Projects for 2010

It's the last day of 2009, and I just cleaned out the closet in our guest bedroom/sewing room/craft room, so I have this long list of projects I want to get down. Some of them are half-completed, some of them have never been started, but I'd like to get them done in the new year.

Knit a sweater for Kevin
Try a quilt -- maybe the Martha Stewart shirt pocket quilt
Learn to crochet, so I can make these dish scrubber things
Make a felt crown for birthdays
Knit a sweater vest for Ivan
Finish the baby blanket for Catherine
Make another pair of the Oliver + S pajamas for Ivan
Make a felted ball mobile

I'll probably add more to the list, but for now this seems like a nice start...maybe even a little too ambitious!

Trying for Communion

From Dictionary.com:

com⋅mun⋅ion

  [kuh-myoon-yuhn]

–noun

1.	(often initial capital letter) Also called Holy Communion.Ecclesiastical. a. the act of receiving the Eucharistic elements. b. the elements of the Eucharist. c. the celebration of the Eucharist. d. the antiphon sung at a Eucharistic service.

2.	a group of persons having a common religious faith; a religious denomination: Anglican communion.

3.	association; fellowship.

4.	interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication: communion with nature.

5.	the act of sharing, or holding in common; participation.

6.

the state of things so held. On the urging of Stacey and others, I am starting a blog. I think I started a blog once before, and I never could really keep up with the idea of writing regularly. Of course, that's always my problem. If I could write regularly, I'd be a writer and not a teacher. Not that I don't love teaching...I just would rather write for a living. Oh, and there's also the making a living part of things...teaching is a nice, steady paycheck. I'm most interested in definitions #4, 5, and 6 above -- the idea that in this time of disconnectedness, of hyper-consumerism, of disconnection from community, we might actively seek out connection through this Internet. I read blogs for connection -- to feel like I'm connected to people who are like me (or not at all like me) in a place where otherwise I feel a lot unlike everyone else. This is an awkward and perhaps too wordy way to say that I'm writing here about community and connections and the things that connect me to others. I'll write about my sewing and knitting and other crafty projects and maybe also about my family and my life in this little town in western NY. I will, of course, try for communion.