Mariyah

So Calvin and Jessica are between houses and they are staying with us intil mid September. So I am blessed to get to see my Goddaughter every day. Mariyah is such a doll. Her face just lights up when she sees you. She is such a happy baby. Well, I can't really say she's a baby any more. She'll be 18 months old on August 8th.

After dinner tonight, she and I blew bubbles in the front yard and then I took her for a walk. It was a  nice and the evening air was such a fresh change to sitting in the house all day.

Olivia will be going back to Ohio in Friday. Well she's going to Pittsburgh to visit her brother for the weekend and then on Monday will travel back to Ohio for her Sophmore year in College.

I'm going to get some tatting done now. I'm working on a pattern by Martha Ess. It's Two Hearts as One. Two interlocking hearts done in a celtic pattern. It's 4 shuttles and you really have to move shuttles thru unclosed rings, stop rings in the middle, intertwine chains, PHEW. I'm doing each heart seperately first to have a reference when I tackle the real pattern.

Update on tatting group in PA

I haven't had the time yet to post an update on my experience at the tatting group in Gettysburg, PA.

It was great. I met Holly at her home and followed her to the location. As we were walking in, I mentioned that I had attended the Finger Lakes Tatting Conference. Well, Holly had been there also and informed me that two other ladies from the tatting group had been there also. I immediately relaxed. Funny that I really didn't know them nor did I initially remember meeting them, but my anxiety deminished because I had encountered them before. My daughter came with me, so that made me feel better as well.

Well, we have so much in common. I can't wait to go back next month. Unfortunately Olivia won't be able to go with me because she will be going back to Ohio on Friday. It's a long drive just to meet with other tatters some would say, but not too far for me. I'm so happy that I can meet with other tatters and feel comfortable. It looks like I am going to have 3 tatting groups now. My group here in Silver Spring, the one in Gettysburg and there is one in Carlisle as well that Holly wants me to go to.

We didn't do much tatting at the group, more chatting than anything else. There was another lady, Deb who was attending for the first time as well. Between the 6 of us, we have most every fiber market covered by our talents and obessions.

This is exactly what I need in my life. I am so thankful that my husband cares so much about me that he is OK with me going to these groups.

tatting group

I love Facebook because it allows me to meet and find tatters and crafters from all over the world.
A couple days ago, I hooked up with a fellow tatter from just over the boarder of Maryland in PA. Her name is Holly and she belongs to a few tatting groups. One of them meets in Gettysburg on the 4th Thursday of each month. Well, it just so happens that tomorrow is the 4th Thursday of the month and I am going to ride up and attend the meeting. I am meeting Holly at her home and then going to the meeting from there. This is a HUGE step for me since I usually don't go anywhere with anyone that I don't know. That social anxiety disorder thing is really a hinderance to those of us who suffer from it. If you know me well enough, you know how big this is. Usually I would talk Olivia or Shawn into coming with me, but not this time. I am a little anxious, but these folks are tatters so they have to be great people. Besides, if I get too anxious, I can just leave.
I will let you know how it goes.

Tatted earrings I designed

Here is a picture of the earrings I designed for my Tat-It earring challenge. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

I love the picots. They look so frilly, but are so light and easy to wear.

A short snippet from my book

I am sharing a few words from the book that I am writing about my experience with domestic violence.
The names have been changed, for the most part, to protect myself from persecution. The events are as accurate as I can remember them.

Fear is a powerful thing. It makes you do things that your common sense and conscious mind know are wrong. I found myself lying to everyone – my co-workers, my friends and my family. You find yourself rationalizing things to yourself that would seem nuts to other people. “If I am just nicer or quieter or more prompt, then he won’t hit me or rape me or I will get a little bit of affection.”

 

I was made to feel so low about myself and brainwashed to believe that he was the only person who would ever love me. I had become so obsessed with him that I followed him when he wasn’t with me. One day in particular stands out to me. I have fought with him about something or another. We were still living in Germany and in the barracks. He went down to see his friend (name withheld) who lived on the first floor. I went down and climbed into the friend's window. HE got up and grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the door. He lifted me off of my feet and told me he would kill me. That was the first time he really was abusive. It was also the first time he tried to kill me.

Please let me know what you think by commenting below. I am open to all feedback.

snippets of my book about domestic violence

So many people have been asking me to let them read the parts of my book that are finished or saying that they can't wait for me to finish the book, that I have decided to post snippets of the book here on my blog. I am going to create another tab here on my blog so I can post little snippets of the book.

If you read any parts, please post a comment and let me know what  you think. It has been a struggle to write the book lately and any inspiration will be helpful.

First tidbit is coming soon...stay tuned

Happy 4th

Independence Day is here. Grandma Dexter turns 99 today.
Jessica turns 25 today.
Shawn has to work.
I'm just going to clean and tat all day.
Happy Independence Day.