Searching

I think it is important to find a center and live your life around it. That being said, I have found center points are not that difficult to create, the challenge lies in artfully adjusting the rest of life to conform around your chosen center.

Midlife seems to be a time when all previous life center points scream for readjustment. No longer are children a viable focus, especially since I want them to develop their independence and self-sufficiency. In my situation a career disappeared and in it's place a part time job became the creative adjustment to working around my kids' needs. Now with children grown, I am a different person searching for a new center point and career that will fill the rest of my lifetime with meaningful work.

Remembering who I was before children gives me clues to my interests, but I am not sure looking to the past would be helpful or even relevant now. Midlife seems akin to reentering adolescence, only with a lot more experiential smarts on board. No less frustrating a phase though; I have traveled a bit, volunteered, graduated from community college, increased my environmental consciousness, gardened, crafted and journaled, yet I still cannot figure out a compelling path for my talents...

Walking my dogs and writing seem the most satisfying activities recently, so perhaps these shall be strategic elements in my cosmic toolbox, along with my new year's index card reminder to simplify and create. I have but paper, words, philosophy and my feet to burst forth a new creature! Should be interesting, to say the least.

Philosophical Moment:
Grow roots deep where you are & you shall bloom.
(I've got roots, am working on the flower part!)

Weather on my mind

These last few days have certainly been odd weather-wise, 60's and sunny for January! I live in the Midwest which is famous for its extremely changeable weather but this kind of temperature spike brings global warming into my front yard. The spring bulbs, particularly the hyacinths have started to poke their little green noses through the protective leafy mulch. That would be fine if this could actually be considered a Spring; a day later, today in fact, we have freezing rain. I spent this morning transferring mulch from the compost rings to re-cover these little troopers in hopes of preserving them for actual springtime. I realize my puny efforts are probably in vain, but I hate the thought of another flowerless Spring. A few years back many buds were frosted, resulting in no lilacs and magnolias, nor apples and only a few undamaged daffodils and hyacinths. Mother Nature will have her way though, regardless of any of our human efforts.

Cold and wet as it is outside, I am happy inside working on finishing old projects. This shawl has been in the works for at least a year now and I am probably on my final ball of Boku yarn by Plymouth, color #2. The shawl has false cables with some yarn over lacy accents and was a very satisfying project when I didn't know how to cable knit. The pattern is from Plymouth Yarn Design, the Cabled Shawl #1197. The colors are just the cheery bit of warmth I enjoy, covering my knees as I knit this up.

Tea and hot chocolate drinking have commenced in earnest, as we snug down for a chilly evening.

"More like guidelines really..."

A new year always takes me about a week to get used to...  To get a feel for things to come and a sense of my place in all of it. I stopped doing resolutions years ago because I rarely fulfilled those lofty declarations of intent and then had to resolve, said resolution disappointment. Nowadays, I shoot for annual guidelines as a means to focus my intentions in a certain direction. A few trigger words to carry around on an index card in my wallet this new year are the winning concepts:  simplify and create. Yep, I'm pulling out all the stops and applying both those words to everything I do. My goals are to streamline the messy spots and brighten things up with some colorful ingenuity.

I have been intent on tidying up the yarn stash, mostly by using some of the older yarn in projects. This winter I am quite inspired and seem to be a speedier knitter since my knitting tour of Iceland. It appears that some cosmic knitting juju has been transferred. Anyway, I did some sewing of project bags for yarn and knitting needles, killing two birds with one stone, as this also decreases the fabric stash of fat quarters! I gifted a half dozen bags at Christmas, so this new bag is for me. A newly started hat project will soon be in residence. Week one of simplify and create seems to have been a fledgling success.

Averting the Fiscal Cliff

Well, I guess we didn't plunge over the cliff, but I had been thinking all day about how I could save more pennies just in case. I didn't really come up with any more ideas other than eating our favorite Lentil and Rice dish more often (recipe to follow). We have already implemented some thrifty "reduce, reuse and recycle" ideas:

1.) Tear up an old sheet, tee shirt or some cotton muslin into 6''x6'' squares, then buy the 51 oz. carton of Great Value fabric softener from Wmart  and a spray bottle. Give 4-6 sprays on the fabric square and toss into the clothes dryer, instead of those expensive dryer sheets. It works just as well and the carton of fabric softener lasts at least a year. If the fabric squares get too blue or stiff just run them through the washer with your clothes, then reuse. They last forever or at least until you lose them.

2.)Those net bags around onions & oranges work great as pan scrubbers and don't rust like steel wool pads. I tie them in a knot or scrunch one net bag up inside another for an easier grip.When they wear out, just cut up and toss away guilt free, since they were trash for years until I realized how useful they were.

Lentil and Rice Dish
1c. rice (cooked the usual way)
1/2 c. brown lentils, rinsed. Put in small saucepot with enough water to cover about an inch over them. Simmer 15-20 minutes until soft. Drain off excess water.
*Combine hot rice and lentils. Wonderful additions to this basic recipe are sauteed onions and shrimp or going completely vegetarian using peppers, mushrooms and onions. Creative options abound. We season it on our plates with either Italian salad dressing or soy sauce. Recipe doubles easily for a huge amount.

Finally, I could not resist a thrifty fashion tip for the household pooches. Buy one (Wmart) bandanna for about a dollar and cut it in half for two darling doggie scarves, like those modeled by Emma and Wendy.

Happy New Year!! Hoping that 2013 will be fruitful and fun... The dogs hope for lots of walks.

   

Welcoming the New Year

2012 was a landmark year for me; completing a college degree and traveling to Paris, France and Reykjavik, Iceland being the major highlights, but there were also lots of little decisions that gave direction and significance to my life as well. This New Year's eve I am going to be thankful for the year passed and hopeful for another year of growth, health and strength. As a thoughtful offering for the New Year please enjoy this fascinating sculpture by Iceland's master sculptor, Einar Jonsson. I find it both comforting and joyous, wonderful sentiments to ring in 2013.

Moving Forward

Having endured the foolishness of Mayan calendar "apocalypse" and the real shock of the school shootings in Connecticut, this holiday season has become a more contemplative time for me, reflecting on what is truly valuable. Certainly my loved ones are beneficiaries of more hugs & loving these last few days, as I hold the brevity and fragility of life in a more conscious frame of mind.Our holiday season will be a bit quieter as we all seem to find greater peace and happiness away from the commercial fracas and frenetic schedules of years past. I am truly looking forward to the "Silent Night."

Busy Days and Nights!

2012 is coming to a close and as every year, there are more projects, bills and responsibilities than time allotted in December. To compensate I am carrying around and crossing off "the index card" of errands, gifts, projects and appointments that need my attention before the holidays.

Since knitting has become a distraction of sorts and a craft with gifting potential, I have been working on another cabled hat. This little beauty is coming together pretty well, it is my third attempt at cabling, so I am definitely getting the hang of it. The yarn, Princess, from Classic Elite Yarns is out of my stash, a lovely ocean blue and wonderfully soft to work with; it is definitely close enough to being done  to be considered virtually holiday ready.

Holiday cards come next!