Some things should just never be changed

Short of sewing on a few jingle bells and attaching the braided loop for hanging them, the three stockings are finished. In my mind, that is finished but that is part of my problem. They really cannot be mailed until they are finished and that means FINISHED. The most difficult part of getting the pictures was finding the digital camera. This is great material for another post but the briefly, we have not been able to find the camera since Family Weekend at Hampshire, but I had a visual that it was sitting in the bottom of one of my knitting projects. Yes, I searched thorougly through 3 bags, and found it in the fourth. Why do I have 4+ knitting bags with projects you ask? Again, that is another post.

I started these 2 weeks ago from yesterday and have been happily obsessed knitting them for my 3 extended family members who do not yet have them. The picture in the center above is one of mine, SHR and Thomas Henry's THR. Grandma Katie knit mine 53 years ago, and THR's was completed this week. I don't have the original pattern, but I do have 4 pieces of paper that guide me through these stockings; 1) another pattern of hers that has all the correct stitches and shaping, but not this exact design 2) graph paper with the Santa pattern, 3) graph paper with the candy cane pattern 4) another stocking pattern that has the correct alphabet for the initials. I also bring out my original stocking when I am knitting one, to make sure I have the exact number of rows. I want it to be as close to the original as possible.

The picture on the right is a close up of Santa showing the angora yarn for his beard. At times in my life I did not have enough money for angora and substituted a synthetic, but not for these ones.

I promise some day to write this pattern down for the next knitter in our family who hopefully in 53 more years will be making one of these for the newest member of the family either by birth, acquaintance or marriage.

I have knit a few stockings using another pattern; Rod's is a Candide pattern with different Christmas patterns, but most of the rest of them are Grandma Katie's pattern because when you have perfection why change it.

So now that I am on a roll, I have one last stocking to finish before Christmas. . . .

So far, so good, coz I have some projects

Ok, so maybe it is a bit early since it is only November 30th, but so far I have been able to stay sane for the holidays. It helps to have a knitting project or two or three.

We had dinner last Friday with family and we got to meet our new nephew. Driving around that day it occured to me that he does not have a Christmas stocking. Ooops, Tara, his Mom, does not have one and neither does Ben, his brother.

The stocking story is that Grandma Katie knit all of the stockings for our generation of cousins. They were all the same; red, green and white with angora yarn for Santa's beard, candy canes and our initials on them. Being the knitter in the family I have assumed that role for a lot of in-laws and nieces and nephews. Some of the sisters-in-law have knit their own.

So I decided last Friday night to try to knit the three for Christmas, Thomas Henry, Tara and Ben. I bought the yarn Saturday afternoon and started on them about 3 nano seconds after I got home. Now, less than a week later I am half way through the stockings. I honestly believe this is the reason for my sanity. It is really good to have a project to work on and one that is an antidote to the Walmarts of the world. Pictures to follow when they are done.

Holidays - here they come

The first Christmas commercial of the year always depresses me. The commercials make me turn 180 degrees from how they want me to respond. Less presents bought, less trips to the Mall. Less material goods, and more tradition.

I love so many things about the holidays. I love seeing family and friends. I love the traditions and routines. BUT, I hate the commercial holiday portrayed on television.

Our Thanksgiving is going to be very low-key, but it will contain the important parts. We will have the pies baked by the Senior High Youth Group. We will have mashed potatoes and other vegetables. We might not have turkey though. We will watch the Macy's parade. We will get out for a nice long walk. And we will be together as a family, and see more family the next day.

I try not to let Hallmark be the measure for whether our holiday is a success. Try is the opearative word.

Collecting my online info in one place

Intuit is fabulous company!

2 weeks ago on a Friday, the company ran an event called Hactivism. Teams of up to 4 people spend the entire day working on a project and presented to a team of judges at the end of the day. We did not win, but we had a lot of fun, great ideas and came up with this problem and solution.

How many social networking sites do you have a login for? I made a list of the sites that I remember I have created a login for. Here is the partial list: Facebook, Eons, Praxo, Linkedin, Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, Yahoo calendar, Tagged, Ziggs etc. I only regularly login to 3 of these. The problem statement for our group was how to combine all of your data from social networking sites, and then how to populate a new one. There are business reasons that require you to have a new one.

We designed that tool on Friday. You could push all of your data from existing sites, into this tool to store. This might be the resevoir for your contacts, or your resume, or list of hobbies or interests. You could populate a new one, by identifying which fields or which records to push to that new site. Has anyone else designed this already?

This idea is very similar to a post I made in May about chargers for electronic devices. Could we just get one generic charger?

