Taking The Long Way Home

I'm sharing this today for those of you who like to create for the greater good. My cousin, who wishes to stay as anonymous as possible, was deeply inspired by the students who are planning school walkouts in protest to current gun laws. Wanting to do something to show support, she came up with the idea of making simple, white crocheted hearts with safety pins attached, to give to as many of our young activists as possible. The 1Love1Heart Project  explains... " White yarn represents innocence and new beginnings: a blank page, a blank canvas, a blank movie screen waiting to be filled with hope and peace and solidarity of purpose. The heart, of course, represents love. The safety pin represents security and protection that we all deserve. Especially our young people." Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join in, by either crocheting (or knitting) white hearts and donating them to the schools and students of your choice. There's a very simple crochet pattern

I've had this amazing ball of hand-dyed-and-spun yarn for months. It was made, and given to me, by my friend Valerie, which makes it even more special. I've moved it around the house, looked at it, held it, and asked it what it wanted to be, but it's been very quiet. I've loved it so much just as a ball of yarn, I was in no hurry to knit it into something else. Here it is with my great-grandmother's hand carved crochet hook. So much wonderfulness. Maybe sometimes yarn can just be yarn, at least for a while. As the weather got colder, I started think of hats. Not just baby hats like I make for the hospital, but big hats. For me. That wind on the beach can really bite a girl's ears in the winter. So, long story short, I knitted my beautiful, most favorite yarn into a hat. I found a really easy pattern for a beret, which Rick made for his daughter (yes, he knits a bit). Here's the pattern . It's really cute! And here's my hat. Also really cute.

As Airbnb hosts, we have lots of lovely interactions with guests while they're here, and with potential guests making inquiries before they book. I try to be really clear in our listing, about the house, amenities, and rules. The trouble is, some people would rather not actually read the listing, or if they do, they just ignore the parts they don't like. Oy. I mean really, who thinks cats and dogs are the same thing? Today I got a booking for two nights in March, from a very nice-sounding couple coming down from Canada. They were very excited to stay here at Mermaid's Nest , and everything was great... until I got to the part in their message about bringing their cat... Ruh roh... I had stated very clearly in our listing that we allow small dogs . Cats were not mentioned. Neither were goats, snakes, skunks, or rhinos, because I figured people would see that part about dogs , and at least ask before assuming all other animals were welcome. Oh, silly me. Apparently the

I started making crocheted rocks a few years ago when I was helping my dad a lot, and needed a creative outlet that was easy to pack when I was flying so often. Rocks are not all that portable, but a ball of thread and a crochet hook are easy to fit into a bag. In the evenings, I'd take an "after dinner walk" that was really an excuse to forage for rocks around the neighborhood. Rocks are easy to find. I tried to only take them from neglected-looking places along side yards and parkways. And when I couldn't resist a perfect river rock from someone's tidy landscaping, I'd later take it back and re-place it, after I'd covered it in crochet. What can I say? It was a stressful time, and I needed something to ground me. I needed rocks. Now I live at the beach. And not just a sandy beach, but one that has a long stretch of rocky wonderfulness too. I still haul big rocks home almost daily, but my focus now is on small, smooth, flat, wearable rocks. I wande