Turkey Time

I kid you not, I think my almost-ten-year-old son could be outside shooting at something every spare minute he has.  He's an up-with-the-sun kind of kid, and now that it is daylight earlier, he eats his breakfast, gets ready for school and heads outside with his gun until it is time to go to school.

The same is true for after school...as long as an adult is at home.  Thankfully, at this point, he does abide by that rule.  No adult - no shooting anything but a BB gun.  I'm sure his older sister will tattle on him the minute he tries to sneak through that one.

We are hunters and gun owners.  We believe in teaching children how to use guns and use them properly, safely and humanely.  Both of our kiddos, as well as ourselves, have passed the hunter safety course. Although I know accidents can happen, and I'm not foolish enough to believe they couldn't happen to us, I am proud of my little hunter and his passion for hunting.

He went turkey hunting for the first time this weekend and got one.  He shot the turkey in the neck, which is a pretty narrow hit.  Jay told me that he didn't really think Lane would make the shot at the distance they were at, but he had to go for it.  And he did!  All the target practice is paying off.

We actually ate half of that turkey for supper last night and it was delicious.  Yes, it is a little tougher than a Butterball, and maybe Jay found a couple pieces of shot, but hey, we believe in eating what we harvest (for the most part).  I'm not too fond of fowl like duck, goose, pheasant, etc., but Jay will eat it - he will eat almost anything.  Madolyn was weirded out by the 'wild' turkey, but has no trouble eating the pork we receive from pigs raised in our barn.  Hmm.

The older I get, the more I realize these types of life lessons will never go out of style or become extinct.  No matter what happens, we need to eat.  And if push comes to shove, hopefully my little guy will be able to provide for his future family (and his ailing parents).

Revelation #332

Like a city whose walls are broken through
    is a person who lacks self-control.  Proverbs 25:28  (NIV)

While perusing through hundreds of knitting patterns today, I had a revelation:  Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

I could hear Jay saying this to me...as an example...just because you can knit doesn't mean that everyone wants something you've knitted.  He's not being mean.  He's being honest.  There are lots of items out there I could knit, but wowza - some of them are way out there.

Just a few days ago, my daughter posted a picture of me on Facebook holding one of my new knitting tools - a Styrofoam head.  I commented on the picture that I was going to knit her prom dress and it should be done in about three years.  Of course, I was joking (for the most part - I would never do such a thing - most likely), but it occurred to me today when I was seeing some real random knitting patterns - I could actually knit Madolyn a prom dress.  I have no doubt I could figure it out, and in three years, have a completed dress (and who knows, in three years, a knitted formal could be 'in'), but I'm not planning on it.

Another silly example is the cartwheel.  A few years ago, I was watching Madolyn do gymnastics tricks in the house and I decided to show her my stuff.  Good-ness.  Not. A. Good. Idea. At. All.  Not only were my muscles out of shape, my equilibrium was/is way off.  It nearly wiped me out.  I did the cartwheel...but I should not have and don't plan to try it again anytime soon.  Silly.  I paid for that one for a few days.

Many, many times I have started to reply to someone either by e-mail or on Facebook, I've had the right answer (mine, of course) typed out that would solve all things, big or small...and then I deleted it.  Yes, I think my solution is correct...but someone else may not.

The same is true when I hear or read something I know to be false or somewhat misleading...based on knowledge acquired through my work.  Just last week, I had to say to a friend, "I can't really comment on that."  Oh, I could have and wanted to, but I'm not supposed to.  And there is a very fine line, I've discovered unfortunately, between me voicing my personal opinion about a situation, and someone assuming that I'm spewing facts from the courtroom.  It can be very tricky.  I have to really think about what I say before I say it (or try to hopefully).  I've even found myself thinking, it's not fair that I can't say what I want to say for fear someone else may think I'm divulging privileged information...but it is what it is.  And really, most of it boils down to that g word we hate - gossip - anyway so it's best left unsaid, regardless.  It goes back to the same principle - just because I can doesn't mean I should.

I have tried many times in my life to use the I-can-if-I-want-to philosophy...and it never seems to work out. Immediately coming to mind is eating an entire package of Oreo's, Thin Mint's, an entire sheet cake, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to knit, read or watch movies, etc.  It may be good at the time, but the consequence is not so enjoyable.

