Hello Strangers!....Or, wait, am I the stranger??!!

     Ha! Ha!....I know! It's been a looooooooong time since I blogged! And I have the nerve to be thinking about trying to start blogging again, on a more regular basis. Before I venture down this road again though, I was just wondering if there is anybody out there that would read it! :-) Call this post my "dabbing my toe in the water" moment. LOL
     So, to give me a clue to my readership, please leave me a quick comment to let me know what you've been up to lately. An update 'sorta kinda' of what's new in your neck of the woods.I would appreciate the feedback.....or the encouragement.
     To update you on what's new with me: I'm still me! :-)) Isn't that a lovely update? (As if I could be anybody else anyway! Duh!!) No, seriously.....I'm still crocheting slippers. But not for my shop. Just for ha has....or for gifts.......I'm on the 'tail end' of the flu. (It's been 3 weeks so far. Cough! Cough! Sniff! Sniff!).....I have to go into the hospital for an overnight sleep study soon. (Have to check on my Sleep Apnea and update my equipment.)
     Let me see.....was there anything else?.....Hmmm......I hear crickets. I guess that means NO!! :-)) I guess that if I think of anything I can blog about it later....Right? :-)) Talk to you later. Have a good day, Y'all!

You Can Drive Your Bus Through This Post!

     Hello Bloggers! :-) Can you believe that Spring is almost here again?!!! I can't! And I also can't believe it's been this long since I last posted on my blog!! I think all of the internet changes and me not having my Etsy shop anymore just took a toll on me. I felt like I still wanted to talk just as much as before, but what was I gonna share?!...Songs from Youtube?....No, can't do that anymore. How about other people's photos?....Nope! Not unless I wanted to get into a whole 'rig-a-ma-roll'!! (You just have to forgive some of my 'do-hickey, rig-a-ma-roll, nonsensical talk sometimes. Sorry! Ha! Ha!)
     As an update.....uhhhhhh.......................................yep! There you go! :-)) It's been pretty much 'same old, same old'! My 'crickety' arthritis is still about the same. And it's raining today too. OUCH!!! My aching knees, joints, and sideways fingers thank you for your concern. :-)) Also, hubby is still driving the school bus. The only update about that is that he just won an award for the best bus driver of the year at his company. :-) I took some pictures of the prize he won......a basket full of goodies. If I can figure out how to upload them now, I'll post them below. If not, you go to your imaginary 'happy place' and just pretend you saw them and smile. :-)
     {I'm sure there is all kinds of new stuff going on with you guys, right? Please share in the comments below so I can catch up!}
      I just remembered one other new thing that's happened lately. I got an email from a customer I had in my Etsy shop back in 2013. He lost his favorite tiny crochet lapel pin in an airport and wanted to know if I had another one to sell. Unfortunately I had to tell him that my shop has been closed for a couple of years now. But I had him send me the photo of it so that I could make him another one.....without cost.
     I made it and sent it out to him the next day, along with a couple of other ones that I still had (similar to the style he liked). He received them and was thrilled that the one I made him looked exactly like the one he lost in the airport! :-) He inquired about payment and I told him it was not necessary. (It gave me such a thrill to know somebody appreciated my work that much!!!)
     Cut to this past Friday....................I got a notice in my mailbox that I need to go and pick up a letter at the Post Office (apparently it has to be signed for) from this customer!! So, hubby has to go and get it tomorrow! I'm curious, nervous, excited, and all kinds of other emotions all wrapped into one that someone would go out of their way this much over one of my tiny crochet lapel pins! :-) Has anything like this ever happened to you?.....I'll keep you posted.
    Okay, here are hubby's photos of his gift basket:

      Pretty cool, right?! :-) .... And here is what's inside. Mostly now belonging to me!! :-))

     Hubby can't eat chocolate, so guess who benefits from that little problem?! :-)) I know.....you're feeling so bad for him right now, aren't you?! Ha! Ha!
     But don't feel too badly for him. He does get to enjoy these:

     And last, but not least,.....

