Did I tell you that I am the resident quilting expert at Rose Path Weaving?
That is how my friend Regina, who owns the shop, introduces me. And although I have answered some quilting question already, I mostly just help people pick yarn and decided on projects and fawn over whatever they are currently working on.
It is really a lovely place to be. Ladies and sometimes their patient husbands, come in and shop or instead of their husbands, ladies will bring their current project and sit at the big table circled with 10 cushioned chairs and work for a few hours. Occasionally they will bring cookies or sandwiches to share. It feels like an ongoing quilting bee. I absolutely love it!
People come from Dallas and New Orleans to shop at Rose Path and they just expanded from weaving, knitting and crocheting; adding needlework and beading too. Every time I am there, I write another idea in my book; something I want to learn or an idea for a new pattern I want to try.
I love this picture of our friend Greg Jacobsen and his daughter at his unit's homecoming last week. We are so happy that they are together again and that he is home safe.
So I have been on a quest for the past few years to find a natural stimulant to help my brain work a little better. I was drinking green tea for a while and then Erin told me it was against the rules. Then she told me that it really wasn't against the rules but it was too late, I was already looking for something new.
I love it. I have been drinking it for about 3 years now. It is made from the bark and leaves of a tree in the Amazon and I have to order it online although it comes from an address in Minnesota . . . hmmmm.
These are some things that you might want to know about Yerba mate:
~It does have caffeine to get my brain going but not even half as much as a Coke. ~The caffeine is natural and not an additive (this is important to me). ~The caffeine works with the folic acid and antioxidants in it to give me energy for hours and hours. ~There is no caffeine crash. ~It is supposed to be an appetite suppressant, but I haven't really noticed a difference. ~It has an acquired taste. (that is code for "it doesn't taste very good") ~The websites tell you that to really enjoy it you need to drink it out of one of those gourds (above) . . . I have not found this to be true. ~It is perfect in the afternoon right before the kids get home. I have energy all the way through bedtime and have no problem getting to sleep.
Try it, you'll like it. I order mine from this site.
P.S. Please don't comment to tell me this is against the rules too.
I had so much fun taking Robin to Utah. Not only was our time well used, it was just fun to have Robin to myself for a few days before we said goodbye.
The highlights:
Sunday dinner at the Strong's, so much fun! Meeting Grandpa Rich Lying on the soft grass at the park and in Provo canyon Hiking the Y with Megan and the boys Being recruited by Sara for the Bennett for senate BBQ Seeing Shannon's kitchen almost done in real life not just the blogosphere Spending the day with Salem and Megan and the boys Eating fruit and veggies from the Fawsen's garden Visiting with Tanya Loosle, one of the most extraordinary women I've ever known and Aunt Rachel showing us the entrance to the secret tunnels under the Y campus
Wow! it was hard to leave Robin, but I was so thankful that I was leaving her in place where she would be looked after. (Thank you McEvoys.)
She will check into the dorms tomorrow morning . . . so exciting!!
So we had moved to Virginia in April of 1996. That May a couple of weeks before school got out, I took Robin to get her all sign up for Kindergarten the next fall. It had already been a very tough year and it was with a heavy heart that I was signing my girl up to leave me.
Robin and Paul played next to me in the office as I filled out the stack of papers they gave me.
The principal came in and introduced herself to me. She explained that when ever they had a new student come in, they assigned another student, a 6th grader, to take them around and show them the school. I smiled and said, "That sounds very nice but I don't know if she is ready." The principal smiled back knowingly and nodded at Robin. I turned around to see Robin at the door of the office, "Bye mom!" she said unafraid and confident, as she followed the 6th grade girl she had been assigned to, out the door.
She was ready even if I was not.
An hour or so later, we were walking to the car. Buses were pulling away loaded with hot tired kids on their way home. Pauly wanted to watch them so we stopped. As I watched I felt terrified; I thought, "Maybe this isn't good. What if someone is mean to her? What if she hears bad words? What if her teacher doesn't appreciate how wonderful she is?" I was so sad and scared and sorrowful.
I stood there a minute paralyzed, when all of a sudden I was enveloped in the most beautiful feeling of love and peace and then my heart was spoken to. I was told a lot of things in that moment but mostly, "Everything is going to be fine Rachel, you don't need to worry." And I knew . . . I knew this was just the beginning of a most wonderful adventure for our girl.
I also knew people were going to be mean to her sometimes but mostly she would have lots of friends from all over. And she was definitely going to hear words I didn't want her to hear but mostly she was going to hear new ideas that would open her mind and she would get to see the world through eyes, other than her parents'. She would also most likely have a few teachers who didn't love her and appreciate her like I did but mostly she would have teachers who saw her potential, would feed her curiosity and help her to become even better than I could have imagined.
All of these things, the good and the bad, were all going work together to create this incredible Robin! She was going to learn so much! She was going to see so much! She was going to be in her element and she was going to love it! I left the school feeling so calm and happy for her . . . for me . . . and for the future.
. . . I still followed her bus all the way to the school the first day.
