I Shouldn't Be Annoyed

   I wrote this poem a few years ago (It feels like yesterday.) At the time I didn't think it was worth publishing, but when I happened upon it recently, it ministered to me. It still has the coarseness that embarrassed me when it was written, but the lack of refinement in the poem fits the theme.

I Shouldn't Be Annoyed
      I shouldn't be annoyed
      Though others seem devoid
Of decency and common sense,
And do their best to give offence.

      Despite repeated pain,
      I really can't complain.
Although I feel myself unnerved,
No better things have I deserved.

      My own poor heart is vile,
      And filled with treacherous guile,
And that deceitful, wicked heart
Has often played the tempter's part.

      With my unmanaged tongue
      Have I too often stung
The tender feelings of a friend
Whom better dealings should attend.

      I creep among the worms
      And share their guilty germs ~
My fellow creatures nothing owe
To one who shares their lot below.

Nita Brainard, December 2008

To Knit or Crochet?

   When people find out I knit, they frequently ask, "Oh, do you crochet, too?" often adding, "It's easier, you know." Ha! Easier? Perhaps if you haven't been knitting for 35 years or more, it is, but for me? I tried to crochet an afghan recently. The edge was so uneven that I finally decided that it would be easier to rip it up and knit one than to try to fix it. Before I finished ripping it up, I got a picture:

   The knitted one:

   Nonetheless, when a customer asked me to make Bonita Patterns' Crocodile Boots for his sister, I couldn't resist the challenge. It was a challenge, but they turned out well: