i did it.

I did it. I'd been thinking about the possibility for a while, but now I've finally done it.

What is this "it" that I've done??

I opened up shop on Etsy. Etsy is an incredibly awesome online marketplace specifically for people selling their own original, handmade goods. It's one of my favorite places to browse... there's some really cool stuff up there! One of my favorite shops on Etsy is Block Party Press - Jeromie got me a pendant for my birthday, and I promptly order 2 more with some birthday dollars. Oh, there's a lot of fun stuff on there. And now the fun stuff includes something of mine!

I wrote a blurb for the shop bio about how I arrived at this spot, but the basic gist is this:

I've spent most of my life not living,
and God has changed that.
Because of Jesus, He's rescued me and is redeeming me.
After many years of denying any sort of value or gifting, I finally realized that God *has* given me a voice, and something to share with His world.
If I really believe Him, then it's time to stop hiding and start celebrating.

The shop name: lizzleisALIVE

and I am!

:-D

I know this is already on Justin's blog (that's how I first saw it!), but I figure I might have a few readers that he doesn't and I want to share the love too. Cause the world is just awesome!




Some things I particularly love today:

* the mountains (blue ridge & otherwise)
* Clemson sunsets
* brilliant lightening storms
* the human body in motion (we can do some pretty cool stuff!)
* spoken and written language
* the fact that all creation attests to God's glory, & that He's redeeming it (!!!)

Shifty... in more ways than one.

This week, we unofficially became a one-car family.

Jeromie and I have been discussing this shift for about a year, and finally stopped procrastinating over the past month or so. It took a little preparation to switch off to one car:

* a solid carpooling schedule,
* a workable errand-running routine,
* a knee that decided to stop being busted,
* a working coolant fan motor
* an actual proficiency at driving a manual vehicle, and
* the willingness to give up a little bit of freedom.

The transition had a few hitches, such as said coolant fan motor... but that was actually a long-existing hitch that I'd assumed was normal for my car. Long story. :-)

The other hitch was my grocery trip this week... I raced the CATbus from our house to the Clemson Bi-Lo and thought I'd won until the CATbus pulled up already loaded with two bikes. I suppose it's a safety rule, but the bus driver wouldn't let me bring my bike on board, so I had to call Jero for a ride. To me, that defeated the purpose of using the bike for that errand in the first place, but I'm hoping to make a few adjustments to my bike that would allow for toting things if need be.

I'd kinda like to see if I can ride my bike more miles than I drive a car in the next year. Excluding, of course, the miles between here and Denver. :-) I'd have to do quite a bit of riding to make up for that one.


P.S. It's official! Jeromie's been accepted to Denver Seminary as well! God-willing & the creek don't rise, we'll be living a mile higher in August!

yarn cakes & happy tires

(the title is for you, Jeromie; appetizing, isn't it?)

So, for the past year, Tuesdays have been my favorite day. Two reasons: house church in the evening, and it's one of my two consistent days off (Sunday being the other). It seems that other days off are always cram-packed full of people to hang out with and/or things that need doing. Not that I don't want to hang out with people - I actually thoroughly enjoy it now - but being a Liz, and still introverted at my core, I need a day to myself sometimes.

Tuesdays tend to be that day.

So, yesterday I:

* slept late to make sure my migraine was really gone
* read a little in A Separate Peace
* changed a flat on my road bike (happy tires!)
* set up the swift & winder I got for my birthday from WEBS, thanks to Darla
* set to work on making yarn cakes out of my huge bag o' yard-sale yarn, and
* made sausage-lentil soup from the More-with-Less cookbook!

Let me tell you, that bag o' yarn is going to take a bit of work to make knittable.

The story behind it is as follows... My friend Melissa and I were responsible for coordinating the DCF Yard Sale at the beginning of May, and it went off quite well. (I just want to say that God had everything to do with that.) It just so happened that the nearby Lutheran church was having a yardsale the same day. Jeromie paid a visit and spotted the yarn - sprawled on the table and strangely tied. Well, he sent me up to look at it and it appeared to be wool and at least hand-dyed, so I spent the $5 I had to get a few bundles. Well, while we were tearing down in the afternoon, a volunteer from the other yardsale walked down and asked one of my friends if I wanted to just have the rest of the (garbage-sized) bag for free. Knowing me, my friend said yes. :-D

A month & a half later, with swift & ball winder in my possession:

I sat down this morning, cracked open the bag & loaded the first bundle onto the swift. The winding went swimmingly at first, then I started getting to tangles & loose ends. It took 45 minutes to an hour to get that first bundle all caked up, complete with much patient untangling. It's definitely wool, and it's almost certainly handspun. There are lots of planty-looking fibers throughout the yarn, almost as if it was born in a barn. (Wait a minute, it probably was born in a barn literally. You know what I mean.) I've now affectionately dubbed it "the quintessential itchy-scratchy," because it is!

