Not Enough…

There’s not enough of me! I don’t mean size wise. There isn’t enough of me to do all the things that I want to do. Most people make a bucket list of things they want to do and places they want to go and see, etc. My bucket list is things I want to make before my hands are too arthritic to quilt or knit and I’m too blind to thread a needle! I want to be able to crochet all the dragons I have yarn picked out and stashed for. I want to get better with double ended knitting needles so I can be a knitting ninja and have a whole shelf of teddy bears. I want to finish the Americana quilt that I’ve been hand quilting off and on.

My bucket list is filled with projects. The problem is this…(I’ll tell you but you have to promise to keep and open mind and not laugh.)…I spent 16 years in a dry, southwestern climate; then I moved to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The land of hills and humidity. Don’t get me wrong, It’s beautiful here. The problem I estimate is that my body has aged approx. 8-10 years in the 5 years I have been in Pa. “Why?” do you ask. I got used to the dry climate, which is the best place to be if you have arthritis or a lot of joint pain. Pennsylvannia has a LOT of humidity and I’ve given up on ever finding a straight level stretch of road in the county I live in. It doesn’t exist. That means there is either hills or stairs to climb every where you go. (Sooo not good for the knees.)

The older I get, the faster I age. I know that statement may sound stupid, but it’s the truth in my case.   I may act like a 48 yr old dork with a twisted sense of humor, and I’ve forgotten more of my talents then I can remember, but I don’t look 48. In spite of not stooping to plucking the grey hairs yet, I look like I’m in my late 50’s. (The only thing saving me from looking even older is the hair.) I’ve come to realize this year that my years left to complete my bucket list of projects is dwindling faster and faster. I need to start taking my bucket list seriously if I am to complete it.

That’s why there’s not enough! Not enough of me to go to work, catch up the laundry and the house work, and work on my projects, etc. I tend to be multi-talented. They take advantage of that at work and have me cross trained for several teams so that I can take calls for 8 different lines. (My record so far is 7 lines at once.) Now there’s a possibility of multiple clients on those lines so I never get two calls in a row of the same. The same is also true of my crafting abilities. If I’m on a website such as Pinterest, I just usually put “Too many to list” in my profile. Some crafts I literately don’t have time for although I do enjoy them. Others I have simple given up doing any more and have moved on to other talents. (I’ll post an example later on.) But I digress.

Not enough of me to go around. To work on my bucket list and still keep up on everything else. Not enough hours in the day. Not enough days in my weekend. There’s just not enough. So this year I have decided desperately to have a little faith and believe in some old fashioned magic. I’m going to write to the big man himself. I’m going to ask for 6 clones of me. By my estimate, that should be enough to keep the household and work in order and up to date and still give me extras for catching up on sleep and to assist with the crafting. Yep. Six should just about do it. I figure if f St. Nicholas can’t help me, no one can!

So wish me luck. I’m off to write my first draft on my all important letter….

Oh, and have a fabulous day!

Retired crafts

Prolific counted cross stitcher

Renaissance clothing maker

Plastic canvas stitcher

Thimble collector

Household sewing

Current crafts

Knitter

Crocheter

Machine piecing-hand quilter

Wool crafter (penny rugs)

Amateur writer of stories and poetry

Dragon and teddy bear collector

Sewing projects in general

And the list goes on…..

Food for Thought….

I did something tonight that I don’t do but once in a rare while. To pass the time during a rare slow stretch at work, I shared with a dear friend a little bit about the last 20 yrs of my life and how I came to be where I am here in western Pa. I very rarely share any of that information with anyone. Not all of it is things I’m proud of and it includes hurts as well as triumphs and a testimonial or two of survival.

Usually when I tell a story about something that happens in my day to day world, I do it in such a way to may people smile or even laugh, as I will come off as a bit of a dork. I have a love/hate relationship with Murphy’s Law. I hate the way Murphy loves me. Murphy’s Law has an uncanny way of showing up in my life regularly. Tonight, however, I did more than that. I spoke of the downs and as well as the ups. At times my listener gasped in surprise and at other times I had her and any one else, within hearing distance, chuckling.

