Do You Know?

Beth's comment yesterday made me think a bit about awesome things that I may not be sharing with you all that maybe I should. So, here are some great virtual places I highly suggest.

Free Art Friday! on Flickr. It's just inspiring to me. People making art and then sharing it with the rest of the world.

Some of the pretty active folks have collaborated on projects like:
I Got Wood
and
It's yours, take it! (which is happening THIS weekend)

And if you find an artist you really like you can just follow their photo stream by adding them as a contact. I stalk people this way. It's awesome.

I hope you enjoy like I do.

Know what I've been today? Absolutely useless. Very little work done. My brain was just a little too fried after that test this morning. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow. It's snowing, or was, too. WTF?? March 27th! Winter, you are dead to me.

Also? Getting very near the 450 posts mark! That's a lot. Holy crap.

Going home to sleep. And maybe watch some television.

Thankful that it's over

I took my mid-term this morning. At 8am. The time that I'm normally getting out of the shower. Monday night my professor gave us the option of taking the test with his other class Thursday morning if we didn't feel quite ready. So I exercised that option and studied some more. And it's done and I feel OK about it. Not fantastic, but OK. Certainly better than I would have felt about it on Monday night. And now on to other class work.

But, for your viewing pleasure a few things I've found while thrifting recently:
Awesome grasshopper toy:

Fantastic mugs:

Easter Joy

Why are we not as joyful and celebratory as we ought to be on Easter? I remember a few years ago going out for drinks after a Good Friday service (I know, I know) with some friends and one of them remarking that on Easter morning he just wants to dance around naked for joy. I think about this now and again - we celebrate Easter sometimes with extra music or a sedate dance and wearing new clothes, maybe a hat, and chocolate. These are all good things. Music is good. Dance is good. New clothes are good. Chocolate - very good. But what does Easter mean to us? Why don't we all just want to strip down and run around naked with joy? Get rid of the old stuff, the things that hang on to us, the consequences of the fall (shame associated with nakedness) - the guilt, the sin, the sadness and mourning we face on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Rather, we should be running around celebrating our freedom from those things, the freedom of the resurrection.

Overdue - Happy Spring

I celebrated spring's arrival last Thursday in my own little way. It doesn't look much like spring around here yet. While the average temperature is rising there aren't any flowers yet and you people (Beth, Heidi and Eric, Kim) taunt me with your bulbs that have already given up their presents.So I made some of my own to decorate the streets.

Big cardboard pieces from bookcase boxes (glad that I saved them) and pieces cut from thrifted fabric that I keep buying and doing nothing with. A little cutting, a little rubber cement (my Tacky glue was in my desk at work) and viola!I dropped them off as I headed into work on my day off to hear a candidate for a dean's position give a presentation. I'm that dedicated.

You can always click through to get the bigger versions.

Here's a little welcome home present for you

I was happily surprised that there was no barf on my bed when I got home twenty minutes ago. That didn't last long. Because it's a clean coverlet, just washed on Thursday, God forbid that it stay clean for longer than four days. Stupid cats. I mean, I love them. I just wish they wouldn't hoark on my bed.

Anyways, I'm back home, safe and sound. I've been up since 6 am so I'm exhausted.

I got to meet PJ and H live and in person which was great this weekend. Thanks for traveling in to meet up. Noone got chopped up into little pieces or disappeared so that's all good. PJ even brought me some monkey bread which is fantastic. I'll enjoy what I have left while I'm studying tomorrow for my midterm.

OK. That's really all I can manage at this point. I'm going to fall over from exhaustion in a minute or two.

After I clean up the cat puke.

Just say no to the snow

Dear Jesus, and God and Holy Spirit,
I would really appreciate it if it didn't snow tomorrow. Not in Chicago or in Iowa.
Thank you and Amen.

Dagnabbit

I took pictures this morning that I was going to post but I must have laid my camera down somewhere as I was leaving the house. It's been so terribly dreary here the past few days. No snow thankfully (there are rumors of that on Friday when I'll be trying to leave town, thank you very much) but overcast and drizzly, spitting mist-type weather. After I left class last night (which I had such a hard time following) I made my way to one of the expensive grocery stores and bought three bunches of daffodils. Because I needed them in my apartment. Leo is not so sure about them. He thinks he needs to eat them. He's probably also the one that keeps pulling up my wee orchid plant from it's orchid wood chip potting medium. I'm also trying to grow some sort of bulb (I got 7 or 8 for $1 at the dollar store and now I don't remember what they are) and I'm sure once those grow a bit more the cats will be chewing on those. But I want them in the window so they get some sunlight but if they are there the cats can get to them and chew. So I repotted an orchid this morning and took some pictures of fun thrifting finds. I guess we'll all have to wait.

