What Can I Do?

These are a couple of embroideries I've made. I find it very soothing to work with my hands. I was always frustrated because I could never work with just one medium. I've done most crafts at one point or another: book binding, pottery, glass working, sculpture, basket weaving, sewing, painting, crocheting, knitting, etc. I would work on one for a while, and then I would lose interest and want to do something else. It took me a long time to be okay with that.
My sister is amazing with her art, and she grew up drawing on anything that didn't move, so she is very talented. There are other people out there who are great painters, great sculptors, even great chefs, great runners, great gymnasts. It seemed that everyone else out there was really really good at one thing. I was just okay at a lot of things. Then my dad pointed out a couple of years ago that I am extremely versatile, like he is. He can fix just about anything in the house. He can build anything, he paints wonderfully, he works with metal, he can fix a canoe, and research all the fossils that he finds. I decided that it was acceptable to me that I was good at many things. Because of both all the crafts that I've done and also all that I've learned from my father, I can do just about anything. I can fix things, change out light fixtures, paint a room, and many other things that some people don't know how to do. I've managed to whittle my list of crafts down to just a few (mostly because of space concerns in our 1-bedroom apartment...) to crocheting/knitting, sewing, embroidery, and working with felt.
I am good at many, many, many things. That is part of who I am. I like it.

Wool Felt Dog Pins

These are a few of the felt dog pins I've been working on the past few weeks. They're all wool felt. I love the colors of the felt I've been working with.

Charlie and the Shopping Cart

I went to pick Rob up from work one evening. He wasn't quite finished with closing, so I had to wait for a while before we could go home. There isn't exactly a waiting room at Advance Auto Parts, so I had to find something to do! I found a cart and wheeled Charlie around, put him on shelves and took pictures of him, and otherwise made a nuisance of myself. Charlie puts up with me so well.

I pretend that doing things like whooshing around a store with him in the cart, dressing him up in sweaters when it's a little nippy outside, and putting him in different holiday collars is for his benefit, but I know that it's actually all for me.

Charlie loves me, so he lets me put hats and sunglasses on him. He lets me brush his tail and give him baths. When I'm anxious or depressed he lets me hug him tight and bury my fingers in his fur. He puts up with me taking hundreds of pictures of him, and if he could fathom that I was posting those pictures and writings blogs about him, he would let me because I want to. I feed him, give him fresh water, clean up after him, teach him tricks, exercise him. I take care of him, but it's all selfish. I take care of him so that he can do the harder job and take care of me, too.

My Family

This is my family. We're a wife, a husband, a dog. We are also a dog trainer, an assistant manager, a beloved pet. We are best friends, partners in crime, and totally happy. We are a family.
Charlie follows me from room to room as I work on my computer in the office, watch TV in the living room, do dishes in the kitchen, and also when I go to the bathroom. He doesn't expect anything special to happen as he follows me around, he just wanders in after me and lays down in an adjacent spot. He does this little sigh and usually goes to sleep, but doesn't seem to mind if I only spend a few minutes in one room before going to another. He just wants to be with me.
I find that I also do this with Robert. If he goes into the kitchen to make a protein smoothie (ew...) I follow him in. If he goes in our bedroom to talk to someone on his phone, I follow him. If he's watching TV, I sit next to him on the couch. Even if we are both doing something completely different, I feel better if I'm close to him. I am so happy being with Rob and Charlie. They are my big man and my little man, my best friends, and my family.