All Dressed Up

It was the culmination of a week filled with a new hair cut, endless shopping for just the right dress, trying on shoes, packing, planning, manicures, pedicures and, finally, we were ready for our night out.  We were going to the ballet. 


I love having a niece, especially one who likes doing the same kinds of things I like to do.  Audrey is 17, smart, funny - she inherited her dad's dry wit, and best of all, she likes hanging out with her aunt. 


I have to say that I think I was the kid that night.  We saw Sleeping Beauty at Bass Hall in Ft. Worth.  The hall is an intimate environment and so beautiful.  We were sitting so close we could see the expressions on the dancer's faces and could also "see them sweat."  As the lights slowly came up the dancers and scenery slowly became visible through, what had looked like a curtain but was actually a translucent veil.  As this veil rose, the stage came to life as the characters began telling the story of the newborn princess who, at 16, would fall victim to a curse causing her to sleep for 100 years.  The kiss of a certain prince is the only thing that could awaken her. 


As all this was happening, I found myself sitting with a silly grin on my face, and I think I might have even let my mouth drop open.  The good news is I caught myself before the drool started to flow - count me thankful for the little things.

Reprints

I have moved these posts from my website.  I want to keep this blog for personal posts and the other site will be strictly professional.  There you will find my all my fiber information, crochet work, classes, and general information.   I love to write and this will be my creative outlet for writing about...well, about anything that captures my fancy.  Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a thing!

Cold Winds and Other Facts of Coastal Life 
Originally published on March 28, 2010
Despite all the modern technology available to me, checking the weather in my chosen destination is always an afterthought.  Where's my Girl Scout training when I need it?  Where is common sense?  I packed short sleeves, sandals, cropped pants and one flimsy sweater.  I own a yarn shop, for goodness sakes; sweaters abound in my closet.  Socks?  I have color coordinated socks for all possible ensembles, but did they find their way here?   Nope.

I have made the best of the situation.  Thanks to my romantic nature and years of watching television commercials, I have always loved the idea of sitting outside on a cold day, bundled up in a blanket, sipping a cup of coffee.  So, here  I am on the porch of my seaside cottage, covered with a colorful quilt, enjoying that cup of coffee, while recording this latest adventure.

Nothing profound is running through my mind this morning.  I am relaxed and have let the cares of the real world slip into oblivion. 

I miss Cleo.  People walk their dogs on the beach and along the coast road.  Cleo would love it here.  As I consider the upcoming phases of my life I struggle with the issue of pets.  Both Cleo and Munchkin are getting on in years.  I dread the day when one of them dies leaving the other alone.  They truly are our Garfield and Odie.  Due to my desire to travel, I have been hesitant about getting another dog.  It just takes more effort to make arrangements for a dog than for a cat.  Then the issue of, will we really travel or is it just a fantasy?  I fantasize a lot - which comes to no surprise to those who know me well.  I live in a pretend, "I wish this were my life" world so much that I think I miss the here and now of my real life.

But, once again, I digress. 

I have always had a dog and cannot imagine life without the love and entertainment they bring.  With the exception of our lab, Sadie, we have had strays.  My husband swears that I have a homing device understood only by helpless dogs and cats looking for a warm place to sleep and plenty of love.  I choose to think that the animals I have brought home are the ones meant for us to own.  Rationalization again?  Probably, but that is my story and I am sticking to it.

The romance is wearing off; I can't feel my toes.  The view of the bay will be quite lovely from the couch, inside the cottage.  


Restoration Of The Soul 
Originally published on March 27, 2010

There is a gentle breeze flowing up from the waters of Little Bay.  The sounds of gulls and other sea birds mix with the mockingbirds constant chatter making even the drone of cars moving along Fulton Beach Road bearable. 
I don't believe in reincarnation - God put me here at this particular time and for a particular purpose and when that is done I will return to Him - if there were such a thing, however, could I please be a bird?  Birds, to me, represent ultimate freedom.  They just pick up and go where they want to go; people are fascinated by them, in fact there is an entire industry devoted to watching birds.  I want to be a bird.  But not just any bird.  You see, I am not a preditor by nature.  I admire hawks, owls, and eagles but I don't want to be one.  I think being a sparrow would be fun: they are cute and people like to feed them.  That appeals to me.  But, oh, to be a seagull....to live life on the coast; feasting from the bounty of the sea, and occasionally snatching food from unsuspecting humans.  What a life that would be! 
I feel the cup of my life refilling as I breathe in the ocean air. 
There is a heron slowly walking through the shallow water.  I can't tell what it is moving towards, but it is gracefully moving - almost floating - towards a specific destination.  Maybe I should be an heron?

