Not My Circus

Not My Circus

It was long ago and far away, in a waitressing kind of world. 

The young woman’s face showed traces of recent tears.

She grinned cheerfully at me and started chit-chatting about the weather or some such, laughing.

A touch on her arm stopped her mid-sentence.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing!’

A little too emphatic and no eye contact.

Hmmm …

Silently I just looked at her and finally I caught her eyes.

‘No. Not here. Not now. I can’t. I have to go.’

‘Later.’

It was not a question.

‘Yes.’

And off she went. Both of us had jobs to do and so we did them.

In the pit of my belly I felt what she could not tell me.

She was hurting, in pretty bad pain. Her belly was in knots worse than mine. Her heart was bleeding from wounds my own could only just barely feel. Her soul was torn, rent so raggedly that I could hardly find a place to get a hold on it, like a hundred broken-winged birds trying to fly.

Later came.

This time there was no hiding anything. Tears rose, coursed her face, fell. Her heart and her soul were in those tears, little rivers finding their way down the pretty face of this young woman. Swelling as pent emotions began to locate the breaches in walls that had been for too long far too effective, little rivers became raging torrents. Torrents became lakes only to overflow banks and continue on their way. The room in which we sat was soon flooded.

This is what it feels like, folks.

In those tears are the very sharp and dangerous shards of the little pokes and snarky words collected over time. In them are the snickers and laughter (not quite accidentally) loud enough for her to hear. In them are averted eyes. In them are greetings not spoken, encouragement not given, respect withheld. In them also are pain of loss, poverty, hopelessness, worry, doubt, fear. In them are also many other powerfully destructive interactions which cannot bear being named.

Riding atop the tumultuous waves is the will to continue of this person. It looks fragile, so very fragile, by comparison. Yet it has survived.

When you knowingly and deliberately add to the pressure of the burdens the tears of this young woman represent, you are doing her harm.

When you allow, or worse yet instigate, behaviors designed to encourage others to do harm to this person, culpability lies at your feet. Guilt lies heavy on your shoulders. Do you feel the weight of that unholy mantle?

You will never see the tears. You will never feel what you wreak so heedlessly in this young woman. It is not to you she will come when those tears can no longer be stifled.

Around us roils the tumult of emotions of others, the ones that are beginning to leak out past the too strong walls. That you are impervious is no doubt a blessing to you. Were you actually able to experience the devastation of the environment you have wrought, it would overwhelm you. It often threatens to overwhelm me, and I’m not even the guilty party here.

Not my circus, not my monkeys.

You created the circus. It IS your circus; they ARE your monkeys.

Fortunately the young woman of this post did manage to hang on to her will to continue. The effects of that long ago time linger - they have tended to make her stronger over the years.

So really what are you accomplishing? 

In this case, motivating one of your monkeys to escape. 

In other cases perhaps more dangerously effective consequences could have resulted. 

For all you know (or care) your choices may well have contributed to (or directly caused) permanent harm to another.

Not your circus? 

If you create the circus, they are your monkeys.

Own it.

What Happens When ...

Indeed.

What does happen when ... Rua, Sass, and Alianora in one of her  ... umm ... moods ... come face to face with a situation that demands their attention in a most emphatic way?

Say, for example, they're visiting someone from a very different culture from theirs, where the only thing that matters is conformity.

Rua runs afoul of the status quo, Sass jumps in to exacerbate everything by taking Rua's unintentional faux pas and exaggerating it to emphasize how ridiculous the situation is, which lands her and Rua both deep in the soup and enrages Alianora's sense of justice, sending her into a word-flinging rage of - well - of Alianora proportions.

Keep in mind that the rest of the Characters are standing by, half amused and half concerned, holding their peace for the time being.

Sass and Rua are perhaps the most powerful of a very powerful Cast of Characters and mild-mannered Alianora is infamous for her infrequent but extremely potent 'temper'. 

Yep.

No wonder everyone else is kind of keeping their distance for the moment. If these three can't handle whatever it might be, which is unlikely, they're right nearby - but not too close.

*laughing*

Sometimes stories pop up out of the strangest of places.

Let's just hope MammTwo stays in the wings, with the Sidhe of the Ages, and doesn't ... umm ... join forces with Alia. What a whopping pair the two of them would be. The rest of them would say, 'Uh-oh' and step back another pace or two but be rattling their swords against their shields, yep.

I tell ya.

Finding humor in truly ridiculous situations can be a life-saver.

