Meanderings of Gentle Gull

Knitting Socks #6

2009-11-23T09:12:00.003-05:00

We are going to be working on the gusset now. That is the area of the sock after the heel where we narrow the sock down, where the side of the ankle is, before we get to working on the foot. to do this we are going to be decreasing stitches on both sides as follows:

Round 1: knit the stitches on needle one until the last three stitches, knit the next 2 together, then knit one. This will end needle one. Knit the stitches on needle two. On needle three knit one stitch, the with the next two stitches SSK, slip the next two stitches then knit them together like we did with the heel, (or you can slip one stitch, knit one stitch and then take the slipped stitch and move it up and over the knit stitch off the end of the needle). Continue to knit the remaining stitches to the end of needle three. With this round we decreased by two stitches total.

Round 2: knit

Repeat round 1 and 2 until you have the same number of stitches as you started the sock. With these socks it is 56 stitches, so now I have 14 stitches on needle one, 28 on needle two, and 14 on needle three.

Once you are at this point the gusset is completed and we will be knitting the foot of the sock. To do this you just knit, in rounds, even (no increase....no decrease) until the sock measures 2 inches smaller than your foot (measuring from back of heel to end of longest toe).

Knitting Socks #5

2009-11-22T09:47:00.012-05:00

Now we have the heel cup. The next step is to add stitches along the side and get back to working in the round. Your last row should have been a knit/slip row. We are going to be picking up stitches along one side first.

You will either use a knitting needle or a crochet hook, slip either through the top edge of the side of your sock, pick up the yarn from the inside/back and pull a loop of yarn through.

Keep that new stitch on your needle (or if you are using a crochet hook to pick up stitches place that loop on one of your two empty needles.

Continue to pick up stitches along the edge moving away from the heel cup as you go, toward those stitches you have on the stitch holder.

Pick up stitches evenly and pick up 13-15 stitches, however many fit nicely in there for you. I usually end up with 15. The important thing is to remember how many you pick up, and pick up the same amount on the other side of this sock and also on your next sock.

After you pick up the stitches on the one side you will knit the stitches from your needle holder. You may need to first slip them onto a needle, or you may be able to knit them straight from the stitch holder.

Now you have just one side without stitches. Pick up the same amount of stitches on this side as you did on the parallel side. Again using either the empty needle or a crochet hook.

Once you have this done you will be looking at 4 needles with stitches on them.

What you will do at this point is move the stitches from needle one (the heel cup) to needle 2 and 4. So divide the stitches on your heel cup in 1/2 (9) and you will knit 9 stitches onto needle 4.

The slip the remaining 9 stitches from your heel cup onto needle 2 (which will now be needle 1).

You are now back to three working needles and an empty needle for knitting. We will be knitting in the round from here.

Daily Routine

2009-11-16T08:20:00.002-05:00

We are back from vacation and I am quietly slipping back into my daily routine. We don't have much of a routine around here but there are things that I do each and every day that fall into that category.

This morning I could feel the dewy grass on my bare feet as I walked slowly out to care for the chickens. The brisk air really lets me know that I am alive. Sun streaming across my face the chickens come out to greet me as I lift their door so they can have free roam of the pasture during the day. I sprinkle just a bit of feed out for them and check their water. All is good. I generally sit in my small lawn chair out with the chicks for a while, it is just so quiet out at the barn this time of the morning. No deer prancing in the pasture today for me, but I can hear all the birds singing in the trees. Looking across the field, I can see the fog as the sun bakes the dew off the grass. Just a pretty site, nice place to meditate and ground myself for the day.

I just relax for a few minutes keeping myself present in the moment, then let the day slip in somewhere. Start thinking about the barn, it needs some repairs. We will need to finish this up by spring. We also need some new chicks, need to think about those for spring. And looking out over the field we have some nice trees, will have to come out over the next few weeks with Jackson and the boys to pick out our Christmas Tree for this year.

Yes, it's time to get up and walk back to the house, I will need to start sending out speaker contracts to the speakers for the Love to Learn Conference today, pick up the dogs from the kennel, I can't wait to see them, make some bread and crackers to have around the house, and I have a few bananas starting to go brown, maybe make some banana bread for the boys for breakfast, that would be a treat. OK back into the groove, grateful for another day. Maybe tomorrow I'll bring out my camera so you all can see what I see.

