As long as you don't turn it on until you want to cut the wool...

Hi, I'm back!

I checked and, outside of trips to Japan, I haven't really blogged in more than 2 years! Yikes!

So, here's why:

I took a break from blogging because I was part of the search for a new minister for our church & was really worried that I might leak something while we were in search (there were some things we couldn't make public immediately & I was afraid of the loose-lips syndrome). Then we found a wonderful new minister (more than 2 years ago...) & I could go back to regular blogging... but I didn't. A lot had changed during those 9 months of search. Of course people change over time, but especially kids change at an amazing rate over time. While I was on search my little boy became a pre-teen. And as much as he still & will always have Aspergers (& Tourettes, & OCD...) the way I relate to a pre-teen (& now real-live teen) has changed remarkably over these past few years. It's all so much clearer to me nowadays that he is raising us as much as we've raised him. We follow his lead, & he shows us what he needs. The ultimate goal is a peaceful family life, & when things aren't peaceful, we work together to put it back together.

It was very satisfying to share our family life in my "Life in the New Republic" blog,  As much as I want to continue to share our journey as a family with neurodiversity, out of respect for Brendan's growing-up, I've decided that his privacy is more important. We still have our ups & downs- some teen-related, some neurodiversity-related, some not related to any of that- but he's not a little boy any more. He's 14 years old & heading for high school in just a few weeks, for heaven's sake! (Mom takes a deep breath.) (Brendan is calmly excited about it all.)

Anyway, in these intervening months & years I have missed blogging. Blogging is what finally turned me into a writer, removing my life-long writer's-block issues so that it's really fun to write now. Plus, blogging is communication- a good way to stay in touch with friends far & wide, so I've finally decided to jump back in.

This blog, as you can see by the title, will be more about my on-going love of the fibre arts. Knitting, crochet, weaving, dyeing, sewing, crafting, beading- they are my sanity, my (sometimes contentious) friends, my ways of communication with the outside world. They help me connect with others, they drive my family nuts sometimes, but my patient husband & son would always admit that they are an essential part of my life.

So I plan to share projects, plans, pictures, & occasional glimpses into our family life as well. I plan to practise my Japanese as well, so there will be "secret codes" occasionally embedded for my Japanese friends. たのしみ、ね？(As a side note, Brendan & I have been studying Japanese for 5 years, and it has become another constant in our lives, just like fibre stuff :) Also, when I speak of knitting, I am really using the word in an all-inclusive way, as the Japanese do- amimono, or needlework. As you will see...

So, as soon as I can figure out how to manage the new (to me) editing controls, there will be pictures. Look forward to it!