     So, all in all, the best school bus driver of the year is gonna be just fine!....He may have a toothache the size of Manhattan....but I think he might be alright with that!! :-)) Me and my chocolate-toothed grin bid you farewell for now. :-)

 Chocolate

A snow storm on the way,
finding out you're hard in debt.
Somehow it's not so bad,
if you have melted chocolate!

Bad news everywhere,
want to throw your T.V. set.
Thankfully there is music
and some deep dark chocolate!

Doggie had an accident,
a long trip to the vet.
A waiting room with lots to read,
but you can nibble chocolate.

Grocery shopping too.
While you run in there to get
dinner for the evening
you can grab some chocolate!

Okay, you know what's coming.
Are you sick of this poem yet?!
If you are, just roll your eyes,
and sit and eat some chocolate!




    

In A Room Together.......But Apart! (FRIENDS)

     The headless model above is my "Tina". I didn't have another photo that fit my subject, so there she is...in all her headless wonder! :-)) My subject today is actually NOT headless. It's my dear girlfriend who has no idea that I'm sitting here writing a blog post about her! ^_^
     She is in the room with me....Well, not actually 'with me', because we are 'mentally' apart. Meaning I'm on my side of the room with my headphones on and my computer in front of me, typing away...while she is with her own thoughts, headphones on, writing paper and pen in hand, oblivious that I'm actually with her.....while we're alone! ^_^ (Thus the title of today's post!)
     Do you have friends that you can be okay doing this with? Sit for hours in the same room with, but apart, I mean? :-) ----- And while I'm saying this I'm aware that in this day and age we "BETTER" be able to be okay with this!....because we live in a world full of people who we are together with on the earth, but mentally apart from most of the time! And, for the most part, we like it that way!...and sometimes prefer it that way!!
     I have to say, my husband and I have spent more than 35 years doing this...at some part of the day or another. I think it's a thing that happens with long time relationships, or really good friends, where the two people involved are self-aware, but also secure with each other. I dare say :comfortable". :-]
     I love the fact that I could look over at her right now and smile and she would assume that I'm thinking about something deep. LOL Little does she know....she has a silly, sometimes superficial, friend!! LOL Now I'm going to post this deeply thought out 'diary-like' post and make her read it!! Ha! Ha! {That's the other good part about good friends.....they're so gullible if you catch them at just the right moment!! ^_^ Have a good day everybody!


Alone Together

Friends can share their space together,
while their thoughts can be alone.
They can occupy the same room,
although traveling on the phone.

At some point they come together,
communication must be had!
Cuz spending time alone together
all the time...would just be bad!!

     I know, I know! It's been almost 7 months since the last time I blogged!...WOW! That sentence almost sounded like the expression people make when they're in a 12-step program! ^_^ "Hi, my name is Poetesswug. It's been 7 months since I last had....an urge to spill my guts in print." Ha! Ha! 
     Okay, enough with the funny. Let's get down to what I've been doing with myself the last 7 months!.......Uhhhhhh........Well.........Ummmmmmm......Okay, back to the funny. Just kidding! ^_^ What I've been doing is taking a break from my 'Wuglyees', on Etsy, shop. I haven't sold anything there for over a year now. (Although I am contemplating re-starting it soon. We'll see.) I have been crocheting like a crazy person just the same though! In fact, I have enough scarves and slippers now to dress at least the east coast half of the frozen and sleepy U.S.
     And they need to be dressed now, considering the tundra-like weather they're getting right now! Brrrrrrrr! Here in Holyoke we woke up to a forecast that said we were going to get a temperature 'high' today of.....1 degree! And, to add insult to frozen, un-warm footed, injury, there will be wind chill gusts of up to minus 20 degrees!!!! WHAT???!!!!!... The weather person said that if you were outside for more than 10 minutes you could get frost bitten. {meaning that the exposure to that kind of cold for 10 minutes or more could cause you to injure your body tissue, especially your nose, fingers, and toes to the point of causing gangrene!!!} Considering the fact that I am inside my house with 3 blankets on my bed, a heating blanket at the ready, and the thermostat kicked up to "hot-cha-char!", I don't think frost bite is in my immediate future! ^_^ Maybe bacon bite......potato bite......or some other kind of food bite (where I would be doing the biting! LOL), but not frost bite! ^_^ 
      If I was motivated enough I'd be thinking about new recipes for chili or hot chocolate or soup. But nope! I'm not that motivated! :-)) What I am motivated for is talking!...and reading.....and wiggling my toes under some warm cover! Oh yeah....and crocheting! :-) 
       I'll leave the snow and wind and wind chill temperatures for the outdoor lovers. You know, the people who see beauty in snow men and snow forts...

