Just Keep Swimming...

Seriously, I'm like a shark!  Sharks have to constantly move to keep water washing past their gills.  They can never keep still in still water, or they'll effectively suffocate and DIE.  Seems like that's how I'm feeling lately... I'm fine when I'm working, but if ever I slow down, WHAM, it hits me hard.  I need a 15-minutes power nap, and it's only 11:00am!  Black tea notwithstanding.

Anyhow, the weather here is lovely.  I drive with my windows down all the time now, and it's just cool enough to be perfectly enjoyable. :)

And I'm more than usual interested in planes and choppers, as opposed to the usual interest in trains.  I'm immensely fond of trains, but I'm in an aviation phase now. There's your trivial trivia for the day, what Amzi is thinking about lately. :)

Still plugging away at the good old education... so now I'm off to do some homework!
AMZi x x x x x

I Want To...

Draw a picture...



Or paint a picture...



Or sew something historic...



Or maybe go to bed...  NAAAAAH!!  :)

Pondering, conversing, thinking, reading, and now blogging,
AMZi x x x x x

images (c) their respective owners

Off Again

Here I am, FINALLY getting around to posting after like 3 days...just in time to say, "So long, mates" before we dash off on a road trip for a week.  Timing, yes?  Brilliant.

I have been holding off posting only because the LGM was out of batteries and not taking any pictures, and I'm stingy and don't like to spend money on things that run out.  Like batteries.  So, we had a problem there.  But yesterday, I bought a set of rechargable batteries and the charger, so the camera is in business again!

Update Number One :: I did make that hat I was telling you about.  And I do like it.  I can't believe I can pull off a hat.  It's making me adventurous, though I have gotten the hippie label now.  No one will let me wear it out (which is all right since it's usually upward of 90 degrees in the heat) because I "look like I'm from Manitou Springs."  Well, I kinda am, recently! :P

And I'm sooo savvy I can read and study and listen to music and crochet at the same time!

Or maybe not... frogging...

Finished!

Update Number Two :: I did say adventurous, didn't I?  Well, how adventurous?  Stripes!

I was wanting some darkish red to go in with the lot to make it really all the nautical colors, but it's not to be. :P  And that would make it hard to carry the colors up.  I really really hate changing colors with knots and any other way.  So I just leave the blue yarn hanging off to the side and pick up the white yarn loosely, and knit two rows with it.  And vice versa.  So much easier!

Update Number Three :: For my birthday, I got this!!! and this!!! and they are woooondeeerfuuulll!  Buy them and play them!  You will love them!

So goodbye for a week, maybe longer...
AMZi x x x x x

Goodbye

Well, my last post before I take off for two weeks.  No access to electronics whatsoever.  Ergo, no posting. Sadness. :(

Ultrasadness because I just received something by post and it's very exciting and I wanted to show you...  But no matter!  When I return, I shall personally take you on a little tour round the world, in a way.  We'll have lots of fun.

And besides the shopping (I'm actually far from broke, but I'm a lot broke-ER than I usually am :P) and the packing and the lists and the counting and the planning and the *yawn* break-taking, I've been to the pool for the first time this summer!  Opened early.  I did NOT get in all the way, it was perfectly FRIGHTFUL but the sun was nice and it was refreshing as deep as I got.  So now I have that tired feeling, comfortably hot, you know that you get after you've been out in the sun and the water and then you come back in.  I really just want to go to bed, but I've got a suitcase to load up.  *sigh*

So I'll see you all later, around the 13th, and I've got stuff to show you then, so don't forget about me in my absence! :)
AMZi x x x x x

Soooooooo...*snore*

*wakes up*  Oh!  Yeah!  Title!  *cough*  Sooooooooo...Tired.  Indeed.

Very muchly.  We went bicycling this afternoon, and I hold up well enough during the ride, it's just after it... I... die....  Sort of.  I am so tired.

Add that to preparing mentally and packingly for two weeks out of the house alone.... Ayi!

A heck of a lot of reading, editing, critiquing, commenting, revising, checking, writing...  Summer workshops have begun, which means editing my own chapters and reviewing other peoples's so that they will think I am nice. :P

So I am making excuses, yes.  I refuse to feel guilty.  I'm too...*snoooorreee*

Fun game though (okay, maybe not so fun...fun for ME!) :: When you're driving down the highway for hours straight (south till the streets stop!) and you're kinda bored and all, it takes you a little under a minute to get from mile marker to mile marker, right?  So the game is this :: You have to figure out the factors of the number of the mile marker before you get to the next one.  So you can picture me driving along, looking at cow, muttering under my breath, "Is 111 a prime?  Hmmm... 3 into...  2 left over, that gives you... No.  No, it's not.  3 and 37--Oh boy!  110!"