Tea for Two

Besides moving around furniture, I worked these up this weekend (and didn't work on school like I should have...)I like them because they're springy. Daffodils are poking their heads up on campus and that makes me happy. If only they'd bloom now.

More nesting

Or perhaps my version of spring cleaning - trying to get all my stuff organized. I got three more boxes unpacked this weekend, mostly thanks to the arrival of another bookcase:










It was $25 during Amazon's Friday Sale (which, if you don't know about Amazon's Friday Sale, it's rather fabulous) but had not great reviews so I only ordered one.









It's very tall. And the shelves do seem a bit flimsy. But... I like having the space and was able to shift some books around and I am happy enough with it to think maybe a second one at that price would have been nice. Oh well...









Now I truly have all my boxes of books unpacked - although there is an Oz related book that hasn't surfaced so I'm wondering where that is. Probably in another box that's not just books somewhere.

And this shelf is from my office. Amy, over at Early Bird Special, had a blog contest and I won! The gorgeous Virgin of Guadalupe pillow arrived yesterday. She seems to fit in nicely with the other things on that shelf so she may stay here. And I could always do with more happy at work.

Go West Young (wo)Man

I'm heading to Iowa for Easter. I took too long to get a ticket to my parents' place so I'm going a'visiting with J. to her family's farm, a place I love desperately.

I don't know all the details but if any of the Iowa friendternets are near Boone County I might be available for coffee sometime during the weekend. Just sayin'.

Good Thing

I think it's a really good thing that these are my last two classes for a while. I'm turning into more of a procrastinator as time goes on. Last night/this morning I was up until 4 doing my end of studies papers. No, I wasn't busy this weekend. I had four days to work on them, almost entirely free of obligations. I just waited until the eleventh hour to get them started. Emailed them at 4 this morning. I rock. And I need more coffee.

Bubble Wrap, pt. II

Besides needing to get that Bible knowledge quiz out of the way I was scheduled to meet with the woman who in serving as my spiritual director this semester in conjunction with a class I'm taking. It's the second time we've met and we have to meet a total of four times before the semester is over. But both times I've ended up in tears. I think part of it is I'm just not quite sure what to do with it all. Yesterday I had no notion of what I wanted to talk about or where the hour was headed. And then in two seconds I've got tears running down my face. I talked about having these things that are precious to me, dreams or ideas or promises, that because they aren't realized yet, it's painful to live with them. I described it as having something wrapped up in bubble tape to keep it a) from breaking but also b) so that I don't have to live with these things out in full view all the time. But every once in a while I'm able to take these things out, whatever they are, unwrap them and hold them and cradle them. I can't keep them out for long because it's painful to live with these promises sitting there, unrealized. I have to put them away again. The way I described it to the spiritual director was that if I left them out all the time I would die, which even before I said it and while I was thinking it I knew it sounded overly dramatic but I couldn't come up with anything else that seemed right. I hate putting them away; it feels inauthentic to live with them all packaged up in bubble wrap, insulating me from them. But I have to put them away; it's so painful that I think I would die. I would weep for the world for days if they stayed in plain view.

I know this sounds a little weird. But I have no other words to describe this feeling, this experience. It's not a bad thing, it's good. I think I just have to figure out how to get through the bubble wrap more often.

Bubble wrap

I managed to prove that I had enough knowledge about the Bible that I can continue on with my studies. Hee. I was so stressed about the Bible verses. We were supposed to be able to identify book and chapter of any of 100 verses. I'm just horrible at memorizing things like that. And maps. Seriously, one of the things I was supposed to identify wasn't even on the study guide. But, in the end, it was much easier than I thought it would be. And I (barely) passed! So one hoop jumped.

I made it to the post office this afternoon. I had bought something from someone on etsy (spending more than I would normally spend on something) and was terribly disappointed with the item when it arrived. So I've been working with the seller and she says she's going to refund my money which is great - but that necessitated packing it up and sending it back to her. I also sent off a set of those pre-printed quilt blocks to someone. I also waited in line for thirty or forty minutes at this particular post office (rather than taking advantage of the little one we have on campus at work) because I had a package waiting there for me from Kansas. Lots of cute things that made my day a bit brighter. I also had a rather large package waiting for me at my office so I grabbed that while I was on campus taking that Bible test. It was a bookcase I had ordered last Friday ($25 through the Amazon Friday sale) so tonight I put it together and tried to figure out where it would fit in my apartment. It ended up somewhere I didn't it plan for it to. The shelves hit at just the wrong spot for a light switch which was a very frustrating realization. I need light in my kitchen, that's all there is to it.