TWLOHA day

2009-11-13T22:54:00.003-05:00

OK the non profit organization is called To Write Love on Her Arms. And today is the day for everyone to write love on their arms to show support, encouragement and love for those in our live affected by depression, and we all know someone affected by depression.

Personally my father was depressed after my mother died, would not seek help no matter how much I asked, and he committed suicide on Halloween some years ago. I feel that loss every day. If you read the statistics on the TWLOHA web site you will see how desperately we need to change things in this country and around the world. Help people that are suffering, let them know there is a way through, let them know they are loved.

So today I wrote LOVE on my arms, actually my sons helped me write love on my arms. I have family and friends struggling with depression every day, taking one day at a time. So for them and for everyone else out there.....you ARE loved.

Just Be Here...Meditation

2009-11-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

It has always been a challenge for me to meditate. I guess in this world where every minute has to count for something it is difficult to slow down. Hard to clear the mind and sit. I have always said I have my own forms of meditation, my knitting, cooking etc. But it always seems like I am falling short in my practice. That I am missing some benefit, that by sitting daily in quiet meditation, doing nothing, I would somehow gain something more tangible. So my daily reading this morning was eye opening. So let me share just a bit:

".....As long as we insist that meditation must be meaningful, we fail to understand it. We meditate with the idea that we’re going to get something from it—that it will lower our blood pressure, calm us down, or enhance our concentration. And, we believe, if we meditate long enough, and in just the right way, it might even bring us to enlightenment.

All of this is delusion.....

So why meditate? If it’s not to get some benefit, what’s the point?...

Meditation is just to be here. This can mean doing the dishes, writing a letter, driving a car, or having a conversation - if we’re fully engaged in this activity of the moment, there is no plotting or scheming or ulterior purpose. This full engagement is meditation. It doesn’t mean anything but itself...."

How profound. The article is called Looking for Meaning, written by Steve Hagen. In, of course, my favorite magazine, Tricycle. So please visit the article online, and read the entire piece.

Equal Rights

2009-11-11T08:57:00.005-05:00

Over the past few weeks, several acquaintances, that live here in NC, have questioned me concerning what they perceive as my religion, as well as, my support of equal marital rights in Maine. Equal marital rights was up for vote in this past Maine election.

I have been struggling to understand the stance of those in opposition to equal marital rights, as well as the stance of the Conservative Christians in this area. In the past I have been told I was going to Hell for my beliefs, hard to understand considering I don't believe in Hell. I have been told I am choosing death instead of life....well you get the picture. This is all new to me, as I was born and raised in Maine and my parents and community pretty much followed a "live and let live" philosophy. Where the focus was on living your best life.

Many Christians here in NC use the argument that we need to live by God's law and what it says in the Bible. While personally, I believe that everyone has a right to live that way if they so choose. I don't believe that everyone should *have to* live that way. A subtle difference maybe but still a difference. Some truly believe that we all should live by one set of personal values. That somehow my values are inferior, and I should be forced to live by their superior values.

I believe that religious freedom is a freedom granted to everyone. The first amendment to the Constitution says in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". There will be no national religion. If there is no national religion, I do not believe that our laws should reflect the values of one religion. I do not believe that I should be forced to live by one Christian set of values.

In discussing this issue I have found it difficult to even begin to make a point as so many believe that it is their calling to make sure all are living by God's law. If not they will surely perish in the fires of Hell. Some really can't conceive of a "to each his own" society, believing that my beliefs are just as "right" and equal as their beliefs. It is outside their realm of conception that my beliefs bring as much joy to me as their beliefs bring to them, and are just as right for me as theirs are for them.

Now to my recent facebook posts concerning my support for the equal marital rights vote in Maine. I received quite a few e mails concerning this.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It doesn't say that all Christian men are created equal. It also does not say that "they are endowed by *my* creator". It says ALL men are created equal and are endowed by THEIR creator (whatever that creator may or may not be).

It also says that we have certain unalienable rights including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I was asked by one person "why can't they just be together, why do they need a piece of paper, why do they need to be legally married?"

My answer was... why not? I mean that little piece of legal paper was and is important to me, it was/is important to the person asking the question. Why should it not be important to everyone. And I should clarify that by "they" she was referring to any same gender couple seeking a marriage license in Maine. I believe that this choice, to legally marry in this country, should be a choice available to all couples.

