Linky

I'm just checking in to provide a link to a post I wrote for the California Crafters Club of Etsy blog.  I hope you'll check it out.

And if you're feeling generous, I would appreciate it if you would like my shop on Facebook.  I'd like to get up to 25 "likes".  At which point, I think I'll do a contest of some sort.  Any ideas or thoughts?

Unearned Compliment

"You're a really good sub.  You should sub more often."

A student said that to me during 5th period.  It troubled me.  A lot.

Today I covered Earth Science.  They had some bookwork to do.  I stood at the front of the room and watched them.  I wasn't doing much as there wasn't much to do.  They talked, but they also appeared to do some work.

I wasn't looking forward to the Earth Science classes.  The students who end up in these classes aren't very academically motivated.  (The students who passed middle school science went directly into biology.)  So, I was pleasantly surprised when they actually got out materials and got to work.

I noticed a couple of them had empty desks.  I went over, and I looked meaningfully at one boy.  Without my having to say a word, he got out a book, paper, and pencil.  (This is a very good thing.  Some students will just look at me and say, "What?" when I appear in front of them, unaware that they should be doing anything.)

But still, I wasn't doing anything that merited a compliment.

I thanked the boy for the kind words.  I didn't know what else to do.  And I continued to watch the class.  They didn't get up to too much mischief.  They appeared to finish the assignment.

I get the feeling that I missed something.  I wonder what it was.

The Scarf Project

It was at about this time last year that I came up with a plan.  Since I always seemed to get to my Christmas knitting so late in the year, I thought it time that I started earlier.  Way earlier.  January.

I decided to knit everyone a scarf.  The first pattern I found was the dragon scarf.  Then I got sidetracked.  I made myself an alligator scarf.  (I had to include myself in the project, right?)  And then it was my niece's birthday (and I ended up knitting her present twice).

By the summer, it was time to get serious.  I managed to get a couple scarves done.  I blogged about one.  This one was for my niece.

Then this one ended up going to my dad.

Then I figured that I'd better get my nephew's birthday present done (he was inconveniently born on December 26th).  It turned out very nice.

For my newest nephew, I figured that a scarf wouldn't be the best option.  So, he got a soft toy instead.

It was fall before I got to the end of my project.  I had two more scarves to knit.  And then on November 13th, I was done.  All I had to do was wrap everything and wait for the big day.

It was the strangest December.  I wasn't panicking.  I wasn't busily trying to finish a bunch of projects in time for the holiday.  December 23rd was a peaceful day (this is unusual for me).

Also, I didn't get sick.  (Well, I had one migraine, but that was closer to New Year's than Christmas.)  It was lovely.  This is how the holiday season should always be.

So, now it's time to plan for Christmas 2011.  Actually, it's totally time to start.  But first I must decide what it is that I'm going to knit for everybody.  Hats?  Gloves?  Socks?  I'm going to have to think about this.

No Resolutions

I used to have a MySpace account.  I started my blog there.  But after I had a few too many technical difficulties, I moved the blog here.  I have since closed the MySpace account.  I hate to lose all of my blogs from that time, so from time to time I repost them here. 

This one was originally posted on January 2, 2007.  I was just thinking about the new year and resolutions, so I figure that this is the right time to repost this.  

I don't make New Year's resolutions.  I'm against the whole idea.

This is the time of year, of course.  Everybody starts talking about New Year's resolutions.  It's all about what they want to change about themselves in the new year.  And as we all know, in about three weeks, most of them will have given up.  So, why bother?

I don't understand it.  Well, maybe I do.  It's a new year, so people feel like they have a "fresh slate".  Start a new year off right.  Okay, I get that.

What bothers me is that these people are waiting for a new year to start something new.  Why?  Why must we wait for January 1st to begin something?  Why can't we start something on February 2nd, Arbor Day, or on our birthdays?  I mean, birthdays would make more sense.  It's the start of a new year of your life.  That's the best time to start something.

The thing is, I hate the idea of investing January 1st (or any day, for that matter) with so much baggage.  It's supposed to be fun.  (Well, December 31st is fun, January 1st is for recovery.)  Why can't we start something new when we want to?  Why can't we make a "resolution" to make a change when we're ready for the change?

So, I refuse to put the pressure on myself.  New Year's Resolutions?  Bah!  I have the power to make a change in my life at any time.  I will make changes when I am ready, not on some arbitrary start of the year date.

And yes, I still feel this way.  I have made no resolutions, and I plan to make none.  

Shopping for Calendars

I had a whole other topic planned for today, but this day kind of got away from me.  I went out in search of calendars.  I do this every year around this time.

It was the perfect day for it.  The sun finally came out after days of rain (although, I hear that we're supposed to have another storm coming in a day or two).  So, I was able to drive all over town.

First, I hit Borders.  It's the closest.  They had a pretty good selection, and the store wasn't very busy.

I was surprised by one woman who was there with purpose.  She was frantically looking through all the planners.  She picked them up one by one, looked through them, and put them back.  I found it best to step back and get out of her way.  I thought she might knock me down.

The lines weren't too long, and I got out of there quickly.  But they didn't have one calendar that I buy every year.  I thought about it.  The sun was warm.  I figured I might as well drive to Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble was a different story entirely.  They had a bit less of a calendar selection, and there was a major crowd.  However, they had the one calendar that Borders didn't, so the trip was worthwhile.

And as long as I was in that shopping center, I figured I might as well hit the yarn store...

My calendars have been purchased.  It is safe for 2011 to begin.

Avoiding the Crowds

I managed to avoid most of the crazy busy holiday shopping this year.  I got done way early (yeah!).  I only braved the mall once (not for my shopping but as the shopping buddy) on Saturday.

It was dark out and raining, and I could tell that the mall had been packed earlier in the day.  The stores were trashed.  But going out after 6 PM really made an impact on the crowds we saw.  They were very much thinned out.

Yesterday, I went to see my dad.  We braved Trader Joe's to get something to fix for dinner.

Finding what we needed took under 2 minutes.  The line at the register took a bit longer.  Then it was time to leave.  There was a line of cars 5 deep waiting to get out of the parking lot.  We turned the other direction, hoping that the other exit was less crowded.

Just as we turned, an elderly lady started to cross towards her car.  She must have been over 80.  She had an older gentleman (who appeared to be her son) with her.  And they were basically crawling across the parking lot.

I laughed so hard.

Eventually, the lady made it out of our way, and we were on our way.  Of course, by then the 5 cars had already exited the parking lot.

Why is it when you want to move quickly, something has to appear to slow you down?

The Naming of Things

I have a terrible time naming things.  My novels-in-progress aren't titled.  I spend forever coming up with character and place names (and those are changed as soon as I come up with something better, which isn't hard).  If I had to title the chapters, I'd really be sunk.

Naming the items in my shop is a nightmare.

I know I should come up with something cute, clever, or at least creative.  What I end up with is more descriptive than anything else.

I wear my earrings to school.  Why make jewelry if you ever wear it?

One day, I wore my favorite furry earrings to the continuation high school.  Normally, no one comments on my attire.  That day, everyone did.

At least some of the comments were complimentary.

One girl told me what my earrings reminded her of: "You know, one of those things that grows in grass.  You pick them, and when you blow on them they go all over the place."  I did know what she was talking about.  Dandelions.

It occurred to me that this was the perfect name for them.  Dandelion Earrings.  So, I used it.  (You can see them here.)

I have to take the good names when they appear.  I can't seem to come up with them myself.