Posts

Friendships Are a Lot like Pants

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 Friendships are a lot like pants, you gotta try a copious amount of them to find the perfect ones. We’ve all been there, the dressing room for trying on new friends. It’s a work party, a social gathering, and maybe even the line at the post office. You gather a few bits of information from your interactions and agree this could be a great fit. You buy the pants so to speak. The thing with pants and friends is not all of them are gonna fit. Sometimes they're cuter in the dressing room than when you get them home, sometimes they shrink in the wash, sometimes they’re seasonal, and sometimes they fit perfectly and you can’t imagine life without them. There are those accidental friendships that grow organically, like my best friend that I’ve had for nearly three decades. We met in a bar, his friend thought I was cute. Would have never guessed he’d become the brother I didn’t need and I’d become the sister he never wanted, but here we are. This is the friendship that is akin to cozy leg

Hustle Culture is a Thief

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 Why do I need a why? Why do I need to hustle anything? Why do we need to be so busy we can’t live a life? Yesterday in my Instagram feed I saw a reel with a quote that deeply resonated with me - Time isn’t a thief, our “hustle” culture is. Let that sink in. Go ahead, reread that. Those of us living in the US have been brainwashed into thinking our lives haven’t been validated if we aren’t constantly in a state of work, a state of hustle. According to Fobes, 765 million vacation days go unused, and around 52 percent report working while on paid leave. Americans, as a culture, work constantly and when we aren’t at work all we can talk about is work. I find it interesting that valuing your time off or having boundaries for your work is almost frowned upon. I also find it interesting how many people have developed the habitual answer of “We’re crazy busy you know how it is” when you ask them how they are. That answer assumes that everyone in your circle is also consumed by being busy and

Reconnecting to My Joy of Knitting

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 Knitting is very cathartic, meditative, and soul-soothing. When I put it down for long periods of time I often forget that. I walk away from projects and leave them in a WIP (work in progress) state, often for years. Knitting projects often get finished, but on occasion, they get frogged (torn out).  A couple of weeks ago I picked up one of the WIPs in my knitting basket. I finally finished a cowl that’s been on the needles for in the ballpark of a year, maybe a touch longer. The knitting mood has finally struck and I’ve reconnected with the joy it brings me to create with two sticks and some yarn. Upon completion of the cowl pictured above, I cast a new project onto the needles. I pulled some yarn from my stash and after doing a rabbit trail of a pattern search, I pulled out my much loved Gradient Shawl pattern. Gradient Shawl by Ola Grefling is available on Ravelry if you’re looking for what I’d call a relaxing pattern. It’s very beginner-friendly and perfect for knitting with frien

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

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This morning I was thinking about this as we ate breakfast. Our oven igniter went out two weeks ago and we’re waiting on the part, translation I’m unable to bake our weekly loaf of bread. Instead of a loaf this week we’ll be eating flatbread and pita pockets, both of which could be made on the stovetop. I kind of smiled to myself, we’ve been overcoming cooking challenges our entire marriage. Improvise, adapt, overcome is an unofficial slogan of the Marine Corps, and 16 years ago when I married a retired Marine this phrase became a way of life. We’ve lived in four states, owned three homes, and faced countless challenges along the way. Life has given us a lot of lemons, but that never stopped us from figuring out the challenge and moving forward.  When we moved to Missouri, in an ice storm, as newlyweds and took up residency in our first home we had no kitchen appliances. No biggy, we improvised. It was December so a cooler could be put outside our backdoor with groceries until we could

Drawing and Painting Home

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Home is and always will be Wyoming.  Home is not really about the town I was born in, but more about the state where I spent the first nearly three decades of my life.  I'll always be a Wyoming girl no matter where I live.  At this point in my life when I talk about going home, I'm referring to my brother's ranch, that's home.  My heart is there, my family is there. I've always loved taking photos at the ranch, and when we were home for Mom's memorial it was no different than all the other trips.  Spend a little time here and you'll also learn I have an infatuation or maybe even an obsession with trees, and the ranch has many old cottonwoods and cedars to make my little dendrophile heart.   One afternoon Hubby and I were sitting in the yard listening to the birds and talking about family and what's next in our lives.  I kept studying the same tree.  Eventually, I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick pic.  I mentioned to him that I wanted to draw that

This is 46

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Yesterday was my 46th Birthday.  This year I embraced my birthday and went on with my day. I honestly think 46 looks pretty damn good on me! I spent many years as a child sharing birthday celebrations with my brother, who was born two days and 19 years before me.  Lots of years not enjoying my birthday as a kid, because it was never just my birthday.  I have one fond memory of a sleepover with girlfriends, in late grade school or early junior high.  I cherish that memory, as it was one of the few times when my birthday was just about me. I spent most of my 20s drunk on my birthday.  Usually in a bar surrounded by friends, pretending to have a good time.  In my late  20s when I met my now husband birthdays changed.  For my 28th birthday, he took me away for a week to Saint Augustine, FL.  That's when birthdays really became special.  That entire week was just about me and what I wanted to do for my birthday. Now in my 40s I love my life and embrace every wrinkle and grey hair.  Birt