But I digress....
When I am in this kind of environment I become reflective.  I have the time to sit and ponder the bigger issues of life.  Isn't it amazingly easy to get caught up in the day to day stuff?  I know I do.  Day in and day out I get up and meet the obligations of the day, of my family, of my business, and at the end of all that I wonder about me.  What happened to me during the day?  As selfish as this sounds I don't think we are meant to totally sacrifice our spirit for the sake of daily life.  My cup is empty.

I have felt God reaching out to me for some time.  For reasons that are not worth discussing here I have pulled back.  Maybe it is the fact that this coming week is Holy Week, for me, the most sacred week of the year; maybe it is that He let me go until I was drained and had no place else to go except back home to Him.  That is the way God works.  He doesn't force Himself on us.  We are to come to Him.  He is always there, waiting, and waiting, and waiting even longer for His children to come home.

Home...it is so good to be home.

End of Football Season

Today is the last Sunday of the regular season for the NFL. I absolutely love football season. There was a time that I could quote stats, knew all the players on my beloved Houston Oilers, and got so involved in the games that I actually cried when the Oilers blew a lead and lost to the much hated Buffalo Bills. Sadly, I think they still hold the record for blowing the largest lead to lose a game in NFL history.

Since that loss I have not allowed my heart to be so invested in a game that devastation over a loss is a possibility. The season is really representative of something more personal and it has only been in the last four years that I have come to understand the connection I feel.

My dad was a quiet man. He worked hard to provide for his family but, for many reasons that are now unimportant, he was content being a bystander in the activities of family life. He enjoyed just watching and listening to those he loved live their lives. Football was one of the things that connected us. I discovered this more as an adult living across the country from him. We didn't always support the same teams, but I was able to discuss the game, the players and who was likely to go to the Superbowl with him. Even during his last days we watched football together.

Each September, as the the teams hit the grid iron once more, these sweet memories signal the beginning of my favorite time of year and remind me that it is through simple human connections people live on forever .

Meatloaf and Cookies

No, I didn't eat these two things together, but I did have them both in the same evening. It was wonderful.

In keeping with the promise to myself to write everyday, the above sentence is the only thing I wrote yesterday, January 2, 2010. My train of thought was interrupted and then I forgot the point I was making. Then, I fell asleep. This dedication to writing daily is going to be difficult.

Lesson learned on day #1 - don't wait until the end of the day to write; being awake while typing is not only advantageous it is a necessity.

Begin at the Beginning

I want to write everyday. It is January first, the day that promises are made for the upcoming year. I could promise myself that I am going to write something everyday, but eventually I would miss a day, then two, then three, then before I know it a month has gone by and no words have been recorded.

I have the same problems in other areas of my life, so I need to get to the heart of the issue. It can summed up in one word: focus. I suffer from a chronic lack of focus. Dangle something shiny and pretty in front of me and off I go, chasing another rabbit. How can I maintain my spontaneous creativity and still get all my daily tasks done? I don't know but I am going to try.

I have broken my life down into three categories I will focus on in 2010:

Myself
My husband, family & friends
Yarntopia.

When I focus on myself I will take care of myself physically & mentally; I will do some things that bring me pleasure; I will create; and I will write. All of these things contribute to my well being.

Next come family and friends. I give a lot to customers and rarely have emotional energy left over for my husband and friends. My thought is that if I take better care of myself and my emotional health then there will be something to give to my family. I am hoping. After family comes my friends. I have allowed many relationships to slip away and I truly regret the loss. Last night a friend that I haven't seen in nearly 20 years found me on Facebook. I am so excited and can hardly wait to see her again. What an amazing way to end the year! Friends deserve my focus.

