Marcie, I am so glad things went well for you in court!!  When will your school semester be done and how much longer till you have completed your masters?  You are setting such a great example for your daughter, even if she may not understand it right now.  I have been trying to wrap up lots of odds and ends before I start working full time the beginning of May.  Give me a call or write when you get a chance, and take care! :)

Blessings and Peace to you :)

Karen

Hi Marcie :)

I just wanted to say hi and that I really enjoyed our talk :).  We'll have to do that more!  Hope you're doing good, talk to you soon,

Karen

Hi Marcie, it's Karen H :)

I hope you're doing okay.  I hadn't heard from you in a couple days and just hope you are doing alright :).

Karen

Hi Marcie :)

I love what you said to your daughter about being beautiful without make-up!  I'm surprised that she is that old - you look like you'd have younger children.  Now is Laura the 18 year old?  and you have two, right?  I don't know if Missy will come with me or not (she's 21).  She lives with me, and we do practically everything together.  I've been very ill in the past and still struggle with PTSD and she had so much trouble with her dad too (she just now is talking to him again after 3 years of no contact - he was pretty cruel to her) that we became really close and she feels a very strong sense to "take care of" or protect me in some ways.  But anyway, I'm not sure if she will come or not.  I wonder what all we will do over those couple of days at the gathering? 

You mentioned your knitting buddies... do you belong to a knitting group?  How fun :).  I also knit and crochet - I feel like I nearly always have to keep my hands busy doing something.  What do you like to knit?  I recently made a heathery gray triangle shawl in a simple garter stitch, and it has some yarn-over "holes" running up the edges.   Now I'm working on a long-style shawl in blue, it's crochet with popcorn stitches on the main body of it - a bit of an Aran look.  I also  love knitting socks and mittens. 

I would love to talk on the phone, but I would hate to call at a bad time.  We are in the same time zone, I'm sure.  It sounds like you are very busy with work and school, and being a single parent!  so you can let me know when a good time would be :).  I suppose you have a Kentucky accent and I have a Michigan accent, aye, lol?  Well I would love to hear more about your life, so write back when you can.  Have a great weekend!  Blessings to you!

Karen

Hi Marcie :)

I love camp fires too!  We've camped up in northern MI and in the UP - my absolutely favorite place in the world is way up on the shore of Lake Superior - it's incredibly gorgeous and peaceful up there.  I don't have a tent anymore, but I was actually thinking of just sleeping in my van, if I do camp.  I fixed it up when we started camping and have a solar panel installed on top of it and two deep cycle batteries in it - they allow me to have light and a fan in there if I want.  There is only one back seat, so I can stretch out and sleep on one whole half of it, on an air mattress.  It was actually nice and cozy. 

I had asked Isabel what she thought of the accommodations there (at the gathering) and she said the camping was very nice, and the dorms were nice, but hot, with no AC.  If we have electricity at the campsite then that makes it that much easier to have some niceties.  I'm sorry I don't the ages of your children... will you be bringing them?  How long will it take you to drive there - you're in KY, right?  Well it sure sounds like it could be a wonderful experience! 

I think it's wise of you to have someone make your dresses for you - it sounds like you are very, very busy!  I was going to say from before that it's really nice that your work accepts your way of dress.  Have you had good experiences from 'going plain'? 

My 4 kids are ages 18 - 25 and they are extremely supportive of me - we went through a lot of really hard times before and after my divorce, so we are really close.  They accept me just the way I am, thank goodness :).  My oldest daughter is 21 and her boyfriend/fiance was a tattoo artist, so she has many tattoos and piercings, and was judged very harshly at times because of it.  She is the absolute sweetest, most giving person I know (he is like a son to me too) and I've learned a lot in recent years about not judging people by how they look. 

I have been sewing a lot lately, trying to transition to a more plain wardrobe, and I didn't like the style of dress I was wearing.  I've made a gray dress and a dark blue one, and also used some material (actually it was a sheer, cotton curtain) into a couple of kerchiefs.  Oh! and I am so excited I finally have some nice shoes, that will "go better" with plainer dresses.  I actually got a pair of black paddock-type boots... I used to have a pair I always wore when we had our farm.  They are rugged but still feminine.  I ordered some black cotton knee-highs for very cheap also from King's Daughters.  I don't know about the heat though... do you wear sandals when it's hot out? 

Well sorry I've talked your ears off!  Have a good night and blessings to you and your family :)  Oh, and my daughter (the troubled one) actually went for a job interview today, and did really well, so that was so uplifting :).  Take care,

Karen

Hi Marcie :)

It's Karen Hofbauer ~ thank you for your support on my "Plain Comfort" discussion.  I appreciate it so much :).  It always amazes me how many, many women I've talked to that have had similar experiences in their lives.  

I am wondering how your sewing has been going and if you've gotten any more dresses done?  Sewing and knitting or crocheting is like therapy for me!  I am also wondering how in the world do I request someone as a "friend" on QQ?  I click on "add friends" but then I don't know quite what to do! 

I also see that you RSVP'd for the Ohio Yearly Meeting get together in June.  I would absolutely love to go - it's a 4 1/2 hour drive for me, but I'm going to try to be able to make it. I'm wondering how the accommodations are that you can reserve... How far will it be for you to travel there? 

Well I hope you are doing well and I would love to hear from you :).  Thanks again,

Karen

As far as participating in a re-enactment . . . I don't see any reason to offer any hard and fast rules about it. I am certainly more glad to have a re-enactor dress as a Quaker who actually feels the Truth in the way Quakers traditionally have. If thee feels a stop from thy Inward Guide, that would be the important thing.

:)