My Myers-Briggs type loves to make casseroles of different items, and likes to be efficient. Our tool combines all of that different info in one place. A generic charger . . . not holding my breath for that one!

Back into some kind of routine

Yesterday some of our Saturday sewers got together after quite a few weeks off. I love getting together with this group. It is a modern version of the Sewing Bee. We sew/quilt/knit/mend and gab. We come for comraderie and community. We support each other, we give free advice, we spend 3 hours in our busy lives doing what we love, and not worrying about Saturday chores. We catch up on each others lives. After getting together yesterday, I realize how much I miss the group when we don't get together.

I also went to church today after a few weeks off. We have been away a lot of weekends this fall, doing great stuff, but nevertheless we have missed church. When this happens, and I finally get back to church, I realize how I love the routines in my life. I love the Saturday sewing and I love sitting in a pew on Sunday for that hour with nothing else to do but soak it all in.

Last Sunday we were in the Berkshires and a friend of ours is an interim minister at the Lee UCC church. We went to her service, and it satisfied my need for church. But I also needed to get home to First Parish. I feel plugged back in, I feel reconnected. With no weekends away planned until after Christmas, I am glad to be back into a routine.

Could we please not start with the scalpel?

For a bit of history, whenever a family member in our nuclear unit gets a spelck, splinter, sliver, and we need help getting it out, we go to Rod. We have affectionately started calling it surgery. Rod was a science major at University and has a well used disection kit. Last night when he pulled it out I asked "Are those disinfected?" No answer.

So I had something in my finger that we needed to do some surgery on, the kit came out and as he walked into the room, I said the title of this post. We both started laughing at the same time. That deep belly laugh that you almost don't recover from.

After the use of two sets of different size tweezers, out came the scapel.

I did not let him use it this time.

He is so patient with us as we yank away our hands or feet. More often than not the surgery is successful and sometimes he does use the scapel.

But, I Like the Red Eye

Some call me crazy, but I like the Red Eye coming back from California. I took it last night, got in at 5am, got home by 5:45am, slept for 3 hours and then went to work. I don't even feel that tired right now. A big part of this is that I have been away a huge amount in the last few months and I just really wanted to be home last night, OOPS, this morning. BTW, Jet Blue is a fabulous airline. The seats are comfortable and they give snacks away for FREE; more than pretzels. They also brew Dunkin' Donuts coffee. That alone would make me fly on their airline.

So I was wrong about my next knitting project. I started a very complicated pattern for a scarf years ago. Occasionally, I pick it up, work on it a bit, and put it down because I make mistakes. Last Friday we drove out to Lenox MA for our All Star II chairs meeting and in the dark, I was trying to knit. Yes, I was setting myself up for failure, but at the rest stop where we stopped for dinner, I threw that project away. It was a small project so I did not mind seeing it go into the trash but it felt very freeing. I have never been so impulsive, especially throwing yarn away.

At that point, I had more yarn with me so I started an easier pattern of a scarf for a Christmas present. Can't tell you who it is for, since you may be reading this!!!! I did add some sock yarn to my stash by visiting Colorful Stitches in Lenox. Jitterbug, one pair of socks for me and one for someone else, don't know who yet.

While in Lenox we visited Arrowhead, where Moby Dick was written. New books on my reading list are to reread Moby Dick and to find a good biography of Melville. Our group of All Star chairs have stayed at the Inn at Laurel Lake 3 times now. This time when we turned into the driveway it felt like home. Maybe I have been traveling a bit too much . . .

Let me clarify this Red Eye thing. The Red Eye is good 1) if the plane is not full and 2) you can stretch across 3 seats and try to get some sleep.

Wondering?

Since my last post was August 28th I was wondering whether I would ever blog again.

We are always busy, but the last 6 weeks have been very very very busy.

The Sisters were here from England for the first 2 weeks of September. The first weekend we drove up to Bar Harbor and had a really nice weekend up there with them. Next time we are going to take our bikes and drive on some of the carriage roads there. We did a lot of walking on them with the Sisters.

The last week of September I was in CA for an offsite and then in San Diego CA again the following week for an HR Forum. The following week, another 2 days on Cape Cod for another offsite and this week, 2 days in RI for the NEHRA conference.

As I unpacked my suitcase last night . . . .

I WONDERED, "How did I make it through the last 6 weeks with that kind of schedule?" One foot in front of another foot, one day at a time, because for the most part I really enjoy what I am doing, because I like to be busy, this time of year at work is offsite time.

So since I have been out of town . . .

