I Assure You We’re Open

I didn’t realize I had been away from my blog for so long. I knew it was awhile, but over a year? Oh my goodness! So what has happened that can be summed up in one post? A LOT. So I’m going to do my best to catch up over the next while. I hope. Things have just gotten a little more crazy for me this month, but I’m going to hold that under my hat for now. What I will say is that it was already intense because I have a spinning assignment due at the end of the month. And I have a HUGE spinning assignment due at the end of February.

So yes, I’m still plugging away at the OHS Spinning Certificate program. I am in Level III. I had questioned last summer as to whether or not I could pull it off. There is still some ongoing personal crap that just won’t seem to die (seriously anticipating the day I can let that rip – it would blow your mind and you would question whether or not my blog turned into a somebody’s horrible nightmare). I didn’t want that to be the reason I didn’t carry on. I will NOT give ANYONE the satisfaction of stopping me from achieving my dreams. I also got a fortune cookie that told me “Never Quit” on the day I contemplated it. The cookie doesn’t lead one astray. So I’m continuing to put my all into it. I will do my best to chronicle what is going on with that. I still don’t want to forget. Someday when I’m kicking back in the hot springs under the northern lights after spending a day with my sheep in Iceland, I want to remind myself just how determined I am.

My work life has taken a serious unexpected turn. I’m sure at one point or another, I may have mentioned my love of animals. I may have mentioned I did an internship with a service dog organization. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned I am a pet sitter. That was something that just sort of fell into my lap. I sat for a breeder. That breeder gave out my name to another breeder. And then word got out to other people. Then I was down to just one breeder. Then one day somebody asked a friend with a kennel if they knew anyone who looked after pets in their home. She gave them my name and BOOM! I’m pet sitting again. You know, timing is a funny thing. The pet sitting was quiet when Mom was so sick. There was no way I could have done it and helped her out at the same time. About six months after she was gone, that’s when things exploded. I don’t advertise. All of my clients are word of mouth. And that’s the way I love it. We have regular people that call us. It’s so wonderful. My Sweet Pea just loves this job. He’s got such a big heart and the animals know this. This is the perfect compliment to our lives. It allows me to carry on with my fibre work and I’m still available for my Sweet Pea. So yeah. That’s been keeping me busy.

I did a LOT of pattern testing for Crochet by Jennifer‘s new book, Crochet Style: Over 30 Trendy, Classic and Sporty Accessories for All Ages. It was released in November. I didn’t post any photos because we needed to keep quiet until it was released. Oh my goodness, that was one of the hardest things ever! She had us start testing in December of 2015. So now that it’s been released, I would like to post some of the finished product photos. I just need to get past my perfection paralysis when it comes to taking photos!

Speaking of perfection paralysis and the quest for the perfect photo, I finally launched an Etsy shop. Before you get too excited, I have to update it. I have a LOT of items I need to list, but I have to get the perfect photos. Or as close to perfect as I can.

Before I close this post out, I have one more thing to share. I got to cross something off of my bucket list last spring. I went to see Meat Loaf in concert. IT WAS AMAZING! The man didn’t stop! When I found out he was going to be playing in Kingston, ON, I jumped on the chance to go. It was the ONLY weekend I wasn’t booked for pet sitting. I did have a job come up, but I had to decline. I don’t know how much longer Meat Loaf is going to be touring (he actually collapsed during the show after the one I saw), so I wasn’t going to take any chances. I put it out to my friends on Facebook to see if anyone wanted to go with me. Nope, no (local) takers. So I said screw it, I’m going by myself! It took me over 4 hours to drive down there. Dad paid for a hotel room for me. I navigated Kingston transit alone on a Saturday night. And I had the time of my life. When I was 17, I made myself a promise that I would see him perform Paradise by the Dashboard Light live. So now I can say been there, done that. And yes, I did get the t-shirt! (It says Paradise by the Dashboard Light 2016!)

So that’s the last year+ in a nutshell. If you’ve made it this far, I thank you. I promise my next posts won’t be this long! I think I may start posting more photo posts. Because eye candy can be inspiring. And that the real reason I’m here in the first place.

And yes, that IS a quote from Clerks.

Day Seven: Your Time, Your Place

Day Seven (Sunday 17th May): Your Time, Your Place
Where and how do you take time out to knit and/or crochet? Maybe you don’t take time out at all and instead have your needles twirling as you try to juggle a multitude of other tasks with no ‘spare’ time to think of. Maybe you enjoy nothing more than to crochet whilst winding down from a yoga session, chatting with some friends in a nearby cafe.

Whether social or solitary, tell readers about your crafting time and space, and where you either most enjoy (or can simply find a few snatched moments) to turn yarn into something even more beautiful.

