Fresh Start

Hello there! Long time no see! 

Well, it's been two years. Over two years, now, close to three. I have no real excuses for lack of updating, some things (including spinning, weaving, and most knitting) fell by the wayside as things got kind of hectic.
My life has changed. Some things are better, some are worse. There have been comings and goings, as is the way of life. So let's bullet-point some of the biggest events, but not necessarily in chronological order:
- I got my driver's license (Finally. Don't ask, please.)
- I adopted Patrick's car when he got a new one. 
- There were some family deaths. People very dear to me have departed, and I am sad to have seen them go.
- I left the world of retail for a job doing data entry in the lab-testing field.
-- I get paid better.
--- I get paid vacation time.
---- I get benefits. Sweet, sweet benefits.
- My middle sister got married.
-- I was a bridesmaid, it was a lovely beach wedding.
--- Emily was a stunning bride. When she smiles, it is like the sun coming out.
-I got married.

Yep! Saved the best for last. Patrick proposed to me back in the summer of 2013, when we were on a vacation in Jamaica. We were just married in October, and I am now Mrs. Kathryn Lickfield. Well, most of the time, anyway. I'm still in the process of changing my name. There is so much paperwork....

After Emily got married last September, Patrick and I only had a month or two before we sat down and said, "Shit, now it's our turn." Our summer was a haze of "I mailed the invitations three weeks ago and no one has RSVP'd. Did you call the caterer? What about this for center pieces? Can you come for a dress fitting? WHY HAS NO ONE RSVP'D YET?!" and other typical stresses. I started my new job in early July, and I made sure to warn my boss very early on that I had a wedding, and I'm sorry that it's so soon after you hired me, but it's a Saturday and I won't need much time off. Bossman is a cool guy, though, so he was really understanding. He helped me work out my time off so I could have some time to get ready beforehand while not losing hours.
Of course, I'm sure it helped that he knows Patrick. We work for the same company now; Patrick does IT and software development stuff, and I do clerical work.

But the wedding went off without much of a hitch. We had a backup plan in case of rain (did you know that rain on your wedding day is lucky? Probably eighteen people have told me that), so even though we didn't get to have the Pine Barrens fall wedding we really wanted, everyone showed up, no one was drunk or hungover, and there was no drama. As Em says, as long as you end the day married, it was a success.

But things are settling down here now. I'm a much happier, much less stressed, and just generally feeling better in myself.

So, perhaps I will be blogging more often. I'm certainly picking up the needles again. I've got a scarf, a shawl, and now a hat for Patrick OTN. Plus a cool Christmas present for my friend Caryn that is going on my tabletop tapestry loom. Overambition? What's that?

It's hard to say what it is I seen in you
Wonder if I'll always be with you
Words can't say, and I can't do enough to prove
It's all for you
All For You - Sister Hazel (our wedding song)