Human Touch

I think we all are aware of the importance of human touch and yet it dawned on me yesterday that I'm seriously lacking in this. I went to a class last night at my church and realized that it was the first time that I had been in my car and actually drove anywhere in over a week. Then it dawned on me that aside from the pizza delivery guy last week on my snow day, I haven't really had contact with another person in that same amount of time.

My first thought was that in order to alleviate this, I should probably start going to the office and being around people, but then remembered that even when I went to the office, I would duck into my office and still not really touch anybody there.

So, what is the answer? Well, for one, I am finally getting a chance to snuggle with Sara's Wee Wonder for the first time in a very long time. Then on Thursday, I am going to dinner with some friends who are in from out of town, which means I'll at least get a hug. That should do me for awhile, but I really need to figure out a way to get a steady fill of touch....maybe I'll just have to splurge and set up regular massage....

Hermit's Log

I am excited to report that I am only a few random acts away from securing the title of "Weird Neighborhood Lady".

Yesterday, I decided to try and clear the sidewalk in front of my house of snow so that it would be "safe". Mind you, I didn't bother to do anything to provide safety in front of my house last week when we were iced in and the sidewalks were probably truly dangerous. 

So you may be asking yourself, aside from my choice of what form of precipitation requires clearing, does this action go towards my hopeful title.... Well, first, I didn't actually wait for the snow to stop therefore all of my work was quickly voided by Mother Nature. Second, I used a broom; yes, I swept my stoop, the sidewalk in front of my house, and about half of the sidewalk in front of my neighbor's house...if did a pretty good job since the snow wasn't real sticky, and heavy. Third, I did this work while dressed in yoga pants, a t-shirt, my dad's quilted flannel shirt, and slip on shoes with no socks...I basically looked homeless. 

Admittedly, I did have a purpose for clearing the sidewalk, I wanted it to be clear for the pizza delivery guy...yeah, I'm not willing yo get out on slick roads but I have very few qualms about paying somebody else to do it just so I can have one last hurrah of unhealthy sustenance before March 1, which is when I join a gym and start (again) with a course of whole foods in preparation for getting in good shape for my family's trip to Alaska in the summer. 

The next question I have to ask myself, though, is what can I do to amp up the weirdness so that I can clench the title....must ponder. 

Quilt Con 2015

This past weekend I drove my mom and a friend if her's down to Austin to attend Quilt Con 2015. This was put on by the International Modern Quilt Guild. There was a juried show of modern quilts, workshops, and lectures....and, of course, vendors. We all attended a couple of different lectures and spent a great deal of time looking at the quilts and spending way too much money at the vendor booths. 

Here are just some of the quilts that were on display: 

Face #1 by Melissa Averinos

Grove by Casey York

Outside the Box by Jenny Voss

Barn Remnant by Kim Eichler-Messmer

The keynote speakers were some of the women from the Gees Bend Quilt Collective. I highly recommend checking them out as they are a very interesting group. They provided stories about their coming up in the world and how they learned to quilt but the best part was that they spent a lot of their time on stage gracing us with some beautiful sung spirituals. It was very moving. 

The song they opened with and kept referring back to was a rendition of "Give Me Flowers While I Yet Live". This is a wonderful song about giving thanks and compliments to those in our lives while they are alive; that we should wait until somebody has left our lives to give them the praise that we have for them. 

Remembrances and Plans

It has been a year since Dad passed away. The past couple of years have been weird and challenging and foggy but things are on the up-swing.

The year prior to Dad's death, I was in a depressive fog that didn't really allow me to fully enjoy my life. Plus, there was Dad's declining health that we all had to contend with....but I can't blame my non-engagement in life on that. Yes, the last couple of months before his passing were spent pretty consumed with helping take care of him, but that doesn't account for the other 9 months. You would have thought that I would have been happy...I mean, I was working at a job that valued me, I got to take a great trip to Hawaii and give something wonderful to my folks, I got to witness my friend Sara wed the perfect man for her, and I know there are so many other really good things about that year that I'm not recognizing primarily because of this weird fog that I was in where I felt like I was just watching everything but not really participating in it and hearing this horrible voice in my head saying that I didn't belong.

Then, this past year, I spent much of it still in this fog. Again, I've had some great times. This past year has been spent on really reconnecting with my family. I've spent more time with my Mom and my sister than I have in a very long time. Mom and I have taken some great trips together and realized that we are pretty okay traveling together. I feel more at ease with my sister than I have in a very long time. But still, for the majority of 2014 I was still just watching my life pass me by. I still wasn't engaging in living my life and at this point in time, I really need to stop this whole watching of the life and truly lean into my life and live it.....this is it......embrace being alive.

With that being said, I'm making the effort to embrace it. I admit that I may still not be the most gregarious person on the block and when I'm with people I will still be more of a stand back and watch than a jump in a participate....but part of that is because I really do enjoy watching other people and don't feel the need to be the center of anything...usually.

I am also tapping into my creative side more and more and, while I may not be any good, I am going to post here more of my artistic endeavors...so be prepared.

So, enough confessing and emotional vomiting..... On with the day......