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.