Hands in the Fibers, Head in the Sand

I care so very little about men's college basketball that I scheduled my wedding 25 years ago on a Saturday during March Madness. So why do I care how the family basketball pool is going?  Because I'm in second place.  I've won several times over the years, first back in the day when people actually paid me their $5 and I got the traveling trophy for 12 months of glory. Interest has waned. My husband talks to his cousin the night before the first full day of games; they discuss the brackets and occasionally news of the family farm and corn and bean prices. (Or maybe that's another time of year. I hear "price per bushel" and tune out.) I guess the effort to keep the pool going keeps family connections strong.  Bragging rights, winning for winning's sake—that's something, right? Eh, maybe. I'd prefer cold hard cash! But only if I win.  I have Houston winning the tourney. So do two others, and one has four more points on me. It's an uphill climb f...

I started this year like I've done the past several: picking a word of the year rather than setting resolutions. The word for 2025 is curious . Its meaning, eager to know or learn something, seems motivating and more positive than worrying. I can be curious about crafts, work, relationships, my dog, new hobbies, opportunities to volunteer, gaining dual citizenship...that last bit I'm becoming more and more curious about as the year progresses devolves. So far, my curiosity led me to learn a new skill: crochet! I'm a long-time knitter (20-plus years), and it will always be my favorite fiber craft. But I tried a couple critter kits and made myself an infinity scarf (with a bit of help from YouTubers hookers). I'm curious whether I'll be hooked, long term.  I also started Spanish lessons on Babbel in preparation for our trip to the Dominican Republic in February (which was fabulous; I'll rave about that another time). I am SO curious: Why oh why did I take French ...

Wow, if that isn't the million-dollar question. I do not have an answer. But it's 2025, and somehow we find ourselves at the edge of an abyss. Democracy's hurtling itself into a pit of darkness from which it may not recover. How did we get here? That's a subhead to the first question. I have no answers. What I do have are coping mechanisms. Top of the list: avoid social media. I ditched Facebook and Instagram (and never hopped the Twitter train to begin with).  The problem with saying goodbye to those platforms? I have nowhere to blabber about the mundane minutia of my daily existence. What do I do with myself if I can't share my latest knitting project or rave about a book I just read or post pics of my adorable cockapoo? Does anyone care? Doesn't matter. I do, and I'm so addicted to documenting life with a blurb and a pic, I just don't want to give it up.  Will anyone read this? Maybe not. Maybe I'll just post as sort of an online diary. That was m...