People today are bombarded with advertising based solely around possible negative outcomes. I think opponents to anything use negatives to their advantage. Harping on the negative things that "could" happen if a particular event were to come to pass. It really doesn't matter what the event is, there are always those who will be standing there to tell you just what evils will pop into your existence if it happens, preying on people's fear. While it isn't a suicide bomber, I feel it is a form or terrorism. Creating terror in people using only words. It is so easy to get caught up in that fear, and keep yourself up at night thinking about yourself and your children. Isn't' that where they always hit us, with our children. But if you think about the bigger picture, there are negative things out there every day in our lives. With every choice we make, there are positive outcomes and negative variables just standing there. For the most part we don't approach every situation, every choice, from a place of fear. We only wollow in the presence of fear when it is brought to our attention over and over again, through different media.

I choose to approach choices, and life in general, from a place of peace. I refuse to let fear rule my life. Fear does not serve to bring joy into my life. That is what I am seeking, in my life, in my marriage, in my motherhood...JOY. As a family, as individuals, we seek out those things that bring us joy. And lingering in fear does not do that. Standing in the presence of peace, choosing to live my life from a place of peace, brings joy. Maybe that is why I just can't seem to understand where so many are coming from when they feel it's their calling to make sure everyone is living by the Bible, and opposing same gender marriage. Maybe they are living a life guided by fear, either consciously or unconsciously. I think we can make the choice to change. We can choose today to let peace live in our lives, in our families. We can each choose to let peace guide our decisions.

I do not choose fear, I choose peace.

I know this post may just seem like ramblings, and I have rewritten it several times trying to get my feelings down on paper, not an easy task. But I wanted to say "something", to try to explain my position just a bit. I know I live in The South where equal marital rights will not even be the topic of debate for many years to come. My ties to Maine are deep, and I care about my friends and family that still reside there. I would love to see the people of Maine at the front of this march, taking the lead when it comes to equal rights, making sure equal rights MEANS equal rights for EVERYONE!

Socks

2009-11-05T08:26:00.002-05:00

I mentioned that I have made a few pair of women's socks. I ran across some really pretty yarn, so I knew it would make wonderful socks. And it did. I make three pair last week, just couldn't knit fast enough, I wanted to see what the colors would create, how they would come together in socks.

They are not up on my etsy store yet but I hope to have them on there in a couple of weeks!! Aren't the colors just delisious?!

Tackle it Tuesday

2009-11-03T07:36:00.007-05:00

I am so excited about this challenge. And I find myself looking at little cluttered spots around my home differently. Seeing what little spots I can tackle when I only have an hour or so. This week it was my sewing/crafting area. This is hard for me. I had a whole room, which I gave up for my son. Dallen wanted his own room, and this was the plan so it wasn't a surprise. I knew that I had a whole craft room until one of the boys wanted their own room, then my craft room would be a craft corner in the family room, and my craft room would become a bedroom. It isn't like I crafted in my craft room, but I was able to keep my crafting things organized and accessible. Now they are in bins behind the mirrored doors, a little harder to get at. And I have that corner you see in the picture. It just needs to be more organized. And now is the perfect time to do it because I have three pair of pants that I need to hem. Here is my Tackle it Tuesday:

Here is the before picture:

And the after pictures:

Maybe if I tackle my house, one "corner" at a time, I can declutter and reorganize, LOL.

Knitting Socks #4

2009-11-02T09:18:00.006-05:00

OK so my computer ate all my digital pictures. In the mean time I have been knitting men's socks, and am now finished. Have knit another few pair of women's socks, taken more pictures, so I am back on track, photos on my computer, and ready to resume with the instructions.

We will be working on the heel cup now. You have 2 inches of heel flap already knit and you will be looking at the wrong side of the heel, your last row should have been a knit/slip row.

*One definition/explanation you will need to do the heel cup:

SSK, this mean slip/slip/knit. What you do is slip a stitch (as if to knit) from left needle to the right, then slip the next stitch (as if to knit) {two total slipped} from left needle to right . Then take your left needle and put it back into those slipped stitches, and knit those two stitches together, this makes a nice looking knit stitch and decreases by one stitch. If this doesn't make sense you can substitute with THIS: Slip the first stitch, knit the next stitch, the slip the slipped stitch over the knit stitch and off the needle, this also decreases by one stitch. I prefer the first technique but both work.