AMZi x x x x x

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The old man is snoring.
The supermarket lights went out.
They blamed it on a thundercloud.

I've been gone all morning, being productive and efficient (not) at various department stores searching for clothes.  How I abhor shopping!  Then there was cleaning to be done, lots of it, before we all madly rush about trying to get ready for Good Friday service tonight.  Pant, pant, pant.

And in between, all these little thoughts whirring around my head, wanting to shape themselves into blog posts, with no time for the shaping.  So it's a little post today, with a Raincheck.  No pun intended, actually.  Snigger.

I spotted this earlier and managed a quick sniping of pictures ::  A maple whirligig seed that got a little mixed up...  Maple Seed :: You're not my mama!  Redbud :: No indeed!

Ack, me duele la cabeza [[my head hurts me]] muchly.  I must away to be even more productive and efficient for a few more hours.  So I leave you with a few mental images of my day.

Picture me perched on the edge of the bathroom vanity, dusting the light fixture with surgical precision.

Picture me cooing over the wellies in stock now at Target, especially these Liberty wellies that have made it all the way across the pond.  Unfortunately, people with feet as big as mine can't wear wellies because we tend to flatten colonies and occasionally small villages with our footsteps....

Picture me trying on the 4-5-6-inch-plus wedge heeled shoes in said shoe department for the entertainment and benefit of la hermanita.  Do NOT picture me falling down and breaking my head!

Seems I'm not getting any more comments and very little traffic.  Sadness. The novelty of amAMZIng! has worn off, I suppose.  Oh well.  Visitors, if you do visit, I'll still be here!

And Visitors, I've just joined Delicious, the networking bookmarking thingie with Yahoo! so if you're on there, comment and leave me your username, or look me up as amamzing.  :)

AMZi x x x x x

Drumroll Please!

*brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr*

CHANGGGG!  

Presenting ::

THE REAL LIVE AMAMZING!!!!!!

I've FINALLY gotten my blog to look the way I want!  *cue the Hallelujah chorus and sounds of wild rejoicing*

I love it!  Made my banner at last, fixed my tabs at last, etc. etc. etc. at last, and here it is to stay!

Three cheers!

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

The redbud (whitebud) is back in action after being frozz!  Three cheers for spring Just While We're At It!

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

And three cheers for Calculus and Trig!

What, where did your enthusiasm go???  Oh well, enough is enough, yes?

AMZi x to the fifth power

Being Serious

I know, you read the title, and your little cursor went to hover over the X in the upper right hand corner. *laughter*  Seriousity [[Amziism I guess cos the spell check doesn't recognize it]] has its time and place.  And I think I'm going to work in a little Spiel.  And maybe a Tribute.  :D  But stick around, because there'll be Appeasement Pictures at the bottom of the post. :)

My Topic of Seriousity today is......  Hospice House.  If you've no idear what Hospice is, their wabsteid [[Scots :: website]] esta aqui.  I've been volunteering at my Hospice House for probably three years now, mainly in the summers.  I started out going with my grandma, but as time went on and these occurred, I ended up going all alone.  But not entirely alone (wait, that's the tribute...).  Anyhow, mainly what I do is play their GORGEOUS piano for an hour or so, and then traipse around the halls with my pixie harp, playing for various patients in their rooms.

I cannot possibly explain how much good Hospice House has done in my life.  I'm not allowed to disclose details about my experiences there, but I will say this ::

You learn things about death there.  And life.  And peace and happiness.  And love and joy and comfort and God.  And friends and servant-hearted people.  And about what's important, and what isn't.  

You become friends with people you would never come into contact otherwise.  It always surprises me to find out that other young people my age have never really come into tangible contact with death before.  Never been with someone as they're coming to terms with it, or as they're saying goodbye, or even after they've gone.  And so death scares them, or it's uncomfortable.  That's one of the beauties of working at Hospice :: that you see death and see how people come to terms with it, and you come to terms with it yourself.  For me, there is no fear, because I know where I'm going and that I won't be going until my work here is done.  And it's amazing to watch someone letting go, realizing that they're ready.  And there are tears, there are always tears, because there are beautiful things down here to say goodbye to.  But it's a wonderful process, and so encouraging to watch these dear people expressing such peace, and such joy at the small things in every day life.  The flowers.  The music.  Even the soup.  It's all so amazing, and they know it all of a sudden.