I could go on and on with serious and silly examples of where this revelation comes into play.  We might raise Alpacas and Llamas some day..yes, then I could learn to spin the wool into beautiful yarn. Theoretically, we could...but it doesn't mean we have to.

Too much tingle

It is with a heavy heart, sore wrists and tingly arms that I write this, I must stop knitting for a while...hopefully, it is temporary and the damage can repair itself. After fighting sore wrists and tingly, numb arms for several weeks, I broke down and went to the King.  I was never a believer in chiropractors until I was desperate a few years ago and a couple visits to him fixed me right up.  He isn't one who strings you along, he tells you like it is and that's that.  I value his opinion and he has a good reputation.  The one sure test for carpal tunnel I failed on both wrists.  It's not serious or anything yet, but I need to get a grip.

It's a combination of things, of course, it's not just the knitting (right?  Please, say no!).  I sit a lot in one position for long periods of time.  My head is usually down or tilted downward and it puts a lot of pressure on my neck, which is causing me fits. I don't think that ergonomically the desk set-up I inherited (although very nice) is good for me either.  I hate to complain about my very lush office (it is to me) and probably won't...so today I have raised my keyboard higher and will try very hard to sit up straight in this very big chair.  And if you happen to drop by my office today, you might find me staring at the ceiling to keep my neck up and not down.

I'm a stomach sleeper.  I told you about my magic towel curing me last fall, remember?   Well, my neck quit hurting so bad and I got rid of that towel in my bed, but the King says to put it back.  Quit sleeping on my stomach.  Ugh.  I like to put my hands and arms above my head when I sleep...and they are falling asleep and numb when I wake up.

Last night when I got home, I took all my knitting projects and yarn paraphernalia (which is strewn all over the place) and put them in the office.  I must not even be tempted to finish the brim on that hat that will only take me an hour.  I told my kids and the youth group, if I was a crier, I would've cried.  It's not the end of the world or anything, but I really love knitting.  It's too bad I can't just sit at home and be a professional knitter (one of my youth group girls said I looked like a competitive knitter last week:)  The fact of the matter is I need to keep my job, so I need to get my priorities in line...plus, it's affecting my sleep and things like just driving the car.

Moderation is what always trips me up.  Stupid Moderation.  Who wants to knit just once a month?  Not obsessive Sarah.  Every spare minute of the day may have been overkill, but I thought it was harmless.  Snap.

So say a prayer for me and my arms/wrists as I try to give them a break, sit up straighter, sleep on my side or back (puke) and hold my head high.  If you see me and think I'm trying to stick my nose in the air and push my chest out, know that I'm doing whatever it takes to get back to my beloved yarn.

Knitter's ADD

I have no idea if such a thing exists...and I suppose if I googled it, I would find out.  Maybe I will.  Maybe I don't want to know.  I'm pretty sure I'm a sufferer regardless.

We all know I have a knitting addiction...and I have moved on into another level of that addiction...Attention Deficit Disorder.  I find myself starting lots of projects, getting bored or seeing something new and cute, dropping the first project and beginning the second...only to, once again, find myself bored and have someone ask me to make something - bang, I've moved on again...thereby creating a small collection of unfinished knitting projects.

I started my first pair of finger-less gloves way, way back.  I want to say I started them in October.  I know. It's shameful.  I finished one glove with a little help from my friends...started the second and it remains in a little gift bag waiting for me to wrap it up. You don't even want to know how close I am to finishing it.  My problem:  I forgot what I learned to do the thumb and will have to ask for help to finish it and I just don't really want to.  Partly because, I have since moved on.  If I would just take an hour out of my life and work on it, they would be done.  Maybe even less than one hour.  Silliness.

I love making hats.  And I think I like them because they're quick.  I remember when I first started knitting, of course, all I could knit was a scarf.  Nice straight lines that could go on and on and on forever.  Then I learned how very simple it was to make a hat and jumped right into the Fair Isle patterns, which are somewhat difficult, but challenging and beautiful.  They are, by far, my favorite type of hat to make.  I like mixing the colors and following charts.  (Wow, that sounds weird.)

