December Goodness

An Hour Well Spent

Beautiful . . . educational . . . inspiring . . . & just plain lovely !!!

That would be the PBS Craft in America Holiday Episode.

Loved it . . . definite thumbs up !!!

Now I'll need to catch up on other episodes . . . !

Changes

I've been absent from this space a bit this year, especially these last few months . . .

but I'm still here !!!

Priorities, schedules, routines, and focus change as life moves quickly along . . . I've found that each of these has moved me a bit away from my blogging space.  Since I've barely posted like I feel I should have & feel a little guilty (like I do with almost everything !), I've thought several times about stopping the whole blogging thing.  But I started this little space here as a creative outlet, a place to search for & focus on the little things that resonate & make me smile . . . and I still need all those things !!!  Just maybe not as frequently, here, as I once did . . . and that's okay.

Here's what I've been looking at lately . . . .

- I've gotten totally addicted to Instagram (a little late to the party, as always !).  I just love their filters and effects . . . not too many or too complicated . . . really user friendly !  They make my pictures look great !!  One of my favorite users to look at is @benjaminhole . . . stunning look at the English countryside & the life of a farmer . . . gorgeous !


- This book now wins the award for "most underlined" . . . I just couldn't stop highlighting passages that resonated with me !  I whizzed through this one in less than 2 weeks (pretty good since I read right before I fall asleep !)  Just what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it . . . !  I'll be rereading this one again & again !


- I discovered this lovely website (and added it to my favorite places !) after reading about its author in a recent Grove City College alumni magazine . . . she's a fellow former Grover !!  Though I haven't tried any recipes yet, I love getting a glimpse into her "big city" life, and following along on her journey toward publishing a cookbook . . . beautiful photos, wise words, and a passionate heart !


- Even though my knitting is often slow-going, it's always going !!  This is one of my favorite sources of inspiration and sweater lust.   Each collection & lookbook that comes out is gorgeous . . . lovely settings, beautiful photography, and modern/classic styles !  One day, I will knit another of their designs . . . !

(my one & only Brooklyn Tweed pattern, so far !)

- I love quotations/sayings/mantras/words of wisdom . . . always have !  I remember partially filling a journal with them in high school . . . not much has changed (witnessed in this Pinterest list !) !!  Here's one that I read recently that really rang true:

                    "Don't aspire to be the politest girl in the room - you know, the one who defers to everyone else, who never speaks up, who claims to have no strong partialities of her own -
or one day you might find yourself the bitterest."





Good things all around !!

Outtakes & Randomness

I made this for my pecan pie-loving husband . . . 

not good . . . I overcooked it !

Leo just folds himself into the weirdest positions when he sleeps . . . 

a gaggle of fuzzy feet !!

I just love to admire the history & workmanship of our  100+ year old barn.

They're rarely this close together, much less when they sleep . . . 

These were steaks.

When I went to get them off the grill, I saw that the grease had caught on fire,

and we had quite a blaze going on !  These poor guys got doused 

with baking soda . . . and we had to find something else to eat for dinner !!!

Marty apparently likes to photo bomb !!!

I've started playing with paper & glue sticks & paint again,

 just like I did when I was a kid . . . 

and it is great fun !!!

My favorites are on their way out . . . but I love to try to capture them

when the sun is shining on them just right  !!!

And that's all for today's random photos & thoughts !!!

It Really Does Fly

Time, that is !!

Between the usual workday, doctor appointments, car issues, cat issues, and all other manner

of craziness, here's what's been happening around our little corner of the world . . . .

Christmas came in July this year, as we got Over The Rhine's new double album

"Meet Me At The Edge Of The World"  over a month before it's actual release . . . 

the perks of being a backer of the project !!!

Of course, it's phenomenal . . . 

it's been playing non-stop in my car (& in my head !) since it arrived !!

           Click here to take a listen & download (for free !) the first 5 songs !

"Called Home" is my current personal favorite . . . . !

I actually do still knit, too !!!

A new sweater is on the needles:  the Blue Jean Sky Cardigan.

It's named after one of the songs on the above-mentioned CD, of course !

"Gimme a swig of a little kick-ass beauty . . . "

And, we had this cutie recently for his 1st overnight at our house . . . 

. . . our nephew, Ben !

We made an unexpected stop at a water park the next day, too . . . 

Fun !!!

There was also a 16th anniversary squeezed in there somewhere, too . . . 

Now at least I feel a little more caught up on August . . . 

before we head into September next week already !!!

Lately

A Grown-Up Lullaby

"Favorite Time Of Light" by Over The Rhine . . . 

(picture from Twitter)

I've loved this song from the moment I heard it . . . 

and it's been stuck in my head ever since !!

It's like a grown-up lullaby . . . 

"It's our favorite time of light,

Just before the day kisses the night;

You see the red wing blackbirds fly;

The sun's a big ol' lazy eye . . . "

Here is the video Jack took at their concert back in May . . . 

Just lovely . . . 

Knitting Still Happens Here

Even though it slows down a bit during the warmer months, 

I am always knitting something !!

This is what's currently on the needles:

I've dubbed it the Take 2 Cowl . . . this is my 2nd attempt at knitting

something I actually like with this lilac cotton yarn !!  So far, so good !

And my most recent finished project is a sweater for the Knit For Kids

program through World Vision (we've sponsored a child thru their

organization for quite a while now).  

This site gives more info about the program, in case anyone out there is interested !

My goal is to make enough sweaters & hats fill a decent-sized box, then

send them off !  It may take a while, but it'll happen !!!

Always knitting something . . . !

I'm The Story I Needed To Hear

So I guess this is the "Part 2" of my last post . . .