    ...in other words, 'those' people! LOL I joke about it, but secretly I wish I was one of 'those' people. My husband is! He loves outside and snow piles! ????? It's been 35 years of wedded bliss with this man and I STILL don't know how we're still together!! LOL We're almost opposites in everything!....except the things that really matter I guess. :-)
     Moving on!!......The last thing I want to talk about today is my excitement to find that Blake Shelton, you know...the country singer...is following me on Twitter!! ^_^ Or at least I think it's the real Blake Shelton! ^_^ WHY he's following me is a mystery! In my imagination he's following my Twitter page because of following it from this blog, where he saw my poems listed at the bottom of each page and is trying to figure out how to write a country song out of one of them! A country song that will become an instant hit that will make me lots of money so that I can buy lots of crochet yarn and long Johns for my husband to go outside and make snow men in!.....because....Uhhhhh....he's Blake Shelton after all! ^_^ STOP LAUGHING! It could happen! And wouldn't all of you be 'too through' with yourselves if it did! ^_^ Okay......back to tundra-like reality! :-)) I think the temperature....gauge is going to my head. ^_^ Have a good day, Everybody! 

 I Love A New Beginning

I love a new beginning,
whether day or year or hour.
All the new growth that's now starting,
like the budding of a flower.

The beginnings of a schedule,
 like a long lost welcomed friend.
I love a new beginning,
and so "Here We Go Again!!!"

     

Good Morning Strangers! ^_^ Yes, I know it's been a very long time since I posted. And yes, although it may be somewhat in mental dispute, I AM still alive! Ha! Ha! I also am still talking my head off just as much as usual. Just not on the blog!! ^_^
    Lots of things have happened lately. Not the least of which is that there have been coyotes, deer, rabbits and bears....YES, BEARS...in my backyard! Making me a bit squeamish about hanging my hummingbird feeder up anymore. :-( There's also been lots of arranging and re-arranging of the things in the house. A lot less crocheting, due to health issues and pain in my hands. I'll be back at it again soon though, as the weather clears up. And there has been a death in the family. My mother. 
    I also have a brand new computer which I'm just learning the personality of. You DO know that all computers have their own personalities, right? Ha! Ha! At least they do in my world! I still have to get my email fixed up and put my pictures back on it, or in it, or however you say it. And after that I have to figure out how to access my pictures!! UGH! WHATEVER!! Let's just say that even if I start to post more often, I will probably not be sharing a lot of pictures!! ^_^
    I also can't upload my poems!! UGH! So I'll have to write new ones every time....at least for now. DONE! ^_^ Leaving a poem behind! :-) See you soon!

Bears in the Backyard

Bears in the backyard,
big horned deer sauntering by,
rabbits playing on the hill,
and black birds circling the sky.

Robins hunting for their worms,
with raindrops falling in the air,
bees and insects buzzing round,
but hummingbirds abuzz nowhere. 

Must be the changing backyard scene
when summer tries to rear it's head,
when allergens are on the loose
and winter snow has gone to bed.

Massachusetts and Me!

     I know, I know! It's been forever since I actually put a post up over here! But what can I say...I've been busy...I've been lazy...I've been sick...I've been distracted....I kept forgetting to do it...I was crocheting like a crazy person! (The above hat and scarf will be shown in a talent show soon.) Yeah, that's it!! All of the above!! ^_^ That doesn't mean I didn't want to do it though! 
    I 'have' been keeping my eye on a few blogs of yours every now and then though! It's been nice to see some of your crochet and art projects. I've been impressed with how much some of your talents have improved, and with some of the trips some of you have taken. WOW!!
    
       Here in Massachusetts the leaves on the trees are gorgeous! October in all it's splendor!

