Eco-friendly alert: crocheting yarn made out of plastic bottles

The other day, I stocked up my yarn closet to ensure I’d have enough to keep my hands busy over the snowstorm.

Imagine my delight in finding a brand of yarn that uses 20 percent post-consumer recycled polyester from plastic bottles. Better yet, it is some of the softest yarn I’ve found at chain craft stores.

Currently, I’m crocheting a wedding gift for my sister who is now engaged to a fantastic guy.  I’m using two yarns a kind of muted rose/pink and off-white to make it. Perhaps because of what it’s made of, the blanket is going to have a heavy, snugly feel. 

Caron makes the yarn and it offers a rainbow of color options available online. The local AC Moore in Rockville, Maryland, sells it in about half a dozen colors.

Anyway, I’m hopefully heading home from work early because they are predicting the area will get up to two feet of snow, and then I’ll be braving a drive up to Baltimore to spend the weekend with my boyfriend. Wish me luck.

Oh, and if you’ve heard of any other yarns that are going eco-friendly, please let me know!

 

a church visit in retrospect

Today I went to a church service (one of my denomination) for the first time in probably a year. (Before I go on, let me say I enjoyed the service. The people were friendly, sang loudly, participated in the sermon and generally left me wanting to return another week).

I’m not sure why I haven’t gone in a while. Perhaps it’s because I need to attend a church with an audience that is friendly and participates in a service. Not just to say “yes” and “praise Jesus” so that everyone around can know how holy they are but because they mean it and would say it even if they were in a room alone and no would would hear it. They would be so inspired and so into the sermon that they couldn’t help but burst out those words. note: I’m sure there are people in my former churches that are not hypocrites and who are in honest pursuit of an intimate relationship with God.

It’s also because, after joining/hearing the monks simple tunes of worship and occasional trio performances, I find it hard to get into the modern (take a breath every fourth word) songs. I was thankful beyond belief that this church had at least two hymns that I could read the music from.  Besides, I believe most hymns are much better musical compositions than modern ones.

Allow me to rant. Has anyone ever considered that having words up on a screen without any kind of sheet music to let a person know the notes (or, to the untrained eye, at least which direction the notes are going) makes a visitor or non-Seventh-day Adventist visitor feel awkward and even more exposed.

If you must do modern music, I beg you, PLEASE provide us with at least a one-staff bar of notes and words to follow!!!!!!!! (I cannot add enough exclamation marks here.)

As for other reasons for having not attend regularly, I do not claim to be enlightened by any means.  However, my views about religion, true Christianity and other things have changed since visiting the monetary last summer.

For example, today some well-intentioned woman gave a “childrens’ story” that essentially told kids to read the bible even if they don’t understand it, because it will wash out their sins and make them more Christian and closer to Jesus who will forgive them of their sins. I don’t think she realized the implications of what she was saying but it took every ounce of me to not roll my eyes and cross my arms.

Making a child read a book that is beyond their comprehension, I believe, is cruel and could turn them away from scripture. There is a reason there are books for children and books for adults. Perhaps instead, a parent could read some scripture with a child. Ask them what he or she thinks it means and then help them discover the story.

More importantly, I believe that no book, human or ritual action, such as reading scripture, will save a soul.  Instead, it is only through developing a pure intimate relationship with God (one that cannot be explained in words and only barely captured in music) that we can know, be changed and proceed in a way that brings Glory to God, whatever direction that may lead us.

Anyway, I had intended for this blog to be about something completely different but this poured right out of me.  Catcha ya again next week.

 

Back on the blog-wagon, 2010 goals

So I’ve neglected this blog entirely too much.  Starting today I aim to blog at least weekly, often on a Monday or a Friday.

For starters I’ll outline my 2010 goals.

Health, wealth and keeping up with, well, everything.

Health

I’m now 32 and I can definitely tell that it’s easier to pack on the pounds. It used to be that at this weight I didn’t feel unhealthy. But that seems to be changing. I’m having more respiratory problems and I’m noticing it’s not as easy to do the somewhat more rigorous physical activities that have always seemed as natural activities. Plus I’m starting to fill out my clothes a little more than I had in recent months.

So I’ve determined to fix this downward spiral. First of all, I’m cutting back drastically on processed foods, especially my gluten-free breads and pretzels. Second of all, I’m eating as much fresh vegetables (or steamed) and fruit that I can and cutting out meat except for dinners out and weekends with my boyfriend.

For at least a month, starting today, I’m going to go without potato products and junk food, including those little chocolate treats my co-worker keeps out on her desk. Finally, I’m going to exercise at least twice a week (hopefully more) in one of the two gyms available to me at my office and in the nearby National Press Club.

Wealth

My goal each year is to manage my finances better, and I believe there has been improvement. But there is always room for more. In addition to better budgeting/spending habits my goal this year is to buy a queen-size bed and take a trip to Hong Kong.

Keeping up

This year I intend to keep up with my household chores/cleanliness and to have purged both closets of gratuitous items by July. Moreover, my much neglected car will be kept cleaner and given a good washing at least once a month.