There are two main places you will find me with hooks and needles. Either on my couch in my living room (probably watching Golden Girls) or in Mom’s chair at my parents’ place. Or on the deck in either place. But it’s very rare that I leave home without some project in tow. I’ve stitched during my son’s swimming lessons and soccer games. During his Christmas concert. Waiting to pick him up at school. At the doctor’s office. At the dentist’s office. At Tim Hortons. At the movies. Camping. By the waterfalls. From scenic lookouts. In other words, there isn’t a place I won’t stitch. I think it’s more rare to see me without something in my hands that it is with!

This makes sense though because fibre is my career. Of course I’ll probably never make the same amount I would with a conventional job, but I’ve come to accept that. I would rather work 16 hours at something I enjoy than 8 hours at a higher wage at something that will stress me out, send me into anxiety/panic attacks and flare up depression. I’ve been there, done that. I won’t do it again.

So this concludes the 6th Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week. I had a blast! I hope to see you next year! Thank you for dropping by.

Day 6 – A Brand New Chapter

I have made the executive decision of writing down only the events of the day I wish to remember. I have released the rest of them. Today I will always remember it as the day a LARGE amount of negativity left my body and a new, positive energy came in IMMEDIATELY to replace that emptiness. It’s like a feeling of home. Like I actually got to witness part of my own healing today. I am so thankful that it was a very positive energy that jumped in.

I spun for the first time EVER.

With a wheel and a drop spindle. There were actually two spinning wheels in class. One had one pedal and the other one, Wendy’s own spinning wheel, had 2. I figured the 2 pedals would be confusing. Not at all! When I sat down at it, I just melted into it. I showed Wendy my samples of what I had spun. She said that they were pretty good for a first try (she also mentioned that she wished she had have kept her first ones. I am SO keeping mine because this is just the beginning of something so beautiful for me). The very first wool I worked with was the stuff that I had dyed on Mother’s day. I cannot put into words how that felt… To spin wool I had dyed and hand carded (which she also complimented me on!). I am really excited about the way it feels to knit with it. And then to see it being used by a happy recipient. That is absolute bliss!

We’re going to be weaving on Friday. We also have class on Saturday this week. I am very grateful for that. And then the next weekend is birthday weekend. Looking forward to Chinese food and chocolate cake. The real chocolate cake, not the generic, flavorless stuff at the buffet. Just saying…

This is REALLY Happening!!!! :-D

Wow. I can’t believe today is here already. Today is “Clean up loose ends day” here in Casa de Ky.

I have to take my WHIMIS test (regarding working with chemicals, the safety procedures etc.). Do laundry. Put away laundry. Attempt to finish up a sweater. Send off some emails regarding bursary applications. Get my son’s daycare bag ready. Get my school bag ready. Take inventory. Photograph inventory… Hehehe! This is REALLY happening!

I know I keep saying it. This is REALLY happening! School. My purple laptop. The child I’ve always dreamed about. The man I’ve always dreamed about. The home. The car. Some of these things are not how I pictured them (I thought I would own my own car, which I do not and I thought I would be living in a house in the country, which I do not). But you know what? Who cares?! Right now, in this VERY moment, I have EVERYTHING I have ALWAYS wanted. I have the child, the man, the house, the car, the key to my dream career… I think that’s a key. Take a look around you. Do you have everything you have always wanted? It may not be exactly what you had envisioned, so look closer. Be grateful for what you do have because, and I know this from experience, it can be snapped away in the blink of an eye. What you had envisioned could be right around the corner and by being thankful for what you have, that may just propel it closer to you 🙂

I have also found that sometimes the timing of what you want just isn’t right yet. I had been actively whining and moaning about a laptop for about 2 1/2 years. It sure has made life easier. BUT… If I had have got my laptop when I wanted it in the first place, Sweet Purple (yes, I’ve named my laptop!) wouldn’t have came to me. I would have seen her elsewhere and then probably went down the “woulda, shoulda, coulda” trail, whilst beating myself up for not waiting!

I think the same can be said about school. I had the exact same barriers that I am facing today 2 years back. I just got tired of letting them hold me back and took a stand. Was I ready 2 years ago? I know I would have succeeded, but I really don’t think I was ready then. Also, I am grateful for the timing because of what happened with my best friend. Looking forward to school and preparing to soar is how I’m coping with things and honoring his memory. If I wasn’t going to school, I don’t know what I would have done.

I’m not quite sure what my original point of this post was going to be. I think it was about how crazy busy my day is going to be. I like the direction it took though. It is amazing how you feel after a “gratitude rampage.” Try it and you’ll see 🙂

On another note… It was twenty years ago yesterday that I started grade 9. I am so excited about bringing that girl with me and showing her things that she’s only dreamed about. I love how I’m FINALLY being true to me. I really was doing myself such a disservice. I deserve so much better than the path I allowed myself to stumble onto. I was just mentioning in a Facebook post about how I actually get a body buzz when I just start talking about school! If that’s not my soul jumping up and doing cartwheels or some form of happy dance, I don’t know what is! Lol

THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!!!!