I WONDER "What dropped that normally would have happened?" There was a shift as I walked into the house last night. I don't have a trip planned for a couple of weeks. This weekend so far has been busy but relaxing at the same time. The dog got walked, THANKS ROD, the mail was retrieved and I am sort of caught up on emails. BUT, I have not sewn at all, and our fridge has next to nothing in it.

Eileen's family had a surprise birthday party for her 50th birthday today. A group of us hung around in the mid 80s. 4 of us were at the party, and of course we had to tell all of the old stories. It was really fun to see all of them.

One big unmet need is that I have not been up to Vermont to see our new nephew, Thomas Henry Russell born September 22nd, named after both grandfathers who have both died. Within the next few weeks, we must get up there.

WONDERING, Thursday night I went to bed before the Sox game was over. I had to be at the conference early the next day, and this was my thinking "If they win, I will be really happy to hear it the next day, and if they lose, I would be really irritated that I had stayed up to watch." I guess I am a fickle fan, but I was really happy when I heard.

SO, I sit watching the 6th game of the ALCS. The Sox are ahead 10-2, I could probably go to sleep right now, but I won't. There is no suspence tonight for this game. They have it wrapped up. Tomorrow night will be another late night for the 7th game.

I am planning my next knitting project. It will probably be one from my new knitting book "Jackets for Work and Play - The best of Knitters".

Glad to be back

She's ready BUT am I?

Thursday we drive Bethany to Hampshire, for her to start her college experience. I think she is really ready to be at college. In the planning, she started buying stuff and packing back in June. This last year she has developed an incredible group of friends and this past week I am sure there have been some tearful goodbyes as the peel off to their various parts of the North East.

I have been saying to people that I am ready, but each time I tear up this week, I realize this is like a grief process. The sadness can overcome you unexpectedly at the weirdest times. Today a friend told me her daughter made the varsity field hockey team as a freshman in High School; I started to tear up. At that point I realized that I need to let myself feel the grief.

The day after we drive her out, and attend our parents' orientation, we return to Logan to pick up Rod's family from England who are visiting for 2 weeks. After I dropped Chris 10 years ago at UVM, I wet with my Mom to her brother's/my uncle's 70th birthday party in Wyoming. It was a nice distraction. Their visit will serve the same purpose. For Labor Day we are driving up to Bar Harbor Maine. Rod and I have never visited there. When his "sisters" are here, we try to take a road trip to somewhere we have never been.

So what have I been doing since I last blogged on August 6th; nursing a torn ACL, knitting (stuff I have to finish, not stuff I am excited to be working on), going to BEL's horse show and watching her ride, working, and waiting for our second bathroom to be worked on and finished. Of course we cut this one close, the sink arrives in the warehouse on Friday, yes the same Friday that Rod's family arrive. We would have planned this better if we were planners, being without a washer and dryer for Bethany's last 3 weeks at home. The other night she and I did 11 loads of laundry, and that was not all of it.

SO here we are in September when the year ramps up around the beginning of school. I am looking forward to getting some quilting done, seeing people from church again after the summer, and yes I am looking forward to being an empty nester, and I think I am mostly ready.

Another ENFP Core Dump

I usually have an idea of what I am going to blog, but not tonight.

Here is the core dump, NELS was wonderful. We had a highly functioning staff and an incredible group of participants. AND I am really glad that this was my last year on staff. We ended with a worship service that allowed us to cry, grieve and leave; thanks to Art and the staff who wil be continuing. The good news is that next summer I will take a real vacation instead of a working one that I have taken for the last 4 summers.

So what am I going to do with my time? Well, there is the jacket that I want to make for Margaret, and my office/study/guest room needs to be used as a guest room at the end of this month, and the normal list of things that keep me busy.

I did not take any knitting with me this week. The staff did not know what to do since one of my signs of stress is that I put my knitting down. They figured out other ways, like it is written all over my face, and body language. I am back knitting "Pretty Comfy Socks" and am on the home stretch with them. I also have a "few" unfinished projects to work on as I listed in a prior post.

My biggest personal learning this week, is on leave taking. Apparently within the therapist community it is widely known that a common coping mechanism is to pick fights with those you love when you are leaving. Mid-week, this was pointed out to me and I really had to hold the mirror up. It is true. In the last month I have found myself picking fights with Bethany. (In checking with her last night, she does not think I have, but I think I have) It was such a gift to have the mirror held up and to recognize this. It allowed me to laugh at myself.

So another thing I am going to do more is read. SOOOOOO, I am close and am off to read "Eat Pray Love"

What is NELS?

