Equal Rights

Over the past few weeks, several acquaintances, that live here in NC, have questioned me concerning what they perceive as my religion, as well as, my support of equal marital rights in Maine. Equal marital rights was up for vote in this past Maine election.

I have been struggling to understand the stance of those in opposition to equal marital rights, as well as the stance of the Conservative Christians in this area. In the past I have been told I was going to Hell for my beliefs, hard to understand considering I don't believe in Hell. I have been told I am choosing death instead of life....well you get the picture. This is all new to me, as I was born and raised in Maine and my parents and community pretty much followed a "live and let live" philosophy. Where the focus was on living your best life.

Many Christians here in NC use the argument that we need to live by God's law and what it says in the Bible. While personally, I believe that everyone has a right to live that way if they so choose. I don't believe that everyone should *have to* live that way. A subtle difference maybe but still a difference. Some truly believe that we all should live by one set of personal values. That somehow my values are inferior, and I should be forced to live by their superior values.

I believe that religious freedom is a freedom granted to everyone. The first amendment to the Constitution says in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". There will be no national religion. If there is no national religion, I do not believe that our laws should reflect the values of one religion. I do not believe that I should be forced to live by one Christian set of values.

In discussing this issue I have found it difficult to even begin to make a point as so many believe that it is their calling to make sure all are living by God's law. If not they will surely perish in the fires of Hell. Some really can't conceive of a "to each his own" society, believing that my beliefs are just as "right" and equal as their beliefs. It is outside their realm of conception that my beliefs bring as much joy to me as their beliefs bring to them, and are just as right for me as theirs are for them.

Now to my recent facebook posts concerning my support for the equal marital rights vote in Maine. I received quite a few e mails concerning this.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It doesn't say that all Christian men are created equal. It also does not say that "they are endowed by *my* creator". It says ALL men are created equal and are endowed by THEIR creator (whatever that creator may or may not be).

It also says that we have certain unalienable rights including the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I was asked by one person "why can't they just be together, why do they need a piece of paper, why do they need to be legally married?"

My answer was... why not? I mean that little piece of legal paper was and is important to me, it was/is important to the person asking the question. Why should it not be important to everyone. And I should clarify that by "they" she was referring to any same gender couple seeking a marriage license in Maine. I believe that this choice, to legally marry in this country, should be a choice available to all couples.

People today are bombarded with advertising based solely around possible negative outcomes. I think opponents to anything use negatives to their advantage. Harping on the negative things that "could" happen if a particular event were to come to pass. It really doesn't matter what the event is, there are always those who will be standing there to tell you just what evils will pop into your existence if it happens, preying on people's fear. While it isn't a suicide bomber, I feel it is a form or terrorism. Creating terror in people using only words. It is so easy to get caught up in that fear, and keep yourself up at night thinking about yourself and your children. Isn't' that where they always hit us, with our children. But if you think about the bigger picture, there are negative things out there every day in our lives. With every choice we make, there are positive outcomes and negative variables just standing there. For the most part we don't approach every situation, every choice, from a place of fear. We only wollow in the presence of fear when it is brought to our attention over and over again, through different media.

I choose to approach choices, and life in general, from a place of peace. I refuse to let fear rule my life. Fear does not serve to bring joy into my life. That is what I am seeking, in my life, in my marriage, in my motherhood...JOY. As a family, as individuals, we seek out those things that bring us joy. And lingering in fear does not do that. Standing in the presence of peace, choosing to live my life from a place of peace, brings joy. Maybe that is why I just can't seem to understand where so many are coming from when they feel it's their calling to make sure everyone is living by the Bible, and opposing same gender marriage. Maybe they are living a life guided by fear, either consciously or unconsciously. I think we can make the choice to change. We can choose today to let peace live in our lives, in our families. We can each choose to let peace guide our decisions.

I do not choose fear, I choose peace.

I know this post may just seem like ramblings, and I have rewritten it several times trying to get my feelings down on paper, not an easy task. But I wanted to say "something", to try to explain my position just a bit. I know I live in The South where equal marital rights will not even be the topic of debate for many years to come. My ties to Maine are deep, and I care about my friends and family that still reside there. I would love to see the people of Maine at the front of this march, taking the lead when it comes to equal rights, making sure equal rights MEANS equal rights for EVERYONE!

Socks

I mentioned that I have made a few pair of women's socks. I ran across some really pretty yarn, so I knew it would make wonderful socks. And it did. I make three pair last week, just couldn't knit fast enough, I wanted to see what the colors would create, how they would come together in socks.

They are not up on my etsy store yet but I hope to have them on there in a couple of weeks!! Aren't the colors just delisious?!

Tackle it Tuesday

I am so excited about this challenge. And I find myself looking at little cluttered spots around my home differently. Seeing what little spots I can tackle when I only have an hour or so. This week it was my sewing/crafting area. This is hard for me. I had a whole room, which I gave up for my son. Dallen wanted his own room, and this was the plan so it wasn't a surprise. I knew that I had a whole craft room until one of the boys wanted their own room, then my craft room would be a craft corner in the family room, and my craft room would become a bedroom. It isn't like I crafted in my craft room, but I was able to keep my crafting things organized and accessible. Now they are in bins behind the mirrored doors, a little harder to get at. And I have that corner you see in the picture. It just needs to be more organized. And now is the perfect time to do it because I have three pair of pants that I need to hem. Here is my Tackle it Tuesday:

Here is the before picture:

And the after pictures:

Maybe if I tackle my house, one "corner" at a time, I can declutter and reorganize, LOL.

