I’ve been helping my mom with a huge task… her life’s work is to teach as many kids to read as possible. She wrote 4 books to help them break through.

Mom has taught “little guys” to read for a long time. (She taught early elementary grades in public school for about 25 years.) These books are the result of her work on the students’ behalf. She struggled to learn reading herself, and has been passionate about making it easier for others.

Mom wrote all the stories so that only one new word appears on any page. She found when working in the classroom, some new-reader books would introduce even four new words per page. Many kids can not handle that rate of introduction.

The books have color covers, but the insides are black and white line drawings. One benefit to this, is that the artwork does not distract from the subject matter.

Another benefit is that children can be encouraged to own their books by coloring in the characters. Each character is named by their color, so the child can own the word “Red” by coloring the little Red character throughout the books.

My little sweet friend Isabel received a set of the prototype books about a year ago. One night she sneaked into its storage place, took it in her room and colored in every instance of little Blue. Her favorite color is blue. I love that story!

If you live in Lansing, you can get the books at Everybody Reads bookstore. This is on Lansing’s fine and funky East Side, across from Emil’s Italian restaurant, the same block as Rae’s Yarn Boutique. (It’s about 4 blocks west of Frandor.)

Everybody Reads will be sponsoring a meet-the Author/Illustrator night, with a book signing and talk. The event will be Thursday, September 30, from 6pm-8pm.

I can not stress enough how important it is to communities, to buy from local shops when possible. I find it powerful and humbling to know who actually benefits from my small purchases when I buy from a local shop. Scott Harris runs Everybody Reads. He’s as passionate about reading as my mother. He is wonderfully supportive of local talent. I love to vote with my dollars by supporting him.

Everybody Reads will even ship books to you if you do not live in Lansing. Their phone number is 517/346-9900. They are open until 7 on weeknights without events, and 5pm on weekends.

You can read more about Mom’s story and each individual book, at the With Me Books page on lulu.com

Congratulations, Mom! Your work will benefit the world for generations to come. Nice job.

I have talked before about author Barbara Winter of the Joyfully Jobless blog (and book Making a Living without a Job). Today she posted a blog entry called “Things I Haven’t Told You.”

I got to thinking… what my mind jumped to was telling a story yesterday (at Maker Faire). I was a computer consultant and discovered that one could knit her own socks. For me, that was a defining moment in my own personal history. I knew my life would change, and it did.

I am fond of saying “One can not buy passion.” It sort of explains how I am in this business. My computer business was enjoyable and paid well, though it fizzled out after Y2K passed. My knitting/singing/art business is about passion. I wake up dreaming that I am knitting. It is all about that excitement that can not be purchased.

Going back, I remember several moments which I will never forget. These moments changed my life in some way. The best of them include a picture in my mind of how the room looked, how I felt, sometimes how I stopped in mid-step to drink in the experience. Some of them:

• I was maybe 9 or 10 years old, and my family took a trip across Lake Michigan on the “Milwaukee Clipper.” There was a musical ensemble in one room for entertainment. One guy was playing a drum set, including a snare drum with brushes. I had to be pried away from watching him.
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  However when it came time to play in band, I knew not to ask. Girls did not play drums in my community in 1969. I asked to play flute, which had intrigued me since Mrs. Gibbs played one for us in 3rd grade. My father gave me two choices, trumpet or clarinet. He played trumpet and I did not want to “match.” I never liked clarinet. I quit as soon as I was allowed.
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  Interestingly, though… I was always great at reading rhythms on sheet music. Notes were much harder. As an adult I took a private hand-drum lesson and the instructor indicated that I took to it easily. Arthritis in my fingers means I did not pursue it further, but I felt good to find that out. Now, I play Heftone bass. It’s a rhythm instrument that is kind to my hands. In the end I sort of got what I wanted, all along.
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  Not long after I started with clarinet, Karen Carpenter came on the scene, playing a drum set. She also had a beautiful voice. She was my hero.
• I was in 10th grade. Our church youth director, Lynn Grimes (now a retired United Methodist minister) was from Detroit. Our town was decidedly low on diversity and not at all like a big city. She decided to take our whole youth group to Toronto. There were 15 kids, Lynn and her husband. We had an amazing time. For me, I found out that there were places not like home, where there was more diversity, more visual stimulation, more everything. It was intoxicating.
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  Lynn made sure we saw things we could never see in 1975 suburbia. We rode the subway. We went to a Hungarian restaurant and a Chinese one in Chinatown where lots of people did not speak English. The food was unlike anything near home.
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  We went to fine museums, both the Royal Ontario and the Science Center (a new concept at the time).  And I spent a whole weekend taking photographs pointing straight up, at the skyscrapers. I fell in love with cities. Now I collect cities  (and especially their subway/transit systems). Photo is the Eaton Centre, a multi-story mall in Toronto.