Working those same 28 stitches, for the heel cup you will:

row 1: slip 1 stitch (as if to purl), purl 13 (this brings you to the center of the row) then purl 2 more (so a total of 15 purl stitches), purl 2 together, purl 1 more. You will see you still have 9 stitches remaining on your needle unknit. This is how it should look, stitches on both needles. Stop here and just turn your knitting around, leaving those 9 stitches unknit.

row 2: slip 1 (as if to knit), knit 5, ssk the next two stitches*, knit 1 (9 stitches remain unknit) turn.

row 3: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 6, purl 2 together, purl 1, (7 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 4: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 7, ssk the next two stitches knit 1, (7 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 5: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 8, purl 2 together, purl 1 (5 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 6: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 9, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (5 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 7: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 10, purl 2 together, purl 1 (3 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 8: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 11, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (3 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 9: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 12, purl 2 together, purl 1 (1 stitch remains unknit) turn

row 10: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 13, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (1 stitch remains unknit) turn

row 11: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 14, purl 2 together, turn

row 12: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 14, ssk next two stitches together.

You will now have 16 stitches at the end of the heel cup.

The Beauty in Water

2009-11-01T20:57:00.004-05:00

I have always been a water person. Just feel so much calmer and at peace near the water. My father was a fisherman, so I grew up on the water. I loved going fishing with my dad, I wasn't much of a "fisherman" but I really enjoyed the boat ride, the wind, the salt water, the smell of the ocean, the sea gulls hovering close by. All those wonderful memories are just trapped in my mind, swirling around, always bring me back to the water.

At this point in my life, I live about 5 hours drive from the ocean, so only get back about twice a year, three times if I am lucky. I soak up each and every moment of it. With the hikes I have been organizing, I have been trying to make each one end at a beautiful waterfall. I can't believe how many beautiful waterfalls there are here in the mountains of North Carolina. Such force, power and serene beauty in a waterfall. I have posted a few pics of our last hike, but wanted to share one more. Mine are always Straight Out of the Camera, no time for digital touch ups.

Setrock Creek Falls Hike

2009-10-29T12:20:00.006-04:00

Every month I organize a hike somewhere not too far away. Just a group of friends. I always have thought that with all these mountains and waterfalls, as a family, we could go anytime to hike in the mountains. But the truth is that when Jackson is home, exhausted from long days at work, hiking is not first on our list of things to do. We have fun, usually, right around the house, playing games and being together.

So I started scheduling a day each month to go hiking, and I invite our friends to come along. We usually have a great group, around 4-6 families, all ages and experience levels etc. And we hike, each at our own pace, looking at everything along the way.

Just so much fun, the boys have really been enjoying these hikes as much as I. And we have seen some amazing waterfalls. I am in awe each and every time, the water just seems to come from the sky and falls down on the rocks, carving out a path along it's way, leaving it's mark on this world. Yesterday was no exception, beautiful scenery, a wonderful hike with amazing friends, time to play, and chat, just a lovely day.

Tackle it Tuesday

2009-10-27T13:38:00.003-04:00

So I have some cluttered spots that really need help, LOL. OK I have a lot of troubled spots that need help. I have tried tackling bigger projects but never seem to make any progress. In fact in tackling larger projects I seem to have time to take things apart, clean and start sorting, then get distracted and move onto another project... You know where I am going with this....
So I decided to join in on Tackle it Tuesday, and start small, working on a project that will take me no longer than an hour or so. This is my first sort:

Our ottoman. Sitting there in front of the couch it is a catch all for all sorts of stuff. Reading a book, just sit it there on the ottoman, knitting, just leave it there on the ottoman, after all I will pick it up again sometime. So there it is and now it is full of coffee mugs, knitting projects, completed knitting projects, left over yarn, books, magazines, papers, remotes etc etc. So with just about 30 minutes, putting things back where they belong....now I have a nice neat ottoman again. It really feels good to tackle the ottoman, it has been starting at me for days, LOL.

What will I tackle next Tuesday?

Socks

2009-10-26T09:52:00.003-04:00

My last pair of men's socks is finished. Now I am back to women's socks, and a lovely wool yarn in shades of purple awaits me. Yeah!! I love trying new yarn, seeing what patterns emerge. Off to knit.

October Sunrise

2009-10-25T13:40:00.004-04:00

Getting up early with the puppy has it's upsides. I get to have some quiet time to think, drink my chai, answer e mails and blog. Also I have the incredible opportunity to see some magnificent sunrises. The one a few days ago was particularly colorful. "...Red sky in the morning sailors take warning." I remember that from my childhood, my dad was a fisherman.