Sometimes a person just has to shake their head and sigh.

Listen First

GO HERE for Story

It's about a school that's taking a different tack when it comes to discipline.

Years ago I knew a young woman who worked with kids who were in trouble.

When school administrators or program facilitators warned her about the attitudes of the kids, she nodded and smiled, duly warned.

After spending some time with the kids, she would frown and ask, 'Are these the same kids they were telling me about? Because I'm not seeing what they're seeing.'

Said administrators and facilitators ended up shaking their heads, puzzled. 

'How do you do that? How do you get him/her to listen to you?'

'I listen first.'

'How do you get them to talk to you?'

'I listen.'

If I Say Merry Christmas On December 25 ...

Please have the courtesy and respect to reply in kind.

If you say to me Happy Hanukkah or Happy Winter Solstice or Happy Yule (or whatever else) I will be pleased to reply in kind, out of respect and courtesy. If it happens to be December 25 I will probably add Merry Christmas and hope you will have the respect to reply in kind.

If you say to me Happy Holidays, I'll likely ask you to which holidays you refer and reply to whatever you tell me by saying Happy *whatever it is*.

We are each and all of us entitled to celebrate as our hearts lead us; we are not entitled to impose our choices on others.

Mid-winter has been a special time for most of the peoples of our earth for a very long time. It is both the deepest dark and the time when that deep dark begins to make its turn again toward more light, at least in the Northern Hemisphere where I happen to live. It is in many ways the most challenging part of the year - it is also the time of the most joy as the dark begins its annual retreat. 

So yeah, it's a time to celebrate - for all of us.

Christians celebrate Christmas; others celebrate in other ways.

Let's all of us respect the celebrations of all of us.

Knoephle Soup

No I'm not a German from Russia, not much German at all when it comes to that ... but boy do I love knoephle soup!

I looked on line for recipes and found a bunch. They're all pretty similar but each has its own take on the basic recipe. People add and change all kinds of things to suit themselves, so feel free to to likewise.

Because my daughter reminded me only just this morning, I figured now would be a fine time to add my own take to the mix.

First of all, the best chicken broth comes from *are you ready for this?* boiling a chicken, preferably pre-plucked and gutted and washed. 

Second of all, nothing can really replace rich thick cream and real butter - nothing. The cream goes in last of all, by the way, after the neffles even.

Third of all, valley reds are better potatoes for this than Idaho baking spuds.

Fourth of all, chopped or coarse grated carrots add a bit of color.

Fifth of all, the 'neffle' (my own term, beg pardon) dough is supposed to be droopy and you better be quick with your kitchen shears when you're snipping those little bits of it into the boiling soup.

Sixth of all, since you have a cooked chicken sitting right there, put some into the soup.

By now you've got the gist of what knoephle soup is all about. It's rich and creamy and filling - and totally delicious.

But here's the method behind the madness:

1/ Boil a chicken 
2/ While the chicken is boiling make your neffle dough out of a beaten egg, a few tablespoons of milk, and flour added until the dough is formed enough to halfway handle. It's going to be sticky as all get-out so flour your hands. Form it into a ball, cover it, and set it aside. How much you want is how much you make; might have to use two eggs and yada yada.
3/ Cube your potatoes to about a half inch. If you leave the skins on they're healthier but then you've got bits of potato skin in your soup because, you know, they don't stay on the potatoes when you cook them.
4/ Chop or coarse grate a couple three carrots if you want them in there for color or nutritional value.
5/ When your chicken is done boiling, use a strainer and put the broth into your soup kettle. You can add canned broth (Not Water) if you want, depending on how much water you used for boiling the chicken and how much steamed away in the process. Cover the chicken in an appropriate bowl and set it aside.
6/ Into the broth put the potatoes (and carrots if you used them) and cook them until they're done (when you can easily poke a fork into the potatoes).
7/ By now your chicken ought to be cool enough to get the meat off the bones, so do that and cut the chicken into small pieces (whatever size you like). Put however much chicken you want into the broth and do what you want with the skin and bones.
8/ Your neffle dough has been patiently waiting its turn for all this time so roll it out into a snake, hold it up pretty high over the boiling soup kettle, and start snipping like crazy because if you don't that whole snake is going to droop right down into the soup and you'll be screwed. The thing here is to snip as fast as you can so the neffles start cooking at as close to the same time as possible. They'll first sink and disappear into the broth and stuff but they'll pop back up pretty quick and get in the way of the ones you're snipping, so HURRY!
9/ You can turn the heat down a notch or two right about now so you don't burn your soup, and give it a stir once in a while to keep the neffles circulating. You'll have to test them now and again. They're done when they're all floating around in there and are little funny looking dumplings of various shapes (but should be all about the same size if you've done your snipping right - about a half inch up to an inch or so - you are not going to be able to get them uniform so don't worry about it). When they're dumplings, they're done.
10/ Take the kettle off of the heat now and stir in as much butter as you think appropriate - about a stick for a normal batch, more if you're making more.
11/ You'll notice that the only milk called for so far has been the few tablespoons that go into the neffle dough. That's because we aren't using milk but thick rich cream, the thicker the better. And now, just before you're going to serve it up, you add about half as much cream as you have soup broth (or more if you want it creamier), give it a good stir, ladle it into bowls, sprinkle parsley for decoration, and serve it up. It will be thick and creamy, not thin and watery the way some are, with hopefully lots of potatoes and neffles - YUM!
NOTE: you may have noticed that I didn't include any salt or pepper - that's because different people like different amounts and some can't have any salt at all - so make sure there are salt and pepper shakers within everyone's reach so they can use what they want.
ALSO NOTE: if you're one that has to have specific amounts of ingredients, this recipe is obviously not for you.
ONE MORE NOTE: you can cut your prep time down significantly if you've done some pressure canning ahead of time and have your broth and your chicken (sans skin and bones and cut into bite-sized pieces) already canned. A couple quarts of broth and a pint of chicken ought to do you for a normal sized batch.