• I was 27 years old in the sad part of my adult life… cleaning house alone one night, playing the radio for company. I think it was Bob Blackman’s Folk Tradition show on WKAR/MSU. He played a cut from Paul Simon’s Graceland album, singing with Ladysmith Black Mombazo (I believe the cut was Homeless).
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  I literally stopped  in my tracks, turned up the volume, and sat right there on the floor in front of the speakers, transfixed. I knew virtually nothing about Africa at that time, but it was like finding home. That much vocal beauty at one time knocked me over with a feather, so to speak. I’m still in love with that sound.
• I took a feltmaking workshop on the recommendation of Nancy McRay, around 2000. It was wonderful, and my hands remembered how wool made me feel good, to touch it.Looking for wool supplies online, I somehow found myself on the www.socknitters.com website. I was blown away. I had not imagined that someone could make their own socks! I could feel in my gut at that moment, that my life was going to change.
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  As a child of the 70’s (Twiggy, rainbow toe socks, laugh in), I loved bright colored socks, preferred wool, and had small enough feet that bright colored wool socks were impossible to find for me. I literally had over 80 pairs of socks in my sock drawer, when I found out one could knit one’s own socks. None of them were a)wool, b)bright colored, and c)small enough to fit properly. Most had two of those three attributes.
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  So there it was: I could make my own socks. I was working on a rather complex database project for a computer client at the time. I knew if I went to the yarn shop before finishing, I might not get the project done on deadline. The minute I turned in that project, I headed over to the only yarn shop in town at the time.
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  Ruth was working that day. I told her I had only knit scarves for 20 years and had played with purls a little, but not in any finished project. I was determined to make socks.
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  She did not flinch. She helped me find some DK-weight yarn and double-pointed needles, and instructions for making my socks. I went home, and somehow I had a pair of socks 10 days later (photo at right). And the rest, is my current life/livelihood…

Perhaps you would like to tell me a moment like this, from your own life? In the comments? I would love to hear. I think these moments do help us know who we are on the inside.

I have been without words for you lately. My life is at a point of change and re-evaluation, as lives do at times, and I find myself without a blog topic.

It started when my car needed a new engine (last April). It was a hit I was ill-prepared to deal with. My reserves did not add up to the cost of the repair.

Without going into details, this spurred a reality check. I am very happy with my life in so many ways, and yet there is a need to change. How can I change to increase income without decreasing happiness? I am absolutely sure this is possible (in part because I have genuine gratitude for income, even in years when I’ve punched a clock at a box store to get it). I am not sure how it will go this time.

This happened, also, at a time I realized that I was over-using my speaking voice. I love teaching and public speaking. I also sing, but as a trained singer, my singing voice is less impacted by use than my talking voice. I have a wonderful doctor who is helping me get the voice healthy again. However, this summer I am not teaching as much as I did last year.

A big part of  my support system involves lunches or tea dates with folks who love me. I work alone at home a lot, and those meals with loved ones really balance and ground me. Lately I’ve made a point to do less of that social time, and more alone time at home (where I write and knit and otherwise work and live).

With my newly quieter time, I am swatching a lot, trying new knitting techniques. I’m contemplating where I will take my next set of knitting designs. I also have been tossing things from my past, going through old boxes of papers. I found at least one paper from as far back as 1984. It is great to get free of clutter and the residue of what was truly a different Lynn.

