REVELATIONS IN SEPTEMBER

With Liberty and Justice For All
 The last few days have been strange. Syria's troubles and the US and world's responses, debate over the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, personal setbacks and betrayals of trust, and the reading of Jane Addams book Long Road of Woman's Memory seem to jumble together in my psyche and spirit. If you've never read anything by this woman, whose birthday is celebrated today, September 6th, you should, especially, but certainly not only, if you are a woman. Here's a link to a free reading of one .

  Reflecting on the events of these first days of September, the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah -, and just leaving behind the national holiday of Labor Day, I can't help but be struck by the content of the book mentioned above in relation to all the other events I've recently experienced. Jane Addams was a brilliant author and a keen observer of human nature. Her words continue to ring with truth and brilliance. In this one not over-long tome, I found answers and explanations to the debate over the efficacy and justice of wars, traditional and cultural methods of dealing with personal failings and struggles we all go through in life, and clear representations of how it is that a nation, such as mine, and other nations, continue to progress. How serendipitous!

What I most adore about Jane Addams writing is the narrator's perspective that makes the history lesson, sociology lesson, psychology lesson, and spiritual dissertation come alive to the reader. I was able to read her book mentioned in the first paragraph online for free after a short search for her writings. There is no excuse not to, at least, read the introduction. Likely you will not be able to "put it down" until you are finished reading it, as was I. Let me encourage you by saying, I learned much, I was entertained, and I cried a little, too. It boggles my mind that this book was not one we were encouraged to read in High School or College, yet, even so, somehow, it doesn't surprise me. First, because it is a strong, intelligent and educated female's work; and, last, reading lists, at least while I was school-aged, were likely compiled by men. "Nuff said.

BLUE MOON TIME

Also Known as the Sturgeon Moon While I fully expected August to be miserably hot and humid, it has not turned out to be so here in Middle Tennessee. Cooler than average temperatures and just enough rain here (more than enough an hour or two away). Nice. We've had some hot days and humid nights but really can't complain at all. I've been working on a few projects, one I just today completed. Original design, no written pattern.

I'm still not sure if I'll part with this one. I love it. It embodies autumn, my favorite month, right down to the oak leaf and acorn tie ends. Another is a cover for books, tablets or journals that I came up with. Shell stitches with more fall colored yarn (Knit Picks acrylic - very soft and wooly).

I'll likely make more of these using different stitches (I like variety in my crocheting). In creating my poncho (above) I finished up the bottom few rows with a stitch pattern I found in my encyclopedia of stitching. It has no name, but I really liked it. As I was crocheting it (in red)I could see that stitch being quite useful in a bath set of washcloth, scrubby, and soap bag, so I made a set using cotton yarn in just a few hours.

FREE INSTRUCTIONS TO DUPLICATE THIS STITCH PATTERN I love the texture and look of this simple stitch pattern - so try it out yourself! I used a cotton worsted weight yarn and an H hook - All you do is: chain a length and in the third chain from the hook, insert hook and pull up a loop, yarn over (YO) and draw through one loop on the hook, reinsert the hook and pull up another loop, YO and draw through one loop, then YO and draw through the three remaining loops. Stitch is completed. Skip a stitch and repeat all the way across the chain, turn and ch 2 and repeat the pattern. You'll figure it out.

I'VE BEEN DOING SOME MESHING AROUND LATELY

Summer Comes to a Moist Close

Where does the time go? I don't know about you, but my summer sped by like the rain storms the Southeast U.S.A. has had countless numbers of this summer. No flooding here, and corn and soybean fields are tall and full and green. The harvest should be bumper crops for all. While I didn't have a veggie garden myself this year, I planted potatoes and have an asparagus bed or two that did quite well. Fresh dug red potatoes - you can't beat that with a stick! My daughter and her s.o. do have a garden and they both work full time outside their home, so, not long ago, they inquired about hiring a gardener for a share of the produce. I volunteered and set to ridding their patch of a bumper crop of crabgrass and other weeds. It only took a week. For my efforts, I was awarded some gorgeous purple or black peppers, some black cherry tomatoes, some anaheim peppers and jalapenos. Also a couple of turnips and greens and some cattle beans seeds to plant myself in my former potato garden container. They have already sprouted and are taking off.