If you have to pick a time and place to encounter sickness, pain, and ultimately death, Hospice is the place to do it.  None of the trauma of a hospital room, or beeping sounds, or sterile smells, or anything like that.  It's just like one big home with one big family, and it's quiet and beautiful and unique in every way.

But you don't just learn from the patients.  You learn from the workers, the nurses, and the volunteers.  It takes a special type of person to go to work every day as a doctor or a nurse... in a place where no one ever "gets better."  Which brings me to my Tribute.  Today we had a surprise party for my dear Mr. R, who is retiring from volunteer work.  He was there when our House was built, and he was there when I started going, and he has been my Buddy and best friend for a long time.  I will keep these memories :: the way he enjoyed my playing, how he told me to call him when I go to Carnegie Hall, how he told everyone my age and that I'm a prodigy (and I'm really not), how he joked that he will be my agent, how he took me down to the rooms of the patients who love music, and helped me carry my books and instruments.  He's not going away, and we're making him keep his Volunteer Badge forever and ever, but it is a sort of goodbye.  Everyone will miss him.

I've had so many experiences there, valuable, priceless experiences, and I've come home in tears, and I've come home grinning from ear to ear.  It is the most wonderful place, I think.  *wipes eyes*  There, now I'm done. :)

I promised you pictures.  The lighting's HORRID these past two days, all cloudy and such, but I'm doing my best. ;)

You may guess that I'm going to give you the Update on my Alphabet.  I am proud to inform you that I only have to make M, W, and S, and then It Will Be Complete!  I sound like a mad scientist.  *insert evil laugh*  Look what I can spell!!

Haw haw.  That G worked up biggish, and dwarfed my smaller-yarned B.  Oh well. :)  Guess what else I can spell??

 Ha!  Weren't expecting that mouthful, were ya?  And now some weather pictures...  The tiniest bit of green is showing in the buds of the Friendly Twig, see?

It's just starting to push its way out of the scales!  Love that macro focus setting... :)  And if I zoom in real far, I can see another Green Thing from my window...

*Big Grin*  And lastly, a picture of a tree, because I love taking pictures of bare trees.  Something about dark webby branches against a light background.  Just the whole Dark-on-Light thing for me, I guess!

Have a great day!  I'm off to make some hot tea and make myself concentrate on something productive... yeaaaaaah.  :P

AMZi x x x x x

PS  Meant to add, thanks to everybody who's commented!  It's so exciting to find out in various ways, shapes, and forms, that my *gasp* BLOG is being *gasp* READ!  Cheers!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh...

That's a long, drawn-out sigh of contentment.  Contentment's a jolly thing, doncha know?  It makes life SO much more enjoyable, when you're not fussing about what you don't have.  I'm very thankful that God's decided to let me learn the secret of it at such a young age.  Some people never find it.  And I'm sure, the actual technique of Contentment is different for everyone, depending on who you are.  Me?  I'm a little bit of everything, and honest to goodness that's the truth.  I've never found a subject that I don't like.  I'm somewhat of a Domestic Girly-Girl, somewhat of a Rough-And-Rowdy Tomboy Country Girl, somewhat of an Intellectual Straight-A Girl, and somewhat of a D*v!l-May-Care Girl.  Depending on the hour, the season, and (strangely) the weather. :)  So personally, my secret of Contentment is the proper perspective.  Take this little simple scenario: bathroom towels.  On the one hand, the towels could be lush and gorgeous and soft and fluffy and *gasp of pleasure* HEATED!  Who wouldn't love that?  I'd enjoy that immensely!  On the other, the towels could be small, rough, scratchy, and cold.  All I do is think how raw and rustic and invigourating it is to rub down with those solid, down-to-earth rags, think how tough I'm being, and VOILA!  I love it just the same!  I sure won't turn down the nicer things, but I don't need them to be very happy with myself and my Situation and my Outlook.  Very interesting concept, at least for me.

Where were we?  Ah, yes, I'm Content.  And looking at this picture, it should be no surprise...

Aren't you just jealous of me?  :)  This picture is actually misleading.  The REAL course of my day was something more like....

