Fiber Guild Idea -
When our family first moved to Little Rock, we could not find any fiber artists living in the area. When we moved in with our alpacas, rare breed sheep, and other fiber producing animals, our neighbors thought we were going to lower their property values...so you can see that the whole idea of raising animals for a hobby was an entirely new concept.
Almost seven years later, I thought it was time to give it a try again. After talking to ravelry members, students (I had found a few people who wanted to take spinning lessons), and local knitters groups who all expressed interest, we chose to host a fiber day at our local library. I was super excited, and could not wait to work on planning the whole event from start to finish! The day turned out almost perfect. Everyone brought a dessert to share and of course brought their fiber project. We were all excited about the possible opportunity of starting our very own fiber group.....finally, after years of traveling out of state to participate in fiber activities, we would have something in LITTLE ROCK. Everything went as perfect as it could possibly go, until the very end when almost all had gone home. My mother, sister and myself had an uncomfortable situation happen. We chose in order to address our concerns, and not to be mean to anyone that we would just not invite the individual to participate in our group. This all ended up blowing up with rumors, false accusations, and total gossip. No one asked what happened, instead they listen to the person making up all the rumors. We decided that the best possible thing to do was to just stay silent, as engaging anyone would only add fuel to the fire. Most of the spinners chose to start their own group, but I must say that through all of the ups and downs, I am grateful for the lesson I learned. Fiber arts (or any other hobby for that matter) are meant to be fun, a learning experience, and a wonderful way to meet new friends. However, I learned that in participating in hobbies, one must have more in common. I would rather give up the things that I enjoy, than lose my personal integrity or morals.
Looking back (even if its only a few months) when it seemed like what mattered, I realized that it is SUPER important to always keep the "bigger picture" in mind.
Maine Coon Cat Dream Pet Idea -
I was dreaming of the day when I would have my very own Maine Coon kitten. I had been asking or should I say begging my parents to allow me to adopt one...with the condition that they would take care of it once I moved out of state for school. They finally gave in and located (as a surprise) Morrie the white Maine Coon cat from a top Maine Coon breeder. He was 11 months old when we added him to our family, however things went south and he was terminally ill. We asked all of the appropriate questions about health, diet, if he had any special foods he liked and all of those important things to know. The breeder chose not to inform us of his major heath problems. Things seemed to go okay for the first three or so days, however he started getting really sick. It got to the point where he needed baths 2-3 times a week, he had diarrhea, and could not keep any food down. After several hours of research, I discovered that he had all of the symptoms of either IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) or tritrichomonas foetus. We then talked back and forth with the breeder, and found out that a litter mate had been diagnosed with tritrichomonas foetus (not a bad self diagnosed). We gave him the treatment and after that he did not improve. Even though the breeder had not disclosed any of the information know, because of the contract signed we had to drive him back up to the breeder (10 hour plus drive).
This was a painful way to learn....but I am grateful that I have learned from this experience. First, sometimes once you get what you want, you learn that you did not want it as bad as you had thought. Second, even if someone wrongs you...it's up to you to keep your personal integrity. This lesson was learned from my parents. I personally wanted to strangle the breeder for making my life miserable (instead of having joy from my parents gift) and giving me a full-time project, but they tried to show me what was the right thing to do. Although, when I think back....I can only think how good it would have felt to just let them know how I felt. Third, I have learned that I am finished with all animal projects. After being the care giver for the animals of our business and dealing with the typical experiences that come along with the project, I know that I am done. Forth, you can always find something positive. The one thing that I found was that I had the opportunity to learn about nutrition.
Oodles of traveling-
One amazing bonus to this semester was the opportunity to travel! Not only was I able to keep up with my studies, but I also did not miss out on any of the fun. We have gone on almost a trip every month, which has been fabulous! Traveling for me is a way to relieve stress....you should try it. Below are some of the millions of photos we took on our trips......
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