CROCHETING RIGHT ALONG Also, I have not neglected my crocheting and sewing. I've gotten into making baby shoes, likely inspired by a friend or two's new arrivals. They are cute, quick, and you can really play with colors. I also enjoy making my own buttons for them out of polymer clay. I'm also getting ready for a craft show in October (my first!) so I've made a cute Halloween-y banner and am upping my inventory to include some fall-ish items.

Just so you know, those multicolored things that look like canteens to the left in the picture are stowable shopping bags. The second picture is the larger one in use. They are pretty cool items to make and useful, too. I plan on having some to sell at the craft fair. INSPIRATIONAL MOMENTS I would be remiss to exclude those blessed occurrences we often refer to as inspiring that I've experienced in recent days. May they also serve to inspire you. Here's my list: A friends daughter just graduated high school last month. She has struggled with her weight all her growing years. Recently, she joined a team of coaches and began a diet using the Medifast program. Her success thus far is remarkable. She is amazing even herself and offers the thought that "once you get your head around it, it becomes easier." I think she's hit on something there, don't you? A blind parishioner at my church recently performed the reading of scripture at a service. He had to climb some stairs to the podium and read from his handwritten braille version of the verses. Then find his seat on the side and wait to descend the stairs again after all the readings are read. I'm sure this is nothing that special to him, but it is to me. A woman whose son was shot and killed spoke, through her grief and pain, to the three young men who murdered him for no apparent reason, saying that she hopes her son's senseless death will serve to call attention to the fact that young men of color need to turn their lives around and stop killing one another. As she communicated her heartfelt message to these men, she choked back what must have included rage, sorrow and despair, and also seemed to include the forgiveness that faith dictates we give those who trespass against us. It was so very touching. Inspiration was not only taken from this poor mother, though, but from the news agency who deemed the story important enough to include in their evening news broadcast. We are often given only the sordid side of most stories; this time the viewer was left with some hope, at least. These are just a few quite recently noted moments. I'm sure there are many I'm unable to recall at this time. If you have some you'd like to share, please leave a comment here with your "moment of inspiration" - and thanks for taking the time to read this.

HATS OFF TO THE END OF MAY

THE MONTH OF MAY COMES TO A CLOSE IN TENNESSEE This has been an unusual Spring season in the mid south. We've had a LOT of rain and cooler than average temperatures. While bothersome to many, I suppose, the change in climate, though short-lived, is a welcome one to me. We've been able to keep windows and doors open during the daytime and into the night. This old house is poorly insulated and the breezes help cool and heat the interior. I enjoy having the house open to the outdoors. So, I've enjoyed this particular Spring. As the month ends, so do the mild temperatures. Very soon, we will have to keep everything closed up and turn on the AC units - 2 window units and one portable, vented unit. Going outside will be limited to early mornings and late evenings or short spans during the day. I hope we will not suffer from water famine as we did last year. I collect and save rainwater to water plants with, but then I have to worry about mosquito larvae breeding in it, so have to be sure to use it fairly quickly. June tends to be a dry month, with grass, now green and lush, becoming brittle and sparse. The hubby, who does the mowing is looking forward to that aspect of summer. I, who prefer to walk barefoot, do not. But I get where he's coming from. Summertime Blues Here's my list of summertime woes: 1. I don't have a pool. 2. The pool in town has no shade and it's too crowded. 3. The car is too hot when you get into it and takes too long to cool off. 4. My fair skin can't take the sun for long and I loathe wearing gobs of sunblock. 5. Flies,chiggers and ticks. (Did I mention I live in the country?) 6. I have to wear less clothing and I need to drop a few kilos. Here's my list of summertime yays!: 1. It will soon be fall. OH, TO AGAIN SAVOR THE JOYS OF SUMMERTIME AS A CHILD When I was a kid, summer meant a rewarding break from school. It meant days and early evenings of outdoor play with neighbors and friends. It meant family get-togethers and bbq's with corn on the cob, hot dogs and watermelon. All eaten outside, no one to make you clean your plate or watch your manners. It meant days at the beach (I grew up on the New Jersey shore), days at the neighbor's pool, days reading in a tree (one of my favorite summer pasttimes), evenings catching fireflies and keeping them in your darkened room, watching them as you fought off demon sleep. Now that my kids are grown, summer has lost a lot of its meaning. School in, school out, didn't much matter, except for hearing the bus come so early in the morning. But now, I have a grandson who just graduated from Kindergarten. His first summer vacation is now here. We have, so far, spent time together at the park, took a walk to the creek, and spent a few hours playing board games. I'm hoping some of that enthusiasm for SUMMER! will rub off on me. I think - I hope - it will.

