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National Preparedness Month 2021

Hello, all! Long time, no chat. It will still be a bit before I sit down and write a catch-up post, but I can’t let September go by without sharing about emergency preparedness!

Here in the United States, September is National Preparedness Month. That means that our emergency preparedness agencies are trying to provide information that can be used at the household and community organization level to help create resilience and mitigate risk. This year’s theme is “Prepare to Protect” – and frankly, I love it. The concept that “preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love” is one I’ve espoused for many, many years now. (So much so that some friends and family are probably tired of hearing it. HAHA!)

Each week there are tasks that you can do that fall in line with FEMA’s Ready Campaign, and Continue reading →

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Reading & Knitting ~ 1 January 2021

Happy New Year, everyone!

In addition to the larger 2021 goals I recently shared (in my 2020 review post), I have some smaller daily goals that are just habit/routine focused. These include things like drinking a certain amount of water, specific bed and waking times, and the plan to read and knit daily – so I thought I’d start sharing what I’m reading and knitting every few weeks. I hope these posts give you some ideas of books to add to your own reading list. If you’re a fiber crafter, I do still have a Ravelry account; I’m not there frequently, but I’m happy to connect with you there if you like!

That said, here’s what I’m working on this first week of January, 2021:

Current knitting projects: a pair of socks for myself, using the Churchmouse Basic Sock pattern and Black Trillium Fibre Studio’s Pebble Sock yarn, in the Iris colorway; and a sweater for my son, using the Flax Light pattern from Tin Can Knits and Knit Picks’ Stroll Tonal yarn, in the Frozen colorway.

As for reading – in print, I’m currently reading The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for coursework for the 500-hour RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) training I’m enrolled in. On Overdrive, I’m currently reading Unplug by Suze Yalof Schwartz. Next up in that app are The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs and Warrior Goddess Training by HeatherAsh Amara. On Kindle, I’m reading Beyond Labels: A Doctor and a Farmer Conquer Food Confusion One Bite at a Time, by Dr. Sina McCullough and Joel Salatin.

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2020 Book List

I really enjoy reading other people’s book lists and sharing my own. The following is the list of books I read in 2020. If you’d like to peruse my book list from 2016, you can read the four posts sharing those titles at the following links: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four. You can read my 2017 book list by clicking into this page. You can read my 2018 book list by clicking into this post and my 2019 list here. Continue reading →

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2020 in Review

Well, we’re finally to the last day of 2020, and I think many of us are ready for a fresh start. We may or may not get it, but here’s hoping, at least!

Here’s a quick run-down of what I’ve been up to, on my own and with my family:

January: My husband and I, along with several good friends, successfully completed a week-long NRA training intensive to usher in the new year. I became certified as an instructor of the NRA’s Home Firearm Safety, Basics of Pistol Shooting, CCW, and Personal Protection Outside the Home courses. My husband received his next duty assignment, which was not to the state we originally were told it would be – that actually turned out to be good as we were able to “DiTY” our move (do it ourselves). THAT turned out to be a good plan since, oh, pandemic and military stop movement issues that threw a lot of monkey wrenches in the works when it was time to move.

February: We traded in my beloved Ford F-250 on a Subaru Ascent. Then I started voluntarily self-isolating, since my autoimmune disorder puts me in the high risk category with the virus, and put hardly any miles on the car. Still haven’t, really, including driving it halfway across the country. (I’m still not even to the first oil change yet. Wow.) I did get really wild and take it off on some dirt roads a few times. I even drove up a big woggledy hill (until I chickened out halfway and turned around). It TOTALLY still counts as off-roading. Totally. LOL

March: Started packing, anticipating moving mid-April. And the gods laughed… Continue reading →

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Everybody Loves a Wonky Altar

I’m not sure if I need more coffee this morning, or maybe should have had a bit less – but reading this article about the 1,800 year old altar to Pan found in a Byzantine church in Israel brought out the mom in me. I picture the situation a little like this:

Other gods and goddesses: “It’s outside the lines and sloppy. The lettering isn’t right. Wow. Some altar. I think your followers got into the wine, bro.”

Heliopolitanus Pan : “Well, he tried. It’s the thought that counts.” slides altar to the side and sends the believer a thank you dove

Hera, very sternly: “HE MADE IT FOR YOU AND USED HIS OWN MONEY. I WILL PERSONALLY STRIKE DOWN THE NEXT GOD OR GODDESS THAT SAYS THE CHILDREN’S CRAFTS ARE NOT THE BEST GIFT EVER.” starts crying Mom tears and inspires someone to create the first refrigerator so Pan can put the wonky altar on it

I mean, aren’t the best gifts to the ones we love the ones that we bought with our own hard-earned allowances and lovingly carved out of Play-Doh with the little plastic knife contraption? A hand carved, slightly wonky altar is way better than the same old, same old rich guy offerings, Pan.