2015 10 21 Tonight's Boot Experiment

Today’s experiment has the thick brown felted wool ‘boot tubes’, flip-flop inside soles, taped outer soles and heels, and felted wool sweater sleeve ‘socks’. I’ve got the leather straps around them at the ankle, too. They're concealed by the folded down boot tops.

The ‘socks’ work (so far) better than I had hoped. With the cuffs up at my knees, the wider part of the sleeves (where they join to the body of the sweater) gives me plenty to wrap around my feet, providing the cushioning I want at the toes and arches. I’m amazed.

Whether I’ll still be amazed by the end of this concrete-pounding eight hour shift remains to be seen.

If my feet are happy, I’ll go ahead and get the felt (or leather, we'll see what I feel like) cut to cover the taped parts and start the layers of liquid rubber. But I won’t do that tonight because I’ll want these for the rest of the shifts I’ve got to fill before I’ll have the days off I’ll need to get all those layers on and dried and seasoned so I can wear the boots again. I don't want to be leaving wet rubber Smurf footprints!

Also, even with the sweater socks providing that extra cushioning, there's still plenty of 'wiggle room' for my toes! Once I find the most comfortable fit (each foot is wrapped differently for this experiment) I'll finalize the wrap design and stitch it into place for the feet of the socks.

#

Results:

1] The left foot wrapping was better and I didn't even need as much cushion as I gave myself. I think I'll try just stitching these sweater sleeves into regular socks or turn them into boots themselves because I like them. I can always make other liners with cushion pockets stitched into place. 

2] The taping held the inside soles in place perfectly. I'll cut the tape off, keeping it in one piece, and use it as a basic pattern for the felting that will replace the tape - with the waterproofing going on next and leather (probably) with maybe (likely) more protective coating on the outside.

3] The leather straps give my ankles some extra support and also keep everything snugged into place when I'm walking/trotting/running. Laces do the same thing.

4] Over all it was a good combination and my feet are in fine shape. They were warm but could still 'breathe'.

Up next:

- I want to try stitching a bunch of layers of some flannel into liner boots and see how that works.

- I've got a couple of lighter-weight sweaters (one's lambswool/angora and the other is merino, bright red and black respectively) I can make into boots themselves and also use as liner boots just by taking the inside soles out. (see below) So I can 'layer up' on my footwear if I want.

One thing about the lighter weight fabrics being turned into boots is that you can remove the inside soles and the lighter boots fit right into the heavier boots as liners, even with thick socks inside of them - or you can put some layers of whatever you want cut to your foot outline inside of them and have pretty darned comfortable soft-soled stocking slippers. The rubberizing makes 'em waterproof but is almighty flexible.

- The bodies of the sweaters are up for grabs as to what I'm going to do with them. I've got mittens and a scarf to get stitched to match the dark red boots I've got done; a sweater vest was left when I cut the sleeves (above) off of that one and I'll probably just keep it that way. The neckline of the black sweater is perfect for the headband part of a pull-on cap; mittens from part of the bottom hemline (pretty standard because it's a sensible use of that part of the sweaters, and matching mittens are always fun); there will be a bunch left so who knows what that will become - socks maybe, or a scarf ... 

