Expanding by Exploring

Such a great night! And I practically had to kick my own arse out the door:) But I'm so glad I did! You can only stare at your own four walls for so long before you simply must get out. So first I went to the UICA (you lovely!) and listened to/watched an informative video on hand "knotted" rugs by Tibetan refugees and their descendants in Nepal. That was interesting and informative. Plus there were a lot of interior design students there, attending the lecture for credit, so I feel like I got a really good education! I learned all about the different properties of wool and the long process of creating a beautiful, intricate rug by hand. There are so many detailed, painstaking steps. It was actually inspiring to see the different ways the weave rugs in various cultures--Persian, Indian, Turkish and Japanese. It reminded me a lot of the lecture I attended yesterday at The GRAM, and saying that out loud, I'm sure the overlap in concepts was intentional. To foster a connection between your GRAM experience and that found at the UICA:) Makes me feel very important that the two museums went to such lengths to educate me (and the other attendees) properly! Later tonight, I hustled a little but got over to a social event at a micro-brewery in town that I rarely get to. Felt kinda bad for being so late. But since I couldn't find any open space at a table, I sat on my walker at the end of an aisle next to two women who became my friends! We ended up sharing a brownie ala mode and some adult beverages together;) It was wonderful! And I was reminded that life can be full of surprises. Sometimes if you step out of your comfort zone, it opens up the whole world to you. I hadn't come to the event expecting to make friends. But I came to the event! And it turned into one of the most fun experiences I've had so far this summer:) I have to remember to push myself out there more often. "Hermitting" in my apartment, though it might be a "go to" more often than not sometimes, really loses its luster after a while. As my friends and I walked home in the happy glow of the night still continuing, we were called into a conversation by an attractive couple having dinner outside on the balmy night. Before long, each of the three of us ladies was having a different conversation with somebody else on the other side of the patio wall! I mentioned that to the gentleman from Chicago as we chatted. He responded "only in America." Yes, this is the image I've always had of it too! We've never not been great, though there have been dark times. My home has always been a mixed back of beautiful and scary, intelligent and silly, able and disabled:) THAT'S what makes us truly great.