One weekend I decided to purge the kitchen of everything I did not truly want to keep there. It was magic. Here’s a photo of the counter just before I finished. I noticed how pretty the colors were, just my everyday cooking/serving items.

I assure you I am well. My life is very good. I have everything I need and many extras. My husband loves me. I do not need anything else. It is just as though someone switched the “channel” when I turned my head and I’m getting my bearings for the new reality. Everyone has times like this. It just happens to be my turn.

Meanwhile, I think of you often. I have been blogging since November 28, 2002. This is my published post 2,963. Many of you have become real friends to me, some of us have met in person. You are real and important in my heart and my life. I’m quiet right now, but I think of you as I take photos wherever I go. Somehow, though, I have not found words when I sat to write.

It may be that I will start posting those photos for you, with minimal text. I have so MANY things I want to say here, but for now I wonder if ColorJoy-ful photos will be how I stay connected with you for a little while.

Hugs to everyone out there.

My dad used to introduce my mom as his “First Wife” to get a raised eyebrow. My mom would reply that he was her “most recent husband.” They had not ever been married to anyone else…

So in that train of thought… this is me with my FAVORITE brother. I have no other siblings, but this man is truly a joy in my heart every time I think of him.

I call him Eric Oscar Ole Olson Troldahl Cranberry. My dad started that, too. He figured that “Ole Olson” was the most Norwegian name ever. Eric Oscar Troldahl is a pretty good Norsk combination, as well. So he became Eric Oscar Ole Olson Troldahl.

Then one night when we were probably in Middle School, we were playing hide and seek with neighborhood kids. there were two Erics. My Eric was wearing a burgundy pair of pants and burgundy top. The other Eric was wearing blue top and pants. I was born focusing on color more than anything else (really?) and declared them “Cranberry and Blueberry.” For the duration of that game, that’s what we called them rather than Eric.

This guy was my “Dude of Honor” at my wedding to Brian. This guy was with me the day my father died. We were together the day his first wife Kelly died (at age 27, out of the blue). We know how to do up *and* down together. We are a team of the best sort. I don’t like to cook, but I always loved cooking when we cooked together at Mom’s house.

This photo was taken by Eric Oscar’s wife, Diana. I call her my “Sister in Love.” I’m passionately unhappy with the phrase Sister in Law, anyway… it makes it a government assignment rather than relationship… and can either mean my brother’s wife or my husband’s sister… a wholly unacceptable English phrase in my mind. So Sis in Love it is.

Friday, Mom and her partner Fred, his granddaughter V who is visiting Michigan for the first time, Eric and Diana, and Brian and I all had lunch in Ann Arbor. We met up at Zingerman’s Deli which is the most AMAZING place for customer service ever (and for food, as well). Had a wonderful time.

When lunch split up, Brian and I went to REI and bought some foam pads for camping in the tent. Mike, our helper in that store, was equally excellent at customer service. I did not imagine a large store like that would have such excellent, friendly service.We went next door to Whole Foods and had more friendly service… a great day being a consumer, which I don’t do as often these days.

Good news doesn’t make it to TV broadcasts. Let me tell you that it was a great day in Ann Arbor, with my family. It was a great day for Customer Service. And the weather did not hurt, either!

Happy 50th Birthday to my favorite brother. Many, many more!

I am a big fan of neighborhood events. I also especially love buying from people who own their own small businesses. Allen Street Market fits both bills.

One of the food vendors, I know from knitting. Their kids took my knitting classes when I was at Foster Community Center.

The market is literally on my route between home and Rae’s Yarn Boutique or Foster Center. I pass by the location nearly every day.

On Wednesdays, it comes alive! This week was a special treat. They had scheduled Strawberry Festival (though there were few strawberries there this week), and thus a musical act followed by Habibi Dancers.

Originally, Jen Sygit was scheduled to sing. In the end, friend Julianna substituted (with her friend Jeff). Julianna has a LOVELY voice and I enjoyed her set very much. Here’s a photo. Notice she has her ukulele in her lap.

After Julianna sang, I was part of the show by Habibi Dancers. Sheila (also a Habibi) came and thankfully did a great job taking photos of us, with my camera. Thanks, Sheila!