For the next week I will be on staff at the North East Leadership School affectionately called NELS. This is my last year in a three year rotation of being on staff and I am excited and a bit sad that this is my last year. We hold it on Cape Cod at the Craigville Conference Center. I attended as a participant in August of 2004, and was asked to be on staff that fall. Days start at 7 am with a worship service before breakfast, and sometimes finish as early as 9:30 pm . It is a long and rewarding week. Participants learn leadership skills and they also participant in a Credo group, where they spend a week with a small group exploring their beliefs and composing them to share in this small group. They also are thrown into the task of putting together a worship service to share with their fellow participants. I have been brought to tears more than once during these lay led worship services.

Each year is different and each year is wonderful. There are 2 places that I go to where I detach from the TV and electronic world, Star Island and NELS. Since this is my last year, I will be looking for a replacement to have next summer,

. . . but to not wish this experience away, I am detaching now from this electronic media to travel to the Cape and enagage one last time in an experience where a staff of 8 put together a powerful learning experience for 28 other Unitarian Universalists from the North East and enable them, if they are willing, to return to their congregations, transformed leaders.

WOW Stunning service recommendations

I have adopted my friend Kris's philosophy of having my services close to where I work or live. Therefore when I got my new job in Waltham I decided to find a mechanic close to work.

At this point all 3 cars are now being services at http://www.bostonmufflerandbrake.com . This morning, after I have been driving around with a message that says "Fill Coolant" I decided to not take any more chances and called them up. They said come right down, I did. They filled the coolant, RIGHT ON THE SPOT. I was there less than 2 minutes. I was stunned. As an aside, at a recent family reunion, over 1/2 of my siblings drive around with the CHECK ENGINE light on. You know who you are!

So I called the place where I am having some t-shirts printed for NELS (North East Leadership School) http://www25.uua.org/nels/ to pick them up. I got them done in Stoneham at Ultimate Design. www.ultimatedesignapparel.com The people are so nice there, I would recommend them to anyone needing t-shirts for an organization or an event.

My dentist for 20 years calls me up the day after a major oral "event" at home that night, to make sure I am feeling OK, http://www.lexingtoncosmeticdentistry.com/Meet-Dentist.html.

And I have gotten my hair cut for 20 years at Salon di Paridiso on Lexington Street in Waltham, inside the Waltham Athletic Club. Bari cuts hair for all 3 of our family members. She knew where Bethany was going to college before we did. You never wait for an appointment, and even at 6 weeks, you might not need a hair cut yet. It lasts that long, and she is a really nice person. Kris, who this blog started with now gets her hair cut there.

So, with all of the bad customer service in this world, I wanted to highlight some good service. Tell them Sally sent you . . .

Endings and Change

I had dinner last night with my friend Karen. As an aside she talked about some astrology. We are both Geminis, and apparently this year, or next year (details!) is a year of transitions and change for me. OK, I get it. Take this with a grain of salt, but it certainly sparked my neurons to fire about all of the endings I have had already this year and some terrific changes.

So here is the unpunctuated and unedited list of endings: high school parent and LHS email list NELS staff position band and orchestra concerts BEL presence around the house perfect attendance at ASII

And changes: consulting to Intuit movement to VT of sibling(s) only 2 weeks vacation Great Place to Work amount of golf played yoga

Yoga, Knitting and Meditation

In my yoga class this morning, when the teacher says "Clear your mind of any thoughts and just focus on your breath." this is next to impossible for me to do. I cannot stop thoughts from coming into my head. I can do this for maybe 10 seconds, but then another neuron fires and my ENFP mind follows that thought. I try, really I try. The same thing happens to me when I meditate. CLEAR YOUR MIND OF ALL THOUGHTS. How do you do that? So this is a continuum right, from a gazillion thoughts in your head to a few. I cannot have NO thoughts going through my head.

In fact as I sat there in yoga, or lied or stood there in yoga, I compiled the to-do list of what was concerning me for the retreat that I am about to leave for. I problem solved a couple of things I was worried about and came up with some pretty good ideas if I do say so myself.

During a check-in with one of my groups, I described knitting as my meditation. It is what calms me, gets me to focus and removes those distracting thoughts from my head. It calms my Adult ADD if that is what I have. It lets me really listen to people. In college, my friend Rachel and I knit through all of our Psychology classes. We asked each professor and only one said NO. It was pretty funny to see us focusing on the Professor at the podium and to see many of the rest of the amphitheater, watching us knit.

So when you see someone knitting during a meeting, or in a group, don't assume that they are checked-out. In fact they may be like me and more checked-in than they would be otherwise. So I leave to go be present at my retreat, with my knitting. I once said in this same group to worry about me when I lay down my knitting. That is a clear signal that I am in distress, and enough distress such that I am not able to be calmed by my knitting.