And this particular sky was actually followed by a few days of stormy weather, hmmm maybe there is something to that old saying.

The colors are beautiful, but the came can't capture the true magnificence of the sunrise. But this one is straight out of the camera.

Happiness

2009-10-16T08:21:00.003-04:00

I want to post about my oldest son Dallen. Just a wonderful, creative being, that I love so very much. He is built, physically, like his dad. Pictures of Jackson as a child look like Dallen now. Dallen is almost 6 feet tall, and THIN. I don't mean thin...I mean THIN, always has been. We have always had trouble finding clothing for him. When he was younger he like the wind breaker type of pants, which made it easy since those had a tie at the waste, and could be cinched to fit.

Then a couple of years ago, his style changed and he wanted jeans. OK the search began. We were able to find pants at Old Navy that had a sort of adjustable waist, so they could also be tightened to fit his waist. Of course the body of the pants was big, but at least they stayed up. Fast forward to now.....he has gotten taller but not wider. Now he is out of the kid's pants and into men's pants. No more adjustable waist, at least that we can find anywhere. He would take about a 26 waist X 34 length....if any company made that size. We have searched and searched, hours, days of looking through every store around, every mall. Hours of searching online. I even found a web site where you can (for a couple hundred $) build your own jeans, but of course they still did not go small enough in the waist.

The path we were on was to have a friend sew pants for him. That was a challenge alone, as to find boy's pant patterns was harder than I thought. We were in the process of having these custom made pants fitted, as the first go around just didn't fit right, when the getaway happened. So we took a break from that and headed out of town for FUN!! And we did have fun, but that isn't the best thing.

On the way home from the getaway we pass by an outlet mall. I asked Jackson, who was driving at the time, to just stop in and let's get out and look. Mostly the same stores we have already look in, but a couple of new ones. So we passed through the usual, Gap, American Eagle, etc. NOTHING. To get a 34 length, the smallest waist is 30. Dallen even tried that one on....OK so it was so big I think we could have fit two of him in them. Dallen was getting frustrated, he just wanted to take the jeans, even though they didn't fit. I kept telling him what I have been telling him all along, we will work it out. Let's keep looking. During this whole process Dallen showed me how he has been wearing his current jeans. I thought he still had two pair that fit him, but it turns out they didn't fit him. He had been wearing the waist down around his lower hips so that the leg was long enough, the leg was really about 4 or more inches too short. I felt so bad for him, and was frustrated myself at not being able to find pants. I mean come on, they are just pants. Dallen can't be the only tall, skinny 15 year old that has this trouble.

One last store, we walked into the Pac Sun store. OK still NOTHING smaller in the waist than 32, which is actually WAYYYYY to big for Dallen, but he wanted to try them on. So we got the "Skinniest" jeans, which are supposed to be "tight", in a 32X34 and he tried them on. The leg fit so nicely, not tight, not bulky either, they looked like they fit him. Of course the waist is inches too big. I sat in the fitting room trying to figure out how I could take them in. But there was just too much fabric to be able to take them in and have them still look like pants. So we bought a belt, which Dallen LOVED, it had skulls on it. And Dallen put the pants on with the belt, worked the fabric around a bit, put his T shirt back on, and they looked fabulous. He bought two pair, and we have the web site so we can buy more.

I never knew that clothing could effect how you feel about yourself, so much. Dallen just beamed, he smiles every time he puts those jeans on, he loves to show his friends. It was amazing. And maybe it was just that having jeans that didn't fit made him more self conscious. Along with the frustration of thinking he would never find pants that fit. I just love how he feels in his new jeans. I love how much more confidently he walks, how he smiles. It took us MONTHS, but we found them. Whew I don't even want to think about him getting taller, it seems to happen over night, we will work with that when it comes. I am just enjoying him NOW, enjoying the joy in his face.

Working for MY Family

2009-10-12T10:56:00.004-04:00

I do so many things for the homeschooling community. Not alone, by any means, most of these things are group efforts. I work on hosting different events for my children. I work on the Love to Learn Conference because I believe that NC needs an inclusive HOMESCHOOL conference.

But this past weekend was wonderful. It was a lot of hard work but it was more than worth it. It truly was for me and the whole family. Don't get me wrong I enjoy doing lots of different things, for myself and for my children, but this accomplished both in one swoop. I coordinated a couple of fun sessions that my children were interested in. I was able to participate in a couple of chats for myself. Spend time with Jackson, and there was time during the day where I could go out into the park and enjoy time with family, running, playing and just having fun. And there was time for me to get together with friends and reconnect, some friends I see on a regular basis, some that I don't see often enough, and some friends that I had never met before!!

