Thought of the Day

Begin whatever calls to you

"If you get quiet, and turn your thought inward and listen closely you can hear a small voice calling you. Follow that voice. I am often in the clutches of my "inner critic", which tells me what I should do, and leaves very little or no room for serendipity, or a new beginning. So, I practice listening for that voice of new beginnings.

Begin a new way of living ....."~~Sark

My new way of living is finding a job, networking with real people, forming new friendships. Laughing more, criticizing less, live more.

Thought of the Day

Beginnings need variety

"Beginnings can be treacherous. Sometimes I agonize so completely over ever beginning, that I collapse under the covers and say "I give up." Often after this, I get up as if in a trance and sit down with the work. Some kind of shape floats into consciousness, and I focus intently on it, until I recognize how to describe it. If i begin something in one location, and it isn't working, often a movement in any direction will bring in fresh energy. So, I move around a lot.

Begin again...and again...and again."~~Sark

There are so many things that I need to "begin" again. Begin again to organize my life, my home, my personal achievements, my well-being. I have neglected so much of myself, so much of my surroundings. I have wallowed in self woe. I have to "begin" to redefine myself.

Thought of the Day

I have decided to try posting a thought a day, to give me something to post/talk about. I bought this wonderful book called "Living Juicy Daily Morsels for Your Creative Soul" a few months ago. It is written by Sark.
http://tinyurl.com/2sj5w2

Todays quote:

Beginnings Are:

That first paragraph, a
single step, a solo note,
the touch of a gas pedal,
a blank envelope, a brush
stroke, that first phone call.

Begin now
Begin where you are
Begin It

Sometimes I begin something 100 times before
it takes hold and develops its own momentum.

... All my beginnings are important ~~Sark

My new beginnings ... to find something that inspires me today ....

Spring blossoms. The rain has stopped. The sun is shining. The dark cloud over my family is beginning to float away. My daughter is home from the hospital :)

Kristen is Home

Kristen was released from the hospital yesterday. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. She is still really tired, but soooo glad to be able to sleep in her own bed.

Monkey Socks

My newest pair of socks, for me, are called Monkey socks :) The pattern is from http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTmonkey.html

I am using my TOFUtsies yarn on 2 size 2 circulars. Cast on 64 stitches. The top of the cuff is knitted with a twisted stitch, (through the back loop) First time I have done this. It was difficult at first to do, but is getting easier with each round :)

Felted Laptop Bag

I am trying my hand at felting again. This time, I have made sure the yarn is 100% wool and not a super wash wool!! The yarn is by Universal Yarn, Inc called Blue Passion. The yarn looks more like a purple to me. It has purple, turquoise and pink running together. I am knitting on circulars size 15, with 130 stitches. It is hard to tell in the photo, but the flap tapers down to a triangle.

A Touch of Pretty :)

These beautiful branches came from two of our fruit trees. A cherry plum tree and a cherry tree. Thing is, he trimmed these branches off some three weeks ago. While driving home the other day, I saw them on the ground.....blooming. How bizarre. I thought they would look great in a tall vase. So there you go!!!!

And Then.....

I get a call from Kyle, from school, asking me to pick him up because he broke his finger playing basketball. Sheesh....when does this black cloud hanging over me go away? So, we spent almost 4 hours at the ER. Had x-rays and waited and waited and waited. Then a code blue was called to the ER. Prayers being said. Wait, wait, wait. Finally, we get called back. Computers are down. X-ray can't be read. Wait, wait, wait. They can't read the x-ray as they are all digital now and need the computer to read them. They decide to go ahead and splint, since the treatment is the same whether broken or sprained. Five hours later Kyle is complaining that he wants to take splint off. No, is the response. Why, the debate begins. It needs to stay on to heal, the response. The debate, we don't know it is broken or not. Response, it stays on, go to bed.

It goes from bad to worse

I just talked to Kristen at the hospital tonight. She has E-coli in her bloodstream, her hemoglobin's are dropping and her liver is not functioning right. This is especially bad for her because of her low immune system. I am waiting for a call from her dad to let me know how bad it really is. I should be there with her. I am 1200 miles away and my trip to see here isn't till next month. May have to see if I can change my travel plans.

Just when you think things are going great

The sky opens up and things come crashing down. All in a matter of a couple weeks. My oldest son, Corey (21), who moved up here to go to college, just quit his job. Just when we were finally not paying his way, it begins again. Gas money, insurance, cell phone, walking around money. Hubby's raise wasn't what he expected, promised. He is actually insulted. Younger son in trouble at school, not doing schoolwork, horsing around, 3 day suspension. My oldest daughter, Kristen is back in the hospital. She has an UTI, which moved into her blood-stream. Her doctor called her yesterday with the lab work results and told her to go to hospital. She has bacteria in her blood and is dehydrated. Since she had the bone marrow transplant, her immune system still is not at 100%, so little things can get serious for her. We owe taxes. The first time ever, having to pay. We had taken some money out of David's IRA to live. Paid taxes on that, but the government imposes a 10% penalty as well. This most of all, just &#$%%# me off. It is his money. He did pay taxes on it when he took it out. Why does the government think they deserve any more of it? Because of that, we lost the EIC. David's salary is about 1/3 of what it was in California. Cost of living is less here in Washington, but not 1/3 less. So, we did what we had to do to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. Now we get penalized big time for it. If we had gotten the EIC and no penalty, we would've had a refund of about $3500, now we owe almost $5000. The penalty wasn't that much. It is all because we lost the EIC. I am at a loss as to how we are going to handle this. We live less than paycheck to paycheck. I have already cut the monthly expenses a lot. There is just no more places to take from. I feel like I am in quicksand. Disappearing fast. No rope to grab.

I know we are told God doesn't give us more than we can handle. But, come on, my folder is really, really full.

Despite the fact that it is in the low 40's....

Spring is springing!! To the left are my tulips budding. The photo on the right is our cherry plum tree blooming. I love this time of year, just wish it was warmer. Soon the bougainvillea's will be popping up. The roses have new growth. I just love my roses. Need more, but, that takes time :)

Finished Corey's Thuja Socks

Well, I finally finished the socks for Corey :) Although a inch and a half doesn't seem like much (over the size I usually make), when knitting with such small needles, it seems like a foot!!! Get it! LOL :) Anyway, I am glad that they are finally done. Hubby saw them and now wants a pair. That will come, as I don't have suitable yarn for guy socks, and I am on a yarn diet.