And finally I will focus on Yarntopia. 2009 found me spending much time on freeform crochet, crochet design and self promotion. While this was fun and exciting it did nothing to build Yarntopia. This year Yarntopia will be the center of my professional world. I will still do creative crochet and the things that give me joy, I simply won't do them at the expense of working for the shop. Amy and I have big plans for the shop and it will require my full focus.

Writing, at this point, is for me. In the future I hope the writing to benefit Yarntopia, but for now it is just for me.

And so it begins.....

4:44 a.m.

I don't know why I woke up or why the thoughts in my head won't slow down but here I am. It is dark and very cold outside; very cold by Houston, Texas standards that is.

I do love being awake before the rest of the world. It is quiet and I am all alone in my consciousness. The rest of my day will be spent with people - helping, talking, teaching, listening, and just simply being a friendly face in a world filled with chaos. This is the best part of the day.

I always tell people I am a morning person - but I don't think I really am, not in the usual sense. I don't hop out of bed disgustingly cheerful, ready to tackle the day head on. I don't understand those folks and am so thankful I am not married to one. Waking early is lovely; however, conversation early is torturous and makes me quite grumpy. Between the noise in my head, the talking I do at work, and the near constant droning from a tv or radio, I treasure the few moments of silence found in the predawn hours of the morning.

Light. I detest bright lights in the early morning. I love a dark room; slowly allowing light to filter into my new day - being in control of the light is important. Christmas is the best time of year for my special mornings. There is something magical about a room illuminated by hundreds of tiny, white lights. The glow is soft and friendly, warm and comfortable. It reminds me of my childhood when life was simple. Every morning when I could hardly wait to see if there was a new gift under the tree for me. Mom wrapped gifts at night, and every few days a new colorful, paper covered bundle of possibility showed up under the tree. We were strictly forbidden to touch, pick up, or heaven forbid, shake the packages. So, while mom was around my brother and I just looked.

Where does the anticipation and pure joy go when we grow up? As I think about it, I'm not sure anything is lost. Rather, I think it is a natural transition from being a self focused child to a giving adult. Now, I drink in the flood of excitement as my granddaughters run to look under the tree each time they come visit. My joy now comes as the giver of gifts.

I soak up the glow of the the early morning Christmas lights; the only sounds in the room are the clicking of keys on the computer and the rhythmic breathing of my dog and cat. I know that the real world is waiting just outside my door - the magic is temporary, but the peace will carry me through the day.

Snow Holiday

When it snows in south Texas it is almost the equivalent of you know what freezing over. Well, it froze over today!

I was sitting in my studio early this morning, slowly sipping my first cup of coffee while checking out my Facebook and Twitter pals. It was raining. No, wait...are those snow flakes? At first I thought I was seeing things because this wasn't supposed to happen until later in the day, if at all. Sure enough, on closer inspection, real honest to goodness snow flakes were falling. Yippee!

What a great day to own a yarn shop. Customers came bundled in their knitwear looking for a project to work on while watching the snow. Everyone was happy. I know that for you folks who live where it snows regularly, we seem rather pathetic. I am telling you that this is big news in the Houston area! Jim frickin Cantorre from the weather channel was here. You know it is big weather news when he shows up.

By late morning the sky was white with snow flurries and the snow had begun to stick and accumulate. All I wanted to do was sit and stare at the miracle falling from the skies. It is so gentle and peaceful. We are used to weather making really loud noises; thunder that rattles the windows and driving rain that sounds like BBs as it comes crashing down. Snow is silent. The tranquility is mesmerizing and intoxicating.

I think that part of the reason I feel the way that I do is because this is such a rare occurrence thus it must be treasured as it will be gone in the blink of an eye. And sure enough, by 5:00 p.m. the sun was starting to peek through the clouds and the white was beginning to fade to green and brown again.

This is the earliest it has ever snowed in Houston. In a world where we are bombarded with bad news on a daily basis, a snow day is cause for celebration and should most definitely be a holiday. Today was special - an early Christmas gift from God.

Thank you God,

Sheryl