Mother's Day Comings and Goings

Another Year Bites the Dust My 59th year of living is but a memory now. I remember my 30th birthday, nearly 30 years ago, when I marveled that the "milestone" of turning 30 did not make me feel old; my quarter-century mark seemed much more profound at the time. Approaching the 60th anniversary of life feels a bit more on the inspiring side than previous mile markers. Time has been passing much too swiftly and I hope to do more savoring and less speeding through it in the future. 'Nuff said about my age. "C's Crafted Creations" shop on etsy.com has become "3Csshop" and I have acquired a few repeat customers, I'm extremely happy to say. I've been branching out a bit from crocheting exclusively and including some sewn items. Never officially told I have ADD or ADHD, nonetheless, I have a tendency to keep several projects on line at the same time. I enjoy new challenges, so whether that means I have a 'disability' or not, I prefer to think of it as an 'ability' to be creative in more ways than one, at the same time even. Crocheting in the warmer months means a complete change in pending inventory, certainly. No more winter hats and scarves, no more neck warmers or mittens. Patterns for light stoles, pretty and airy scarves, purses and bags, vests of cotton and bamboo, even swimsuit coverups are now the focus. In temporary storage is the wool yarn cache, with acrylics in fall and winter colors joining the skeins and balls for now. Out of the stash are spring and summer colors in the natural fibers that keep one covered and cool at the same time. I love just perusing through them and then hope for inspirations to come. Being a slightly-better-than-novice at sewing means my projects have been, what to me is, uncomplicated. Blankets and bedspreads, tote bags and pillows are what I've been creating. A little hand quilting to go along with that on the blankets, because I do so love to do hand sewing. Have I mentioned that I still darn socks, too? For Mother's Day, which followed my birthday by a few days, I gave my Mom a stole I made(I have one similar to it for sale on etsy) and she loved it. I am now working on a messenger bag for one of my repeat customers. I really enjoy doing custom orders and feel like this is going to be the cornerstone of my shop in the future. It's just wonderful to be creating something you already know someone wants! Season's Change and So Do I What has been a struggle for the past year is to be forgotten. Coming back to normalcy from the accident, I still have my moments of fear and flashback when in an automobile. Our recent trip to the Appalachians was not without a few. But all told, I'm much more comfortable riding than I was a year ago. The residual aches and pains of injuries sustained have become the status quo and I embrace them, when they appear, as a reminder to be thankful for the present life I now enjoy. "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Your mercy."

WHAT A MONTH THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE!!! I feel like a reviving perennial, waking from the slumber of winter. New friends, visits with family, antiquing and out on the town forays with the significant other; things are just popping. Business (my crafting business, that is) is really picking up. I've put out more feelers, joined some crafting groups and have been posting pictures on Facebook, so I take some credit for the upturn. I've also been busy crocheting and sewing, too, and when I finish something, I put it on Etsy.com. I like to try to list something every day; it helps to keep your shop in the forefront. Perhaps now that the election is in the past, people feel more comfortable about spending a little, not to mention some are getting their refunds about now. Whatever it is, I hope sales continue to trend upwards. Speaking of economics, the job I applied for recently didn't pan out. I've been an RN for 27 years, and have been on hiatus since a car wreck side-lined me for a time. I started writing articles to make ends meet, but the market dried up after about a year. I did get a bit extra in the settlement, so all's well for the time being; I don't need much except yarn and fabric, lol. After the physical therapy was done, there was still a healing period where being on my feet for 8 hours a day was not an option. I still am not sure that would be possible, but I'd be willing to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't it the cards this time. Being the optimist that I am, though, this increase in custom orders for my crocheted articles has really buoyed my spirits and maybe life has other plans for me after all. Now, there are all these horrible happenings in the news and people are suffering and hurting from north to south & east to west in America. What I notice most is how stuff like that, awful as it is, tends to make us a better people; stronger in our love for neighbor, stronger in our resolve to live as good, decent people. That's what I take from it all. Comfort and peace to all those hurting from loss and injury.