. Where are the keys? She doesn’t need the confusion this morning. Thankfully it’s not too far to work. She sings loud as she drives. And she’s there. And she realizes she should be thankful because she has a job.

What happened to do what you love? That’s what they said in school. But doing what you love is complicated. There are bills to pay. There are shoes to buy. There are things she wants, things she needs, things that take money. She has a life to live and if it has to be done it can at least be done with style. So it’s to work, every day. Or has she settled? Does she just go because she has to exist?

And she dreams. She dreams in color. And she dreams in texture, smooth, bumpy, squishy, soft and fuzzy. And she dreams of warmth. The picture, rows of colored yarn, any color you could ask for. And she thinks if she was doing what she loved, she’d be there, in a comfortable chair, a favorite movie, needles and yarn in hand, creating, designing and knitting.

But she’s a material girl.

Living in a material world.

I’d still rather be knitting than much else. I’m sure it will pass. Maybe I’m just tired. The weekend helped. I didn’t have to do anything. Alan was working so I was by myself. I could do what I wanted. And I did. The Anthroplogie scarf may have hit a snag. I had more than enough yarn according to the pattern, cast on 100 less stitches, and had the same measurements going. But it looks like I won’t have enough to finish it like I wanted. Decisions. Day 283, January 8 is Saturday. Nothing going on at all. I’m excited! Coffee, movie, knitting, movie, maybe getting dressed, maybe not! Just so many choices! I took it easy. I used a turquoise/green wool that I really like. It may go into the Anthropologie scarf if I need it to. Day 284 is Sunday. It’s January 9 and another relaxed day. I’m getting the yarn cabinets ready for yarn. I’ve actually started with the red. It’s all the red and pink I’ve found so far but I have a feeling there’s more. I’ll go into orange and yellow next, which I doubt I have too much of, then on to green, blues and purples. I’ll leave the browns and blacks til last and might put all the ribbon type together. I might keep the dishrag cotton together in one place too. It’s sure going to be interesting seeing what all I have! I choose red, to remember this is where I’ve started. Day 285, January 10, I feel a little like a government agent or something! I’m the eraser, archiving illegal users on a software package we have at work. It’s kind of fun in a convoluted sort of way! I’m not choosing randomly. I have a list. And I also have asked to have the entire campus turned off. I’m waiting for the phone calls to begin! I chose a blue and white wool blend. I just used it for a cowl or infinity scarf. It reminds me of the sky and clouds. January 11, day 286, and I am on overloaded! We have a guest speaker letting us know the changes for the next school year in the dreaded tests the students are forced to take to graduate. It seems as soon as they master something it has to become harder. The presenter used an example of the math he took as a senior in an advanced class being the same his nephew is taking now in 4th grade. So how come there’s so many dumb people out there? Ah, well. I chose purple eyelash yarn. Purple is supposed to mean royalty. That seems to be what the people who decide to rule these kids lives think they are. I won’t start. On a bright note, the lady who created the knitayear project contacted me about possibly using my strips in an exhibit. It would be overseas. It’s an interesting idea. I might participate. Wonder how much it would cost? ;)

Living in a material world.

And I am a material girl,

You know that we are living in a material world.

And I am a material girl…