I did not actually forget about Tuesday Bloglets yesterday.  I just kept getting distracted by other things.  Like the O.C. And needing a nap.  And a yarn sale at JoAnn's Fabrics.

Yesterday I walked up to Joann's Fabrics and bought two things of yarn.  I've kind of fallen in love with the neopolitan color scheme and they had a couple of variations on it there.  Now the yarn has been balled up and is sitting on my coffee table.  I'm feeling a little bit tortured because I have a ton of work to do, but all I want to do is play with my yarn.

Most of my friends (and my family probably) are surprised that a) I know how to crochet (sort of) and that b) I actually do enjoy crafty things.  Just because I don't usually do them doesn't mean I have no use for them.  Nan, my Mom's Mom (my oldest cousin couldn't say Grandma when she was little so she started calling her Nan and so now that's what all of the grandkids call her), was very crafty.  She could crochet, she could sew, she could quilt, she could cook, she could garden.  Seriously, the woman is a handcraft/growing/cooking genius.  If she had been born today, she could outdo Martha Stewart in her inventiveness and creativity.  Except, unlike Martha, she used things normal people had lying around the house.  She made a stepstool for me once out of old soup cans and fabric–which did not end up looking like it was made from soup cans and fabric at all.  Every girl in our family got a "Barbie cake" for her sixth birthday–It was a cake built in the shape of a dress that was worn by a Barbie doll.  I can't remember what color mine was, but it was awesome.  She crocheted afghans and hats and potholders and pooping ducks (the duck was crocheted and was filled with jellybeans which could only be reached by squeezing them out of the duck's *ahem*).  Whenever we'd visit her, she'd cook these huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge meals.  Ham or turkey or roast beef and many many side dishes.  She could grow pretty much anything.  I guess when my Mom was a kid she grew all of their food–the fruit, the vegetables, even the herbs and spices used on their food, and she has always had beautiful gardens, even when the only space she had was a small plot of dirt outside of her window.

Of course, growing up I never much cared about learning how to do any of that.  I was much more into books and CDs and computers than I was anything crafty.  If we want to be really honest (and what else is a blog for), I turned my nose up at all of it.  I was one of those "why make it when you can buy it?" kids–and young adults.  I appreciated everything she gave me and everything she did for us, but learning how to do her things didn't interest me much.

Lately though, I've been looking down the craft aisles.  I started really getting interested in cooking a couple of years ago when I had to (Will begged me to make something that did not involve ground beef) and now I'm doing my best to keep Ralph the Begonia alive.  I like the idea of doing crafts and keeping my hands busy.  Mostly, though, I like the idea of being crafty for my kids (if I ever have them).  I like the idea of knowing how to make stuff that they can actually use and being more than an "okay, yesterday we made pictures with macaroni.  Today we are going to….make pictures with macaroni!" crafty Mom.  I like the idea of working on a larger project, like a quilt, with my kids.  I like the idea of passing down something that has been important in my family history.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so busy and that I had enough money to take a few weeks off from work, go up to Idaho and say "Okay, Nan.  Teach me.  Let's pass this stuff down."  I think, at least for me, that kind of family heirloom is way better than anything tangible.

And right now I also really really want to play with my yarn.

*Chandler Bing, Friends