Happy New Year and here are my "did last year" and the hopes for this new year.

2013 Year in Review

Seemed like a pretty good year.  I think I was a good steward with Sherman’s money.  I bought glasses for a girl who needed them. Made donations to YWCA (Battered Women), Hospice, Memorial Fund, Los Pobres, Scholarship fund at PCC, Tere for her little charity helping indigents, bought flour and oil for 100 families at Los Pobres. 

From my own reserves I made SCAP social lunch and learn happen 10 times.  Also catered  the Christmas Dinner.  I spent a lot more money then I should have helping people, but I am not quite broke.  Replaced the transmission in the car.    Replaced the carpet in my house with laminate.  Attended several church gatherings as representative.  Went to Hutchinson to see my sisters.  Neglected to make the trip to see Mary who is the one I really needed to see.

Went hiking in the mountains twice which seemed to be the high point of my summer and that is sad.

Aspirations for 2014

I plan on going through the volunteer program at Hospice and then working in the 11^th hour program. 

I will do at least 10 lunch and learns for SCAP now that there is a director I actually like.  Will entertain the idea of the AIDS Walk in September.

I need to bring my will up to date.   

Go hiking with Tere.

Make sure I get Val and Dale to the mountains for a picnic. 

Check in with Jan at least every 60 days. 

Spend a couple days with Libby and Dave. 

Plan a trip to Dallas to stay with Sam at least a week. 

Go see Shirley in the spring and take a trip on the riverboat.

Start selling excess stuff ie. Spinning wheel, 8 harness loom, list variations of seed catchers on ebay,   scroll saw, sander, molds in trailer.

Publish Long Ago and Not Very Far Away.

Finish Antlion.

Decide if I really want to remain alone in this house until the day I die.  Do I want to move into town?  Do I want to move far away?  Do I want to actually start dating?  Am I really that lonely?

Get a manicure.

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And there you have it!  Oh, I forgot a few things, but I am sure I will remember them when I do them.  I am pretty good at doing whatever I need to do without a note to myself.  I want to figure a way to replenish my SSLBDGWorks trust fund and that is not even written down any where!

So from me to you and yours, have a happy and prosperous New Year and remember

You can not sprinkle showers of happiness on other people without getting a few drops on yourself!

HAPPY 2014! AND GOOD LUCK FORGETTING 2013!

 

Crochet lesson at Starbucks.

Ah, there is just nothing as nice at meeting good friends for a cup of coffee and a muffin at Starbucks.  Unless, of course it is meeting friends who want to learn to crochet.  Crochet is a lost art and I am always happy to teach some one this craft.  Well, it did not actually start out that way.

See, my friend Kay, wanted to make an afghan.  Her daughter, Diane,  had suggested it as a past time since Kay knew how.  Well, seems it had been several years since Kay had done this and needed a refresher course.  I was most happy to oblige, being the kind soul I am with lots of time on my hands.  So we purchased the yarn, pattern and ONE hook.  Now in all fairness, I told her she might need another size and steered her to a set, which she declined.

To make a long story even longer, I wound up bringing the whole mess home to figure out the pattern.  I decided the yarn was not conducive to a beginner as it kept splitting.  So with a bigger hook, which Kay suggested, I got it to work, but found another pattern I liked so I started that one also.  Now keep track here.  I now have TWO afghans started.  So let's meet at Starbucks and see what we have.  Two of us had muffins and one of us cringed with a frightened aorta over those things.

When Kay arrived she had in tow her lovely daughter, Diana.  She was here for her dad's birthday.  Oh and it was her birthday also.  Happy Birthday to you!  There you see the paper that held her muffin which she snarfed down while using two hands to crochet.  The girl is good!  Back to the subject.  She was fascinated and decided she would like to learn to crochet right there in the middle of Starbucks on 4th Street right by the drive thru.

 Our first and probably the most daunting task, was to learn how to tie a slip knot.  Unfortunately her dear mother was no help on this one since she had carefully saved the first slip knot she ever made just so she would never have to make another one.  After many attempts and much pulling of hair on my part, the slip knot was completed and there you see it above!  And a beautiful slip knot it was.  Some man did find it necessary to come to our table and tell us he could not help but over hear us and his wife had tried to teach him the art and he had not learned.  We actually had several men advise us and one did say that perhaps we were having way to much fun to learn anything!  He may have been right on that!

To wind this up, let me say, a good time was had by all.  Diana was sent in search of a ball of yarn and a hook to match with instructions to practice form, tension, and patience with the ripping out and starting over in order to have something recognizeable.  And I am sure she will accomplish that when she gets back to Oklahoma.  I, myself, had a wonderful time and will be most happy when little Diana pops up here again because she is such a delight!

And guess what I will be doing this afternoon?  I am giving a crochet lesson to a couple ladies at the SCAP office.  Oh, and we are going to have a quilt lesson also.  But for now, I bid adieu to my two friends at Starbucks who I am sure are at home practicing slip knots and single crochet and double crochet.  The art is not dead!!!  Long live needlecraft of every sort.

(And when I find the link I need, I will be putting the whole show on in a slide show, so watch for that to come on here or facebook!)