- Another option for liner boots would be fleece, yep. 

- Hmmm ... I wonder ... you know the athletic tube socks? Why can't we make that kind of sock out of fleece, the soft snuggly stuff we use for those funky blankets all the time. Well, we can of course. How easy is that? Pretty easy.

*laughing*

I may be a little over-tired, but the thought of Pippi Longstocking thigh high socks made out of that snuggly fabric sounds like a great thing for winter, yes it does. Gotta use really wide elastic (and not too tight) at the top though, or you'll cut off your circulation.

*laughing again*

Yep. Put a pair of those foam soles in them, rubberize them, take the inside soles back out, add a few layers of the same stuff cut to fit your feet to replace those foam soles, and you've got some really weird (but snuggly and warm) slippers. Or some awesome winter liners for the felted wool boots.

Mm-hm ... over-tired. Told ya.

And that's about the extent of my thought processes for this night.

At any rate, I've got a weekend off coming up so (as soon as I get my winter firewood situated) I can get some stitching done.

Heh.

Once I get these plain (very plain) boots done, I can bling the heck out of them if I want. It's not like there's a shortage of beads and wire and ... stuff ... around this place, you know. Peacock feathers even. Pheasant too, for that matter. There are times it's nice to live in hunting country. No we don't hunt peacocks, but we hunt pheasants and all kinds of other critters who have useful feathers and such.

Does Mankind 'Create'?

Warning: I'm feeling long-winded again ;) 

The following is a response to a comment in a thread on a post in a Google plus discussion community. The previous comment suggested that people 'create god' by coming up with definitions, and that science and technology, by 'shrinking the unknown', make it less likely that spiritual beliefs are 'real' - to paraphrase.

...

I think you're right about us 'creating' a God or Gods/Goddesses in the sense you're talking about, by trying to define something we can 'sense' but never really with our traditional physical senses. It would be such an individual thing that few would agree except for that intangibility factor. 

Yet the phenomenon (of people defining 'God' to suit their own needs or wants) does seem to be pretty consistent and universal from the ancient times we know about right through our current days.

Science and technology are indeed rapidly shrinking the unknown, making possible what was inconceivable - such exciting times these are in so many ways! The definition of 'impossible' changes almost daily. I see it not as making anything 'less likely' but a journey of discovery that is taking us closer to an understanding, definition if you will, of the world we live in. 

To some of us, the ever-increasing knowledge of interlocking patterns and repetitive design isn't simply a matter of mankind increasing our base of information on which to build even more wonderful advances, to discover even more, although that's exciting enough in its own right - the fact that there's more and more evidence of 'organization' from our very DNA to the universes out there in no way diminishes our faith in Someone powerful enough to have created such wonders for us to discover... rather it reinforces that faith. 

'Discovery' and 'Definition' is not the same as 'Creating' - because we're only just finding things and concepts that already exist, and giving to them names that we humans can relate to. The most creative minds among us do not actually 'create' anything - we just find and use what is already there, pre-existing. Energy, raw materials, accessing and honing the intellects of our minds - curiosity - the whatever it is that drives us to search, to discover, to experiment ... to define ... 

Keep in mind that I'm not talking about any particular 'religion' here - those are all 'definitions', exactly as you say - science and technology add another 'definition' to the mix ... atheists likewise ... IMO none of us can point at any of the others and say,'You're wrong.' At this point in time none of us KNOWS. None of us. We WANT to know, but as of right now we do not.

We've got our physical world to explore; our intellectual selves to challenge, and our inner selves to sustain and drive the others. Again, just my opinion. All three are parts of the whole, so entwined and interconnected that they cannot be separated without harming or destroying the whole.

If your mind is dead, your body becomes essentially useless. If your body dies, your mind dies with it. If your spirit, your will to continue, goes ... both mind and body are affected.

Yep. And this is what happens when an INFJ tries to communicate. Thank your lucky stars you can just click out of it at will.  :)  

QUAKIES

When the mountains seem to suddenly be running with rivers of gold, the quakies are making their annual affirmation of continuity. They cannot be missed and they will not be dismissed.

Above is one of my favorite Aspen photos. I have many. This one I've called 'Phantom Queen' because of the location (Phantom Canyon in the Colorado Rockies) and the majesty of this little stand of aspen trees. Little did I know when I took the photo and named it how very apt the name is.

