1-7-16

Walked this afternoon with Dan in this wooded part of town. Walked to CVS and back tonight. Seven days in a row of 10,000+ steps.

1-6-16

Finished my new cowl/scarf today. What else? Worked all day on my annual review materials.

1-5-16

I have met my goal 5 days in a row. Tonight walked to Magnolia and back at 10pm to do it...

1-3-16

My photo today is black.

Today I learned that two different former next-door-neighbors lost their lives to depression. Depression is a fatal illness, even when treated.  And treatment is life-long.

Each was a beautiful soul.

Take depression seriously. It hurts more than any other disease.
It. Physically. Hurts.
If you or someone you know is even thinking that the pain is too much to bear, call or text a suicide hotline. Reach out.

• See list here: http://suicideprevention.wikia.com/wiki/USA

• 1-800-273-TALK
• Crisis text line: 741741
• 1-800-442-HOPE
• 1-800-SUICIDE

1-2-16

I did this today. Mixed the paint, taped, painted, and cleaned up. It had been on my to-do list for a year and it feels really good to get it done. It's the same color as our hall bathroom in Kentucky and I mixed it myself from old paints we had on hand- based on the sample you see perched on the empty paper towel holder. 

1-1-16

New Year in bloom.

We had dinner at Mom's... Seafood Mournay, after hanging out all day with Sakura and Fossy and Aza and Squirt. 

12-30-15

Knitting with Noro!
My newest favorite yarn...

12-29-15

My sister Sta gave us this Whippet garden art for Christmas. We put it in the herb garden so we can see it out the back door to remind us of dear Frisbee. 

Jes and I went and got our hair highlighted today....

12-28-15

Sakura and Fossy finger knitting...

Dan and Buddy playing backgammon on the iPad...

Jes, Aza, Fossy and Buddy playing with K'nex! 

12-26-15

Printing and hand coloring my cards...

12-25-15

The kids on Christmas day at Nana's house.

12-24-15

It rained. It flooded like I've never seen it before.

12-23-15

My new hobby- carving and printing.

We fixed Squirt's guitar today. 

Aza is making a hat...

12-19-15

Aza helped me with the mural!!!

12-17-15

We went to Calloway Gardens.

Aza and Dan and I went to Calloway Gardens. Butterfly exhibit and owl and hawk show.

12-15-15

I bought the supplies for a Magnolia Wreath and started making it.

It looks nice!

We went to Mom's for dinner and had Shepherds' Pie and these goodies for dessert. The best.

12-14-15

I bought this for $2.17 to unravel it and make yarn.

Wool, cashmere, and angora.

I got 400+ grams of yarn.

12-14-15

I finished these today. Hardest thing I've ever knit. Too bad one ended up larger than the other one! 

12-11-15

Working on the hardest thing I've ever made. What a pain! And when I finish, I will find that I made one significantly larger than the other.

12-10-15

This is my project at work. Taking hand spun wool and making a coaster for my coffee cup. I like to knit a row when I'm thinking.

12-4-15

Had lunch here with a friend- my knitting student Zelda, before perusing the yarn store.

12-4-15

What a week. Three candidates for a job... and I'm the search chair. 12+ hour days for five days in a row has me worn out. I celebrated once it was over by sitting and knitting for several hours. This coffee gave me joy on this day.

12-1-15

My students and I are re-creating the mural I painted 10 years ago in Virginia. We worked on it for two hours today, and it is coming along nicely. It brings me great joy to see it come to life again.

11-30-15

Happy 30th Anniversary to my best friend. Xxxoooxxxooo

11-29-15

Looking for a new color for the front door. Something a shade less green and a smidge more blue. Dusty Tiffany maybe. Opinions?

11-28-15

Dan and I went to the AU UA game. I lasted for two quarters.

11-27-15

An explanation.
This blog.
I wanted to quit it this month, last month too. I wondered if it was worth it, if anyone ever looked at it, and most importantly, if I would even want to remember this part of my life anyways.

This semester has been so very difficult for a number of reasons:
Teaching overload
Depression of a terrible magnitude
Squirt moving out
Frisbee dying
Missing my daughters
Missing my sisters

The joy left me and I felt like I'd lost myself, and so I saw my doctor.

He switched my medication and I woke up with joy and a sense of self again.

So, in contemplating yesterday, on Thanksgiving day, whether to ditch this blog, I realized that I still had joy worth remembering. Whenever I feel that joy, I will try to capture a photo to remember it by.

If you read this blog, I am sorry to have left you in the lurch for a month, and I hope you will check in on me now and then. I hope I won't go silent again. But If I do, say a prayer for Chrissy. Life can feel heavy sometimes.

11-26-15

Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, my dad, and my sisters Sta and Sakura, with Dan and Squirt, and Gwennie, and Kels and Brick.

Dessert was yummmmmmmmmmmmmm......

11-24-15

I did this today. My sister Sta and I went to Lowe's and bought plants and pots to decorate my front porch better. Dan said, so, when are you going back to buy a third pot like the others? On my next trip to Lowe's. And we really need to get that mold off the paint. and I really don't like the color of those steps anyway. What color would look good? Red?

11-23-15

The mural is coming along. It was painted 10 years ago in Virginia, but was destroyed in a building renovation. My students and I are re-creating it on canvas so we can move it should our classroom move one day.

11-22-15

I finished blocking this today-- a strange shawl/scarf I made that I'm not crazy about, but will find someone to give to.