As we called it a night and walked out to our respective vehicles, she said “With all you’ve done and been thru, you should write a book.” My first thought was “Nah, I can’t even write a blog.” Instead I laughed, and said “Knowing my luck, no one would read it.” I told her I have a roof over my head, a place to call home even if only temporarily, a job that doesn’t pay enough to live off of, and a clunker of a car that I pray over daily to help keep repairs to a minimum. I consider myself blessed. Next week makes it two years I’ve been living by myself, (a record for me) and it will be 5 years I’ve lived in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

With that anniversary coming up, it has brought some of the events of the past back to the surface of my memories. Yes, I know I’ve done and experienced a lot more in life than some, but I also know there are numerous people in the world that have done far more. I guess what makes my experiences different is the way I looked at them and how I reacted to them. Would anyone care to read about them? Only time will tell. I have much to think about this week….

DPN or Burning The Candle At Both Ends

For those that don’t know, “DPN” stands for “double pointed needles”. (Imagine bamboo shish kebob skewers that are pointy at both ends.) People knit with them. How they think that is easier than single ended knitting needles or even crocheting, I’m not sure. It’s been a mystery to me for quite some time.

Being the adventurous type when it comes to trying new tools or making my own designs as I go, I decided to try “The Bear That Saved Me” pattern from “Mad Man Knitting” blogger Gregory Patrick. I’ve made many critters and gifts for friends and friends of friends via crocheting, so I thought it can’t be that hard and I’d give it a whirl, especially since teddy bears are top of my list right after dragons, and I felt I could use a new little friend to keep me company.

I understand the theory. Caste on # of stitches and then divide them between 3, yes, three double pointed needles, so that basically you have a tripod frame for your stitches. You then take a 4th needle and use that to knit the stitches off of each of the 3 needles in the tripod. Of course knitting basically transfers the stitches from one needle to the other while adding a row of stitches. Once the one in your left hand is empty, you put that needle in your right hand and move onto to the next side of the tripod. Sounds simple? It’s not nearly that easy and although I have 20 some rows done, I can’t seem to find a rhythm to it yet.

It’s a lot like making a list of your weekend schedule. It looks easy and well organized and you think  “No problem. I can get this accomplished and still have time left over.” Then when put into practice you find you don’t have nearly enough hours in the weekend and you don’t even come close to getting everything done. They are quite similar. I can crochet a critter in a few days if I’m not working any on anything else and that’s including going to work. But DPN’s? Oh heck no!! Not easy to do and a lot more counting, so a lot more being focused on what you are doing. It’s not even in the same ballpark on the ratio of how experienced you need to be to get this done!

So I work on a row or two at a time before I call it a night, if I can keep my eyes open that long. I couldn’t afford to have Gregory make  me one. (I splurged just to buy the yarn, needles, & pattern.) It’s just me these days to make ends meet, so I’m determined to learn to use DPN’s, even if it requires burning the candle at both ends to try to find that little bit of focus time to complete the next row. I’ll never be a pro football player, but I understand the game. So it is with DPN’s. I’ll never be a knitting needle ninja, but I’m going to finish my bear, even if it’s one row at a time each night, before I head off to the land of Nod….

Blogging? What Ever Would I Say?

 

I just gave myself a blister sweeping the floors in the place I call home these days? (Last week’s blister was from yard work.) Nah. Nobody wants to hear that. I cope the best I can and do what needs to be done. Home doesn’t clean itself. Where’s Dr. Seuss when you need him?

I used to write fairly regularly, back in the days of My Space. But those days we all had our little cliques of writers, and we didn’t have to worry if it was G-rated or Adults only. Now a days, I don’t dare cuss if I can’t find some special symbols! I know I’ve bottled up way too much for way too long. The words no longer flow as they used to. Perhaps that is what has drawn me to here. Not just to read other blogs, but to let out some of the madness that accumulates from dealing with the daily social insanity.

My sense of humor is what saves me from the insanity. It has a terrible habit of popping up with the worst timing. My day isn’t usually complete if I haven’t put a smile on a coworker’s face some where thru out the day. Whether I’m being a dork or mischievous doesn’t bother me. It’s the kindnesses and happiness I have given others, that will be remembered long after I am gone. It’s my legacy, so to speak. That and the things I create.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not all sunshine. I have my dark moments like any one else. For Heaven’s sake, I’m three quarters Irish, with a serious dose of Swedish thrown in, and I have a friend who swears I am part Elf. Yes, I said “ELF”, but that’s a blog for another day. *smiles*