Happy Friday the 13th and Triggers

The only 2 bad things that have happened to me on Friday the 13th are 1) I ran into my parents garage, backing out, just after I got my license and 2) Rod was turned back by INS at Terminal E when he was in the visa process, due to an incompetent labor lawyer. So the day rolls around and I think about what might happen but I am not really that superstitious about it.

Now on to triggers. At work we talk about triggers a lot. A trigger is any behavior by some one else that causes a reaction in you, such that you are not really in control of your emotional response. That is not exactly the definition, because I don't do exact definitions but it is close. So "What are my triggers?" The most obvious one is when someone acts like a victim, woe is me, they are doing this to me etc. I feel my blood pressure rise, I tense up, I interrupt the person and try to get them to act less like a victim and take charge. Additional insight for me over the years, is that I am triggered by something that I am afraid of exhibiting in myself, so in reality I act like a victim at times and I don't like it when I act like that.

The key to triggers is figure out what they are, catch yourself early in the reaction stage, and try to not react. I have other triggers too, surprise, surprise. Any observations on what they might be?

Settling in with Settlers

Summer is time to play games. Growing up we spent summers on Gardiner Island on Lake Champlain. I have so many wonderful memories of playing board games on the screend in porch at the Island and hours and hours of card games. I am not sure how we fit all of this in, since I remember swimming right after breakfast, until lunch, wait 1 hour after eating, jump in again, get out for dinner, and sometimes swim after dinner. BUT, we did find time to play games, "Go to the Head of the Class", of course "Monopoly" and "Parcheesi" etc. I learned how to play Bridge at the elbow of my parents and grand parents and I only trumped my partners Ace once. So our family played lots of games and it is always a surprise to me to meet someone who does not like games often because they did not grow up with them.

Fast Forward to Christmas, 2006, Crick and Meg introduced us to Settlers of Catan. They did not have their own game yet, but their friends Augie and Meredith brought their game over and we played. We played again with them after that and at Kenneth's 40th birthday party there was an intense game of the cousins.

It was one of those impulse buys, I just had to have my own set. On July 3rd we stayed up until 1:30am playing and tonight we just finished a game. Yes, my husband who refuses most offers to play games, and prefers to dive into a book on the periphery of the room wanted to play a second game tonight. We have settled into playing this game. I am trying to figure out how we could play it in Gloucester with 75 of our Star friends at a Star gathering. I don't think there is the table space and there would be too many distractions, so we will leave the game here but maybe a late Sunday night game is in order as we await the 50th birthday of my husband.

You will come back, You will come back, You will come back

For the last few weeks, I have been knitting a lot and on a lot of projects. I think I have 4 active, unfinished projects for a variety of reasons. I have been knitting the alpaca sweater for a few months making lots of progress. Unfortunately the sleeves are waaaaaay too wide so I am going to have to stitch and cut them. I started a Baby Surprise jacket from Noro yarn that I bought at Wolcott in Cambridge. I am knitting a Star dish cloth thanks to Jessica's pattern and I started a pair of socks.

Last week, as a I contemplated all of my unfinished projects, I planned to pack them all to take to Star Island and finish them. Metaphorically, Star is a place where I can gather all of the loose ends of my life. It is so simple out there, that there is space to grow, and think and play and finish projects that would not get finished otherwise. This plan to finish 4 projects seemed like a good plan and then . . . . We hear from the All Star II chairs that the fire marshal has shut down Star Island.

WHAT?????? We have gone to Star since 1994 and not missed a year. A myriad of emotions have occupied my last 72 hours. And I guess those unfinished knitting projects will get finished sometime, just not on Star, unless it is next year. We will go back, we will go back, we will go back.

Who is Father's Day for?

Father's Day is always bittersweet for me since my Dad is dead. I started to say, he is no longer around and I could have said "He has passed." He is dead.

As I drove around today listening to the sermon that I missed on Sunday part of the content was about fathers. I remember a candle lit one Fathers Day by someone who has been estranged from her father. It really brought the reality of some of the Hallmark holidays into the light for me. It got me thinking about the bittersweetness of this holiday and Mother's Day as well. What about those who are having trouble conceiving? What about those who lost a parent this year and this is their first year solo? Yes, yes, it helps with grieving.

I rarely buy cards ahead of time, but the year my Dad died I bought a card that I never had a chance to give to him. I keep it in my pile of cards and not surprisingly, it never is appropriate for birthday, or graduation, or new job. Why don't I just throw it away? It reminds me of him and of the bittersweetness of this holiday for me.

