Perspective

January 20, 2012

I rolled down the car window to kiss my husband goodbye before going to town to do errands. Isn’t that special? I still kiss him goodbye before I leave for an hour. However, I might not anymore, if it means rolling down the car window. When I hit the button, that window said, “THUNK…. whhrrrrrr.” [...]

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Scraps of Love

January 15, 2012

The afghan that is spread on my kitchen island in the morning sunlight is a special one. First of all, it’s for me, and I never rarely make anything for me. Second, it’s made from scraps of yarn. They call using scraps to make something new “upcycling” these days, but my grandmother would have called [...]

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Coming Soon To An Animal Shelter Near You

October 25, 2011

Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you listen to Sarah McLachlan sing “In The Arms of an Angel” while you read (although you can if you feel so moved). I don’t want you to cry … I want you to think about the animals that are abandoned in shelters. Don’t feel guilty and think [...]

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Be The Change

October 22, 2011

When my neighbor walks her annoying, yappy little dog through the neighborhood each day, she wears work gloves and carries an enormous garbage bag. It’s not that her dog will make that big of a mess when he does his “business.” While she walks, she carries that bag because she picks up the trash that [...]

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Share A Square Is Rolling Along

September 20, 2011

I haven’t talked much this year about the afghans we make for kids with cancer, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. It means that the volunteers are keeping me busy! The project is rolling along quite nicely. Packages of brightly colored squares have been arriving daily from all over the world. Don’t tell me [...]

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“We Thought You Was A Toad!”

August 21, 2011

I cannot look at a toad now without thinking of the movie O, Brother, Where Art Thou? and the line that Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) whispered to Pete (John Turturro): “We thought you was a toad!” If you haven’t seen the movie, I know you think I’m crazy to think that’s a funny line. However, [...]

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Share A Square Assembly Begins

August 18, 2011

Patience is not one of my virtues, I’m afraid. I never can wait to get started on a new project. That’s why I am already assembling afghans for Share A Square while I wait for the remainder of the crocheted squares to arrive. I’m putting together “half-afghans” (5 in the last week) until I get [...]

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Heart And Soul

July 20, 2011

Lured by the sounds of a young camper playing “Heart and Soul” on the piano, my husband had to join. He couldn’t be bothered to put down his ice cream, although I offered to “take care of it” for him! The two of them had great fun serenading the rest of us at the Camp [...]

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Delivering Afghans To Camp Quality Texas

July 15, 2011

A woman approached me, as the crowd milled around in the lodge. Behind her a little boy solemnly hovered (she was his “companion” during the time at camp), clutching one of the colorful Share A Square afghans we had just delivered. He reminded me very much of the wild rabbit I see in my yard [...]

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Arkansas Travelers

June 21, 2011

She likened our road trip to the movie Thelma and Louise. Yes, it was two ditzy broads on a road trip — but there the similarity ends. I look nothing like Susan Sarandon (I assume that I have to be her, because I’m older), and Ann didn’t resemble Geena Davis. We were in a Honda [...]

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Share A Square: Here Is What We Did

June 7, 2011

I think the children at Camp Quality in Louisiana liked the afghans we made for them. It seemed silly to be giving gifts of blankets on a sultry summer day, but kids undergoing cancer treatments can feel cold even if the weather is hot. If the grins and giggles were an indication, then our nine [...]

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Share A Square — Wrapping It Up

June 3, 2011

It’s been a nine-month long labor of love, and it’s time for delivery! In the next two weeks, I’ll be collecting the last of the blankets for Share A Square — those are the ones that will be delivered in July. Tonight, the car is packed for a trip to Camp Quality in Louisiana to [...]

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A Handful Of Helpers

April 22, 2011

I’m drowning in a sea of Share A Square afghans at my house, and I don’t get much opportunity to come up for air! I’ve got a lot of hands reaching to help, though. For the last several days I have been working with the 4th and 5th grade art students at Cross Oaks Elementary [...]

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Kids Who Make A Difference

April 1, 2011

For the last several days, my mood has been soured by an experience with overprotective parents. They wrap their children in bubble wrap to shield them from hearing about the real world. Though I’ve been a bit indignant about the way they have acted toward me, my biggest concern has been the affect they are [...]

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I Get By With The Help Of My Friends

March 18, 2011

Y’all, I’ve been hiding from the computer for months now, as I worked on that Share A Square project. I have to avoid the computer, because when I plop down in this chair, I get mesmerized by the screen. I don’t get a darned thing done all day… and I have a lot of things [...]

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Incentive

March 1, 2011

Did y’all ever hear folks talk about dangling a carrot on a stick in front of a donkey to get it to move forward? A carrot might be incentive for a donkey … but not for me! Coffee might work as incentive, especially if it’s a mocha from Jupiter House (my favorite Denton hangout). But, [...]

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Share A Square: Olly, Olly, In Free

February 24, 2011

Do you remember playing Hide and Seek as a child? You might have called out, “Olly, Olly, in free!” It meant it was time for everyone to come to home base … to re-group. It’s time for me to call that for Share A Square. We are almost to the goal! More than 400 volunteers [...]

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Awash in Afghans

February 20, 2011

I had to get creative in storing the afghan kits for Share A Square. The bags in this bathtub represent 27 full sets (eighty squares each) that will be made into afghans for kids with cancer. I sure hope that I get these cleared out of there before Spring … I’ll need to take my [...]

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Depression Cake

February 11, 2011

Trapped in the house, unable to navigate the icy roads, my mood turned gloomy. I needed a “chocolate fix” … and I needed it right away! Rummaging through the pantry, I was delighted to find a chocolate brownie mix. But, when I read the ingredients, I screamed, “Aaargh!” That meant, “Dadgum it! I don’t have [...]

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All Or Nothing

February 10, 2011

It’s uncharacteristic for me to go this long without blogging. I’ve almost forgotten how to log in to my account. For the last five years, I’ve written almost daily on this space, but lately I can’t seem to string two sentences together without talking about brightly colored, crocheted squares. I’m one of those people who [...]

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