After making plenty of hats and a few cowls or infinity scarves (which, again, I like because they're pretty quick), I forced myself to transition back to scarves...after all, it is Spring (sort of) and people won't be wearing wool caps and beanies (well, in theory we shouldn't be) anymore.   Oh my goodness, scarves are sooooo boring.  I found some real cute holey patterns that look springy and I did finally complete two...but I won't even tell you how many I started and pulled back out because I got bored with it, found a mistake that I wouldn't let slide, found a new cuter pattern, etc.

I had someone ask me to make a couple chemo hats recently, so I had to, of course, stop the scarf I was working on and dig into the hat.  (By the way, that is not a complaint, I love making specific things for people.)  I can always come back to that pesky scarf.

If my memory is correct, at the present time, I have one cowl, two scarves, a finger-less glove and two hats in my exclusive, unfinished project pile.  It is pitiful that I can't just finish one thing before I start another.  This has always been a problem of mine.  Re: scrapbooking, photo albums, flower beds...please don't make me go on.

The same could be said for yarn.  (Yarn ADD?)  I walk into the yarn store for specific yarn, see all those beautiful colors and fibers...and oh my word.  I fall apart.  What did I come in here to buy anyway?  Hmm.   Oh well, I'll just get some of this and some of that.  And guess what?  I never have what I need.  My family begs to differ.

So I'm challenging myself to (starting next week, of course) finish projects before starting new ones, and use up some of the yarn I have at home - even if I'm making cold-weather hats for next year - because it's out of control...just a little.  Now, if I get requests, I must do what the people want...which may require me to stop whatever I'm doing and buy new beautiful yarn.

Quirky cat

The quirks of a cat are never few and far between, are they?  It is sooo funny how a cat can have such a personality.  Dogs just aren't near as fun.

Sweet Josie is no longer a little kitten.  She is becoming a pot-bellied cat.  We decided a month ago to scale back on her food intake.  Instead of always keep her food dish(es) full, we fill one dish in the morning and one at night.  She will politely sit near her dish if it is empty unless she's not being noticed, and at such time, she will find one morsel and continuously drop it over and over in the metal dish, which creates the tinkling sound to get my attention.  "Hey, I'm starving over here..."

Anyway, we think the 'diet' is helping the pot belly.

Josie has turned into that cat that has discovered morning wake-up calls, alarm clocks and when you are not up on her time.  She sleeps down at the foot of the bed against my legs and won't rest until I am out of bed in the morning.  I'm not one to sleep in past 6:30, but she would prefer 6:00 a.m. or earlier.  It is amazing how she can find ways to make irritating noises that cannot be ignored.  We can't even shut the bedroom door because she will jump up and hit the handle over and over and over...until you give up...she will not.

And most of the time, if Jay is at work and I'm alone in bed, she'll jump up on the bed, sit where his pillow is and start digging under the covers for my flesh.  I'm not kidding.  She will reach way under the covers to find my hand or arm and start poking at me.

Her newest fetish is the bathroom sink.  We do not have the drain stopper in, never have.  Jay doesn't like them.  So it's just an open drain.  Kitty loves dropping random objects down there.  It took us a while to figure that out.  "Where are the tweezers?"  "Someone had to take the tweezers from the bathroom!"  (Okay, I have to admit, we blame our kids for things we don't have explanation for a lot.)  We had seen Josie carrying the tweezers into the living room before, but honestly thought the kids had used them and not returned them.  Then Madolyn discovered her necklace was missing.  The last place she had it was our bathroom vanity - she had taken it off before her shower.  It was gone.  Weird.

One night we heard the kitty on the bathroom counter, shuffling stuff around, and realized what was going on.  Jay took the bathroom sink trap off and found tweezers and Mad's necklace.  This has happened a couple of times since, and presently, there is at least one hair clip, that I know of, down the drain.  Josie was watching me get ready the other morning, I walked away and heard the clanking noise...there went the clip I use when I'm straightening my hair.  I guess she just wants to be noticed.

She also loves the drip-drip-drip of water.  If I turn the handle just right, there is a slight drip and she loves grabbing a drink.  She will stare at the dripping for a while and then go for the plunge.  I think she is fascinated by things going down the drain...and while she's at it, I guess she gets real thirsty.

