What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Today is my last day of Summer Vacation. Ironically, it is windy, rainy, and cold outside. Seems even the weather gods are also mourning the end of summer. I had big plans this summer, like cleaning out and organizing the guest room closet. And taking the time to really understand how to use my mother's sewing machine so that I could then sew up some beautiful curtains for said guest room. But alas, I go back to school tomorrowand those things are certainly not getting done today. So, this list will get renamed: Fall-To Do. (Confession: It was originally called Spring: To Do)

Instead I spent the summer at the beach with those I love.

Grew my very first container garden.

Enjoyed the company of old friends and used it as an excuse to eat good, but not good for you food.

Found the perfect spot to watch the fireworks.

Participated in a disastourous first craft fair, got over it and took part in a wonderful farmers market.

And of course, completed loads and loads of knitting.

Please stop in tomorrow, I think that back-to-school calls for a pick-me-up, don't you? How about a give-away?!

Where I'm At

I know I've been quiet the last couple of days and I'm sorry about that. Just haven't had much to say. I didn't plan to write tonight either, but then I came across this posting. And I felt like I wrote it, because that is exactly where I am at. Are you feeling this way too? Is it just us? Better yet, if you are not feeling bored, what is inspiring you these days??

"...the number one reason knitters knit is because they are so smart that they need knitting to make boring things interesting. Knitters are so compellingly clever that they simply can't tolerate boredom. It takes more to engage and entertain this kind of human, and they need an outlet or they get into trouble."

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Thank you Molly for making me feel less alone in my boredom!

(On a side note, I am featured in two lovely treasuries right now and would love, love, love your support in checking them out! )

Small Bursts of Productivity

It's humid today. Really humid and weird out. Eerie breezes, dark clouds, and soupy air. The kind of weather where you consider going to the mall just to escape it. Despite two consistent weeks of difficulty sleeping, I woke up this morning ready to tackle my "Summer To-Do" list. Two of the biggest things were organizing and sorting through all of the thousands of pictures I have uploaded into iPhoto since 2005 and organizing and sorting through this tremendous amount of yarn that I have attained. (Just a quick side note: When did I become my mother?!)

Yesterday I

tackled my photos. Ohhhh it felt so good to do this. I am certainly not finished, but it feels much more manageable at this point. How lucky are we to have all of this amazing technology at our fingertips? There really is not excuse for not being organized when there is such a thing as Facial Recognition and Auto Split and an ability to order by name, type, or date! I cannot imagine doing this with actual photos and albums. It would be a dizzying task.

Sorting and winding this massive basket of yarn has also been intensely gratifying. What a mess! I had gotten to the point where I was tossing skeins of yarn in to one bask

et and completed failed projects into another. I have rewound all of the skeins and am slowly unkitting the failed projects. It feels like I've gone yarn shopping! it has sparked so many ideas for upcoming projects that I cannot wait to get started on.

Beach

One of the biggest reasons I moved here from Brooklyn was to be closer to the beach. Which surprised me. For most of my teenaged years, I had looked forward to living in a city. First I moved to Boston, then to NYC. I wanted it to fit me so badly. I wanted to love it. I wanted it to free me. But it didn't. I always felt uneasy, unsettled, uncomfortable. And not for trying. In NY I had amazing friends and was teaching at a school that felt designed for me. But after ten years of giving it a go, I finally made the decision to leave it behind. (I'm a slow learner, ok? And intensely stubborn!)

I have few memories of going to the beach as a kid. As a baby my parents still rented a house on the shore in Connecticut. I vaguely remember it, most of my memories are cobbled together by pictures I have seen and stories I have heard. But I do remember leaving. I remember

crying at the top of my lungs for the entire hour-long trip home, desperate to stay near the ocean. As

a child and tween (not that that word was around when I was 11) I have miserable memories from the beach. Ones that involved stinging sunburns, stale and sandy chips, long, hot car rides in which we always got lost, and, being the youngest of three, having to sit in the back, middle seat.

Then frequent visits to Maine and New Hampshire became my respite from city life and on one trip it dawned on me that this is where I needed to be. Today, I took my first, post-school year trip to the beach. I woke up, had some coffee, filled my water bottle and hopped in the car. Within ten minutes, I was parked and walking down the stone steps on to the sand. I keep a beach bag packed with a towel, two mini quilts, sunblock, and a frisbee in the car, along with my beach chair.(You nev

er know when the spirit is going to move you to have lunch or catch up with an old friend on the beach!) It was crowded, but the energy was lively. I set myself up, read a trashy magazine, listened to a couple of podcasts I had saved, and knit away at my latest baby sweater. It was one of those moments where you just sigh with happiness.