Because my time is limited at the moment I'll share only a couple of things about what has come to be my most favorite of trees.

The first is that they are survivors. They are probably the least likely of all of earth's organisms to succumb to extinction. In the article below we are told of what may be the oldest of these organisms - it's 80,000 years old.

No, I'm not kidding you. Look it up.

Second, related to first: You'll see that I kind of switched from calling quakies 'trees' to referring to them as 'organisms'. That's because the individual 'trees' are all parts of a larger 'organism' that sends them up from beneath the ground. That would be the root system. The trees that we see in any given stand of aspen are, each and all, identical to one another. They're clones.

So, the third thing I'll share is that if you watch the turning of the colors in the fall you'll be able to identify the different stands of aspen, the 'family groups' so to speak, by noticing that the changing of the colors seems to come in clumps or streams. 

*laughing*

I guess all three come down to the same thing, don't they?

Aspen, 'Quakies', are long-lived.

The INFJ/P mind in my head has all sorts of observations and comments to make about this phenomenon. 

Lucky for you, there's no time at the moment to indulge that INFJ/P urge.

Since I already know it isn't going to just go away and leave me alone, I know that one day soon I will sit down and explore the esoteric ramifications of the Quakies' survival tools.

Mostly I haven't thought all that much about them, truth be told. Mostly I just love looking at them. What's under the surface is under the surface; we don't see it until we start digging a little. Fortunately for us, what is above the surface is magnificent.

Click HERE for a site that will tell you more.

DIY Felted Wool Boots - Getting them cut down to size

Yeah I know this doesn't how much. I'll get more 'in progress' types of photos when I get time. I'm cutting it close the way it is here before I have to start getting myself ready for work.

A few days in a row with shifts to fill has been plenty of motivation to at least start getting those incredibly comfortable flip-flop soles trimmed down to size. They're not  yet shaped the way they're going to be but I'm in no great big hurry to make my cuts too deep.

If ever you've carved something out of wood (or stone for that matter) you know that once you've removed a bit of it ... it's removed forever. You can't jut glue it back on and have it be the way it was.

So I'm taking my own sweet time with these soles.

For tonight's shift I've got them in the thick brown felted wool boots. The soles are taped but not the sides yet. Those won't get done until the sole is in its final shape.

The time to work on these is extremely limited by the very job whose demands spur me to get them done.

This time I've dispensed with the leather strap ankle fastenings in favor of yet another experiment: leather laces that happen to be the same color as the boots. 

heh heh 

Not that you can see them anyway since the boot tops are turned down over them.

So we'll see how they hold up. I've got them criss-crossed five or six times (they're plenty long!) around my ankle and so far they're doing the job. We'll find out soon enough what will happen during eight hours of constant speed-walking. 

My feet have plenty of room in them, especially the right one at the moment because i don't have time to even trim it down any more right now. That's the one I'm liable to walk out of if the laces give way, LOL!

I'm not ever going to pare these things down to a snug fit, not the ones I'm planning on using for shift work. I do have a pair that is snug to my feet which is fine when I want to show off my darling little feet - but those are not for these purposes.

These are for WORK.

Even when I get the inside soles the way I want them, the edges taped securely into place (to give them their final shape on the outside), the backs of the heels reinforced (to keep my toe-walking from pushing the inside soles backward), and the rubber coating applied to the bottoms and up the sides (for water-proofing and grip) - I'm still going to leave plenty of space in the uppers.

I want that space both for wiggle room for my toes, breathing room for my feet, and to accommodate the felted wool 'booties' - the liners that will add their comfort to the whole by providing a bit of cushion to the toe part and at my instep for extra arch support - those cushions will be built into the liners.

At any rate, I'm out of time so had best get on my way to the eight hour on the job trial of this particular stage of the development process.

People tell me I ought to market them but that's not exactly gong to work to well.

Mine are specifically designed for my specific feet and my specific gait and my specific ob. I'm doing my experimenting as I go along, testing and testing to see what works and what doesn't.

I reckon I could get outlines of peoples' feet and build them some boots that would without a doubt be a lot more comfortable than what they're probably wearing - but the individuality of their arches, their unique gaits (how their feet and legs move when they walk or run) and where they tend to put their weight ... these are variables a person can't get from a simple foot outline. AND I wouldn't know what they want them for necessarily. 

