Please join me in welcoming today’s guest blogger Lindy Weber. This is Lindy’s second post as she embarks on her adventure of a lifetime. She’s giving away an assortment of deliciously dyed wool too.
Read Part 1 of Lindy’s Journey here!
Well, check another step off the ‘how to achieve your dream year abroad’ list! We have gone to our appointment with the Homeland Security office and had our biometrics recorded. It is a matter of electronically obtaining your fingerprints and a reading of the iris of your eye. Now we wait for about ten days for the official results to come to us and add it to our UK visa application packet.
Once we have quadruple checked to make sure we have ALL the necessary papers required we bundle them all up, including our passports, and mail it off to New York. You mess up one thing and they will say, “Sorry, you are denied”. How scary is that? Then we wait…
While in waiting mode I have made great plans to learn about all things wooly in Scotland. I want to know how to card, and drop spindle spin, and spinning wheel spin and and finally overcome my inexplicable terror of knitting socks and sweaters. Researching online I am finding out how instrumental the UK has been, and still is, in keeping the heritage breeds of sheep viable. The resilient wool of the Swaledale,
the crisp, white, lustrous wool produced by the Cheviot Sheep-with their cute faces,
and the long, lustrous and curly fleece of the ‘mops on legs’ Wensleydales,
make this budding felted wool artist long to play with wool. Time to dye!
Not that I ever need an excuse to dye! I go through long stretches of life with rainbow colored hands, stained fingernails and tie-dyed feet and toes. Yes, I do know I ought to wear gloves – but it just isn’t the same! I usually dye in the warm summer months, which explains the feet. But this winter, I just had to try the immensely popular snow dyeing.
I am nearly hyperventilating over the prospect of my Gilda Baron felted wool backgrounds workshop. This has empowered me to dye wool, and LOTS of it!
So, while we await the powers that be to decide the fate of our UK year, I research, I dye, I continue to dream.
Give-Away
Question for April – I have found the placing of my beloved pets into new homes the most emotionally wrenching part of the dream-achieving path. What would be the hardest person/place/thing for you to part with?
Share your response in the comments below. I’ll be giving away an eclectic little assortment of deliciously dyed wool. Winner will be randomly selected next Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
Congratulations to the winner: #18 Judy Cox. I’ve sent you an email.
I’m not even going to go there with people and pets—that’s a gimme. I would hate to have to give up my computer. Even though I’m fairly computer illerate, it still stores all of my pictures, games, patterns, etc. And of course my sewing machine.
PS Have a great life in England!
Giving up a pet is a tough thing to do. I had a pet lamb – my favorite pet EVER – that was struck by lightning and died. That was very tough. Now I would have the hardest time giving up any of my family. I can’t imagine life without them. BTW, your dyed wool looks yummy!
My 2 dogs would definitely be difficult to leave behind, but I think my family would be harder. Knowing I would be coming back would make it easier but a permanent move? I love my 3 boys (young adults) but they are moving across the country on their own. My mother is my best friend and she would be so difficult to leave behind.
I have had to give up pets before and I hated it. It is very hard to do. Of course all my family especially my children would be hard to leave. I think the hardest thing to give up would be the use of my hands because I love to do handwork/applique a lot. It blesses me and calms me.
Hope all goes well while you wait.
If leaving for a little while to experiece new things in life, not actually losing any of my family. My oldest pet would be very hard, shes a 12 year old mixed dog. Who has a personality all her own. She lays by the side of my bed on her bed. We have had her since she was six weeks old. Her name is Brandy but she only answers to puppy. Thank you for the giveaway. But I could leave her with one of my grown daughter and know she was being cared for in her old age. It will be o.k.
Family (which includes pets, of course) Things are replaceable.
I’d have a terrible time if I ever had to move away from any of my family members. A close second would be having to find a new home for the dog. I wasn’t in favor of getting a dog, but of course now that we have him it would break my heart to leave him! He is so smart, and such a cuddly little guy, and he sleeps with his head on my pillow.
You’re embarking on an wonderful adventure! Good luck to you. :)
Good luck on your adventures Lindy. I couldn’t give away my collection of Rose books. They would have to with me.
Happy days.
Bev.xoxo
That is a tough one, of course my pets would be the hardest, but I also would hate to give up my sewing machine. I guess when moving so far away, it is easier to rebuy large items, then to take them with you.
I love those curly sheep.
Debbie
Family is always hard to leave behind but if you are talking about material possessions it would be my sewing and crafting supplies. I know this from experience as I had to put most of them in storage when I lived in another country for almost 3 years. I did manage to take a couple of books and kits with me and I was able to purchase things where I was living (including a sewing machine). The pictures of the sheep are great thanks for sharing
You are very brave. I couldn’t give up my dogs. I couldn’t have children, so my dogs are MY children. Couldn’t do it – not for anything. But I am aware that I’m not going to be going much of anywhere, so it is really a non issue. You have a wonderful opportunity, grab it with both hands and enjoy yourself.
Beautiful dyed wool! Best of luck with entering the US and starting a new life! I have been doing it for several years living abroad in various countries.
My husband and I will be leaving our home in country South Australia in October this year to travel and work around Australia for perhaps a number of years! His motorbike (or toy) is coming along for the ride so my ‘toy’ is the sewing machine. I figure it will fit under the bed in the caravan! Hardest thing to leave is the dog, a beautiful golden retriever! Although he is going to live with our daughter who claims ‘that he’s always been my dog, you were just allowed to look after him!’