Getting ready for school and the evils of Google – A miscellaneous post

You know, I think this is the first post that I’ve written from my very own computer? How funny is that? I’ve been moaning and groaning for so long about not having internet access. With that said, I have been spending a lot of time on Facebook just catching up on what I’ve missed. I’ve also been surfing for privacy software. I really don’t think it’s right that your IP is tracked so much. It’s scary what they can find out about you through your surfing habits. Heck, I got an error page today from Google wanting me to enter a word because they said that that did not match my surfing habits and that they were concerned that I was a “bot”. Google really does have too much control and too much of our information! Facebook is another bad one, I will agree. But do you have any idea how much Google controls and what it’s affiliated with? Check it out. You’ll be surprised.

On with my entry…

So I went out with my  mom on the weekend and got some school supplies. I really have to laugh… Exactly 20 years ago I was getting ready to go into grade 9. I looked at my purchases from the other day. Everything is still purple! They also had this purple backpack with peace signs on that I wanted soooo badly. I really didn’t need it though. I guess that’s where I’ve matured because grade 9 me would have came out with it regardless. I did get some funky shoes though. They’re comparable to Converse Allstars from back in “the day.” Another funny thing… Mom hated them then and she hates them now. When she saw them she said “And you’re how old?!” I responded with something along the lines of yes, I have a physical age. But I’m going with what’s in my heart.

I think it comes back to this whole feeling of making things up to that bright-eyed fourteen year old. That girl had so many open doors, so much potential. The world was her oyster. Too bad she didn’t know it then. She also wanted to express herself. She got made fun of for that though. Except for when she was on the ice. That was her safe haven where she, to be frank, didn’t give a rat’s ass about what anyone else thought. Picture the brightest, loudest spandex tights with some form of animal print boxer shorts over top, funky skate covers, a t-shirt and a fluorescent baseball cap to top it off. Suspenders were optional. There were times where she would conform and wear the fouffy schmoufer, prissy skirts and sweaters. But that didn’t happen too often!

So when I go through those college doors, I’m very sure I will be thinking “This one’s for you, fourteen year old me! Sorry we’re a little late, but we still made it here!”

I’m done with the “safe route.” I went to hairdressing school not because that’s what I always wanted to do. It was because that’s what was safe and realistic to pay back. I really do believe that was the beginning of the end. I started school exactly two weeks after my high school graduation. I remember being in that room and the teacher had only been talking for not even 5 minutes when I said to myself “What the HELL am I doing here?!” If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what was! But I stuck it out. It was the safest, most logical thing to do.

Did you know that there is actually an advantage to hitting rock bottom and losing everything? You have nothing to lose! I know I wouldn’t be taking this course if I hadn’t have hit bottom. It’s not “safe” when you have things to “lose.” And you know what’s going to happen? Because I’ve ventured off the “safe” trail, listening to my heart, I am sure that I’m going to flourish!

You know the other exciting thing about this new venture? I can bring a mature version of that girl back. She was fun! If I want to be “crazy hat lady”, then that’s who I’m going to be! If I feel so inclined to wear boxer shorts over my jeans, then I will do it! I’m sure there’s a reason that I want to express myself. I’ve been longing to do this for so long. Just be me. And if anyone has a problem with it, they don’t have to hang out with me. I’ve been alone. VERY alone. I will never be that alone again, even if I don’t make one single friend at school.

I did get quite a few of my supplies. I’ve even found a purple laptop that I’m going to get! WHEE!!!! This is where the fun begins!

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!

WTH? Green Fetish?

Yesterday after I said goodbye to my baby boy, I went to get my pity deep-fried Mars bar. I was talking to the bestie and we started talking about creative outlets, particularly for children. My little man is going to require various outlets, so I try to get as many different ideas from as many different sources as possible. She mentioned that the drug store here in town had finger paints on sale. So I decided to get some.

I grabbed it and walked around for a bit. I walked past the nail polish and saw this crazy green. I thought to myself “Who would wear this colour?!” The immediate answer I got was “14 year old me is who would wear that! In fact, I have skating spandex that would match it nicely!” I chuckled to myself and walked to the checkout. The ladies were taking forever, so I decided to walk around the store to see if I missed anything. I walked past the nail polish again. This time I picked it up. I’m still not sure why.

One thing that ended up being cool…

I thought that was so cool. I may start requiring matching yarn and nail polish 😀 Hehehe