    The backyard has been so colorful! :-)

     Not much else to talk about these days. Which is also another reason why I haven't been blogging that much! ^_^ Unless of course you'd like to hear about my Etsy shop that hasn't sold much of anything for months!...Or my husband's bicycle that keeps getting a flat tire every other day!...Or my hair that's graying faster than a snowball rolling downhill. YIKES!! LOL...No, I'll spare you from those conversations!! ^_^

     Maybe I'll start sharing some of my crochet projects, or telling you about the weather here in Massachusetts. I'm sure you're just on pins and needles, waiting to here about it, right?!! Ha! Ha!

Beauty 

The sun is peeking through.
Its beam is flowing to the ground.
The Autumn at it's new peak,
and the leaves are fluttering down.

A baby girl's joyous laughing,
legs and arms kicking everywhere.
A mother, when she's  nursing,
playing with her baby's  hair.

The gentle rain, when falling
on a southern old tin roof.
A toddler's gap-faced grinning,
when they've  lost their first front tooth.

A man with long, bow legs,
walking slowly down the street.
A colorful spring flower,
visited by a bumble bee.

A person who is kind,
and smiles at everyone they meet.
An artist's painted picture,
with the last brush stroke complete.

An "I love you" that's said
just because they wanted to;
and the person that gives hugs
when they hear an "I love you".
(And there's  other beauty too.)

Peeking In On Blogger, And Saying Happy Anniversary To Mr. Wug! ♥

     Hello Strangers! ^_^ It's been a long time since I looked up from my crochet hook, and over my reading glasses, to write anything here on the blog. But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it!...Thinking counts, right?! ^_^
       And if you're wondering why I'm showing you royal blue, lemonade yellow, and sparkly silver gray yarn....well....I can't tell ya! LOL Or should I say...I can't 'show' you! I CAN tell you. It's the colors for a wedding project I'm working on for a friend. ^_^
 

     I finished the other wedding project. A double wedding ring pattern blanket! :-)
 

     It was a lot of work, but it makes my heart happy to know that her and her new husband will be wrapping up in it on one of these cold winter days, or throwing it around themselves to star-gaze on one of these crisp Autumn evenings, or just throwing it over their legs while they're sitting in front of the tv and watching an old movie or something on one of these 'noting-else-to-do' days! ^_^

     Speaking of which, Mr. Wug and I have had quite a few of those kind of days over the years. Almost 40 years of those kind of days, to be almost exact! :-)) And this weekend will mark about 34 years of those kind of days as married people! :-) Me married to him, with him married to me! ^_^ So I wanna take a minute to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mr. Wug!!! I love you, and all the good intentioned things you do for me!! And also to say: "34 years is not enough. Let's try for a round number like......FOREVER, shall we!" ♥♥♥ ^_^

     Lastly, let me apologize to you other bloggers. I haven't spent much time browsing and chatting this past year. My Bible studies, crocheting projects, tennis tournaments, the Tour de France, etc, took waaaaay more of my time than I ever thought it would! But I've thought about you often, and peeped in when I could. I've seen some of your recipes (even tried a couple), saw your finished crochet projects, saw your travel photos and videos, and read about some of the trials you've gone through too!...Not to mention the fact that the world itself has gone a little more crazy than usual!!! YIKES!!

     We're in the midst of a kind of 'heat wave' here in the northeast United States. Thankfully air conditioning makes an equalizing! ^_^ So, I never even notice the weather that much! LOL I just watch my hummingbirds flit and fly, read my books, and otherwise 'keep it moving!' ^_^ So until next time the notion hits me, I'll be seeing you around! Have a good rest of the summer, or winter, or whatever season that's upon you!! :-) See you soon!!

Butterfly-ish

I'm feeling butterfly-ish.
Wanna flutter...move real slow.
Wanna wander...mind and body.
Not be fast, and 'on the go'.

I'm feeling like I need
a quiet day to hang around.
Have everything wrapped up,
and just block out surrounding sound.

I'm feeling butterfly-ish.
Wanna lay in bed till noon.
Wanna have some time to morph.
I need a tree and a cocoon.

Tomorrow they'll be time
to wanna change and modify;
To spread my wings, and flutter,
like a brand new butterfly.