It's Official.

I start my class for beginning knitters on Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes.

It Gets Worse...

Tomorrow after work, Big Mama and I are registering for a knitting class at a local yarn store. This place is serious. They sell fair trade yarns, silk, organic cotton yarns, huge looms for rug making, you name it. It's a far cry from your run of the mill craft store full of polyester and acrylic. As embarrassing as it is to admit it, I'm really excited. The instructors at this place are certified through The Knitting Guild Association (can you believe there really is such a thing?). Why does this even matter? I had a hard time focusing at work today because I wanted to be knitting. Or at least perusing the yarn store and daydreaming about handmade sweaters (did I mention it's still in the 90's here?). What am I becoming? Aaahhh!

Whatever. I like it.

Adventures in domestication

Last night I went to a craft store with Big Mama and we left with bags full of yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and how-to books on knitting, crochet, and embroidery. This may not seem outrageous to you... but we grew up being dragged into craft stores by our mother the sewing-fiend and have both had aversions to craft stores for years. We kept teasing each other about turning into our mother and cracking up and saying things like, "Whatever, we make this cool." We're both very interested in textiles. And we're not the only ones. Meme majored in fashion design after BYU phased out the textiles department and both Mojo and Big Mama just bought sewing machines. And I know Reb has knitting needles. Whether or not she uses them is another matter. It's fascinating. And it IS cool. I learned some basic crochet several years ago but never got beyond making simple scarves. Today I knit a hat. I'm really proud of myself. I really like this stuff. We even tossed around the idea today of opening up a shop once we get good enough at it. That would be cool. I'm all for spending my whole day with a ball of yarn or a sewing machine.

still breathing

Oh how I miss blogging... and having something interesting to say... or at least believing I have something interesting to say. I haven't blogged about my Grandmama they way I blogged about Tiffanie because this new loss is much deeper and more personal. I'm dealing with it differently. I promise you that I'm coming back to blog before too long. I think I used to be funny... or at least that my attempts at being funny were funny. Eventually you will have something fantastic to read. But for now I've got to get back to not grocery shopping, not picking up my clean clothes off the floor (somehow the dirty ones always end up in the right place), not washing my dirty car, and not reading my mail. I did miraculously manage to do my laundry and my ironing last night so I didn't look like a vagabond at the Domestic Violence Awareness Conference at a Community College this morning. And I held a successful and productive Parenting Group this evening. And I got to the bottom of a sticky situation and am prepared for my meeting with a rogue and irresponsible CPS case worker in the morning. But now it's time for bed.

Sad Day

My mom called me at 5:30am this morning to tell me that my Grandmama had passed away. I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. I sat on my bed and wept. Yes she was sick and hurting, yes she is out of pain, yes I KNOW I will see her again, but my heart is broken. She was one of the most influential people in my life. I love her so so very much. I called and told my boss and she was incredible and understanding and told me to be with my family. I spoke to my sister Big Mama and she said she and Big Daddy were going shopping to get funeral clothes for the boys. I agreed to meet her at the store and when I got there, the group had expanded to include Mojo and Dewey. We all wandered around trying to keep the boys from destroying the store and picking out clothes for each other and piling in the dressing rooms together. When I found myself alone in the store, I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I need close proximity to my family. By the end of this week, everyone will be in town mourning together and I am happy that we will all be together and grateful for my amazing and loving family.

Random thoughts while shopping...

I'm divorcing polyester. Seriously. It has its place, in small amounts, blended with natural fibers. But polyester just looks like polyester. I don't understand why it's used to line other clothing since it doesn't breathe. It might just be my mission in life to rid my friends and family members' closets of the offending material. Today I bought beautiful fawn-colored wool tweed pants even though it's still 90 degrees outside. It's fall! In the last few years, my fashion sense has evolved considerably. I think I have good fashion, but as we all know, good fashion is relative.

I'm really picky about fabrics and can touch a garment and tell you whether it will hold its shape, how well it will keep its finish and color, and whether or not it's been priced correctly. My mom taught me; she made our Sunday clothes and always took me fabric shopping with her. I love natural fabrics and because of this, I spend a lot of time ironing, even though I hate it. Linen is my all-time favorite material.

I went shopping today after work. I don't think I'm the typical shopper. I don't like to shop very often, but when I shop, I usually make a day of it and peruse stores for a long time making sure I don't miss anything. I try absolutely everything on that catches my eye and take my time thinking about how it will work in my life. Sometimes I impulse buy and take things home I don't really need and will never wear, but mostly I come home with some seriously great loot and I'm not afraid to return things. I also receive clothing catalogues from my favorite places and I look through them and dog-ear the pages of things I like. I then look for similar items online and compare prices, fabric content, etc. I shop seasonally and don't do much shopping outside of those 4 trips a year.

I generally don't follow current trends and I prefer classic shapes, clean lines, and refined details. I love wide-legged trousers that are men's wear inspired with deep pockets. Creased, but no pleats - think Katherine Hepburn. I LOVE pencil skirts, tailored white shirts, tailored collared shirts in pretty colors, and clean tees with good shape in all the colors of the rainbow. I happen to think my simple, thin black rubber flip-flops go with everything. I know some of you just cringed... that's my personal faux pas that I will rock until I die. I said thin, simple and black. Please know, I think platform flip flops are a crime against fashion. I love pretty wedge-heels and have to keep myself in check or I would buy them exclusively. I love peep-toe shoes, stiletto heels, and D'Orsay styles. I like the look of patent leather, but I don't wear it and was really aggravated that there were so many patent shoes on sale today when trying to find shoes. I want warm buttery leather in the fall and winter.

I'm still looking for my riding boots.