Challenge Met!

I decided to commit to NaBloPoMo and post daily during November on the spur of the moment back on October 31. I hadn't been very happy with my posting frequency, and I thought this would be a way to make me think about topics, sit down and write, and just do it. I'm happy to say the challenge was accepted and I met the challenge!

I have loved looking forward to and reading daily posts from many friends. Some of my own posts are more worthwhile than others, but that is true even in months other than November. It was difficult at times, time-consuming, but also fun, and made me think. Thank you to everyone who took their valuable time to read and/or comment, especially because many of you were busy writing your own daily posts. Now that it's over, I may actually consider doing it again next year!

We all deserve a medal!
 

Farquhar, Betsy. Knitted Military Medal. Digital image. Ravelry. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-military-medal>.

Saturday Snippets - The Here and Now Edition

Saturdays are for small bits and pieces, and here are the small pieces going on here and now.

Bemoaning - The fact that I confused my deodorant and Icy Hot stick this morning. This was not a good idea.

Hoping - That I learn from my mistake and never do that again.

Eating - Thanksgiving leftovers, of course. These are some of my favorite foods - turkey sandwiches, cranberry orange relish, homemade crescent rolls, and fried stuffing. That last one may possibly be a bit unhealthy, but I only eat it once a year, so that's my justification.

Reading - A Spool of Blue Thread. All I really want to do is read and knit, but work, Thanksgiving, laundry, etc. keep getting in my way. I'd like to say I'll be done soon, but some Christmas planning needs to happen before I can just sit and read.

Knitting - Still working on Happy Times with Ryan.  Projects don't get done very quickly if you fall asleep while knitting.

Dreading - Christmas planning. This mainly means shopping. I have a bunch of gifts that I've already gotten, but I need to evaluate what I actually have and what I still need to get. My biggest problem is coming up with ideas.

Counting 1.0 - The days until Youngest Son is home for Christmas break - 14!

Counting 2.0 - The days until Oldest Son is home for Christmas - 21!

Hoping - That both sons will want to play some board games with me. I love Yahtzee, Scrabble, Monopoly, St. Petersburg, and even Cards Against Humanity, but my husband refuses to play. I think this is due to some traumatic childhood tantrums and tears as his brothers and sisters feel the same way.

Trying -  This French Onion soup recipe.

Drinking - Bitter Elder. St. Germain is also good in chamomile tea, but this may contribute to the falling asleep, noted in knitting above.

Listening - To Yo-Yo Ma, "Attaboy" from The Goat Rodeo Sessions.

Enjoying - Writing the penultimate post of NaBloPoMo!

What bits and pieces are happening in your life?

Craft Friday

Beverly came up with the idea of Craft Friday and as I began to read about it with increasing frequency on quite a few blogs, it seemed only natural that I should declare myself as a participant because:

1. It's what I would normally be doing on Friday after Thanksgiving (and most other days).
2. I really dislike shopping, especially on Black Friday. 
3. I get to knit vicariously together with friends!
4. I can blog about it. There are only a few more days in NaBloPoMo and I'm really searching. 

My plan for today is to knit and sew. I'll be finishing the Gabriel Roni hat for my brand new great-nephew, working on my Happy Times with Ryan Hitchhiker, and sewing some of these rice-filled shoulder heating pads. It's going to be a low-key, no-pressure day, with Thanksgiving leftovers, Netflix, maybe an audiobook, knitting, and sewing. I really want to finish Gabriel's hat as he's two days old and deserves a warm welcome to the world, but my only goals for the other projects are progress and enjoyment.

So Happy Craft Friday to all! Just think how much happier we are, crafting, far from the madding crowds!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May the biggest part of the wishbone be the end that's held by you!

Portmanteaus or where is the faction section?

While checking out Into the Wild at the library, the clerk told me that he heard it was a good piece of faction. I figured I hadn't heard him correctly, but in response to my quizzical look, he said, "You know, fact-based fiction - faction." I pointed out the 917.98 call number and mumbled something about it being non-fiction, but figured the people in the growing line behind me weren't interested in this discussion.

I did think about this on the way home, and it seemed odd that someone working in a library didn't understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction, and was also making up a classification  that this particular book didn't even belong in. He is a teenager with an after-school job so this wasn't the end of the world. But after hearing about faction, it seemed that I noticed portmanteaus (combinations of two or more words and their meanings into a single new word) everywhere. With the epic lake effect storm in Buffalo came snowmageddon, snowpocalypse, snowverkill, snowvember, snowmergency, and snowmania. I heard stagflation (stagnation + inflation) used in a discussion about Ben Bernanke. A woman buying donuts at the convenience store told the clerk she was hangry; I had to look this one up and found that it means your extreme hunger has caused you to be angry. While searching for music gifts for a young teenager I came across the song Alcoholiday.

There are some portmanteaus that seem natural and descriptive to me, like brunch, jackalope, smog, and moped. I'll admit we have and use sporks, but metrosexual and hangry just seem silly to me, clear examples of poormanteaus!

Ten on Tuesday - Thankfulness Edition

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is, of course, 10 Things You Are Thankful For. I'm blessed, lucky, and grateful that I have so very many things on my list.

1.   My Family - A wonderful husband, two terrific sons, a loving and accepting extended family - I couldn't ask for a more wonderful bunch of people.

2.   A (recently replaced) roof over my head and a comfortable home - I am grateful that we were able to find a great roofer and afford to completely replace the roofs on our house and barn. Now I smile when it's raining instead of worrying.

3.   Enough money for a comfortable life - This one is huge and I'm thankful every day.

4.   The ability to read - I'm thankful that Mrs. Neusch taught me to read in first grade, that my mother always supported my reading habit by not telling me to go outside and play too often when I was immersed in a book, that I have access to some great libraries, and that I can find out almost anything I'm curious about by reading.

5.   The ability to knit - I'm thankful that my grandmother taught me how to knit, my mother reinforced it and helped me when I got stuck, that I can buy yarn even when I don't need it, and I can show people how much I care by knitting for them.

6.   Health - Overall I'm in good health, and so is my family. We've had some years where this hasn't been the case, so we try to take care of ourselves and I don't take good health for granted.

7.   Access to health care - We have health insurance, and while it has a fairly high deductible, we can afford it and it is insurance. I hope we never meet the deductible because that would mean someone is quite ill, but it's comforting knowing that insurance and access to health care is there if we need it.

8.   Four seasons -  I've lived in Florida where there is just "hot and sweltering season" and "a tiny bit cooler than torrid season" so I'm happy to live some place that has four distinct seasons, each one with its own beauty.

9.   Learning from mistakes - I've made my share of mistakes, both big and small. I'm glad that I'm really learning to see my mistakes as learning opportunities instead of embarrassing failures.

10.  Our upcoming last undergraduate tuition payment - This one is a big, big, BIG deal! I'm grateful that it's the last one, but I'm also very thankful that we were able to make those payments.

I'm thankful for everyone that takes the time to read my ramblings. Thank you!

Amaryllis Cam(aryllis) - Week One

I had to run to the grocery store the other day for some forgotten but necessary items, and I couldn't resist the amaryllis on sale. It (let's call her Ruby, on the left) seemed a little lonely, so a few days later when I was buying a new carbon monoxide detector, I brought home a friend (let's call her Rosa) for Ruby. There may have been some talk about how much their friend Blanche would also like to live here, but we'll see. They're not much to look at now, but hopefully they'll encourage each other, engage in some healthy competition, and be blooming in the depths of winter.