OMG! I’M SWIMMING IN YARN……

I’ve just learned that my beloved mother in law is coming to stay for several months. Have to make room for her. Seriously. What to do with all the yarn/books/hooks/magazines/print outs/etc in the ‘yarn room’ that will be her bedroom? I’ve spent the past TWO days – no kidding, hours and hours – organizing, boxing, winding, cutting, sorting, etc this mess.

Does it help to know that I have ADD? Does it help to know that I’m a rotten housekeeper? Does it help to know that I’ve been working way more hours lately than my supposedly part time job usually calls for? Does it help to know that much of the stuff in this room was given to me?

No! None of that knowledge is either an excuse or a solution to this mess. So far, I’ve sorted and boxed many skeins of yarn, way too many computer print outs of patterns, and an astonishing number of UFO’s that have simply been abandoned.

The ADD part for an adult who is supposed to be the main housekeeper is this: If I can’t see it, I don’t know I own it! Well, I know in a vague way that I own lots of yarn, patterns, hooks, etc. And, I may recall in a more specific way that I have lots of red and black RH yarn. But, for the life of me, I cannot tell you -even having recently culled through this mess – if I have enough of anything to crochet a sweater or if I have a G hook in rosewood or even if I have a pattern for a Christmas doily. I’m sure I have all of the above, but I don’t KNOW it.

So, forgive my mess and know that it will be to the advantage of my readers that there will be lots Lots lots of contests soon to receive the overflow of my yarn trove, hooks that I’ll never use, and duplicate pattern mags and books. Don’t go far. I’m gonna unload these things over the next few months and you’ll ALL have a good shot at winning some.

Note: In the interest of full disclosure, the picture above is from an LB blog. I CANNOT find my camera in all this mess. Surprised??

Read These Next

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

Read These Next

Have you read?