(For the record, the market is a magnet for people from all parts of my life. I saw contra dance folks, knitters, musician friends even a woman I met when I acted/danced in Pippin! at Riverwalk theater, I think in 1992. I feel so right there, all the facets of my life come together at this market.)

It’s hard to recognize me in my garb as my alter-ego, Eudora. I’m wearing a light green tunic with blue skirt and coins. I’m often in the front because of my height (or lack thereof).

Speaking of ColorJoy… I think the Habibis qualify!

I have a friend who will become aged 6 next week. Last year, her mother heard me say that I had never used sidewalk chalk. So one day, my little friend and her mom gifted me with a big bin with many colors of chalk.

Last year I used it once at the yarn shop. This week, I used it the first time for just the fun of doing it.

Have a great and safe, happy and joyful weekend.

In the last 8 months a dance friend had a baby and I gained a new niece. Then in the last 2-3 weeks, I’ve had another dance friend and two knitting friends have babies.

I have been old enough to be a grandmother for a decade, easily. I think it’s just great that my friendships span ages and lifestyles so much that I can be experiencing all these newborns at the same time.

I wrote the Chipper Hat pattern when my niece appeared on the scene. I made her some Chippy Socks (a pattern I wrote several years ago). Then I wanted a hat to go with them. Great! Chipper hat, it is.

Above is a Chipper Hat knit by my friend Cynthia, for a baby shower. I don’t know the recipient. The yarn is Berroco Pure Wool, purchased at Rae’s Yarn Boutique in Lansing. The family does not know whether the impending child is male or female, and this group of colors was fun and nontraditional. I’m liking it.

I took this photo immediately after Cynthia completed the last stitch. Some yarn ends were tucked inside the hat. We decided that the little yarn ends on the tassel looked a bit like the wind was blowing, and enjoyed how they looked just this way. The ends, of course, will be worked in before gifting time.

Two young women who regularly attend the Thursday night knit-in at Rae’s shop, had babies this week. How unusual! They were not due this close together, but that’s how it goes. We are *not* in charge.

The little sweater here was knit by the mother of the baby born yesterday. Notice that the buttons are not sewn on yet. I made these buttons and she bought them at Rae’s shop. It is amazing how well they go with this yarn. Exciting!

I guess I need to start designing more for babies. For once, I have models on which to try them out.

Where was I? TNNA and Columbus, Ohio. Well, that is where I left off my storytelling, I think.

One day in Columbus, another Lansing traveler told me that our Lansing musician friend Jen Sygit was also in Columbus. She had performances on Friday and Saturday. I was in town Thursday – Sunday.

I called Jen with a message, and also left her an online note. I heard back relatively quickly. She was up for lunch on Saturday. Perfect!!!

In the end, we had lunch at North Market, with Sam Corbin and their friend Eric who lives in that city. It was much fun.

We all ended up with lunch from the Indian food vendor. It was delicious! It is a good thing I don’t live too close to that booth or I’d be poorer and heavier in no time!

We also played tourist. Near our lunch table, there was a board painted with a lady, a scarecrow, and a goat… with holes cut open for their faces. Jen wanted to be the goat (I was glad it was not me), and Sam became a scarecrow. Eric took this photo of us clowning around. I think it turned out pretty well for such things.

After we finished eating, we went outside behind the building. There was a street festival going on. I got some photos of the band. They were really cranking out the energy up there, a pretty large band. Eight musicians! Wow.

I got a good photo of Sam Corbin behind the stage area. He’s such a pleasant, comfortable person to be with (and a very fine musician, as well). I think you can sense his nature from this image.

As I passed through the North Market parking lot on the way back to the TNNA conference (a few blocks away at the convention center), I came upon an astounding vehicle. I took a few photos. After all, anyone with a car like this surely expects to have it photographed.

The license plate reads “ThatCar.” I have seen a few art cars in my life, though Michigan is not a great place to have one (because of weather). This one was as full-blown as any I’ve seen.