It was just a wonderful opportunity, and I returned home feeling so recharged. Which is unusual. For the most part when I help organize things like this, it is a lot of effort, I thoroughly enjoy it and usually come away exhausted. But when I returned home last night I just had so much energy, went ahead and cleaned up all of our travel "stuff", finished laundry with energy to clean the house a little. I so can't wait to get started on next year's getaway. What a blessing, to have friends like I have, to have the family that I have. Such a joy, when it all comes together.

Craft it Wednesday

2009-10-07T12:21:00.006-04:00

OK I found a new crafting meme. YAY!!! This will be my first week sharing so I have decided to share some socks. A friend has asked for some men's socks, I am working on a total of 6 pair for her to choose from. Have been working on them for a few weeks now, but the last pair which I finished up last night were the silk/wool blend plum colored socks, so they are on the top. I just love the colors and textures. A couple pair are straight wool, one pair is alpaca (ohhhhh so sooofffftttt) and then the camo socks are hand painted wool, very cool, and of course the one pair of silk/wool blend socks. ...............One of my passions!!

Atractions

2009-10-05T09:15:00.003-04:00

This came in my daily soul retreat this morning from the soulful living web site. I love these daily notes/newsletters. Just short things to think about with more resources if I want to pursue anything further. This particular one happened to be just what I needed right now. I really like who I am, and am attracting more of that into my life, filtering out the negative influences without intentions of doing that. But by attracting more of what I want and more friends who have similar beliefs and thinking, it just enriches my life and makes the circle larger.

So this daily soul retreat is called The Law of Making Positive Connections:We Attract Who We Are by Judith Orloff, M.D

It struck a chord with me so I though I would post just a bit and if it resonates with you also you can follow the link and read more.

"A basic dynamic of energy is that we attract who we are--the more positive energy we give off, the more positive connections we’ll magnetize to us. Ditto for negativity. It works like this: Love attracts love. Grumpiness attracts grumpiness. Passion attracts passion. Rage attracts rage. The explanation? This human form of ours is a subtle energy transmitter. We’re constantly sending out signals which others on similar frequencies pick up on, and gravitate towards--an instinctual call we may not be aware of. Why opportunities do or don’t show up in our lives is a function of this."

Taos

2009-09-27T09:07:00.003-04:00

I watched a nice little movie yesterday, Taos. It was a "crossroads" type of movie, but set in the southwest, one of my favorite places. Helps me think about my life, and am I doing exactly what I love, and yes is the answer. But I also think back at my parents, my dad quit his factory job and we were scraping by at one point, barely, until he reestablished himself as a fisherman. Which is what he loved. Not much money in it, my mother eventually went back to work and it was basically pay check to pay check, but he was doing what he loved, he loved being outside, he loved working for himself. And he did leave a "secure" job and took the risk, to be happy.

If you haven't seen the movie, again it is Taos. I received it as one of the movies from the Spiritual Cinema Circle, which I thoroughly enjoy. With the Spiritual Cinema Circle, I receive monthly movies, to keep, that are generally not top run, movie theater movies, but low budget, or more thought provoking movies, usually with no "big names". Also worth the investment.

Enjoy

Roaring Fork Falls Hike

2009-09-26T11:49:00.005-04:00

What a glorious day for a hike. With so much rain lately, I NEEDED to get out of the house and just be out in the green grass. It didn't matter to me if it was raining or not at this point. I like the rain, of course, didn't want to be hiking in rain soaked clothes and wet shoes, and I knew the boys wouldn't want that either. But a little bit of cabin fever was setting in and so we scheduled hiking day "rain or shine". I didn't really know who would show up but we were going anyway. The boys and I made a trip to the sports store for some rain gear...we were going to be "fashionable AND dry"...LOL.

