Lazy Day

A while back my dear friend and fellow blogger sent me a book entitled "300 Writing Prompts"  It has 300 different prompts to get your creative juices flowing.  Here's the first one, only 299 more to go :-)

What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?

A true lazy day to me is when I'm not obligated to do anything.  A day that is free of responsibility.  Ideally, I would be able to sleep as long as my body wanted to.  (Now mind you, my cats would probably wake me up anyway.  They are little stinkers like that.)  A breakfast of chocolate chip waffles covered in fresh strawberries and some whipped cream while lounging in some comfy pjs.  I'd enjoy my tasty breakfast while watching a t.v. show; maybe a few episodes of Star Trek Voyager.  

What am I saying?  A few episodes?  I'd probably binge watch the whole show.  Sprawled on the couch or the bean bag, watching one of my favorite Star Trek shows.  I'd only pause briefly to get something for lunch.  If it were possible, I'd get Chinese food from my favorite place: Best Wok in Champaign.  They have some of the best lo mein noodles that I've ever had.  And they'll even add extra pea pods if you ask nicely. Yum!

After rotting my mind for a while, I think a nice relaxing swim is in order.  I love swimming, it takes the stress off your joints and it helps relax you.  Floating in the water on your back, staring up at the sky makes you feel so peaceful.  I love to do it as the sun sets, watching the sky change colors and the stars come out.  Once I'm sufficiently pruned up, I would dry off and change back into cozy pjs.  Grabbing a book, I'd crawl into bed and read while curled up with my kitties.  How's that for a lazy day?

The Entanglement of Yarn

Yarn.  It comes in a variety of colors, textures, and thicknesses.  Just a simple ball of string.  And yet, using this simple ball of string, you can create amazing things: blankets, sweaters, baby booties and those are just some of the more common place items.  This simple item is often over looked by many but I look at it with joy.

My mother is the one who taught me how to crochet* when I was 18 years old.  I decided that I finally wanted to learn.  She had tried to teach me when I was younger, but it didn't turn out all that well.  She gave me a hook, a ball of yarn and showed me how to chain, the base of any crochet project.  I took to it like a fish to water.  She then showed me how to make a granny square, then how to read crochet patterns.  I loved it.  My first completed project was a granny square blanket.  Each square of this blanket was a full 8oz of yarn (which is a a full skein(ball) of yarn).  I used four different colors and it was rather long, more like a wrap around yourself type blanket, rather than the put on your bed variety.  I gave it to my brother and he loved to wrap himself up in it to keep warm.

                                                The deep recesses of my crochet bag


Sadly, there are a few downsides to this beautiful, yarn weaving hobby.  One is that you will run into people who don't understand the cost of yarn and the time it takes to complete projects.  They will offer a few dollars to "pay you" for an item that might have taken you a few months to complete.  Don't allow people to belittle the time and energy it takes to make something.
Two is that you become infatuated by yarn.  You want it and can't get enough.  You gladly accept gifts of random skeins from friends, thinking to yourself "I can make something out of this."  The yarn stash goes from one box, then two.  After several boxes and four partially completed projects later, your friends may have to stage a yarn intervention.
The last downside is that once you start down the path of crochet, you become hooked!  (Ha! Just a little crochet humor for ya)




*Crocheting is done with 1 hook.  It is not the same as knitting, which uses 2 needles.  Saying crocheting is the same as knitting may result in yarn-related injury.  Just warning you now

Bath Time!

 Water is a wonderful thing.  It is part of our bodies and without it, life would stop.  I have memories of childhood having so much fun in this element: swimming in a pool, splashing in rain puddles and walking around in a shallow creek.  But, to this day, nothing can take away the joy that I get from a simple bath.

I love a bath with bathsalts or bubbles, but it doesn't have to have either of those for me to enjoy it.  Heck, even my cats enjoy a bath, although it is mainly due to the fact that they can drink from the water in the tub (whether I'm in it or not).  Hot water and a good book is all I truly need.  Even in a small bathtub, the water cradles you.  It helps ease away aches from your body.  What's not to love?

Next time you take a bath, try this meditation:
Lay down so that your head is in the water (don't worry about your hair, that's what a hair dryer is for).  Let the water cover your ears.  This is important since it helps to drown out a lot of the sounds around you.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Relax your muscles.  Listen to your breathing.  It blocks out a lot of the sounds, with the aid of the water.  Once you are relaxed, soften your breathing and listen to your heartbeat.  You can feel it in your chest and seems to reverberate in the water, the sound waves bouncing off the walls of the tub.  It is an amazing feeling.  Thoughts seem to slow down and you are at peace, even if it is just for a short period of time.  This is as close that you can get to the feeling of the womb (without investing in your own sensory deprivation tank).

Enjoy your bath time my lovelies :-)

The Beginning

 So, I have entered the blogging world.  Why you may ask?  I could give you half a dozen answers to satisfy your curiosity but I won't because I'm not sure if I could come up with believable excuses.  The only one I can actually leave you with is that my writing has become slow, stagnant, which is never a good thing for a writer.

What does a writer do when her writing has slowed to a crawl that even a slug could beat?  She forces herself to write more, even if it is not the manuscript that she should be working on.  But how you ask?  Well, it isn't the easiest thing to do. Writing takes time and ideas, but it also takes practice.  It means working at it every day.  And that is exactly what I plan to do.

In the days to come, new blogs will appear here.  Some of the ones that will be posted will be from a gift that my best friend gave me: a book of 300 writing prompts, all of which will become blog posts at some point, and other posts will be from the deep recesses of my somewhat strange and warped little mind.

I wish to express my thanks to you for joining me on this journey and apologize now for some of the random twists and turns that will definitely happen.

Smooches!

                                          Gabby approves of her mom`s blog adventure.