So Pollyanna shows up to write the rest of this blog and I realize that the card allows me to stop and think of him and I appreciate again how much he really is around. He is in me in how I think and look, and some of my brothers have adopted his mannerisms. Songs that were his favorites, are our favorites. I still stop occasionally and read through the condolence cards that I got from a variety of friends and relatives after he died.

So maybe once a year, to wander the Hallmark aisle and chose a card for Rod but not Dad is tolerable, and maybe it is part of the grief process.

The Hamster Wheel did not break

From previous blogs you know that we had a very busy last 3 weeks. Several times during check-in of various groups that I belong to, I described my mindset as "On a hamster wheel, running as fast as I can and hoping that the wheel does not break or that I did not fall off of it!" The tenses in that last sentence are probably all wrong . . . oh well, I am not going to go back and try to figure them out.

BEL's graduation party last night was perfect. Our friend Debbie offered catering at our annual church auction last November and we bought it specifically for this occasion. Because of her genorosity I was able to not worry at all about the food and could talk to the guests and appreciate the moment. The party was a wonderful combination of Church Youth Advisors who have supported her through middle and high school, her youth group, her riding friends and families and her high school friends. Along one wall was her "art" which we have been collecting since early on, in the window was an almost life size picture of her on Autumn (we couldn't have him at the party) and BEL created a slide show of pics. There was way too much of the fabulous food and we are taking it to a huge potluck tonight.

As I drove and walked around today I realized how I have not been able to relax for about a month. I have not accessed my creativity or allowed my mind to wander as much as I usually do. I have been focused on making sure that the family unit moves through all of the events of the past month. I am sure some balls dropped, but they were not the big breakable balls.

I can now take back the fabric from Margaret, so I can start her jacket and write the letter to the Junior Teens for Star Island and call people who have left voice mails over the last month that I unfortunately ignored.

Life is a cycle of busyness and relaxation and the balance has been awful this past month, BUT the wheel did not break and I did not collapse and fall off of it.

June is a Whirlwind already and it is the 9th

This time of year for most of us is a very busy time and this year is particularly busy for our family. So far in June we have :

1) Attended Clare and Graeme's wedding in Newcastle
2) Attended brother Ken's graduation from Kennedy school
3) Celebrated my birthday
4) Entertained brother George and sister-in-law Judy visiting from Chicago for the graduations
5) Helped cook for Bethany's graduation party next Friday
6) Bethany attended the Senior prom and we opened our house to an after prom party
7) Tomorrow we celebrate Bethany's graduation with Crick and Meg, George and Judy, and Ken and Tara

etc, etc, etc and on top of our normal busy lives . . .

I know that the year has cycles of beginnings and endings, dark and light, in New England hot, warm and cold but it seems that we could even out a the activities in June. I guess most of these events listed above are around the school year.

It is with a bit of sadness that I think about unsubscribing from the electronic email list at LHS. I thought of continuing as a voyeur for a bit, but the fact that there are holidays for the school in September and that school starts before Labor Day mean next to nothing to me. Tomorrow marks an incredible milestone in our family as Bethany graduates and we will no longer be connected as parents to the school system, formally. I have been connected as a parent to a school system since 1984, when Crick was a 1st grader.

So, will next June be less of a whirlwind for us?

Mini Cooper looks big in UK

Having just returned from our whirlwind trip to Newcastle for our nephew's wedding it was not very encouraging that a Mini Cooper over there looks like a BIG car. On top of that they pay 3 times what we do for petrol. I remember the gas crisis of the 1970s and for a period of time smaller cars were manufactured. When did SUVs become so popular and why? At the wedding there was a Land Rover but it looked so out of place among the smaller cars.

The wedding was at Lumley Castle in Chester-le-Street, near Durham. This was our second visit to Lumley. Rod surprised me with a night there early in our relationship, actually on my first visit to Newcastle. It is wonderful to imagine what life was like when the castle was built. It is a perfect setting for a wedding.

The last time I stayed at the castle, I was not an addict of golf and did not even notice that a few holes are wrapped around the castle property. Next time, I am bringing the clubs along. I think I can fit them into my sister-in-law's tiny car, although her suitcase for the one night stay, did not fit in the boot.

Knitting update: Lots of progress during the trip on my maroon cardigan in seed stitch. I think the sleeve is going to be too wide, so I may have to stitch and cut it. I am knitting the sleeve in the round. It just might be OK and after all of this work, there is no way I am going to rip it out.

