Encompassing Designs
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Kits
    • Patterns >
      • Christine Little >
        • Signature Designs
        • New Designs
        • Seasonal Designs
      • Deborah Sweet
      • Susan Leslie
      • Patricia Perry
      • William Morris
    • Supplies >
      • Backings
      • Frames
      • Hooks
      • Books
      • Extra
    • Wool >
      • Abrashed
      • Custom Dyeing
      • Dyed Bundles
      • Dyed Curly Mohair
      • Dyed Spots
      • Dyed Values
      • Dyed Yarn
      • Jacquard Dice Dyes
      • Natural & Colours
      • Plaids & Textures
      • Dye Books & Swatches
  • Ordering
  • Blog
  • Workshops
  • Our Story
  • Contact Us

Family Tree 

3/17/2014

3 Comments

 
PictureRough draft of FAMILY TREE OF LIFE
Sunday morning was actually its namesake.  A Sun day. As pure gold streamed through our windows, Spring no longer seemed impossible. But....I won’t hold my breath, a lot can still happen. Mother nature is never one to bet on.  She has a mind of her own and takes advice from no man.

I fought the urge to go into the shop because  I didn’t want to get sucked into the sofa for an afternoon of long naps and intermittent TV per the usual and waste such a gorgeous day.  Hubby is home now so I can’t blame loneliness for my laziness. Not that I'm ashamed for him to see me curled up in a ball wasting my day off in dreamland, he would be the first to encourage me to catch up on rest from all those sleepless nights, but I feel guilty that he will be ignored when we share so little time together.  I felt we should do something together as a family.  He suggested a drive to a beach for a romp with the pack but it was way too cold for me in my jammies.  

Our family consists of mom, dad and four poodles and we opted to stay home and take them outside to throw ball up on the garage roof.  The gang wiggles and squirms waiting for it to come rolling off the edge and they all jump to catch it in the air.  Then they run laps around the yard, the winner of the ball in the lead teasing the rest, who follow in hot pursuit in case it's dropped.  Such fun and great exercise but the wind was stabbing through my coat with icepick ferocity so a half hour was all that I could bear. 

I played with a design that’s been in the works for a while.  I made a rough draft of a family tree with winding branches and the upper limbs have rectangular boxes for the names of loved ones, immediate or otherwise.  There's a bit of tweaking before it makes it on backing but I'm over half of the way there.  The tree in itself will be interesting and would make a fabulous rug, so the option to not hook names in each box will be a  personal choice.   It’s one of those ideas that I started several years ago and got placed on the back burner when other, more pressing items, arose.   My goal this year is to address the half finished stuff and start fresh. It would be nice to be caught up and just jump on a new thought when it arises.

An update on my hair loss.   It’s been over a month and the shower stall no longer looks like the floor of a barbershop. My fingers no longer get entangled in deserting strands as I wash it.  The fact that it no longer falls out in droves is a big plus, but I also see new growth around my bang area.  I equate this success to the change in my diet, eating more iodine rich foods to deal with a sluggish thyroid and more iron saturated foods for my blood.  In time I might develop a taste for dulse but it's a hard chew and swallow but you have to do what you have to do!  I felt better and claimed more energy right from the beginning.  I am one of those people who truly believe all changes need to come from within.  No cream or shampoo was going to help.  So I changed my diet to enlist more of the foods that might have been underutilized and sure enough there is success. 

I’ve really been working on the stress thing as well.  Not letting major things reach the boiling point and trying to laugh off the rest.  Really, unless the reaper is knocking at the door what could be so daunting that my hair fell out?  Ridiculous really!  I won’t say I’ve totally changed, it’s coded in my genes to be who I am, but I can work on things and reduce mountains to molehills.  I is what I is, so I won’t change completely but easing up on a few things has definitely helped. So I'm happy and confident that my hair might come back, and the fear of baldness is now a fading memory.    

Sunday went by all too quickly as most days off do.  On the way to bed I looked over at the chair holding my project and regretted not hooking but being immersed it this craft six days and evenings a week, sometimes I just need some distance from it.  That's the curse of making a hobby a job, there has to be a time away to decompress and regroup or you run the risk of burnout.

