Unconnected and Hating (maybe Loving) It!

Last Saturday night my husband and I went to a hockey game (Miami University Redhawks vs University of North Dakota - Miami won!).  As we were getting everything in the car and taking off I thought I had put my cell phone in my purse.  When we stopped for gas about an hour away I realized that my phone was not in my purse.  I had left my phone on the counter in the kitchen.  When I realized I did not have my phone there was no time to go back, we had an event before the game and wanted to make it for warm ups for the team.

As I was driving the last hour to Oxford Ohio I was thinking what would I do with no phone?  Usually during the game I am sending and answering texts, both from our son and some of our players who lived with us.  Then I am checking hockey scores at other schools and keeping up on the news.  I was not sure how the evening  would go when I realized I was unconnected.  Of course my husband had his phone so we were not totally without communication but it's not the same as having my own.

The game was great.  Miami played really well and soundly beat North Dakota (6 - 3!).  I had a fabulous time talking to other parents and friends of ours at the game.  With no phone to play with I had to focus on the moment and what was happening there at the game, rather than multi-tasking as I usually do.

As we arrived home later that night I realized that I did not miss having my phone.  Yes I had to "catch up" on how my other kids did in their college games but the information was there for me to check.  I had spent the entire night in the moment of where I was and not splitting myself between all my interests.  Being totally in the moment at that hockey game was an exhausting experience, I felt as if I had played the game rather than just sat in the stands and watched.

I don't know if I will do this regularly, I really don't like not having my phone with me.  Yet I may more often put it away in my purse and just be in the moment I am experiencing, it was wonderful! 

Yarn Crawl 2015 - Part 1

Last Saturday (before the March 1 snow storm here in Central Indiana) I spent the day in the company of a group of women doing the yarn crawl (www.rovingindiana.com).  This is an event put together by a group of independent yarn stores around Central Indiana.  We loaded up a van with six women and visited stores in Martinsville, Bloomington, Nashville, and Columbus, Indiana. 

The women I spent the day with are all accomplished knitters and crocheters.  I am a crocheter and an knitter wanna be.  I was in awe of their skill level and ability to look at a finished knitting project and know they could duplicate it.  My mother, who was also an accomplished knitter, tried to teach me to knit many times but it just never took for me.  I tried and tried but would quit because I did not see any progress.  I did learn to crochet and can handle most intermediate patterns but knitting is just a mystery to me. 

One friend in the group described them as "yarn snobs"  After spending the day admiring and touching some amazing yarns I understand what she is saying now.  Nothing is more exquisite than a mixture of baby alpaca, silk and a few other fibers to make something so soft and touchable I would be afraid to even try working with it. 

The other part of the day was spending it in the company of a group of women.  This group is established as friends and I was just the "newby."  they made me feel welcome and I realized women everywhere enjoy the same things - talking about family and friends, talking about current projects they are working on, and finding the best place to eat!  We had as much fun eating as we did visiting the yarn shops. 

Part 2 of the Yarn Crawl will bring the addition of my sister in law, who will be visiting that weekend.  We are going to shops in other small towns, north of Indianapolis this time. I'm excited about what we will see, experience and eat on this next leg of the journey.  I also got some great yarn for a few projects of my own.