TOO many devices

VENTING ALERT

As I pack for our trip to Newcastle for our nephew's wedding I realize how many electronic gadgets I have that need power and recharging capabilities. Somebody I hope has the solution for me. Leave in the comments section . . .

At last count I have: personal mobile (don't want to use work mobile for personal calls), work blackberry, digital camera, iPOD, palm (I have not yet converted by old palm over to me new device) X 2 of us traveling.

So, could we have one recharger for all of them, or reduce the number of devices? The iphone I am sure would solve part of this.

And then the alternative is to unplug, detach, and take pictures with my eyes . . .

Remember, this is her jacket

The pilgrimage to Portsmouth was wonderful. Margaret chose some very wonderful fabrics, that are perfect for her. Of course, they are not the ones I would have chosen, but as Amy kept gently reminding me, "This is her jacket!" After I ignored Amy the first few times, she had to be a bit more forceful in her wonderfully honest way. I won't have time to start the jacket until the middle of June but I have promised it to Margaret in late summer. She has custody of the fabric until I can start the jacket. Fellow quilters and knitters will know how important it is to have your fabric and yarn around to touch and drool over.

Memorial Day we have gone with our church a few times to Ferry Beach in Saco Maine. We are headed there today after the Pops concert at the High School. It is sad and happy to be a part of the "last" events for Bethany. Last x-block, last Pops concert, last week of school. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend at the beach with church friends. First tee times of the season are Sunday morning at the Biddeford-Saco Golf Course, YAHOOOO !

A Mandala - "Oh Freedom"

I loaded some Pete Seeger onto my ipod over the weekend and being the compulsive person that I am, this is all I have been listening to on my frequent long walks and at work. The song that really stands out is "Oh Freedom". Inspired by this song, I drew a mandala last night with the same title. Freedom really is so hard to obtain, sustain and maintain and it is so elusive. I think this recording was done during the civil rights protests of the 60s. It seems that we have made a lot of progress, but is this progress also elusive and can we sustain it?

(Pictures to follow of this some of the this and some of the other mandalas that I have completed).

Our Assistant Minister taught a mandala class this winter. I have wanted to do some visual journaling for a long time; I bought a book which explains a metholology of visual journaling about 10 years ago intending to start. I assembled the art supplies, and bought the big blank sketch book, but it was always too daunting to start. Plus, the space that I had put aside for the journaling supplies, was always covered with fabric, yarn and little pieces of paper to be filed. I cleaned it off yesterday and did my first mandala in this space.

Having the circle as a boundary to contain my drawing helped get me over the hurdle of a blank sheet of paper. I am sure I was breaking all kinds of "mandala rules" as I sat in my sewing room last night, listening to Pete Seeger while I drew, but it worked for me.

When Rod and Bethany were headed to New Orleans for February vacation, we had sung "Oh Freedom" during the worship service and I was wandering around the sanctuary during a pre-New Orleans meeting humming it. It was purely freudian that I happened to be hung up on that song, in anticipation of having them gone for 5 days. It took our mininster pointing out that I was humming this tune for me to realize what I was doing. Those of you who know we well, know that 5 days of being alone is not something that I would normally be looking forward to, so why was I humming the song . . .

Oh Freedom!

Grocery store shopping? every aisle or wander?

As promised, pictures of my new Slouch socks from the "Socks, Socks, Socks" edited by Elaine Rowley. These are made from Jitterbug by Colinette .

So the pilgrimage to Portsmouth starts in a few minutes and I have no idea what I want to buy in the way of fabric. I was browsing two quilting magazines that Amy lent to me, and there is a very cool pattern that I am thinking of making for the All Star II art auction this year, out of STAR fabrics of course. But, I may get there and in true ENFP fashion be distracted by another project, and completely forget what I was looking for.

Do you go up and down every aisle in the grocery store?

I go to the store, and usually if I made a list it is sitting on my kitchen counter, but the fact that I wrote it down in the first place gives me a 50% chance that I will remember it at the store. I meander, not in any order of aisles, and hope that the things that end of in the bag will 1) feed us for a couple of days 2) be compatible to go together into a meal that 2/3 of us will eat 3) are essentials like milk and bread, and that we don't already have 3 identical items in the fridge already.

Just another peek into my random mind. I think in mind maps, not linear at all. Future posts will include a mind map of my trip to a the grocery store, if I remember and don't get distracted by something else . . . look a bird outside on the window sill . . .

TGIF, but "I don't feel like I am going to work!"

Yes, I love Fridays, and with my new job I love Sat-Thur as well.

I love Friday because of all of the potential play time on the weekend.