Best wishes for your year abroad.
Grandbabies. Right now they all live within 30 minutes and I see them weekly, at the very least. But none of us is permanently tied to the area, so I know there may come a day when one of my children and their families move, or when my husband and I move. And the hardest part of that will be not having that constant access to my precious grandchildren!!
Your ‘pets’ and their wools are just absolutely gorgeous! :)
Well……are we parting ways forever or just for a little while? I would not want to say goodbye to my husband….But a little time away now and then is not so bad :-) I have to agree with another commenter that my computer holds an awful lot of my ‘artistic’ life and that would be very hard to go without.
Your dyed wools are LUSCIOUS!!!!! Well worth funny coloured appendages
Like the others, thinking about giving up family or pets is impossibly difficult. I remember how strange it felt the first year my daughter was in college, and now she’s a grad student and I’m sort of used to her being away from home. My son is another story, however. He is a long-term survivor of a rare, cancer-like disease that had him on chemotherapy for EIGHT YEARS. He’s attending community college, and the idea of him going to “sleep-away” college, as my daughter jokingly calls it, makes me simultaneously happy and sad. I guess that’s the definition of bittersweet.
I’m in the process right now of sewing through my stash without buying anything new, so that’s one step in my personal shedding/molting endeavor. I can’t believe how difficult it’s been to part with some of those pieces that have been around a while!
Best wishes on your journey.
The hardest thing to leave has always been my husband. He was a career Marine and time after time my heart went with him as my children and I said goodbye as he deployed for months up to 13 months at a time. Once I visited him in San Diego as the ship he was to leave on was delayed in departing. After three wonderful days, he took me to the airport and stood and waved as I flew back home. He wrote me that that was the hardest thing for him to do…watch me fly away. Leaving is never easy but the returning to and reuniting a family is wonderful!
People; not giving them up at all…I have no pets anymore because it hurts too much when you have to give them up. We always had animals until about 6 years ago…we had to put our dog down. I just can’t go through it again.
so; I would say right now, it would be between my computer, sewing machines and my Pontiac Solstice convertible…..hmmmmmmmmmmmm…lol
Hi Lindy,
How wonderful to be following your dream! I just read the first part of your blog – I wish you a truly amazing trip.
As for leaving, my daughter will be going away to school in September. It’s only a couple of hours away, but I know that I will truly miss her – the house will be so quiet! On the positive side, I’ll have to buy a new IPod Touch so that we can talk every day and I’ll be converting her room to my quilting room. There is always a silver lining :-)
Besides hubby and the kids, I would hate to lose my eyesight. Macular Degeneration runs in the family…I need to see an eye doctor this year to see if there is anything I can do to slow the process…:{
Am I greedy or what… I have a list I couldn’t go without… Hubby for starters, computer, sewing machine, all my paints and brushes, fabric… it goes on and on and on…. LOL
Cath Ü
Thanks everyone for sharing and caring and good wishes.
Oh! Those of you with empty nests-I remember well those feelings! I am not sure my son has quite forgiven me for turning his room into MY quilt room while his bedding was still warm. :?}
And I, too, NEED my pc, which is why my DH got me both a Kindle AND a laptop for our year abroad. I will take the Kindle and my cell phone when I go to workshops, use the laptop as my ‘real’ computer at our new home. I keep all my writing and pix on it. Having those two things backed up, copied, existing in multiple machines and clouds makes me deliriously happy and secure feeling!
And those of you who can’t bear to part with their husbands-I am taking mine with me, so no problem! :?}
And in the case of Grandbabies, I have only one, and her parents have been trying to live overseas somewhere for the last six years, so it’s not as if I could even think of living near Kate for ever…and, separation from one and all IS only for a year! And Cath, I am as greedy as you-until I found out how much shipping costs. As I am packing up my quilt shed I kinda get to grinning thinking about over a year from now opening these boxes back up to unpack. It will be a bit like Christmas!
I have had pets all my life, dogs and cats, too many losses, to much grief, plus I travel more now. But I need a pet so am in the process of acquiring a parrotlet. . I lived for many years in England , my husband is English so although Canadian I have a UK passport so we go back and forth. But I would like to spend a year taking classes from all the artists I have discovered on Colouricious. Lucky you! Try and see the Lake District , that’s where my husband is from. It is breathtaking, especially the drive from Penrith to Cockermouth ( the birthplace of Wordsworth) Have lots of fun,
Definitely my children & grandkids, but just thinking about my cats would also give me heartache. Then there’s small group, friends, siblings. Geeze, I better not go any where. I look forward to hearing about your circumstances.
G’day. Great post. I wish you all the very best with your move. My two grown children would have to be the hardest to leave, even though they would wish us well and tell us to “go for it”.To leave our beloved dog, who we adopted four years ago when he was abandoned would be terribly gut wrenching for both hubby and I and I know that we just couldn’t go anywhere while we still have him, or unless we could take him with us. He is such a major part of our lives. Enjoy yourselves, take care. Liz…
This is great. congrats to you girl. Hey I loved dying with you. I love my fabrics. I loved stepping out of the box and doing my own thing. I do have plans for my pieces. Some of them talked to me as I pressed them. I can’t wait to get started. You are a inspiration and a great teacher.
Kathy