I have a vague memory of my grandmother trying to teach me to crochet and it not going well. I had the opportunity to try again at a recent Fiber Guild meeting and heard several similar stories around the room. Other comments heard that afternoon:  "and we thought weaving was complicated!" "What do I do now?" "Where do I hold it?"

First learning something new is always really awkward. Here is my first attempt. The really neat parts were done by Natalie by way of showing me how. (I loved watching her hands fly!) The really wonky parts were done by me by way of trying. Needless to say, my hands did not fly.

 I came home and kept fiddling with it, then watched a couple of YouTube videos. Then I tried again.

It definitely has some tension issues. There's a lot of loosey-goosey going on -- but still. It has possibilities for using small amounts of left-over yarn..

And because Chain of Fools kept running thru my head, here's Aretha:

There's a New Cat in Town

After Fred died, we said we weren't going to get another cat. I really enjoyed not sharing the bathroom. I noticed that it really was easier to keep the house clean. We held out for 4 months. Meet the new cat at our house -- he came with the very appropriate name Leon.

 Leon first belonged to a neighbor. We fed him for her several times when she traveled. He was young, playful, neater than many cats. Neighbor had to move and find a new home for Leon. We couldn't take him because Fred was so pathetic. So Leon went to someone else, and I recently heard thru the grapevine that his new home wasn't working out very well. We had the chance to take him in and pretty easily made the decision to have him.

He's a noble looking beast, isn't he? Really large (fits right in at our house) -- 24 pounds. I think he is 4 years old. The longer he's here, he is relaxing some and becoming very playful again. A real romper and stomper!

 This lovely quilt showed up on Facebook and I'm struck by how much it looks like our new boy.. 

Spring Forward

Playing Around

We're home from a fun trip down to Florida to see Spring Training baseball. It was too far to go to Arizona to see my beloved Cubbies, so we settled for a  few random games in the Grapefruit League. Sarasota, Bradenton, and Tampa -- then up to Tarpon Springs to see friends there.

In Sarasota, we went to a night game -- Orioles vs Tampa Bay at Ed Smith Stadium. Tampa Bay outplayed Baltimore but I could see why they all need a few weeks of practice before the season starts. Lots of missed opportunities on both sides.


Sunday was an afternoon game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros in Bradenton at McKechnie Field.

McKechnie Field was pretty small, but it had a great atmosphere. Maybe because it was Sunday afternoon there were lots of families there. The concessions were outside and there was a lawn area where people were chilling out in chaise lounges and playing with the kids who were too little or just tired of the game.

This guy sat in front of us and kept score. His dad said he had is own set of metrics. According to our pastor who is a huge Cardinals fan and preaches a baseball sermon every summer, this is what it's all about -- kids growing up with the game.

Here's a Pirate at bat.

Day Three -- We fought the traffic into Tampa to see the Yankees play the Astros at George Steinbrenner Field. Compared to the other stadiums we went to, this one was super delux!

It was the prettiest field, but most boring game we saw. The score ended up Astros -1, Yankees - 0. It seemed all the hits were pop flys or outs on first.

It was a fun time. This was our Christmas present to each other. I like it a lot more than a sweater.

A friend has talked me into going to a week-long yoga retreat at the end of April. It sounds like a good idea -- a great way to relax and rejuvenate after tax season wraps up. It would be grand, except I have gotten so very out of shape, I'm not sure I can keep up even with the first-time ever beginners. Oh well, I've never been to yoga class yet that didn't tell you to stretch to your own limit, and not to worry about what everyone else is doing, so I'm taking that to heart. Still, I'm trying to get a little more flexible before I go.Trying, trying, trying to just go take a walk most days -- not the gym, just take a walk. Some weeks are better than others.

Today, I was on the West Ashley Greenway -- and came upon this spectacular display of winter leaving/spring coming that was just exploding and spilling over the fence in someone's backyard.

It's going to be a little easier to walk, if I can watch spring marching in.