A new chapter begins

You aren't going to believe it, but little miss P started Pre-K yesterday. I miss her so much already, but she really is loving school so far. This will also give me a few hours of uninterrupted time which I haven't had for the last four years. I am getting the ol tatting shuttles out as I have Tat Days to prepare for and a couple commissioned pieces to make.

When is the tatting coming back?

Good question! Since I moved to the South my life has been "crazy y'all"!

I might have mentioned all the chickens and maybe even the total demo and construction of our farm house kitchen? With that, a four year old, a nut ball husband, and our weekly catastrophes' in one form or another, I have not had a whole lot of time to tat.

The first few months were rather depressing as I was trying to adjust to southern ways. The physical move was a nightmare, I was trying to unpack and live in a run down house with no storage and nearly everything broken; the house and our belongings.

Anyhow, there wasn't a lot of room for anything fun.

I was also suffering pretty bad with carpel tunnel.

After nearly going crazy a few months in, I just HAD to do something creative. My pottery studio isn't anywhere near set up so what could I do?

Well, with a friend's prompting I sat down and started watercoloring; the last painting frontier I had yet to explore. I took to it like a duck to water...literally!

It has been such a balm for my soul during these rougher days. It is less taxing on my wrists and I see results pretty quickly.

These are an example of some of my earlier work this year. The bulk of which is my goofy chickens.

I was having too much fun! Anyhow, what does this have to do with tatting?

Well, by signing up for Palmettos, accepting a commissioned piece of tatting, and finally getting Internet, I have been given plenty of incentive to start tatting.

This might very well be the craziest, busiest time of my life yet, so again, I humbly ask for your patience, you will soon see tatting from me again.

Enlightened perspective???

So this is not going to be tatting related but I think it is worth sharing since our world seems to be in such a contentious state. And don't worry, this is not a religious or political post.

Please read on.

For nearly a year and half we've had no internet and we haven't had television for years. So I have been out of the "what's happening in the world" loop for quite awhile.

To be fair, we did have smart phones that did not work at home, but that I could use while in town. I did use Facebook quite a lot. I tried to get to the library once a month or so to catch up on bills and business. What I am trying to say is that I had basically no leisure time on the Internet. With how full my plate is, my limited Internet time was very directed.

Oh, I whined and complained. I told everyone how, "this is killing me", and "I can't live this way!"

I used to consider myself pretty savvy with the Internet and all the latest technologies. And now I feel like a grandma who never learned how to operate a remote control. Well, I have had internet access at my home for nearly 3 weeks now. It's actually pretty poor service, but bad service is better than no service right? So I was ecstatic! Information is now at my finger tips once again, even if it is at dial up speeds. I can send and receive emails, (although it seems these days that email has been largely abandoned), I can blog again...YEAH!!!

All good stuff! Right??

But I have learned something that I never realized until now. During the last year, I have never been happier. I feel like there is a future for my child. I am enjoying the beauty of each day. I feel like I am a better mother and wife, and my health has improved. I have formed relationships with my neighbors, which I never did before. (Ironic because in the country neighbors are all a fair distance away I've rediscovered how wonderful it is to have a smile on my face when I deal with the public. My spirit has become much more generous towards humankind in general. I truly believe that what you "put out there" is what you get back.

So what does all this gooey, happy, unicorns and rainbows, stuff have to do with the Internet?

You know that saying, "You don't know what you have until you lose it."?

Well, this is kind of the opposite, I didn't know what I was missing until I gained it back.

The very first week I was back on the Internet I caught up on current headlines and world news. I was thinking, "Wow, is the world this badly off?, I feel like the apocalypse is right around the corner. The sky is falling!"

My stomach started to hurt, I wasn't sleeping well, my headaches increased, and I started grinding my teeth again. I became snappish to my family. I started feeling depressed and disenfranchised again. Jaded. I didn't realize it but this is who I was before "no internet".

Once again, I am feeling anger about the great divide amongst my fellow human being;, how everyone from opposite sides, think they are right and righteous. All the hatred, the level of tension I feel is palpable. I firmly believe that the lying inflammatory media machines that are our major news networks are solely responsible for all of this!

It is literally in every sense of the word, sickening!

Aye yai yai!

Just writing about it now, I can feel my blood pressure rising and tightness in my throat.

I very nearly decided to do away with it all once again.

I am so thankful for this realization and the wonderful, unplanned vacation I had from the outside world.

I have since taken steps to gain some of that mental freedom back by being very particular with my online time. I'll be focusing on good stuff, like tatting, blogging, the farm and my art work, and mostly my family.

Some people might say that I am burying my head in the sand, and they might be right. All I know is that I am a better person when that garbage is out of my life!

So glad to be back!

It's almost as if I never left! Key emphasis on ALMOST. I know I have said it many times, but I have to say it again, the tatting community is the best community on earth!

You have all made me feel so welcomed back and your support is what keeps me going. So thank you very much!!!

I honestly thought that after this amount of time I would be long forgotten.

I am humbled.

I'm definitely not as quick as I used to be to post on this blog and get items listed in the shop. Probably because I have the most rambunctious 4 year old on the planet and she keeps me thoroughly exhausted. Also I am taking care of a farm now, and have all the responsibilities that go with that.

Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to catch you all up on what went on in my life during the last year and a half. This is not in any particular order, it's just a summary of what pops into my mind.

Here we go:

Drove from Idaho straight to Mississippi in 36 hours.

Moved into the most crooked 80's farmhouse one could imagine.

Bought baby chicks and ducks and then built coops!

Learned how to butcher our own meat.

Had over 1,000 dollars worth of various water leaks.

Took care of six goats for a friend. (this was a total nightmare and could be a very long blog post in and of itself.)

Dog got bitten in the face by a cotton mouth snake.

Husband got severely burned and was out of work for 6 weeks.

I got stung by these mean red wasps that sent me to the emergency room where I also learned that I was allergic to morphine. (this was a terrible day)

Made good friends with all the surrounding neighbors.

Started absolutely loving country life!

Got hit by a tornado and sustained damage to our house as well as loosing over a dozen 100+ year old trees.

Got six inches of snow which apparently hasn't happened in MS since 1947.

Husband healed up beautifully!

I carry Epi pens wherever I go.

Bought and hatched many more ducks and chickens.

Built (and still working on it)a kitchen from absolute scratch.

Lost a pilot in our squadron. (This is still painfully sad).

...and finally and ongoing: Raising a daughter who runs freely outdoors with the biggest imagination possible all without TV and Internet!


This isn't everything, just what I could remember off the top of my head. We are learning so much and gaining so many skills. This really is a dream come true!

Now if we could only move the farm to the Pacific Northwest...

Patti Duff's Lanyard pattern

I owe a BIG apology to the dozens and dozens of people who have requested this pattern. It is by far the most popular request I get.

I lost the pattern sometime back and well, I didn't have Internet for nearly a year and a half....so yeah....there is that.

I would like to make it up to everyone today. With Patti's permission the pattern can be found > here:

Be sure to give her a big THANK YOU if you get the chance!