My aunt phoned mid afternoon and invited us out for dinner but we declined.  Well I did.  My day off is just that.  A day to myself.  If I don’t want to shower, dress in daytime clothes or be in public, that’s my choice.   Besides, a call out of the blue doesn’t give me much time to get used to the idea so as soon as it was broached stress crept in.  I could feel it rise up and wash over me like a rogue wave.   My breath quickened and panic started to rise in my throat.  Enthusiastic hubby took the call and he’s up for anything while I’m screeching in the background “No!”.  You could call that man at four in the morning and he wouldn’t even admit he was sleeping, jump out of bed, dress and be out the door on the adventure.  Me, not so much.  I need advance warning, as much as possible so the idea can grow on me. I need to plan things, work out all the scenarios. I won’t win any contests for spontaneity and I’m perfectly fine with that.  

We have a thing this Thursday and I will work into it mentally with careful planning…what to wear,  dinner planned and eaten early, dogs to be fed and run, blog done etc.  All that will be planned and I’ll be ready to arrive and have a good time.  Walking into a situation unprepared is just stressful, not just for me but poor hubby will have to listen to me whine up until we arrive where we're going.  He doesn't fully understand why I react so weirdly to social things but he's lived a different set of circumstances and is emotional stable!  It could be a learned behavior.  My poor mother always lost it getting three kids and a husband who barely qualified as an adult out the door for any event.  Maybe I'm pulling a momsy? 

So we turned down the invite, the angst melted away and I was back to my comfortable cocoon until I heard him suggest to my my aunt "pop over for a visit". That would mean I would have to shower and  tidy up the house, I do have my pride!!!  That would mean frantic work and the death of my peace and quiet, stress free day off.  I screamed "No" again.  So he retracted his invite and politely asked for a rain cheque for later in the week for dinner. My aunt lived with us for three months during her condo renovations so she knows I beat to a very different drum so she probably wasn’t surprised to hear me scream.


Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!
3 Comments
Margaret
3/17/2014 09:35:28 pm

Hi Christine: I really like the idea of the family tree. When it is ready I will have to order several, one for each of my childran and their families! On another note, I think you and I must be twins!~ I HAVE to have time to prepare for anything, don't like surprises, and have been known to curse when someone shows up for a surprise visit. I need time to get ready, to think, plan meals etc.My husband, on the other hand, is like yours,says yes to everything, and nothing is too much trouble.

Reply
Christine
3/18/2014 02:01:35 am

Thanks for sharing! I knew I wasn't alone!!!

Reply
MckinneyVia link
10/12/2021 12:13:28 am

Very much appreciated. Thank you for this excellent article. Keep posting!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Christine Little has been ranked #5​ out of the 60 top rug hooking bloggers by Rug Hooking Magazine!

    Picture
    Picture
    Max Anderson, Australia, recipient of my Nova Scotia Treasures rug.  An award of excellence for promoting Canada through his writing.  
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Picture
    Picture
    Gift Certificates are available for that special rug hooker in your life!  Any denomination, no expiry date! 

    Picture

    Categories
    (Click on the categories for past blogs)

    All
    Announcements
    Beginner Class
    Christmas
    Colour Planning
    Contests
    Copyright
    Coupon
    Customer Rugs
    Cutter Servicing
    Dyeing
    Equipment
    Featured Hooker
    Giveaway Draw
    Guest Blogger
    Guest Blogger
    Health & Fitness
    Home & Heart
    Hooked Rugs
    Hooking Groups
    Hook In Talk
    Initially Yours
    Jibber Jabber
    Just A Bit Of Fun!
    Life's Experiences
    Life's Experiences
    New Design
    New Ideas
    Pattern Of The Week
    Patterns Hooked
    Pets
    Rants
    Recipes
    Rememberingfbe7326ff7
    Rug Schools
    Show & Tell
    Show-tell
    The Rant
    Tips Technique
    Tips Techniquef0cd117ab4
    Visitors
    Workshops

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture





















    Picture
    We have a pot to "Fiz" in!

Shop Hours:
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 
Saturdays 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
We are closed during ice and snow storms
​so please call ahead.  If school is cancelled we probably are as well.  

Toll Free: 1-855-624-0370
Local: 1-902-624-0370​
encompassingdesigns@gmail.com

498 Main Street
P.O. Box 437
Mahone Bay, N.S.
Canada B0J 2E0

​Follow us and keep up to date
on our specials, new products
​and events!
Picture
Picture
Picture


Home
Shop
Ordering
Blog
Our Story
Workshops

Contact Us




​​​© Copyright 2023 Encompassing Designs. Website by SKYSAIL