Sewing up a storm!

About a minute after I posted my last post, I got a PM from a friend reminding, welcoming, inviting Jacob and I back to an activity that i last participated in when i was 3 months pregnant with him.  The SCA.  Society for Creative Anachronism. In a nutshell, this is a participatory group that reenact the best of the middle ages.  Arts & Science (textiles,bookarts,sewing, and brewing...), Chivalry (sword fighting, archery), and Voluntearism...sorry, that a kinda snuck in there...its a Disney thing!

She made a lot of sense.  I can get back to focusing on many of the reenactment activities that I enjoy, and Jacob can have some strong male role models, friends, and activities.  It's a win for both of us!  I immediately signed up for the next event, coming up this weekend.  But, one of the things about the SCA is that everyone dresses in medieval clothes (garb).  I have mine from 10 years ago...which fit me better now than they did then!  Jacob is another story though.  Last week, on our way home from our first fighter practice, we stopped at Joann's and picked out some linen look Linen/Rayon fabric.

This weekend, I spent Sunday cutting and sewing.  There are pants to go with this, but they were not started when this was taken.  They're done now, he just needs to try them on.

Jacob was being very silly, but clearly enjoying his new garb.

Then, he surprised me.  He asked if he could sew something!  So, I grabbed some scraps from cutting out his pants, and over that evening and the next, we sewed this bag together!  He did all of the sewing machine parts.  Presser foot, thread minding, lowering and clearing the needle with the fly wheel.  All I did was feed the fabric while he ran the machine....and handle the iron.  He decided on the decorations for the bag.  Last night he chose to sew rather than playing on the XBOX!  And now he wants to make something else!  I'll be looking for kid fun sewing ideas so I can offer some suggestions and skill builders to help him progress.

While we're making garb and learning to swordfight, I'm also planning to pitch my first Mead (Honey fermented to alcohol!)  And we're 4 days away from his first weekend event!

Finding a "New Normal"

Wow.....  Nine years since my last post.  A lot has happened...


Jason and I got married.
We had Jacob.
We separated.
Jason's diabetes got worse and he lost a leg.
We worked through a lot of our issues so we could function cohesively together in separate homes.
Jason lost his second leg.
He spent nine months in Rehabs/Assisted Living/Nursing Homes.
We were able to get him into his own apartment with an aide.
We had a fantastic year of joint custody and cooperation.
He Died.
I cleaned out the apartment and took over full time 100% Jacob.
Distaff Day had it's 14th Annual gathering in January.

Which brings me to today's topic.  Finding a "New Normal".

So much has changed in 9 years.  You can't start back at the beginning.  You can't dwell on the past, recent or distant.  What to do....  It's been evolving in my brain for the past month or two, slowly taking shape.  Being molded like clay.  We need to find our new normal. 


For a long time, what I "needed to do" took precedence over everything else.  I needed to assist Jason when he had issues.  I needed to make sure that Jacob was cared for, had what he needed, went to school, etc.  I needed to work.  I needed to keep us afloat.  Doing only what you need to, sometimes because it's all you can do to manage that, is not living.


Now I'm realizing that I need to prioritize what's important, and make sure it happens!

• Take control of my health and my eating!
• Find a balance between eating out every day and only cooking at home!
• Set schedules and rules!
• Insist on daily showers (no, not for me....well, yes, for both of us...)!
• Give myself permission to take a down day!
• Give us permission to go play for a day - alternating between mommy play days and kid play days!
• Find more time in my day, any way I can that doesn't involve less sleep!
• KNIT!

Through many different methods, I feel like I can do this!  I'm motivated and not waiting until tomorrow to start!  If you read this, thank you.  I really don't think it will be another 9 years before my next post.