Friday, April 25, 2014

7 Quick Takes {Take 38} It's been awhile! edition

-1- "Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been 3 weeks since my last confession..."

 The last time I wrote a 7 Quick Takes post was 3 weeks ago, prior to my second bout with dental surgery. It feels like forever! I like writing these posts, although my fastidious nature makes it such that they are decidedly NOT quicker for me to write. But I enjoy them, they bring out my creativity in writing. And so I'm glad to be back with you on Fridays. *beams*

-2- I have a to-do list for my son's 1st Communion. #TypeAgirlsrule

 Ok, lots of stuff coming up on my family's agenda. One of the biggest items is Henry's First Communion, scheduled for next Saturday, May 3rd. In the midst of this, Henry is now playing soccer, Mike is rehearsing for the play he's going to be in, and I've had dance rehearsals for a slew of events we have coming up this spring and summer. Thus, I made a First Communion to-do list:

(1) Obsess over and purchase gift. Check.

(2) Buy glue and finish gluing banner. Glue is bought, but hasn't yet been applied. We're getting there.

(3) Purchase outfit. Praise be to God, Mike fielded this one. Check.

(4) Plan menu. Partially done, as has been the case for the past two weeks, sigh.

(5) Order cake. Check!

*halo*

Making progress.

-3- The spring knitting bug bites...

 With all of this going on, it is no surprise that spring knitting fever has finally hit me as a stress reliever. I'm currently working on a wool sweater in a colorway entitled "Autumn Heather" so clearly, I need to get with the program. I'm feeling the itch for cotton shells and lacy shrugs. I also crave knitting baby items at this time of year, which I suppose is also part of spring's message. :0 Anybody got a baby I can knit for?!

-4- Spring reading list!

 I've also been enjoying reading in the evenings, and have several books to recommend. I'm currently reading an Amish series called "Seasons of the Heart" by Charlotte Hubbard. I read the summer and autumn books, and am now on Winter of Wishes. Also, I know, not very springy. BUT, the spring volume, Breath of Spring, is the last in the series and is set to be released May 6th!:

I'm *very* excited, and have this book pre-ordered to download to my Kindle on the release day! This is a well written series with interesting characters. Each installment is focused on one specific couple, but there are unresolved community storylines that carry over from book to book and I've been quite hooked waiting to see how things would turn out.The books are set in an Amish community in Missouri, so a little different from the norm, and very lovely.

I'm also about to start a book that I received from Image Books to review here on the blog, Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future, by Elizabeth Esther.


I love memoirs, especially of the spiritual variety, so I'm really looking forward to reading this. My copy came in yesterday's mail, and just reading the back cover had me fascinated.

-5-I actually don't hate getting older anymore...

 On a totally different topic, I've been dwelling upon age lately. I suppose it's the fact that my next birthday will mean a change in the tens column for me. As soon as I hit the mid-point of this decade, I started getting anxious about this particular milestone. Aging had never bothered me previously, but the past four years it's been on my mind quite a bit. This is the first stretch in which I have noticed physical changes, I suppose that could be the reason. Graying hair. Lines around my eyes. Thinning skin on my hands. I mean, I'm not a fan of such things, but who is? I have, however, gotten used to them. And in the case of the graying hair, eradicated them. *sniffs daintily*

But after my birthday this past February, my last for this particular decade, I decided that I'm not going to dread aging anymore. I actually LIKE most things about getting older. Not so insecure about everything anymore, check. That's a wonderful part of getting older. Feeling happier in my relationships, check. Being able to more aptly evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and thus revel in the things I enjoy and am good at, check. That's all good. Except...

-6- ...I do hate the physical degeneration part. *frowns*

The slow and very real breakdown of your body is not such a pleasing thing. Not to be dramatic, I know I have a long time to go (hopefully) before I'll be officially decrepit, but I hate suddenly noticing all of these little aches and pains:

"Is it going to rain?! My sciatica is acting up."

That sort of thing. In my case, it's my right calf muscle. I strained it *while walking in my house* which is what happens when you're pushing 40.

YOU GET HURT WHILE WALKING.

Very unfair, let me tell you. It's been bothering me off and on for weeks, and I'm not a person who veers from her routine to let things heal easily, as you all well know. I really tried to take it easy on it for a time, and it was feeling a lot better, but it flares up every now and again. Given that I have a lot of dance events coming up, this is wrecking havoc with my plans quite a bit. I am most unhappy about this.

-7- But hey, BRIGHT ORANGE DANCE COSTUME!

 Which makes the entire world happier, no? :) Although my calf clearly has something going on, it's minor enough to not be causing me pain, it's just a little sore. I should be able to dance tonight, which is good since my troupe is slated to perform at a charity event. We're going to be dancing on a runway, which should be interesting, hopefully I won't fall off and injure another body part. Although that would be a good blog story, wouldn't it?

At any rate, our spring hafla is next Saturday, and my new dance skirts arrived, so hello bright orange skirt for my solo!! With matching gauntlet gloves. So much orange. It looks so smashing I can hardly stand it. Expect photos. :0

I'll post more dance stuff Monday to chronicle our event tonight and let you know what I decided to do for my solo, so check back then. *beams* Super excited!

Ok everyone, have a fabulous weekend! Check in over at Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

3 comments:

  1. Well, I'm *going* to have a baby you can knit for! I have been spinning, in the hopes of spinning something I can make a baby something out of, but I just don't know what. Especially considering my ability level and very incomplete set of knitting needles.

    What would YOU do with 250 yards of light brown laceweight llama? It's uber soft, but has zero stretch. (That's the thing about llama.) And everything I find takes much more than 250 yards. :P

    I am dying to read Girl at the End of the World. I read her blog and love it, especially the "cult survivor" stuff because of my own experiences. And she's such a good writer.

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    1. Yes, I have a cult fascination too. ;) And yes, SHEILA'S BABY!!!! I could knit you something. :) What is most useful for a newborn in your climate? I think you're due in August, so fall stuff would likely come in handy. Do you use Ravelry? You can use their pattern search to find things in a particular yarn weight and yardage, *super* handy! I just did a quick search. Hats and booties seem to be the order of the day for your yardage. :)

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    2. I never have been able to make hats or booties STAY on a baby! I do use Ravelry, but there really wasn't much for laceweight and babies, unless I had more and wanted to make a lace blanket. I was thinking of somehow making a bunting for night. That, or baby leggings! But llama isn't the best for that because it doesn't stretch.

      If I can get my hands on some nice wool, I'm going to weave a felted blanket on my loom. A felted, lanolized blanket is a useful thing to lay a baby down on in case their diapers leak ..... or if you sometimes have naked babies fall asleep on you, as happened to me ALL THE TIME with Michael.

      I know just want I want to do, but between the money for wool and the time it would take to wash, dye, card, spin, weave, and felt the thing, I think I should have started this project last year. ;)

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