teapot1

teapot1

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Hello and Welcome to my Blog

Because life’s greatest pleasures are made up of tiny things: small crochet stitches that culminate in a beautiful shawl. Each step of a mile walk or jog. The notes in music. The letters in words and the words in books. A smile from the one you love. Words and thoughts exchanged with friends. The lines and colors in a work of art. Hours, days, years in a rich and fulfilling life.

And, of course,the leaves in that first morning cup of tea.

This is to celebrate the things that life is made of.

And also to cheer and celebrate the continual process of learning, growing, and becoming, especially for those of us in our sixties and beyond who still believe the best is yet to come and that “God isn’t through with us yet,” that life can still be exciting and rich. This blog is for all the “would-be’s” and all the things we still would and could be.

This past year I learned to crochet and surprised myself by how much I like it. I think I’ve come pretty far, and I know I have so much more to learn; I expect to be learning it for the rest of my life. So lesson no. 1 from 2011: I really am a crafty person, which I never thought I was.

This year I also learned when and how to let go, when my ninety-nine-year-old mother finally needed to leave the house we shared with her and go into an assisted living facility. I learned that I could no longer be responsible for trying to keep her life normal and happy, that dementia will have its way, and, on the positive side, that she could be better cared for and even happier where people who are experts in the disease and who are empathetic and caring without having the personal burdens can take care of all her needs.

In this coming year I plan to return to my love of medieval history. I have a collection of so-far unread books to get to. I collect medieval English coins and replicas of illuminated manuscripts. I have been a member of the Richard the Third society, and my favorite kings are he and Henry II (my favorite movie is also “Becket”), my favorite ruling family the Plantangenets. So I’ve decided it’s time to get more deeply into it and supplement the books I’ve already read. That’s my first resolution.

I would love to hear from other "constant learners," crocheters, anyone dealing with dementia, or any other topics! I'm looking forward to a fruitful and fulfilling year. 


12 comments:

  1. What a great day to start a blog!

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  2. I love that you finally started a blog and I'm going to post it on GBE2, which you should join BTW. I too have considered getting back into history studies more.

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  3. Thanks, Kari and Pam, I've listed your blogs, too. Pam, you can tell me more about GBE2--I know you sent me an email about it that I'll have to go back and look up. I also hope to be starting a blog about learning to crochet soon.
    Happy New Year!

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  4. Great day to start a blog. I'm popping over from GBE2 and I look forward to reading more of your posts. Happy New Year

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  5. Beautiful job Elaine! I look forward to more of your writing and sharing your life perspective. Medieval history? I don't think I knew that...how cool!

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  6. Very nice to read about your adventures this year. Welcome

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  7. Nice to see you perusing the GBE2 space! Blogging can be such a cathartic practice. I look forward to seeing more of your words land in this ethereal place.

    Happy 2012!

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  8. Yipee! Another crocheter! I love to crochet. Its a great outlet and there are so many great teaching books out there for lots of projects. I love yarn and have quite a collection of crochet hooks.

    Good for you learning something new!

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  9. I always seem to have a half-finished blanket or scarf laying around waiting for my attention. I'm not much of a crocheter (I tend to wing it, which is probably why I only do blankets and scarves), bit maybe one day I'll have more time to dedicate to it.

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  10. Thanks, everyone, for your nice welcome comments! Beachlover and Word Nerd, I'm so glad to meet other crocheters--I often feel alone in a world that seems to favor knitters. Even at my LYS I seems to be the only crocheting regular. I've been looking for crocheting blogs and have found a few, but would love more recommendations if anyone has more! Thanks for joining my blog, and I look forward to reading yours, too.

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  11. We're a family of lifelong learners. Now, about that teapot ...

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  12. Welcome to blogging and all the best for 2012. Look forward to your posts. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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