UPDATES:

Knitting: finished the blue pair of socks for myself, and will get the promised pic loaded this weekend. Last night while watching John Stewart I started a pair of Breast Cancer survivor socks. I have knit this pattern 5 times before in different pink yarns. This time I am knitting them in a verigated Socka yarn; PINK of course. This pair is for Nancy who bought them at a service auction. I offered a pair of socks every month for a year, and this is pair 4. People say I am crazy but I love to knit socks, HMMMMMMM I love to knit anything.

Weekend Plans: Small group potluck tonight, yoga tomorrow morning with Amy, Pilgrimage to Portsmouth Fabric Company with Amy and Margaret (recepient of next sister-in-law quilted jacket), birthday party Saturday night, sunday school with 15, 6-10 year olds - teaching them about composting and poop as part of our Green Sanctuary initiative, read Sunday paper . . . crash and burn 10:30 ish pm and then the week starts again.

I used to hate Sunday nights, because Monday morning meant work started all over again but with my new job, "I don't feel like I am going to work!" so every night is a Friday night for me.

OK back to "work" or as Mom asked when I said "I don't feel like I am going to work!", "Are you going to PLAY then?". Yes, it seems that all parts of my life have become much more intergated in the last 4 months. I talk about leadership and human development during the day and at nights and on the weekends. My mind never stops thinking about my passions.

OK, now really back to "WORK/PLAY"

Sisters Sharing

I NEVER forward chain letters but this is the second time I have done one of these and I shared it with all of my "sisters". My friend Kris sent this on to me.

Directions! Now, Here Is What You Are Supposed To Do...And Please Do Not Spoil The Fun! Hit Forward, Delete My Answers And Type In Your Answers. Then Send This To A Whole Bunch Of People That You Know...And Send It Back To Me So I Can See Your Answers, The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know. Remember To Send It Back! 1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Named after 6 generations of Sarahs
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 5/12 listening to a church service that I missed of our youth reciting their credos in their annual Coming of Age service
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? yes, when I can read it
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? salami
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 1 Boy & 1 Girl
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yes
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No, because I believe that behind every joke or sarcasm is some truth
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS no
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Never
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Granola
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Occasionally, if they are tough to get off
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Anything with coffee in it from Ben and Jerry's
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Approachability
15. RED OR PINK? Pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I interupt
17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Friendliness
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Joe and My Dad
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? YES
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Tan kakis and a light orange shirt
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Yogurt, protein powder and granola
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Favorites playlist on my ipod
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Cyan
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Lily of the valley
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to sort out a stupid error on their part
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Love her
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Golf and ice skating
27. HAIR COLOR? Brown with 3 grays
28. EYE COLOR? Blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Pork tamale pie
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings and love stories
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Lives of Others
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? light orange
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter, Colorado and Vermont winters
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs heart felt hugs
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pecan pie
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Clueless
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Don't want to hurt any feelings so cannot answer
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Wordplay
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Intuit Women's Network
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Desparate Housewives
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Family reunions
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Germany
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Building community
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Denver Colorado
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? All of them

Mormons and the spiritual journey

At my women's group meeting tonight our topic was "new beginnings" and somehow we got on the subject of the PBS show on Mormons. Before we knew it, the meeting was up and we had a very interesting discussion on other religions, including the Shakers.

The wonderful aspect of being a Unitarian Universalist is that we are on a spiritual journey and part of our spirituality is creating our own theology. The bad part, is that no one tells us what to believe and there is so much uncertainty. However, we can draw from so many sources and there are so many. On the way home from my meeting, the stars overhead and the coyote at the end of the street were just 2 sparks of inspiration for my journey.

Why ask why?

First post. YAHOO! I have been thinking about starting a blog for a long time. The title of my blog comes from my oldest brother. Apparently as a child I was always asking why. Even more than the normal young child. When my daughter was the same age, my brother said "Sally, your daughter asks why as much as you did at her age." My response was, "I wonder why she does that?" A few minutes of silence and then I burst out laughing as I realized what I had said.

So, what have I been knitting lately you ask? Socks, socks and more socks. I found a beautiful yarn from Colinette called JitterBug. I knit Amy a pair of pink socks from this yarn, and I am knitting myself a blue pair. The wonderful part of these socks, is that the back of the label is a pattern for socks. Pics to follow. I did knit myself a top down raglan in the middle of all of these socks. Oh and we have another sock knitter in the family; my sister-in-law Judy. While visiting her last week, we found a wonderful yarn store in down town Chicago. Judy and I are really good shoppers together and usually it is in a yarn store.