Anyway, I promise the next blog will be much more interesting. Happy New Year everyone!!!

 

Merry Christmas, a year in review

This time of year I like to look back at all the wonderful things that have happened and all the things I am thankful for.

I’ll start with my thankfulness for the hardships.

This year, I learned a lot about humanity and also myself. I learned that you can never wholly know another person, no matter how many years you’ve been friends or family. I learned that I will not give up my faith in humanity but at the same time, I will not be surprised nor angry when they disappoint or hurt the very people they profess to love.

I’ve learned that I need some silent alone time so that I can listen to my inner voice and keep an inner peace that passes all understanding.

And as a result of the spiritual awakening, I met the guy I am currently dating when dating was the furthest thing from my mind at the time.

It all started when in the Spring months I lost the Master Chorale of Washington chorale family. Without the choir in my life, I learned that music accounted for much of my happiness. The choir was closed down due to financial hardships. I went through a spiritual upheaval as I realized that singing in the choir had been the piece of my life that had made it possible to cope with everything else — a sort of music therapy for my soul.

Without the choir, I needed to take some time to be retrospective and for spiritual healing and so I went to a monastery for a work week to be silent, pray and only use my voice in singing chants with the Benedictine monks.

It was a life altering event. I plan to go back each year to the monastery for a week of spiritual re-centering.

Now to the people I am thankful for.

To all of my friends, those I see regularly, my coworkers and those I’ve known since way back in the day: thank you for being a part of my life and the making of who I am today.

To the week-night crew, you know who you are: thank you for being some of the best friends I’ve had in a long time. You are a no-bullshi*t, laugh often and love (agape and philos) much bunch of friends among whom I feel freely accepted and free to show my affection.

This year I started participating in a weekly, Sunday night strategic board game group composed of grade-school friends, church friends, random participants and my brother. It has been a great opportunity for some social time without the pressure to be social and perform – other than to kick butt at a game. It has also helped to strengthen my friendship with my brother.

That leads me to my family. It’s been a rough year in some ways but I think we’ve survived in the end mostly unscathed.  Thank you to God for helping us hold it together and heal and I pray that I am able to forgive even more as time passes.

Tomorrow, I and my wonderful boyfriend, Ernie, will spend half a day with my family and half a day with his. It will be the first time I’ve shared my Christmas day with a boyfriends’ family.  I am both pensive and excited about the idea.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Where have all the cold winds gone?

I need it to snow this year. I need to feel the cold flakes melt on my skin and tramp through dirty slushy sidewalks.

You see, I’ve become seriously concerned about the moderate temperatures we’ve had this year.

Where have all the cold winds gone? And why was I cheated from a blisteringly hot summer in DC this year?

Anyone who has lived in DC for the last several years DC will admit, the weather has been wonky these last few weeks. It was so warm on several days that my neighbor felt compelled to turn on his air conditioning, he told me.

For my part, I insisted on bringing my coat with me — in a futile attempt to convince the “weather gods” that they need to check their calendars.

What concerns me most is that I can’t recall an October where I didn’t need to wear gloves, a coat and a winter hat by the time Halloween rolled around.

Yet we’ve had high temperatures in the 70s and lows in the 50s (if my memory serves me right).

This summer wasn’t much better. Never did I feel so hot that I desperately craved an electric fan on my face or a long dip in the local pool. I feel cheated from my summer.

I love the seasons. I like feeling the changing seasons, smelling the change in the air (crisp in winter, mossy in the fall, fresh grass and field flowers in the spring and wet hot air in the summer). While in the heat or cold of the most extreme days I may complain of frozen digits or sweaty clothes, it feels natural to have such extremes.

What doesn’t feel natural is how temperate the weather has been so far.

There is one other side-effect of mild temperatures.

I haven’t felt the urge to pick up my crochet needles.

I realized last week that my cue to start crocheting winter gifts was the onset of cold weather. The cold weather would make me want to make a new scarf to protect against the wind. It hasn’t been cold enough to drive that urge this year.  So sorry friends, you may not get a crochet item this season.

I have some completely hypothetical ideas for why we’ve had such mild weather. My instinct tells me its due to global warming.  And yet there is little more I can do.

I already take public transit and recycle. I’ve reduced my meat consumption and I’m seriously considering gardening next year and starting a compost barrel.

To offset my carbon footprint, which has increased ever since I started dating my boyfriend who lives an hour away, I’ve even ceased eating meat during the work week.

But I feel helpless. Worse, I’ve realized how complacent society is determined to be. Almost everyone I’ve talked with was thrilled to have a reprieve from harsh weather for a few more days.  Still others seemed to say it was just the usual fluctuations that this area is famous for.

But I don’t know.  All I know is it hasn’t been cold enough for me to pull out my winter boots yet and I think it’s about darn time for the weather to get on track.

I need to see snow, lots of it, this year to feel slightly reassured that the world’s condition is not so dire as it’s beginning to seem.

I need a reason to believe that we still have time to turn the clock around.

So, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.