Knitting Socks #4

OK so my computer ate all my digital pictures. In the mean time I have been knitting men's socks, and am now finished. Have knit another few pair of women's socks, taken more pictures, so I am back on track, photos on my computer, and ready to resume with the instructions.

We will be working on the heel cup now. You have 2 inches of heel flap already knit and you will be looking at the wrong side of the heel, your last row should have been a knit/slip row.

*One definition/explanation you will need to do the heel cup:

SSK, this mean slip/slip/knit. What you do is slip a stitch (as if to knit) from left needle to the right, then slip the next stitch (as if to knit) {two total slipped} from left needle to right . Then take your left needle and put it back into those slipped stitches, and knit those two stitches together, this makes a nice looking knit stitch and decreases by one stitch. If this doesn't make sense you can substitute with THIS: Slip the first stitch, knit the next stitch, the slip the slipped stitch over the knit stitch and off the needle, this also decreases by one stitch. I prefer the first technique but both work.

Working those same 28 stitches, for the heel cup you will:

row 1: slip 1 stitch (as if to purl), purl 13 (this brings you to the center of the row) then purl 2 more (so a total of 15 purl stitches), purl 2 together, purl 1 more. You will see you still have 9 stitches remaining on your needle unknit. This is how it should look, stitches on both needles. Stop here and just turn your knitting around, leaving those 9 stitches unknit.

row 2: slip 1 (as if to knit), knit 5, ssk the next two stitches*, knit 1 (9 stitches remain unknit) turn.

row 3: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 6, purl 2 together, purl 1, (7 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 4: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 7, ssk the next two stitches knit 1, (7 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 5: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 8, purl 2 together, purl 1 (5 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 6: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 9, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (5 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 7: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 10, purl 2 together, purl 1 (3 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 8: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 11, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (3 stitches remain unknit) turn

row 9: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 12, purl 2 together, purl 1 (1 stitch remains unknit) turn

row 10: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 13, ssk next two stitches, knit 1 (1 stitch remains unknit) turn

row 11: slip 1 (as if to purl) purl 14, purl 2 together, turn

row 12: slip 1 (as if to knit) knit 14, ssk next two stitches together.

You will now have 16 stitches at the end of the heel cup.

The Beauty in Water

I have always been a water person. Just feel so much calmer and at peace near the water. My father was a fisherman, so I grew up on the water. I loved going fishing with my dad, I wasn't much of a "fisherman" but I really enjoyed the boat ride, the wind, the salt water, the smell of the ocean, the sea gulls hovering close by. All those wonderful memories are just trapped in my mind, swirling around, always bring me back to the water.

At this point in my life, I live about 5 hours drive from the ocean, so only get back about twice a year, three times if I am lucky. I soak up each and every moment of it. With the hikes I have been organizing, I have been trying to make each one end at a beautiful waterfall. I can't believe how many beautiful waterfalls there are here in the mountains of North Carolina. Such force, power and serene beauty in a waterfall. I have posted a few pics of our last hike, but wanted to share one more. Mine are always Straight Out of the Camera, no time for digital touch ups.

Setrock Creek Falls Hike

Every month I organize a hike somewhere not too far away. Just a group of friends. I always have thought that with all these mountains and waterfalls, as a family, we could go anytime to hike in the mountains. But the truth is that when Jackson is home, exhausted from long days at work, hiking is not first on our list of things to do. We have fun, usually, right around the house, playing games and being together.

So I started scheduling a day each month to go hiking, and I invite our friends to come along. We usually have a great group, around 4-6 families, all ages and experience levels etc. And we hike, each at our own pace, looking at everything along the way.

Just so much fun, the boys have really been enjoying these hikes as much as I. And we have seen some amazing waterfalls. I am in awe each and every time, the water just seems to come from the sky and falls down on the rocks, carving out a path along it's way, leaving it's mark on this world. Yesterday was no exception, beautiful scenery, a wonderful hike with amazing friends, time to play, and chat, just a lovely day.

Tackle it Tuesday

So I have some cluttered spots that really need help, LOL. OK I have a lot of troubled spots that need help. I have tried tackling bigger projects but never seem to make any progress. In fact in tackling larger projects I seem to have time to take things apart, clean and start sorting, then get distracted and move onto another project... You know where I am going with this....
So I decided to join in on Tackle it Tuesday, and start small, working on a project that will take me no longer than an hour or so. This is my first sort:

Our ottoman. Sitting there in front of the couch it is a catch all for all sorts of stuff. Reading a book, just sit it there on the ottoman, knitting, just leave it there on the ottoman, after all I will pick it up again sometime. So there it is and now it is full of coffee mugs, knitting projects, completed knitting projects, left over yarn, books, magazines, papers, remotes etc etc. So with just about 30 minutes, putting things back where they belong....now I have a nice neat ottoman again. It really feels good to tackle the ottoman, it has been starting at me for days, LOL.

What will I tackle next Tuesday?