1.06.2004  

Outta Here.....

Well, as much as I hate to admit it....I'm terrible at this. All day long as I go about my fibery pursuits I think of all sorts of clever little observations about which to write. Then as soon as I sit down at that computer, it all seems so dull. I love reading your blogs and do so everyday. I just can't seem to get around to writing my own. I have to face facts, folks. I'm a voyeur. I like to watch others do it.

I suppose it doesn't help that the computer is in this chilly damp basement. Perhaps someday when my office moves upstairs I will be more responsible with my blogging. Until then, I gracefully (or not so gracefully) bow out.

I'm not gone, though. I'm still watching YOU.....

X X X X X O O O O O


  posted by JT @ 11:24 AM

 
12.10.2003  
It's like Christmas already.

Does everyone get as silly giddy as I do when the new Knitty appears? What did we all do to deserve such fab goodies? For free! Apparently we were very very good in our respective previous lives.

I've decided to post a permanent (more or less) photo of my wedding shawl on the sidebar to the right. After the wedding, you know, it went right into the cedar chest and only rarely comes out now for requested viewings, during which I find myself apologizing profusely for the hamster smell emenating from it. So I've put it out for something of a public viewing. All that work, you know. And all that stress! Last spring I taught an entire course on the Psychology of Anxiety and managed to convince myself that stress is what is killing us all. I honestly believe now you can give up cigarettes, coffee, fat, and sugar, aerobisize until you drop, but if you live a high stress life it's all for nothing. A constant level of stress and and anxiety will decrease your quality and life and surely hasten the end of it.

I only mention all this because because I am now on a quest for calm. (yeah, sure, that's why I married a man with three teenagers...) -- so in that spirit I've decided to give up knitting to deadlines and punted all my Christmas gift plans. I found myself dangerously close to not having fun.

Having said all that, I am thinking about making some kind of significant change to my blogging strategy, for several reason, not the least being that Blogger is just bumming me out. For reasons beyond my immediate comprehension, I can not edit posts after I write them. Which stresses me out to no end!

  posted by JT @ 9:10 AM

 
11.30.2003  

Shameless Plug

Have I mentioned in the past couple weeks how much I love living in Southern Indiana? I was thinking about this yet again while we drove through farmland on our way to Indianapolis today.

There’s this guy here who write songs about this area, this area which has a long history as an artists’ colony, attracting all sorts of colorful (no pun intended) characters, as artists’ colonies tend to do. Anyways, this local musician writes songs that recount the stories and histories of this area. Slats Klug and his wife Lauren Roberts are local celebrities and if you haven’t heard of them, and you are roots fans, then you should. She has an amazing voice, reminiscent of Bette Midler with power, style, and sheer musicality (if that's a word). When I say Slats “write songs” I mean he writes the lyrics, the music, and I believe he does the arranging as well. I just can’t tell you how great they are. I mean, how can you not love a song titled “Possum Trot”….hmmm? Answer me that….

But getting back to my original point, how much I like living here…well, thanks to Slats, the entire pace and quality of life here is put to music now. Like this:

Boys we’re losing this here race against the future
All this hurry won’t help them in the end
And where they’re rushin’ to, Hell I ain’t too sure
Put on the brakes like nature did intend
[Slat Klug, 1999, “My Brown County Home”]

Of course, it loses something without being able to hear the harmonies. I wish I could play it for you.

Here they are.

 
11.25.2003  

Decisions

I wanted very much to give my mom a lace shawl for Christmas, but it is becoming increasingly clear that if I try to do that, I will be able to make no other gifts for Christmas, which would be problematic given my apparent scarcity of funds this year. But if I don't make the shawl for my mom, whatever will I get *her*? oh dear oh dear oh dear.

  posted by JT @ 12:08 PM

 
11.19.2003  

Thanks!

I received some kind words in my comments yesterday, for which I'm so grateful. Brings up a good point....I don't have any friends with step-kids of their own. I've thought about this, and it's odd, but I really don't know have anyone with whom to commiserate.

My own son is 21. I was a single parent the entire time he was growing up and we have always been very close. I didn’t appreciate how unusual our relationship was…but there was little conflict and when there was, we discussed things quite rationally. I understand this is not entirely unusual for single parent families. But now I am in a much more normal household with normal rebellious teenagers with wild mood swings and it is quite a steep learning curve for me to deal with. On the other hand….it could be so very much worse. At least 50% of the time they are quite nice to me.

Oh oh oh…..what’s this?