I've actually been thinking about writing this post for a few years now . . . it's been in the back of my mind for quite a while.  I've been reading, too, recently about the importance of "telling your story".  And just the other day, I started answering a list of questions meant to help a person discover their dreams & goals . . . something I've always seemed to struggle with ! The very 1st question was  "What do you want to contribute ?"  "ANYTHING" was my initial reaction !!  I realized that one of the frustrations in my job is that I don't feel like I help anyone or contribute . . . I do my work well & go home at the end of the day, but I don't have that sense of making a contribution to anyone's life.  But I have this experience & this story . . . and I realized that if I put it out there, maybe it could help even one person . . . it could be a contribution.

So, I started drafting this post.  And when I woke up the next day, I started to question whether I should even go further with it . . . the usual questioning myself !

Then, that same day, I was blown away by a strangers prayers for me, about this journey . . . and I knew posting it was what I was meant to do . . . that it was maybe a little sign from above that I was heading in the right direction !



So here goes !



Since this post (5 whole years ago !), we spent another 2 years trying to start a family . . . 7 years in total.  During that time, I read every article I encountered about infertility.  And every time I looked at the "About the Author" part at the end, the author always became a mother . . . whether thru aggressive fertility treatment, adoption, a surrogate, and so on.  Please know that I admire each of those journeys & the women that take them . . . but we never felt called or led to follow those paths.  I was just struck that there was never anyone that ended up not having kids . . . not one story ended with the author being content in that it just didn't play out as she'd planned, and being happy & fulfilled simply being a wife.


But that turned out to be my story & my ending.


Around the time I wrote my one and only fertility post, I reached my emotional limit, and broke down & asked God to show me what His plan was . . . that if I was supposed to be a mom, to make clear to me what treatment, etc. I needed to pursue . . . and that if I wasn't supposed to be a mom, to take away the entire desire.  And, of course, He answered.  Over the next 2 years, I felt the desire wane, and I started feeling content with my life like I'd never experienced before.  Jack & I were of one accord, both happy being "just us".


I'm beyond thankful for His answer & clear direction . . . I felt like a huge burden had been lifted, and that I could start to move on.



And while I'm wholly and completely at peace with the way things have turned out, it doesn't mean I don't have my moments.  It can be difficult to not have the same experiences that the vast majority of women my age have had . . . to have a life that doesn't resemble what's considered normal or part of the "American Dream".  Mothers Day will always be awkward (I'd like a holiday for women like me!) And sometimes comments can sting.  It always rankles to be told "You don't have kids; you don't understand !", or to hear the assumption that we have endless time & money because we don't have a family.  While it's true I won't have the same experiential knowledge as a parent does, and that my time and funds are more my own than if I were a parent, it doesn't mean that I'm clueless, unappreciative, or deserve to have it thrown in my face.  It will always sting, and I'm getting used to handling it.

I've also gotten used to the pangs that sometimes occur now that we have a little one in the family (my adorable nephew, Ben !).  It will always be just a little hard to see my husband with Ben, knowing what a truly amazing father he would have been.  I'll always wonder what our children would have looked like.  I'll always feel a little sadness that I couldn't be the bearer of good news . . . unable to make my parents into grandparents . . .  just missing out on some of the little fun things.


But that's it.  The other 95% of the time, I'm a happy camper !  We love being aunt & uncle to the cutest nephew ever (until, of course, other kiddos come along !) !!  We get to spoil him, then give him back to mom and dad . . . we get the best of both worlds !!  And I love being "Mama Cat" to the most adorable felines ever . . . I'm learning to embrace the "Crazy Cat Lady" label !!!  We love our life.  It's truly all good.






So that's really it.  Turns out the story I needed to hear became mine.  And maybe it's the ending someone else out there needs to hear, too.

Blown Away

In a good way !

Few things blow me away these days, but this actually did it . . .  

I was doing some shopping for the office right before lunch today, looking at items on the shelves of my aisle, when a lady - probably in her mid-forties - came up to me.  She said, "I don't know if you remember me . . . " -- I apologized & admitted that I didn't -- " . . . but I remember you."  She'd remembered me from a women's retreat I had attended with a local church about 8 or 9 years ago . . . she said she specifically remembered that I was going through an infertility journey, and that she had also gone on such a journey, for 6 1/2 years.  Then she completely stunned me by telling me that she'd been praying for me for all these years.  She knew how difficult that journey is, and had been praying for me this whole time.  She said she'd seen me in passing over the years & had always wanted to know how things had turned out for us . . . I shared our outcome with her, how God had brought us peace and contentment in being "just us".  "That's what it's all about . . . peace in God's plan," she said.


I can only imagine what my face must have looked like . . . totally stunned !!  Hand on my heart, I thanked her over & over again . . . I told her I was almost about to cry in the middle of the store !!  And I thanked her some more.

Then I went out to my car & thanked God . . . for His amazing provision . . . for the prayers of a stranger that had walked the same path . . . for waking me up to His awesomeness . . . for reminding me that there ARE good people out there . . . for making me want to pay it forward . . . for giving me a cool story to go back & share with my co-worker ( and to share with the blogosphere !) !!

There's a little background info that makes this story even cooler . . . 

but that's for an upcoming post !  Stay tuned !

Scenes From The Beach

Right after we got home from Ohio, we hopped on a plane 

down to Florida for the second half of our vacation week !

Jack won an all-expenses-paid trip to Jacksonville through one of the flooring 

vendors he works with, so we got to live the "high life" for a few days !!!

Oceanfront resort . . .

 . . . beautiful little town to enjoy . . . 

 . . . little luxuries . . .

 . . . cute cafes & stores . . . !!

We also got to tour the HGTV Smart Home . . . 

Very cool !!

And, of course, enjoyed some beach time !!

Quite the whirlwind week, but quite the blessing & good times, too !!!