But no need, the rain stopped and the sun came out just for our hike, how beautiful. Not too cold and not too hot just perfect. A nice easy hike to a magnificent waterfall, Roaring Fork Falls Hike. With all the rain the waterfall was just racing down the mountain. We had a good sized group of some of my favorite people, all ready to hike, and play and have fun together. I loved watching kids playing in the water, jumping from rock to rock, chatting with friends and taking pictures. The boys enjoyed the day, I enjoyed the day. And now it is raining again, supposed to rain all weekend. But I feel refreshed, just the break I needed. I am so blessed to find this picturesque place to live, so many great hikes here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There is no better way to clear your head, forget everything else going on around you, and just be present in the moment, enjoying life and getting in touch with nature, than a nice hike and a breathtaking waterfall. Looking forward to next month.

Pain and Parenting

2009-09-24T17:13:00.004-04:00

OK so probably not the best title for this post but all I could come up with. At the beginning of this week my oldest son, Dallen, had an orthodontist appointment. He was getting a devise in his mouth to bring out his bottom jaw a little. He and I were told ahead of time that his teeth, jaw would be sore for about a week after this device was in.

So I sat there for about an hour and a half while they worked on Dallen, afterward the orthodontist wanted to talk to both of us just for a minute. He showed me on a demo model exactly what the device looked like, how it worked, showed Dallen any details on how to clean it. He was very nice. Then he again reiterated that his mouth would be sore for about a week, then spoke to me saying: "so any complaints of pain he has are sincere." OK so what does that mean.

I didn't know exactly what he meant by that so I didn't really say anything and we left. But I have been thinking about it ever since. I took a few minutes to look up the word sincere at Dictionary.com. Wanted to be sure I was using it correctly, maybe all these years I really didn't know the acceptable definition. I found this:

1.free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness; earnest: a sincere apology.
2.genuine; real: a sincere effort to improve; a sincere friend.
3.pure; unmixed; unadulterated.
4.Obsolete. sound; unimpaired.

OK so, yes, I have been using it correctly. Was the orthodontist really saying that any pain Dallen is having is "not false" or it is "earnest", really? Why would I think otherwise? I have never heard the word used with regard to pain before. Isn't pain a really subjective sensation? How is one person to judge if complaints of pain are sincere or not?

My mother was a very authoritarian parent, very much in control of her children. She often used punishments as her means of behavior modification. But she never questions my pain, not that I remember anyway. Tooth pain, ear pain, stomach pain, headache etc. never questioned that it was real or "free of deceit". How would you tell someone that their pain was not "genuine"? I can't even relate to this. And why would a child be less than truthful about pain? I guess I have really thought that children were less than truthful because of fear of being punished (to put it simply). So if there is some kind of fear attached, would a child be punished for having pain? I guess I could see it if the child was in fear of something else, unrelated to pain, and used the fib about pain to get out of that particular punishment. hmmmm I might have done that as a child had I thought of it. ;-)

All this had never crossed my mind before. I have never, nor would I ever question my child if he told me he was in pain. We would just work to figure out what kind of pain and what we could do to help him feel better. Which we have been doing, since he has been in some pain this week.

Visits to the orthodontist always give me lots to think about. Like the time Dallen's front braces popped off a few hours after he had them put on. He was sitting at his computer and one by one, four of them popped off. He looked at me and said "mom I think one of my braces came off." I replied "nope, four came off." So the next day we were back at the orthodontist's office and the assistant asked me if "he pulled them off". What? What was she asking me? I just replied "no, why would he, he is the one that decided it was time for braces, and he is ready for this." I mean we have talked about braces for a while and I just told Dallen when/if he was ready for braces to let me know and we would look at our options, so this year he said he was ready and wanted to move forward. So, do parents have braces put on children who don't want them? I guess they must or she wouldn't have asked that question. Right?

I forget sometimes what more traditional parenting looks like. Maybe that is a good thing.

My Boys are WONDERFUL

2009-09-19T19:56:00.003-04:00

You know I think now and again about what my boys will be like when they are older, will they be parents, will they find a partner they love as much as I love their dad, where will their passions take them, that sort of thing.

Tonight I was watching a show on National Geographic about transgender children, young children. And they spot lighted a young boy, born a boy with the genitals of a male. As this boy aged, he entered school as a boy but would dress up as a girl at home, would tell his parents he was not a boy he was a girl, OK there was a lot more to the show, and I am sure you can find the National Geographic channel and see or read about it.

But I was just finding it interesting. The parents, when the child was still young, decided that she should be able to decide for herself what her gender was. And if she was this persistent that she was not a boy, maybe they should listen to her. So they bought her the clothes she wanted, let her grow her hair etc. The show went on to discuss possibilities for this girl's future, but that isn't what I wanted to share. I thought it was so AMAZING that this family totally went against society, even facing ridicule and threats, to allow their daughter to express herself as she wanted, to be herself. How thoughtful and loving that was.