5.42am Wake Up for No Apparent Reason.  Try to decide whether to fall back asleep or bound out of bed.
5.44am Go for the Bounding.  Go to pull pins out of blocked Granny Square-of-Four in the dark.
5.46am Climb back in bed to give the Granny Square-of-Four some practice being a blanket.  Try it out over feet, shoulder, pillow.
5.50am Get up and fetch laptop to do some writing
7.07am Surface from The Deeps, with Ch. 6 checked off checklist (*cheers!!!!*)  Potter about tidying, crocheting, blocking, etc.
8.00am Head Down Stairs for breakfast and suchlike
8.47am Take off out the door for work!
11.20am Marvel at the speed of time today!
12.22pm Arrive home and munch mmmmmmmmmmmmMMmmm!
12.54pm Go upstairs and potter about knitting (this is the knitting+ice coffee part)
2.00pm Go shopping for camera
2.55pm Go to different store for camera
3.17pm Arrive home, still camera-less
4.00pm Head upstairs to snap photos, blog, crochet, etc.
4.17pm Compile list on blog of Daily Doings. :P

Speaking of that ice coffee!!  That was DeLightFul!! Simple, too, just make a weak brew, pour it over about half a packet of Stevia [[sugar equivalent=1 tsp]] and add ehhh, two inches or so of milk (or ricemilk, soymilk, whatev').  Add lots of ice!  Stir up and add more ice.  Best if served with a sunny windowseat, and some Crafting To Do.

That there is some knitting, on DPNs which I adore, a set of 5 which you generally can't get here in the US, and bamboo what's more!!  And THAT there is a Fiber Arts project's Homework, and it arrives at a most inopportune time, when I am again obsessed with crochet and crochet alone!

And I don't have any pictures for you of the Progress of Granny Square Secret-Which-Is-No-Longer-Secret, because all the times I've been crocheting and blocking, the lighting has been terrible (or else I've been lazy).  So soon, soon, my precious!  And I've never blocked anything before, so there will be discussion of that in future, as well.

Here's something to tie everything together, from haberdashery (DUDE, WORD!!) to Old Things to Jar-like "fetish" as it was called in a comment. :)  (And let me take this opportunity to say how seeing that little "1 Comment To Be Moderated" message completely makes my day!)

Hurricane lamp + button collection = SQUEEEEE!!!!!!  Closer look?  Of course!

There are quite a few reddish and Candy Cane buttons that I got for Christmas in there on the top.  It's a nice collection, mostly spares, but some that have come off of old clothing of mine.  A lot of fun to play with and sort out and count.

And that windowseat seems to be the backdrop for most of my photos.  Not my fault!  That's where the lighting is best, or at least sufferable, and it's my favorite place probably in the whole house.  So no apologies. Too bad!  :)

Hope you have a Weekend that's Lovely and full of Contentment!
AMZi x x x x x

PS  Dude, yesterday I had this idea that will drive any Granny-Square-er BONKERS.  Bonkers, I tell you.  It's SO exciting!  Be on the lookout!

Here We Go!

Hey y'all! (Yeah, get used to that for a greeting.)

Thanks to the (brilliant, refreshing, exhilarating) Lucy at Attic 24, I have been ITCHing to start my own blog.  I love the way putting your daily thoughts on paper makes you think about things... The Little Things.  And I get riDICulously excited about The Little Things.  So anyhow.  Here's what to expect from Here On Out:

• Notes on how pathetically happy I am about certain weather
• Photos and patterns and descriptions of my latest fiber art projects 
• The books I happen to be reading right now (and my opinions on these)
• Excerpts and teasers from whatever novel I'll be working on at the time
• Numerous quotes, idioms, and sayings
• Various words, sentences, or even whole paragraphs in other languages (because that's how I think--all in wonky bits, yes--but rest assured, I will include translations!)

I'm looking forward to this, really.  I keep seeing little things around and about in my life and thinking, "Wish I had a blog, because I would post about THAT, or THAT, or maybe THAT because... it makes me happy!"  At present, the pics will be slow in coming, as I don't have a camera of my very own precious, but that will happen soon, I promise!  And then prepare to be inundated.  Wave your hand and holler if you're drowning.  I just might leap into the swirl of jpgs and fish you out. :P

As for the name of my blog: amAMZIng!  Obviously, I go by Amzi. Amamzing is a word coined and used by my friends to describe my various hazanas (heroic feats).  I think it has that fresh snap, like a shot of cold air in through a window.  Fierce.  Gripping.  Pure and bracing.  Love it.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy this as much as I'm planning on enjoying it!

So long, mates!
AMZi x x x x