These are for this job. I wouldn't want to run a footrace in them and I wouldn't want to climb a tree in them and I wouldn't want to ride a horse in them (thinking stirrups and boot-heels here). When I get my final pair finished I'll leave that pair there and wear them only for that job. Other pairs will be for other uses, each specially designed to fill the needs of whatever that use might be.

Who Do You Think You Are!?

To those who ask this question, the answer lies in another question:

'Who' I am? What does that matter? Am I not, to you, 'who' you think I am, 'who' you see me as?

Who do you think you are?

Are we not all God's Children?

I am a Daughter of the Creator and the Holy Spirit, Sister to Jesus, as are you Daughter and Sister, or Son and Brother. The titles are ours by birthright, gifts of the Holy Trinity, whether we claim them or not.

Because part of the gift is also freedom to choose to accept or to reject the path we are given. Choosing Acceptance carries the responsibility of Being, to the best of our ability, Daughters and Sons of God - yet even Rejection can be reversed; therein lies Hope ... and Mercy ... 

See, the Creator knows who we are, has known us since before our births, each and all of us.

Heaven knows we are not perfect Beings. We're going to fall flat on our faces time and again, we're going to get tired and cranky and whiny, we're going to know fear and pain and loss, we're going to doubt ourselves and the Creator who made us, we're going to say, 'What, are You crazy? We can't do this! We don't want to do this. We're falling down exhausted, our feet hurt, our backs are killing us, our hearts and wills are broken ... You're nuts if you think we can just keep going the way we are!' 

And then, just when we're absolutely positive that we can't and won't carry on any further comes another breath, another bit of strength, a little more will ... and we take just one more step. And another. And another.

By that third step we might be coming to realize something.

We don't have to do this thing, whatever it may be, all alone.

For one thing, we have one another. When the time comes that each and all of us are about to go down in flames, we look around us and know that together we're going to make it through that next step, and the next, and the next. And so we do.

More importantly, when we've reached the end of our collective rope will come something we may have been too tired, too hurt, too disheartened to have thought much about. And within us something will stir; we'll find what it takes to get us the rest we need, the healing we need, the heart and the will that we need.

That, my friend, is a part of the gift as well.

Do you think the Spirit who dwells within us each and all doesn't know full well (having been a part of many more than just us from the dawn of Creation) that we're going to become tired and cranky and whiny, know fear and loss and doubt, fall flat on our faces? 

When those times are upon us we'll find that sure enough we aren't strong enough, we aren't smart enough, we aren't tough enough, we aren't anything enough.

We aren't.

We don't have to be.

Someone Else already is.

Someone already has our aching backs. And our hurting feet. And our broken hearts, our exhausted wills.

What we are given to do we will also be given the means to do.

When we realize that, something inside of us relaxes. The absence of tensions we weren't even aware of frees up our own internal resources - believe that because it's true. It also opens a door, or a window perhaps, or maybe even just a bit of a chink in our walls (it doesn't really take all that much) that Hope can walk through, or come in like a breeze, or sneak up on us unexpectedly.

Such a simple thing, but so very hard to find out how to do - yet all we have to do is do it.

We are given a Command: Fear Not

That's not just a suggestion, folks.

That's a Command.

And it's followed by a Promise: I am with you

In other words: Don't worry. I've got this.

All that's required of us is to do the best we can with what we have to work with at any given time. What we need will come when it is most needed.

We, each and all, are gifted before birth with everything we'll ever need. We are known, cherished, Children of the Creator. 

So really ... think about it ... 

Someone who created the universes tells us, 'Don't worry. I've got this,' and proves it time and time and time again - and we're still fretting and fussing?

Well yeah, we are. 

Not that it does us any good. 

We've been doing it since we were old enough to know what worry is, we're doing it now, and we'll continue to do it. Probably most of us will spend our entire grown up lives that way - because we tend to forget that we are Children, Daughters and Sons, Sisters and Brothers, of ... hmmm ... 

Do you remember the powerful arms of your father from when you were a very little child? The comforting ones of your mother? The hugs of a strong sibling? Not worrying about stuff like bills and fatigue and pain and all that?

Yep.

Guess what.

Confidence in yourself is not required. Strength of your own isn't mandatory.

And it doesn't really matter a whit 'who' you are or 'who' you are not in your own eyes or in the eyes of others. You are not just your own self. You have never been 'only' anything or anyone. There's no 'only' about you, never has been. God doesn't create us to be 'only'; we are created to be Daughters and Sons, Sisters and Brothers.

So:

Who Do You Think You Are!?