I had been getting after the kids about deep holes appearing in the drywall.  Spots I remembered to be small marks on the wall were growing.  You can actually see a bare nail in the hallway by Lane's door and I accused him of picking at it until the nail head was exposed.  He denied it, but I was skeptical. Later, he blamed Sweet Josie.  Yeah, I've been there, done that, pal.

Until...I saw Jo jumping up and scraping the wall by our bedroom.  Somehow or another, we have lost the door guard thingy that goes on the baseboard to protect the wall from the door handle and a small dent developed in the drywall.  It wasn't a big deal, except that Josie discovered it and began jumping up and swiping at it...repeatedly.  Hmm, so she WAS the one that was making these holes in my drywall.  Not Lane. Oops.  I don't know what it is about drywall, but Josie sure likes it.

I guess what it comes down to is this:  We have a super cute kitty we call Sweet Josie, who causes quite a ruckus and is very destructive.  She fits right in.

Judge not.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Romans 2:1 (NIV)

Funny how it works, I read scripture yesterday about judging others.  And I thought to myself, oh, yeah, I know I'm not supposed to judge others and I don't really do that.  Not that much.  Well, I try not to.

And then...while I was grocery shopping on my lunch hour, I caught myself doing that very thing that I don't really think I do...two times, at least that is all I can remember.  In one hour.

The first episode:  I saw someone in the store that had declined to help me with something because they were just "too busy today."  So I pushed my cart past this person at blazing speeds because I only have an hour, thinking to myself, "Oh, they are so much busier than I am?  And here I am on my lunch hour trying to get all this stuff together...blah, blah, blah."  Snap.  There it was.  Instantly, I was convicted.

It doesn't matter what they were doing.  It should be of no concern to me.  I have no idea what they were doing before or what they were going to do after their own grocery shopping.  I have no idea what is going on in their lives and what guidelines they have set for themselves so as not to be overloaded.  And really, if I'm feeling overloaded, that is my own fault.  I have the power to say no to things.  I just struggle with it.

Round two: I load up my groceries and head back to work.  Yesterday was the day it was so cruddy out after a very beautiful Tuesday.  As I am passing through downtown, I see two adults walking down the sidewalk with two small children tagging along behind.  I'm guessing the kids are maybe in the four-year-old range.  They do not have coats on.  It is pretty chilly.  Instantly, I say to myself, "Good grief, what is wrong with people?  Get coats on those kids!"  And almost immediately I realized what I had done and started laughing.

Who do I think I am fooling?  This was another perfect example of me passing judgment on others. Immediately, memories from the past come to my mind, such as, Madolyn wearing a sombrero and plastic dress-up high heels to the mall; heading away for the weekend with my kids and discovering two hours from home that my son didn't bring any shoes (not one pair) with him; arriving at a rodeo with same son and realizing he didn't have on any pants (only a shirt, undies and cowboy boots).  What were people thinking of me during these prime displays of awesome parenting?

Good heavens, in a matter of about 55 minutes, I had caught myself doing this thing I don't really do two times.  There are 23 other hours in the day, how many more times am I guilty of this?

And I suppose, I could rationalize it to myself and say, well, it wasn't really that bad because I didn't actually convey these thoughts to someone else.  Ha!  Good trick, Satan.  In God's eye, it's all the same.  What a great reminder to me that I should never let myself believe I am without this sin or that one.  It doesn't matter that I didn't blast someone on Facebook publicly because they didn't have coats for their kids, or text a friend and tell them this or that.  I had the thoughts.  It is no different.

Note to self:  "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."   Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

Hiatus

Don't you just love that word?  Ha.  I'm enjoying my hiatus...well, actually I've just had other stuff that I needed to do and haven't written for a week or two.  I will be back.  Maybe I'll protest until old man winter decides to give us a break.  I sure hope that is soon.  The time change is Sunday, it would be nice if that was the magic switch.

I think the weather is getting everyone a little down.  It's as if we've been bombarded with one weather event after another.  I keep remembering how dry we've been the past couple of years and try to thank God for replenishing the moisture...if only to make myself feel better.

This verse is a good reminder for me...

When you have all you want to eat, then praise the Lord your God for giving you a good land.   Deuteronomy 8:10 (NCV)

I have pretty much all I want to eat, don't you?