Short Story Long

Donna was my mom's friend, but she was my friend, too.  She was an incredible crafter.  She did everything from knit and crochet to ribbon embroidery, beading, and was a beautiful quilter. Quite a collector, she gathered fat quarters, of course, and miniature perfume bottles, Jim Shore figurines, antique hand mirrors, thimbles, and steins.  She was great fun on a shop hop! Her son was my first boyfriend - we were three!  Donna's mini perfume bottles In early 2013, Donna passed away from breast cancer.  It was at least her second battle with the disease; she had also had it many years before.  At her funeral, her casket was draped with a gorgeous quilt. In October of 2013, I had been working with Windy Valley Muskox for a couple of years, and wrote a hat pattern for them in honor of Donna.  I started a post about this, but I just didn't know what to say about Donna.  I did not want to give the impression that I would profit from h...

The last few weeks have been busy with few things concrete enough to post about (or photograph).   As we are about halfway through the year, and our busiest weeks of summer are now past, I am hoping to savor this week, to reestablish routine and remind myself of the things I want to accomplish this year.  I haven't crossed much off my list of goals for the year, but I have crossed off a few.  It is nice to have a benchmark, to know I am not just treading water.  And there is still half the year to enjoy, a little time to reach a few more goals.  I see my kids spending a lot of time bored, with their imaginations limited by charging cords and gaming limits. I think, I hope, we will spend some time in the next two weeks, offline: drawing, hiking, walking, reading, knitting, exploring, photographing, tasting, smelling, hearing.  Maybe I'll finally get the finishing done on this beautiful jacket.  I'll let you know!