My Letter to the WWW

Dear Word Wide Web or www as you prefer,

We have had our ups and downs  through the past years. I admit sometimes I have viewed you as a time gobbling monster, with no regard for all of the others in my life that deserve my time. Now, I realize, as in all relationships ,I am responsible for setting boundaries and when I do our relationship is better.

You know, my favorite pic of you is the one, often seen of a globe from space with your web composed of dots of light connecting across continents and vast oceans. This exemplifies how I see you at this point in our relationship, Now that I have matured and my infatuation is mellowed I see what a really great relationship we have. You give me great joy and so I want to share that with you.

Today I have been in touch with people not only across space, like a former e-pal in Australia, but also across time. I have connected with people I went to high-school with and kids in high school now ( former students)

They share moments of their lives both great and small . I have seen pictures of hummingbirds in the back yard, and new babies and grand kids and lots of new pets. I have shared frustrated posts of young peoples' first loves, difficult tests and driver training. I have witnessed many birthdays, graduation,first day of school, summer vacation photos and weddings. These are people who might not have shared these things with me otherwise.

You often bring a smile to me.Some people share a funny joke or saying .Many times I see a video of courage or a poster of encouragement. Because of you I see heartfelt posting of political or social causes and even when I don't agree, it does my heart good to know people still care desperately and are trying to change their world.

I have prayed for friends and strangers, more than I ever would have without you. I have received the blessings of prayers from countless numbers of friends and friends -of -friends because through you people found out I was battling cancer.Now that I am cancer-free I have been able to celebrate this with friends, relatives and even strangers who had similar experiences.

I find recipes and knitting instructions and tutorials through you. I have gotten organization and cleaning tips through blogs of strangers who are somehow better at that stuff than I am.Some of these even come from across the globe and the wonderful intricate skills of a foreign land are shared with me because now you translate. You have grown so smart, have I told you lately?

I have sold my handmade items on my Etsy shop, allowing me to be a part of a wedding or occasional gift while enjoying the pleasure of seeing my creativity grow. I have purchased on e-bay a enjoyed the thrill of the win.

So now our relationship is more mature.  I am still testing the reaches of your boundless treasures but I am determined to keep setting boundaries because I know how you jealously try to seduce me away from my real life of activity and in-person relationships.(Remember all of that time I spent building a virtual farm? ) I do recognize your place in my life and I just wanted to tell you I think I love you. Keep spreading your light-lines across the globe. Each line connects family, friends,and friends of friends in a unique way. Yes, today I will admit it I love you.I admit it across the whole world wide web to all my friends, family and friends of friends and former Farmville neighbors.

So Much Time ---So Much to Do !

I think I need to write a book on how to retire.It isn't as easy as one would think. Of course my retirement was complicated by the preceding illness. The first challenge is bed time and rising time. This got messed up when I was sick and complicated by my discovery of Pinterest and staying on there until rooster hours. There were some books read on the Nook that caused this too. I finally solved this by setting an alarm for 2 hours later than my work time used to be.Getting up late but getting up in time to enjoy the day. A fellow retired friend calls me about an hour after that and we plan our separate days together and then check at the end of the day to hold each other gently accountable.

The next challenge is meeting appointments and planning the time.I still have check-ups scheduled to reassure me and my doctors that everything is good now. I had delayed regular check-ups and dental appointments etc that I needed catching up on.

Now I am finally able to help my hard working families . I have driven grand-children to camp, helped my DIL set up her first classroom, and helped my other son and DIL get settled in their new home. I fix dinner every Monday for one family and for the other family on Tuesday. It is so nice to have time to step up and help relieve the kids from a few of the stress they face. It does my heart good I look at them in wonder remembering the years of homework, sports teams, scouts etc. Every parent is an invisible hero.

  I had a list of things I planned to do when I retired . It was extensive. I think everyone begins to fantasize about this kind of plans when times get stressful in our later years working. So its a long list and the time is theoretically unending.The attitude of infinite time is the main confusion.

I have been finishing some projects, learning some crafts and trying some things I have been wanting to try. In addition to these I have taken up couponing, trying new recipes and trying to organize my home. Ok, so I am demonstrating my scattered Gemini traits. Eventually I will get projects completed and when I learn to photograph them you will see them here.

Last week I made a bracelet sold on Etsy for a wedding this month.I also began quilting. I learned it from a You Tube video. I  got the top completed .This week , I visited a friend out of town, crocheted the crocodile stitch that I taught myself last week, I made a bracelet, learned to do the viking knit with wire, shopped with coupons and cooked a family meal with one of those new recipes from Pinterst.. Hey, that doesn't look so bad! The house still needs more organizing, mostly I am pinning ideas for this (it is easier than doing it)

Here is an image of the crocodile stitch in the completed form I will list the tutorial for you too.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LiH9Wk3rHc  The one I am making now is promised but I will be making things for my shop soon. I have a great book on these items  http://www.amazon.com/Crocodile-Stitch-Fashions-Lianka-Azulay/dp/159635397X I met this author and she signed my book. At the time I didn't even know how to crochet. When I couldn't read the diagrams I found help on You Tube.