Stepping Up To The Plate

When healing needs to happen and we see someone taking real steps to help it along, yes it does make a difference.

In the world in which we live in we see far too much of things working the other way around ... rifts that are unnecessary in the first place are riven wider, factions develop among those who could and should be working together to make things better for everyone, nobody believes in the goodness of anybody, bucks get passed, the blame game ensues, and next thing you know there's a major problem where no problem ought to exist at all.

So when push is getting too close to becoming shove and it's time for someone to step up to the plate, and we're pretty sure nobody is going to, it brings a hint of a glimmer of hope when somebody actually does. Whether it will make a difference in the long run, nobody knows ... but - for this moment - to see a bit of a shine in eyes too long bleak ... yeah, it makes a difference.

Just lately there's been more of this than we've seen in quite a while, on more than one front ... and it makes my soul smile, yes it does. Nobody expects immediate miracles ... but even those who don't believe in miracles have that hint of a glimmer ... and those of us who do believe in miracles are already taking heart.

Things do not have to remain the way they have become, people. Even when the dark seems to be deepening, there are lights for us to focus on.

See, the thing is, when we focus on those lights we're giving them a light of our own for them to focus on as well ... and so it goes and so it grows, the light that will battle the darkness. And it will win.

And the healing begins, one light at a time, as we are given those lights to focus on, as we add our own little lights (perhaps without even realizing it) to be the focus of others ... 

Healing can happen, folks. It's already begun. 

Find the light that's there for you; focus on it; add your own - and even when the dark crowds in on you it won't be able to get close enough to blind you to the lights you're focusing on - or the one you have become. 

You don't think so? Are you sure? Your light is the focus of more people than you think. Without you even being aware of it, you are that light in somebody else's darkness. So don't you be stepping back from that plate.

Oh.

You didn't know this post was about you?

DIY Progress on Boots

And here we go!

Cut sweater sleeves from sweater.

Slip the foam soles inside.

Wrap  edges around - I leave a space for the tape to adhere to the soles.

Secure with duct tape (or however you want).

Screwdriver to open can of liquid rubber.

Paintbrush to apply.

Water for clean up.

One hand inside to hold while painting.

First coat painted on.

Waiting for paint to dry.

I've got two coats of the liquid rubber on. It's thick, almost like a glue, but spreads well with a stiff-bristled brush. It probably wouldn't go on quite as well with a really soft brush.

I let it dry for a couple of hours before putting on the second coat. We'll see how it works with two and add more if needed.

At any rate, the liquid rubber isn't nearly as smelly as I was afraid it would be, and actually does clean up with water. That surprised me because its function is to be waterproof!

One modification I'm going to make is to cut a piece of felted wool that fits the bottom of the foot and goes up the heel area. I'll still use tape but just a strip down the center of the sole to both hold the sides in place on the underside and keep a grip on the soles. I'll cover it with the felted wool, mainly for aesthetics. I can do that with this pair tomorrow if I want, and just put another coating of the liquid rubber on over the top.

So tomorrow will be my first day wearing the sweater boot design with rubberized soles. 

*laughing*

I'd better make darned sure they're all the way dry or I'll be leaving Smurf-prints all over the place!

Women and Children ... C'mon folks, really ... Show a little mercy!

I'm in the middle of reading disturbing comments in the middle of the night (it would be almost morning in the summer, but it's now only the middle of the night, what the heck is up with that? I can't believe how much longer it takes to stay up all night in the winter than it does in the summer.)

Now that I've got the seasonal comments out of my system, here's what's on my mind on this middle of the night in October of 2015:

Reading the comments from waaaay too many people who seem perfectly willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater for pete's sake. 

I'm talking about the horrifying stories that are coming out of Europe (and some in the US). Yes the stories are truly horrific. Yes the atrocities should be stopped, whatever it takes. You'll get no argument from me about that. 

But some of the comments are talking about genocide, folks. Open any forum on the net these days that has anything remotely to do with Islam and you'll find it.

I'm Christian, so I suppose I'm included in the Islam 'bad guy' list - but I can't find it in me to condemn women and children, who are already not exactly in the safest situation in the world, to the 'kill 'em all' mentality that seems to be taking a stronger root every day.

Battle is battle. Women and young children who are being victimized every which way from Tuesday are not the threat. Can we not find it in us to help those who are already hurt? Yes, take your stand against the ones who are the threat - that makes all the sense in the world. But for the love of God, to not spare the innocent? Where's the sense in that, the decency?

