there's no place like gnome.

… since I’m certainly not present here lately. Hopefully I’ll be back soon.

How was your Sunday? Mine was filled with both fun and slightly eclectic occurrences. It started by looking outside and seeing this:

Good morning, indeed.

In worship, the kids and I sprinkled the congregation with water in remembrance of baptism. In Sunday school, I led the kids in more splashing of water and some good old follow the leader.

Following worship, I caught a bit of the Packer game (My family would be proud.) before heading to Dave’s to help him put up drywall. (Say what?) It’s true. I learned how to put up drywall. He saved the last piece for me to do (nearly) myself with his guidance. Check that off the list.

Then we retreated back to the parsonage where we began deconstructing the wingback chair I bought to reupholster. We did a bit before becoming frustrated with an innumerable amount of tiny staples. We took a break to watch a few YouTube videos about what exactly we’d gotten ourselves into. It will be a project for sure; a project more difficult and time-consuming than drywall.

We drank some of this (a hard cider we made and uniquely named back in November) and called it a night (after we both participated in winding some floss on floss bobbins for my next cross stitch project). It was a good Sunday.

Cross stitching was one of my very first adventures into the crafting world. My mom taught me to cross stitch as an elementary schooler. Well, guess what? I’m doing it again. I feel like cross stitch, much like quilting, is experiencing a modern resurgence. And I’m jumping on board.

So far, it’s just really bossy, telling us to GO. But soon it will say something much nicer. I bought the pattern off of etsy – a place where you can buy lots of ‘modern’ patterns.

What do I like about this return to cross stitch?

First, it is much, much, MUCH cheaper than quilting. Pattern, thread and cloth cost me well under $10. Second, it’s highly transportable and can be done nearly anywhere. Third, it’s got snark.

Snarky cross stitch. It’s a thing. It’s fun to see something completely snarky or random cross stitched in pastels with flowers. (ie ‘Damn, it feels good to be a gangster’ or other things I would never write here or hang in my own house.) It’s fun.

I wouldn’t be surprised if from now on, I always have a quilting project (or six) in progress along with a cross stitch project of some kind. It is, after all, Downton Abbey and Bachelor season; I need something to keep my hands busy while watching!

How did you ring in the new year?

I ate Mexican food and played Just Dance on the wii. Dave and I created a list which I entitled ‘Dave and Lindsay’s 2015 List of Awesome.’ He thinks the title needs works; I think it describes the hope for 2015 perfectly: awesome. We created a list of things we want to do in the new year (camp, take a trip, try new recipes, learn to play chess, etc.). Then we watched the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie and I fell asleep, waking only briefly to say happy new year at midnight and then falling back asleep. #partyhard

Yesterday, as I reflected on the year past and the year to come, I pulled out my found poetry supplies from the journeying class I took a couple summers ago on Madeline Island. And, as one would say about found poetry, a poem found me. Here is my new year poem:

Happy New Year, friends! Here’s hoping it’s the best one yet.