Cleaning Can Be Fun Too!

So yesterday (and today and by necessity tomorrow), I got the cleaning bug! Over time, the surfaces within my office have become more and more covered with STUFF. Like the chair I have for someone (usually my husband) to sit and talk to me while I am at my desk, has been completely unaccessible for at least 6 months and I bet it is closer to 18 months! But today it is not only accessible, it has also been cleaned.

I have thrown out nearly a complete garbage can full (the big ones) of paper, notes and other stuff I will never need again and if I do, in most cases, it is still on the computer. I now have a surprising amount of work surface in which to, well, work! I can see almost the entire surface of my desk, half of my file cabinet (half is covered by the printer), and most of the work table surfaces. This, truly is novel for me!

I have never been a "neat" person. The trick for me is I don't have an "official" spot for something, then it just gets put anywhere -- and that is where the problems begin. So when I am cleaning, I have to designate a spot for each thing or throw it out. Because this has become such a huge task, I have been putting it off for many, MANY months, but it finally got to me. And although I will still need to clean tomorrow to make it clear around the room, the end is in sight. Surprisingly, the process has not been too painful and at some points has actually been fun. Who knew?!?

Most importantly, I can tell I will at least feel more productive, if not in fact, BE more productive once my space is cleaned and organized. So tomorrow will be one room down and only 9 to go!!

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Thanking God for My Safety

Today turned out to be quite a day. I did a stupid thing -- something all of us have probably done at least once if not often, I got distracted for just a second while driving into town. The result was that I swerved off the road onto the shoulder, recovered onto the road, but during the recovery process, over compensated, went into a spin, spun back onto the shoulder where my tire blew, broke the rim and my truck did a one and a half flip resting on the passenger side between two trees in an orchard.

Amazingly enough, I walked away with a tiny cut and a small bruise on the back of my head -- I always wear my seat belt and I am sure it saved my life. More over, after I caught my breath, was sure that nothing was seriously injured, I undid my seat belt and just walked out the front windshield which was mostly missing at this point.

I thank God for watching over me, particularly when I was being stupid! By all rights, I should be amazingly sore, if not in the hospital or possibly dead. I often thank God for my blessings, of which I have many, but today, I also thank God for taking care of me when I was too stupid to take care of myself.

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Traveling and Seeing Old Friends

So I have been traveling a ton over the past few weeks, but I have been loving it!!! This is the busiest that my travel schedule has been that I can remember and Arlis and I were a little worried that it might be too much, but so far, it seems to all be OK. I still have one more trip to go, but I cannot imagine that it will be any problem.

Since the last time I posted I have been to Cloverhill Yarn Shop in the suburbs of Baltimore, at Stitches East, in Manhattan, KS at Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear and currently I am in Kansas City, MO preparing to teach my last class at The Studio.

All of the students have been wonderful and my various hosts have been very gracious. It is such a joy to be have a career in such a wonderful industry. I know that it is a unique pleasure to be able to consistently work with fun, nice, creative people. And I am truly grateful for that priviledge.

Being in Kansas City has been particularly fun since I used to work part time at the Studio when I used to live here. Many of the folks who come in the store are familiar faces. I have also had some free time to visit some of our old haunts. Even so, it will be good to be home again tomorrow. As much as I like traveling and seeing people, I miss my husband and the dogs!

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Meeting Internet Friends

This past weekend I was honored to be able to teach at a retreat held in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan, hosted by Rae of Rae's Yarn Boutique. We had 25 knitters, all of whom (or is it who) were absolutely WONDERFUL. They were great students, fun people and easy to be with. I couldn't have had a nicer weekend. Thanks to each and every one of you.

However, before I came, I forgot to pack the camera and boy was THAT a mistake. The colors were absolutely beautiful. And speaking of colors, I was able to spend a lot of time with Lynne H of Color Joy. This woman LOVES color and just truly lives up to her company's name of Color Joy. And for those of you who know me, you may find this hard to believe, but she can talk even more than me!!! But what WONDERFUL conversations we had!

Right now I am sitting in the Cincinnati airport getting ready to leave for Baltimore. Although teaching at Cloverhill Yarn shop and Stitches East will be fun, I am really excited about spending some time with my good friend Jeanne of Nature Speak Knits. We have such great energy when we get together! So I am sure some great things will be getting posted in the next few days!

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The Next Knit A Long

Today I am traveling ALL DAY. Right now I am sitting in the Atlanta airport during a 4 hour layover getting caught up on some "internet stuff". However, the big news is that I have finalized the design for the next knit-a-long. Well, at least finalized enough to begin the knitting. Today is the first day of a 10 day trip with a number of opportunties for quality knitting time. My hope is that I will have made significant progres on the project by the time I get home!

So the topic for the next knit-a-long is COLOR. But as I have been thinking about it -- I think I should call it a learn-a-long or a class a month or a mystery project -- because knit-a-long just doesn't cover it! Keep posted to see pictures as I begin making some progress.

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