Busy Bee

I've always been a reader. I think I've had my nose in a book since I was 2. I will read just about anything. I mostly read mysteries, fantasy, and what I call "women's fiction". I also enjoy non-fiction books about WWII and the Civil War. I'm usually reading about 3 books at a time, one next to the bed, one in the living room and one in the car to read should I have to wait somewhere.

I haven't been reading as much lately, since I've become obsessed with yarn, but I started a couple of years ago keeping track each year of everything I read. So I've started my list for 2009 and linked it on the sidebar if anyone is interested. I also provide an Amazon link (if available) for each book. Some of it's "fluff", some more thought provoking, but most of it's entertaining at least.

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The busy portion of the year has started for me at work. "Busy" is cyclical for me depending on the year. In odd numbered years, "busy" is late January to mid-August or so, in even numbered years it's only "busy" from mid-May to mid-August. Not that there's not plenty to do during the non-busy times, but my daily schedule changes a good bit, so there's always an adjustment period and this week has been it. I'm feeling a little out of sorts as I change mental tracks and get into a different mindset. I'm hoping next week I'll feel a little more organized.

Nothing big planned for the weekend. Need to start getting all the paperwork together to do our taxes and sort through some of Girly's paperwork that has come to the house and send it all to her so she can do hers. I should probably work on organizing and cleaning up some of the stacks of papers surrounding my desk at home as well while I'm at it. We'll see!

2009 Reading List

January
Small Town Christmas: Return To Promise\Mail-Order Bride by Debbie Macomber
Married in Seattle by Debbie Macomber
Final Justice by Fern Michaels

February
The Winding Ways Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Fireside by Susan Wiggs

Needles, Hooks & Yarn

"Gail" lace shawl

I learned to knit, at camp, somewhere around 4th grade. My grandmother taught me to crochet before she died when I was in 6th grade. I had no real interest in either craft at the time. My mother was the one that made sure I took knitting at camp, and learning to crochet was just something to spend time doing with my grandmother as she wasted away from cancer. Although I have done counted crossstitch most of my life, I promptly forgot how to knit & crochet.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to learn again. I went to a big box craft store & bought I Taught Myself to Crochet and I Taught Myself Knitting. Amazingly enough, it all came back to me relatively quickly. Still, it was just a casual hobby. I made a couple of fun fur scarves. Then I decided to crochet my sister an afghan for her birthday a few years ago. However, I seriously underestimated how long it would take. I worked on it off & on for a few months, then I broke my hand (another story for another day) and couldn't work on it for several months. It was almost a year later before I picked it up again. She finally got that afghan last August, about 2 1/2 years after I started it!

In July of 2008, things changed. I found Ravelry and I became obsessed! So many yarns, so many projects to do! My yarn stash is growing and I'm really starting to branch out in the types of projects I'm doing. Learning a new technique excites me & my list of projects I want to do keeps growing & growing!

I've been having fun though, and the only thing it's really hurting so far is my pocketbook!

New Beginnings....

I don't make New Years' Resolutions. I usually set some general goals for the new year and one of those goals this year is to do more writing. What better way to write on a regular basis than to write a blog? I make no commitment to write every day, but I will try to write regularly. Of course, the challenge is to find something to write about that someone might actually be interested in reading!

I'll start with some general information about me....

I'm a 40 year old attorney. I work in state government as a non-partisan employee in a political environment, so one thing I will NOT be talking about here is politics, except in the most general of terms. I also will not talk much about my actual job, as most of what I do is confidential.

I have been married to my husband "Slim" for 8.5 years and we have 2 kids/adults.... "Girly" is 20 and a Junior in college; "Sonny" is 17 and a Senior in high school. We are soon to be empty nesters & looking forward to it!

We also have 3 cats, Gicho, Sable & Spaz (yes, those are actually their real names) and 1 dog, Shelby. Sadly, our new year started with a 4:00 am visit to the emergency vet to have our oldest cat, Suki, euthanized. She was 17, and it was time, but it was very, very hard to do, especially on New Year's Day.

I have a plethora of hobbies, most of which I will write about here at some point in time. My current passion is knitting and crocheting. I am an avid reader. I read mostly women's fiction, mystery and fantasy, along with some non-fiction about WWII and the Civil War. I've recently purchased a used scroll-saw to spend some time in the garage with Slim when he's working on his lathe. Slim & I like to off-road our Jeep, although it's been on jack stands for the past couple of years so we haven't done much of that lately. We also have motorcycles, a BMW 1150R for Slim and a Suzuki Boulevard S50 for me. I haven't ridden much since I wrecked a couple of years ago, but I plan to get back in the swing of things this spring.

As for the writing, I have a folder full of ideas for stories, but I never seem to get beyond the idea stage. I did do NaNoWriMo about 4 or 5 years ago & successfully cranked out 50,000 words that purport to be a novel. I don't really know if they are, since I have never actually gone back & reread what I wrote, much less edited it. They say to write about what you know, and what I know is my own life, so maybe writing here about every day things will prod the necessary portions of my brain and I'll get some of those ideas past the idea stage.

Well, I supposed I've rambled enough for a first real post. I'll try to get the whole site a little more fleshed out soon.