Some are making the distinction, don't get me wrong. They are the ones saying to reject the ones who are a threat - the many men of fighting age who are able to fight for their own country (the one they left) but are instead 'raising hell' wherever they are - reject them and send them to countries that are already Muslim where they might have a chance of fitting in and maybe eventually figure out how to regain their country from yet another faction of their same religion. There's a certain sense in that.

On the other hand, Mercy for mothers and children ... surely we can make room for them? We needn't be as mean to them as their own culture seems to be.

It does seem that battle has come upon us - can't the soldiers fight the soldiers and the rest of us care for the innocents? If a woman, a mother, chooses to be a soldier, let her fight too - but care for the children until she gets back to them.

Ach. When we had our own 'internal' troubles (Christians) our world still had places of (relative) safety for those who needed them and were able to get to them - America was one of those places. Today our world is different, more filled up ... where are the places of (relative) peace and safety today? It seems there aren't any.

So this little old gramma lady doesn't have any answers, but only a plea for mercy for the women and children who have already been hurt enough.

DIY Elven Circlet, Headband, Torc

These all came in the mail and I am very much looking forward to seeing what we can do with them!

Gold, copper, silver, green, red, and black ... aluminum wire comes in all kinds of colors, did you know that?

First up on my agenda is something I've been wanting ever since I ran out of my supply of this incredibly flexible and comfortable wire: something so very simple to make but so very useful ... 

One slender length of aluminum 12 gauge wire, fourteen inches in this case.

Curl the ends into closed loops and make a C shape. 

Elven Circlet for when you want to be elvish.

Headband.

The simplest Torc ever.

Flexibility and versatility are the main reasons I so love working with aluminum wire. 

The Elven Circlet is like a mini-crown, a symbol of status. It's like making an understatement.

The Headband is awesome. It holds your hair out of your face, the ends curl and mold around the backs of your ears just by you wrapping them into place - and there they stay so comfortably that you forget you have it on. You know how the 'typical' headbands always seem to dig in behind your ears and hurt you? These don't, and they stay in place until you take them off.

The Simple Torc - you honestly cannot get any simpler than this. Again, it's an understatement - an extremely simple little piece of wire whose meaning lies in its use. You can also turn it around, shape the front however you like, hang a dangle from it, and hook the ends to each other in the back by bending them into U shapes to lock the hoop together.

This length of wire is fourteen inches because that's all I wanted for this little piece. Longer pieces would give me more to curl around my ears without sacrificing the least bit of comfort for both the Elven Circlet and the Headband, plus allow for spiraling the ends for the Simple Torc. Most people have bigger heads and necks than mine so would need more length. It's so entirely an individual preference that no 'standard' length can really be set. An easy rule of thumb is to use a length that's as long as from the outside of your elbow to your fingertips. And you don't have to use 12 gauge wire - any size from 12 down will be all right (smaller numbers = fatter wire) so fiddle around with it and suit yourself.

This is literally the simplest and easiest and most useful project ever in the whole wide world.

Just keep in mind that the same flexibility that makes aluminum wire so easy to shape also makes it very susceptible to mangling. Although you can always un-mangle it and smooth it back out, do not expect it to retain its shape without some care on your part. It's soft (part of its comfort), not like silver or gold alloys which are formulated to 'stay in shape'. 

Since I'm not making fancy expensive jewelry, I like it. That it's affordable and makes up into terrific looking things helps. I don't work in other metals except for copper (also pretty flexible but tougher than aluminum) because all of my stuff is experimental and I can't afford to experiment with silver and gold, nor do I have the tools/equipment to do that.

Oh, one other thing. It's a good idea to smooth the ends after you cut your piece so they don't poke or snag anything. Use sandpaper or a fine file and check with your fingertips to be sure they're smooth.

And that's that. It took a whole minute and a half to make myself the most comfortable headband in the world, and I can use it as a Circlet and a Torc or hoop, too. If I want, I can wrap this same piece around my wrist a couple of times and have a bracelet. Or wrap it around my ankle. Or around my upper arm. Or wrap it around a finger for a ring and twine the length of it into a spiral on the top of my hand that connects to a bracelet. Or wrap it once around my wrist and bring it down into a spiral on the top of my hand or take it up into a spiral on my forearm. I like spirals - the more the better. 

That's a lot of options for one relatively short piece of wire, you have to admit.

The only tools you need are a pair of pliers and a file or sandpaper - or a rough rock I suppose.

And imagination.