So, as you can see, a day of bubble wrap and other good things. Tomorrow should be a real vacation day. Maybe I'll head to the beach.

Decent Weather

Perhaps there are more to sunny days to come in the near future.

From yesterday afternoon:I just really like that picture. For starters - it's sunny outside! And I like the repetition of the arches in the shadows.


And a few pictures of things rescued from thrift stores in the past few days:
I picked up four sets of this cup and saucer. $1 a set. I really like white glass for some reason so I was really excited for these. No chips and the gold is in great condition.

A hurricane style lamp. I didn't know if it worked when I bought it (for $2) but when I got it home and tried it out it worked just fine. It was dusty and needed a little elbow grease to get it spiffy but it's in good shape. Now I just need to find a glass that fits it up top. Also, am I calling it the right name? Hurricane lamp?

The sleep took a turn for the worse last night. I needed to study for a Bible knowledge I need to pass by Friday. Instead I procrastinated by taking pictures of my favorite bits of thrifted fabric. Granted, I was trying to get to the bottom of my tub o' fabric for some quilt blocks that I'm mailing off to someone so I had an excuse. Ah well, today is another (sunshiney!) day.

No sleep for the wicked

Not much at least. While I love the fact that I now have an extra hour of sun after I get out of work (greatly anticipating the return of my regular after work trips to wander along the beach), the sleeping thing isn't working out so well. Last night I didn't even feel like going to bed until 1am. The night before was the same. Except this morning? Awake enough at 5:45 to do some reading for about an hour. So I'm cursing the time change just a bit over here.

On the happier side of things - a box from Amazon with new music. The Mountain Goats' Sunset Tree on which resides my sometimes life theme song, This Year, and Tim Hughes' Holding Nothing Back. We sang one of Hughes' songs, Everything, a few weeks ago and since then it's haunted me. It's usually what I try to play when I'm practicing my guitar and a good prayer to have, it reminds me of the better known part of St. Patrick's breastplate.

God in my living, There in my breathing
God in my waking, God in my sleeping
God in my resting, God in my working
God in my thinking, God in my speaking
God in my hoping, There in my dreaming
God in my watching, God in my waiting
God in my laughing, There in my weeping
God in my hurting, God in my healing

Be my everything.

Too much with the crafty? How about some politics?

I feel like this is turning into a crafting blog, which it wasn't ever meant to be. I'm not sure I'm okay with that. But, I'm turning into a crafting sort of a chica lately so if this blog reflects what's rolling around in my head these days, then I suppose it's a pretty good indication of where I'm at.

I've been thinking a lot about politics too. I think I have an unpopular opinion though in my little space of the blogosphere. I do like Obama, we all know that. But if I were to evaluate on issues alone at this moment, I might vote for McCain. I know! It's scary to me too. I am so stuck on the war we are waging in the Middle East, and even though it brings me to tears every time I think about it (face it, almost everyone knows someone who's over there fighting and wants them back) I think that the option to do an immediate draw down of troops is immoral. The United States went in there, took down a somewhat stable, if oppressive, regime and created the vacuum in which all hell has broken loose. I think that pulling out now would bring about one of two things, either the Iraqi's could step up and get their act together OR things would get even worse. Quite frankly I think the latter would be the end result. I don't know if there is an act to get together over there. Not that I don't think they are capable people, I just don't think that the people that could rule well will take it on. Sometimes the people who would make the best leaders have learned far too well to keep it quiet or else.

In other news Oberweis lost this weekend. Which I think is a good thing. He's been trying to get an elected seat for years. And just can't manage it, despite his millions.

Any other unpopular political views out there? Com'mon, confession time...

Not much

Really, there's not much to say. I'm tired. I feel run down. I need a break. I need a vacation and sunshine, preferably combined. Next week is spring break. Hooray! Alas, we are still supposed to be in the office. We are also supposed to have Easter Monday off of classes. Except my Monday class is meeting. Come on Seminary people! We need a day to recover from the craziness of Easter. Or a day to fly back from the parents' place. Which is where I keep thinking I want to spend the holiday.

Giving up

Saturday night I got to spend a few good hours with some dear friends who are heading to Ohio. I would like to say that I am no longer on speaking terms with Ohio seeing as how that state will have claimed three of my dear friends by this Saturday evening. Five people I love dearly if you count their spawn. Honestly, in my mind I've downplayed this move. Probably because I know it's a fantastic move for them. The KB gets mentored by awesome people and I think he's going to rock his new position. Because they are moving to somewhere less expensive Smitty gets to stay home with the kid(s) and I know she'll love that. But the fact is that they are leaving. They are venturing on beyond the nest, moving away from this little group that I've known and loved for nine or ten years. And it sucks just a little bit too.