Ironically, I was reading some Twitter posts about TNNA, and found the owner of this vehicle. His twitter name is “ThatCarARTCAR” and his “real” name is Greg. This is what his Twitter profile says:

Meeting planner by day, artcar artist at heart. I participate in parades, festivals, lectures and love to welcome convention attendees to Columbus Ohio.

Greg also has a Flickr account online, with photographs you can check out (besides mine). Find him here:
http://www.flickr.com/thatcar

I have been to Columbus at least three times before. The street festival and ThatCar were new experiences for me this time. It was a fine addition to what I already knew and loved about the city already.

Saturday was definitely a good day for me, in Columbus. I’ve been home since Sunday night. I miss it already.

Cynthia and I had a long lunch today, Friday, near the fish ladder in Old Town. It is a work day for both of us, but we like to meet once a week for lunch to make the day nicer, and we missed our typical Tuesday this week.

Since I’m working on a sock design, I can’t write much… but let us just say I’ve never really had a picnic lunch done properly. This time I did. I believe the photos tell the story well.

I created home-made everything (mostly made last night): black bean dip, guacamole, black olives, and rhubarb crisp, with brewed iced tea. Oh… there were also sesame/brown rice crackers, which were purchased. The paper plates (and plastic tray in which the crackers came) were disposable, and everything else was/is reusable.

It was perfect. Sunny, 86F/30C, sitting in the shade near the water. We had just slightly too much food, a luxury. And of course, very good company and conversation.

These last 2 photos were behind me as I took the river view photo. I love the tree at bottom left. It’s actually a metal sculpture, and is a favorite of mine.

The building shown is next to the big parking lot in Old Town. I love porches above the 1st floor. I bet that corner balcony is a lovely spot in which to sit, at this time of year!

Brian and I performed in Charlotte, Michigan (pronounce “shurr-LOT“) a few weeks ago. It was a benefit for the SIREN center of Eaton County, an organization which works with homeless and domestic abuse clients and their families.

The organization turned away over 500 people last year for lack of funds. We wished to help them help others. Many folks are one paycheck away from homelessness… It’s an honor to be in a position to help.

(Yes, I’m a bit behind on photos, but these were too fun to skip. It was a grand time, and the Charlotte Performing Arts Center was a great place to sing.)

I did not get photos of all the acts. In addition, musicians move so much and the lighting is so intense, that it was hard to get many photos. However, what you see here please me.

Photo 1, Brian and I/The Fabulous Heftones.
Photo 2, Wally Pleasant (at right) with my Brian backing him up
Photo 3, The Lash (Wally’s wife, Alisa, is the lady in red, far right)

We had a blast! The folks from SIREN were more than appreciative, too. We got to meet a bunch of them. They had so many volunteers backstage that night, we all could have had a 10-course meal and taken home more. The food, the hospitality, the space… all were top notch. Best of luck to SIREN in their current year.

My mother, Liz Troldahl, is a fine woman. She had trouble learning to read as a child, and that experience turned her into an amazing reading teacher. I have heard more than one colleague exclaim “Liz can teach a ROCK to read!”

Helping one child overcome reading challenges, is enough to change the world in a real way. Mom taught before I was born, taught over 20 years in the Okemos School system in Michigan, and continues to volunteer both in Michigan and in Florida. Mom has truly impacted the lives of thousands of children, many of whom are now adults themselves.

This year, my mother was once more honored for her hard work, changing the lives of kids. She was again awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award at Southwest Elementary school in Polk County, Florida. Here is a peek of the article from the online version of the Polk County local paper, The Ledger.

Here is a photo of Mom with her family… me, Mom, my brother Eric Oscar, and Mom’s partner Fred. Either my husband Brian or Eric’s wife Diana took this photo (I think it was Diana). This was the day we celebrated Mom’s 75th birthday and my brother’s 49th birthday, if I have it right.

Mom has a “recumbent tricycle” on which she rides miles and miles. She rides to the mall, where she takes an exercise class a few times a week, then she rides her bike home. GO, MOM!

Frenzied? Give yourself a gift.

Take 8 minutes. Sit still with a cup of tea or coffee, and watch this video full screen. One glance at this man’s face and I knew I wanted to hear what he had to say. He just looks loving and peaceful to me.