But I'm still excited about coming up with some good projects for it. Perhaps some mad felting?

Meet:

Quintessential Itchy-Scratchy.


Rather furzy, but practically free!

Blue Ridge Farewell Tour

So, it looks like we're off to Denver in approximately two months.

I've spent much of my life wanting to move away, though I've realized lately that there are a lot of things I love about this section of the country. The farewell tour started as a half-joke, but I think I'm gonna do it. If anyone wants to join me or add to the list, go for it! I hope I get to all of them, but I doubt it; the list is kinda long.


Liz's Blue Ridge Farewell Tour
(in no particular order)

Sunset from the roof at Dad & Amy's
Reading in the Centennial Oak
Visit the house I grew up in
Trail Running at Issaqueena
Sunrise at Pretty Place, or at least go there
Pisgah swimming holes!
Favorite Hikes ~ (or at least visits to)
* Black Balsam
* Cedar Rock
* Table Rock
* Horsepasture River waterfalls
* Mountain Bridge to Jones Gap
Bouldering @ Rumbling Bald
At least one short backpacking trip - I'm not picky
Coffee at 'the drip' in Black Mountain (Dripolator!)
Something on Jocassee, preferably kayaking, but picnics are good!
Dinner at the Bohemian
Oconee thrift store/antiquey goodness!
McClures, cause I love 'em
A movie at the 'Stro
Backroads bike rides (#10)
Bamboo teepees & gully clay!!
Fiber Fun @ Main Street as many times as I can make it! (#1)
Upstate Ravelers at Brew & Ewe??
Berry- or veggie-picking at Robertsons Farm
Giving at least one more nerd call from house church
Jones Floats, quiet & good company @ Main Street (#1)
More carpool sing-alongs! (#2)
Anderson Jockey Lot


I will probably update this list several more times to add more items & cross off the ones I do.

(Update on 6/15: The list is growing... perhaps beyond my ability to complete! The things I don't get to before I leave, I shall attempt on any & every trip back!)



Any fellow upstate folks have something to add?

and

If you had a farewell tour, what would you be sure to include?

Yee-haaaaw.

I'm too tired to write out the blog post I was planning for this evening, but I at least wanted to say that much about the trip!! :-)

Inspired.

swallowfield.morewithless.nekocase.beans

* * * * * * *

Swallowfield - Jennifer Judd-McGee of Portland, Maine. Beautiful collages, a unique style, challenges me to think beyond my little sketches.

More-with-Less Cookbook - Was introduced to this excellent cookbook by my good friend Becki Pesce. Jeromie and I have been wrestling over ways to live more simply, and our food-making & -consuming habits could use some work. After digging around in the cookbook during our stay in Denver, we decided to go ahead and get it.

Neko Case - I'm just at the beginning of being inspired by this singer-songwriter. Heard 'John Saw That Number' on a sampler I got from work, and have been enjoying the bits I've heard since. May be the next album on repeat for me. :-)

Beans - They come in such beautiful colors! And they're relatively inexpensive! I'm looking for a way to incorporate them more into our meals and kitchen-decor.

out and back again

I knew I shouldn't've pressed the buttons of dooooooom.



* * * * * * *

Jeromie and I have just recently returned from a bit of a journey out west. The original plan was to take a trip to Montana with Jeromie's family, but we ended up stopping over in Denver for several days first (for cheaper than a direct flight to Montana would've been!). While in Denver, we made a visit to Denver Seminary, the Denver Art Museum (best DAM museum anywhurs!), and the mountains! We had a fantastic time with our hosts, the Pesces, and are looking forward to the possibility of making our home in Denver, at least for a while.

But I mentioned buttons, didn't I? Of the doom variety? Ah, yes...

Messing with the buttons of doom means:
- rain
- rain
- rain
- more rain
- AVALAAAAAANCHE!

and

- more rain. :-)
- oh yes, and the condo breaking off the face of the planet and floating through space, Sawyer style.

Apparently, some of the areas around Red Lodge (where we stayed) received half of their average annual rainfall during the week we were there. Mmmmm. Slow, soaking rain. Despite the rain, we had an awesome time in Montana.

During this next week, I think I'll try and make a few posts about our time there. One gigantic post just doesn't sit well with me or do the trip justice!

Flickr Game

To Play

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name