My youngest son walked into the room and asked what I was watching, so I basically said, this is talking about this little girl, who has male genitals but does not feel inside like she is a boy, she feels like she is a girl. He asked a couple of questions, and I said something about other adults picking on her. He replied "why would they do that, that is mean, they should just let her be what she wants to be." HOW amazing is that. He is such a caring and compassionate child. And he does not have the societal bias that so many children do. He is 12 and I can think of a handful of 12 year olds that would be right there thinking that this was horrible, and she should just be a boy after all she is made like a boy. But not my son, he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to try to make her be something she does not feel like she is. It was so not a big deal to him, she should be what she wants, she should be able to determine for herself. AHHHHH self-determination. Some get it, so many do not.

Busy

2009-09-09T23:25:00.004-04:00

Have been too busy to even blog these days. I don't like that feeling. I like having time to enjoy everything around me. I have been thinking about blogging, have some things I want to get down, and mull over. I have things I really enjoy but I also value down time, and time to just process everything going on in my life, appreciate the joy and life I have in front of me. I think in the not so distant future I need to re-evaluate the things I do, try to decide what is more important and not try to fit everything in, making a busy schedule that leaves no time for reflection and space.

I need to find people equally passionate about the things that are important to me, see if I can share the passion and cut the work in 1/2. That is one possibility. I can and do say no. If it is something that I don't enjoy, that does not add to my life. I guess I just have so many interests right now. Maybe because growing up I was not allowed to just follow my interests to their end. I had to choose, for lack of money, what interests I wanted to pursue and had to follow those that I chose, for years, there was no dropping something if I found that it did not hold my interest. Maybe that is why I am trying so many things now.

So many thoughts going around in my head, so many options, I need to meditate, relax, ponder and see what comes alive in me. Time will tell. One priority is to have time to blog....and blog I will.

Pondering this life

All my interests surround me

Submerged in the joy

In the end I'm an INTROVERT

2009-08-12T18:07:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so introverted, that I could easily mingle in a crowded room and not think about all the people I don't know, about how crowded it is, and that I can't find my space. Sometimes I wish I could be out there, talking with people and not have it zap my energy, but instead fill me up.

But in the end I am an introvert. I do enjoy mingling and talking, but it does zap my energy. The last few weeks have been busy, conference to help organize and pull off, friends coming over. Boys who are social. But today I just feel like pulling back, and hibernating for a while. So if you push through that and continue to get out there...does it go away? That feeling of not wanting to see another person, outside of immediate family, for a while. Will it ease up and I will come out of my shell more and feel more comfortable in those situations? Or is this just who I am? I have accepted it as just who I am for so long, and am happy this way. I like my solitude once in a while. I enjoy the comfort of those I love.

So if I am happy is there a need to change? I don't feel like I need to change other than that little twinge of guilt for not wanting to socialize right now. I know this feeling will pass. The quiet time I have at home will fill my cup back up to overflowing, and I will feel like meeting people, talking, going out etc. But for right now in this moment....I think I know what I need. And will just curl up with a cuppa chai, my knitting and a good movie. The boys are happily playing together. Maybe read to the boys later on this evening, or play a game, or perhaps both. No pressure to chat, no pressure to be a good hostess. :-) Just me being me.

This Morning's Chuckle

2009-08-05T09:57:00.002-04:00

OK I just had to share this because it made me chuckle this morning. It is a comment about a homeschool article. Here is the article in case anyone is interested. It is a factual article about homeschool statistics in NC, but the author did mention our conference coming up this Saturday (WHOOO HOOOO).

OK the funny part is this comment:

"...They will not learn crucial skills necessary to cope with other kids from different backgrounds - this is an important part of education and will promote their success in the working world. The home school atmosphere will also give the students a tunnel view of the real world in that they will be protected from the diverse attributes of the public education. "

OMG I had to laugh so hard. I wonder if people proof read the comment first to make sure it actually makes sense. Since when do public schools have kids from "different backgrounds", that has been the subject of debate for years. And you gotta love the "homeschool atmosphere will also give the students a tunnel view of the real world" (OK because we know the home, community, city, state are not the real world) oh yes the poster lets us know exactly what the real world is... THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. ROFLOL.

OK just had to share in case anyone else needed a little chuckle this morning.