Rayen

After that much-needed break I am back to blogging. I've decided to keep comments on all my blogs closed for the time being, possibly permanently. I appreciate your understanding. My one major achievement last month was finishing and delivering my first big work project of the year on time to my editor. My day job is quite important to me, and factored in to my decision to delete my Mastodon account. The problem that arose with social media did so two days before my work deadline, and three days before my mother's death anniversary, and that seriously messed with my head. I am already stressed to the max when I'm finishing a project; I don't need people and situations that are harmful to me adding to the pressure. I am a little disappointed in myself for panicking so much, but I've worked hard to build a safe-for-me way to interact with others while preserving my privacy. I think being threatened again -- and that coming out of nowhere at such a busy and...

I am still off meditating, but I am scheduling this to publish in my absence for National Hurricane Preparedness Week, May 3 - 9, 2026. It is so important for people who live in the southeast, Atlantic coastal and Gulf Coastal regions to get ready for hurricane season, which runs from June 1st through November 30th. You can find lots of helpful information here , and get updates on systems and storms throughout the season at The National Hurricane Center . Every year my guy and I take stock of our supplies of non-perishable foods, batteries, medications and everything else we might need in the event a hurricane cuts us off from civilization. My guy tests our generator, and makes sure we keep enough propane on hand to use the grill if we have to for cooking. This is because we have lived without power for weeks many times in the past, and have never suffered because we prepared in advance for such events. I have just tidied and reorganized our emergency pantry to see what I ...

While I'm off taking back my calm, let me show you what I got done last month. I experimented quite a bit in April, first by making a dishcloth out of cotton yarn to test whether or not I agreed with the opinions of some influencers about the fiber (end result: I don't agree, what a shock! Ha.) I also made a dog bowl mat for my pups out of cotton yarn, just to be sure I liked it. I tested out a skein of sport weight silk yarn by making a granny square out of it, which I may incorporate into my calendar project. Speaking of that, I finished the April tote for my quilting calendar project, which is a fusion of crochet and quilting. The cutter quilt pieces I've been saving forever for the right project (and I'm so glad I did) and the yarn I used to crochet the tote tops and handles is a worsted art yarn I thrifted last year. While investigating a mystery ball for the crochet blog I turned the yarn into a giant granny square. I made a scarf while...

After having some severe anxiety over the social media problem, and being forced to give up my Mastodon account, which I really loved, I'm going to take a break from blogging for some much needed self-care. I just need not to be around online folks until I've regained 100% of my calm. See you when I'm ready to brave being online again. Image by Enrique from Pixabay

The title of this post and the embroidery on this mini quilt I made last year are the same: jasin-eul salanghaseo . It's a Korean phrase that has very deep meaning for me. It came to me during a terrible time as a gentle wake-up call, and became a motto for this time in my life. It empowered me like no one and nothing else in my life has. What does it mean? The literal translation in English if you google it is "I love you" but the actual meaning is "love yourself." In the past I have always attracted people who do not actually care for me. They have told me they do care so they could use me, abuse me, swindle me out of money and otherwise gratify themselves at my expense. I'm not sure why they behave that way, but that was my heaviest burden. I have done my part by being naive, believing what they told me, hoping it would get better, and even thinking at times that I deserved to be treated that way. I had no one to protect me. Much of thi...

If I didn't have diabetes I would probably never leave the house except to shop for food. I am a homebody by nature. I love my home, my guy, my nephew and our dogs. That's my world. I do not feel the same about the outside world and most of the people in it. The world seems dark and nasty, and most folks appear to be just out for themselves and what they want, and heaven help anyone who gets in their way. For these reasons I would happily stay at home forever. When I'm not writing, cooking, caring for the pups and my guys or doing my housework, I can sit for hours and crochet, read and watch videos. That's my life and I do love it. Maybe that's why I am a very sedentary person. Also, I've never found an exercise that I ended up genuinely liking. I've done gymnastics, weight lifting, dance, aerobics, swimming, tai chi and a bunch of other stuff. Now I'm so old and crippled by arthritis that all I can do is walk, but I do walk, twice ...