This is not religious in nature. The message is his personal understanding. It is thoughtful and human, and loving.

Sit still and listen. It could change your day.

Living Here & Now

I feel a need to thank every single person who has ever purchased a pattern of mine, who has read this blog, who has taken a class from me. I want to thank every shop, every guild, every fiber festival, every library who has hired me. Thanks to the galleries who have allowed me to display my work.

Last night I was doing bookkeeping before bedtime. I allowed myself to worry a bit. I like to say that “worry is not action,” but sometimes it sneaks up on me when I am not paying attention.

This morning I woke up, and I’d sold several patterns and a Fabulous Heftones CD on my shopping cart while I had slept.

I am very sure I am doing work I was meant to do. I get thank you notes frequently. I can feel the magic in the air when I teach. I see the proverbial “light  bulb” go off over folks heads while I explain new concepts to them.

And people I don’t know, continue to knit my patterns, order my patterns, support me on the merits of a web page’s presentation alone. I am grateful. I am humbled.

Back to my life’s work. Thanks, again.

We must do what we conceive to be right and not bother our heads or burden our souls  with whether we’ll be successful. Because if we don’t do the right thing, we’ll do the wrong thing and we’ll be part of the disease and not part of the cure. ~ E. F. Schumacher

(Photos are Kim’s 2nd Maxi ZigBag, Mary’s Chippy Sock and Gwen’s polymer clay beads. All students in my classes. They inspire me to continue doing what I love.)

I have much in my life for which I’m grateful. First and foremost is my husband, Brian, but I’m happy to say that the list is long.

Yesterday I got an email from someone I don’t know. She is a knitter who bought my Fast Florida Footies in 8 Sizes Pattern, years ago, and who has knit the pattern multiple times. The note just thanked me for the design, and said she’s not done knitting these yet. How kind of her to take the time to write.

This morning, I opened my email and there was another thank you. It was from a student who took my Chippy Socks class this recent past week. She felt it was just the thing she needed, which turned her day around. How wonderful is that? Again, I am touched that she took the time to let me know.

Last night, I went to my PO Box. Not only did I get a check from a customer, but I got a fat padded envelope. It was a gift from a woman who has taken my computer classes numerous times over the years, but who I have not seen in several months. I just love her, I miss her… and then I get a gift from her out of the blue. How incredibly heart-warming! (Thanks, Z!)

In the envelope? An Andean knit hat. The real thing. I’m bowled over. She has me pegged to a “T.” Many people think of me when they see many colors together, and I am honored.

However, if you get down to details, there are some multicolored things that are “me” and many that are not quite. My knitting obsessions are Turkish socks and Andean hats. This gift is spot on, and something hard to find in Michigan, to boot. I’m busy looking at the details, trying to figure out how it was made.

The hat seems to be knit from the bottom edge up to the top, and from a preliminary look I think the ear flaps were picked up and knit to the point, flat. Then the edging which looks like checkerboards appears to have been knit separately and attached. I wonder if it was attached with crochet rather than sewing, this is what I think at first glance.

I wish I had Deb Robson, Priscilla Gibson-Roberts and Nelda Davis to look at this hat with me. They uncovered so many mysteries about my Turkish Socks and a bit about the few Andean hats I had when I spent time with them at Sock Summit last August. Deb could tell on one sock that the knitter had changed not only to another white ball of yarn, but a totally new fleece. Amazing.

Lately with the car expenses, I have allowed myself to become a little  more afraid than I normally am. I think that when one has fear, one must balance action to address the issue causing it, with action acknowledging what one does already have. I’m a lucky person with a fine husband, good food, and a roof over my head.

So tonight we sing at a benefit for the Eaton County SIREN shelter. They turned away over 500 families last year. I am grateful I have never been in need of housing/shelter. I know I’m not better than any of them, just luckier. (They deal with domestic abuse and homelessness, which sometimes intermingle in the same family). I am glad to be part of the assistance they need and deserve.

If you are in the Lansing area, perhaps you would like to come to the event? It will be an amazing show, four performing acts in all… and you will help a fine cause, as well.