Uncategorized - Wendy Townley

Posts Archived From: 'May 2014'

Celebrate Philanthropy May 21

May 17, 2014 | No Comments

Giving has never felt quite this good.

On Wednesday, May 21, more than 500 charities in the Omaha metro will benefit from donations made during Omaha Gives!, a twenty-four-hour online charitable holiday.

Organized for the second consecutive year by the Omaha Community Foundation, Omaha Gives! is a concentrated effort designed to raise funds and awareness for organizations both big and small.

The Omaha Public Library Foundation, where I serve as development director, is an Omaha Gives! participating nonprofit again this year. In 2013, the library foundation raised nearly $30,000 during Omaha Gives! from more than one-hundred donors, matching funds, and a $1,000 prize.

As you peruse this year’s participants, please consider making a $10 gift (or larger) to the library foundation.

Since 1985, the library foundation has raised funds and advocated for Omaha Public Library, its twelve branches, patrons, programs, services, and staff.

Printed Words on Parade

May 8, 2014 | No Comments

I still recall the cover, deep red and worn and not at all striking or memorable in design. Bennet Cerf’s Book of Laughs was a title I discovered at my grade school library sometime in the late 1980s. Something about the quips and clever one-liners caught me.

The library tracking card affixed inside the front cover featured my oversized and careful childhood signature, line after line, month after month. I took pride in the temporary ownership of that book, poring over each page. The number of consecutive times I checked out the book escapes me, but I remember it was a lot.

Today, more than twenty-five years later, I couldn’t tell you a single sentence from that title without an exhaustive Google search. (Or, better yet, tracking down a used copy.)

Yet in a heartbeat I could recount how the book smelled (something old and wonderful) and how it made me feel (Robert Aris Willmott said it best: “A first book has some of the sweetness of a first love.”).

In many ways, that little book of jokes unknowingly paved the way for my adult life.

Humor has always been ever-present. It started with my family – where belly laughs are the main course of any gathering – and continued with the man I married, whose comic genius keeps me in equal parts tears and stitches.

My love of the written word evolved from Bennet Cerf’s popular publication to various fiction titles and literary classics through high school and beyond, to time spent studying journalism in college, working as a newspaper reporter, and publishing my first book in 2010.

And today, in my full-time role as development director of the Omaha Public Library Foundation, I’m surrounded by books. My weekdays are spent in our city’s four-story, main branch downtown. My working hours are filled advocating and raising money for the Omaha Public Library system and its twelve branches.

When I look around my home at the hundreds of titles I have collected, read, savored, pondered, and enjoyed over the years, I am struck with the strong emotion I feel for these thousands of pages. The letters become words, the words become sentences, the sentences become paragraphs. Together they create magical, memorable experiences.

>> Continue reading my latest essay, “Printed Words on Parade,” at COOP, an online lifestyle publication produced by Birdhouse Interior Design.

The Resurgence of Handmade

February 3, 2014 | No Comments

Colorful skeins of yarn have slowly, seemingly effortlessly taken up residence in my home. I can’t quite pinpoint when my casual interest in knitting transformed to a full-time hobby. But I can tell you that, on likely a subconscious level, I had grown increasingly weary of digital devices and can’t-quite-touch data that seemed to dominate my hands at any given hour.

And I began referring to my home office as my craft room.

My mother-in-law taught me to knit. After observing her pass the time using a craft whose hallmark is repetition, I slowly began practicing this time honored tradition. A year later, I’m happy to have gifted a number of knitted pieces to family members and friends, proud enough of mastering the basic techniques of casting on, the knit stitch, changing colors, and casting off.

The weights and textures and rainbow of colors at any craft store or website is easy on the eye. I experience a sublime sense of calm while circling my hands around a chunky wool yarn or a more sleek and thinner variety. (Yes, I’ve even rubbed the yarn on my face while shopping. It’s true!)

Inspiration for new knitted pieces – largely scarves, wraps, coasters, and small blankets – surface in a number of places. A color combination might catch my eye at the grocery store, such as the pinks and yellows of Easter candy. I tend to turn the colors around in my head the same way I might a peppermint in my mouth, until I locate the colors of yarn that mimic those same pleasing, pastel hues.

>> Continue reading my latest essay, “The Resurgence of Handmade,” at COOP, an online lifestyle publication produced by Birdhouse Interior Design.

Light, Warmth of Heartland Yarn

January 26, 2014 | 2 Comments

So long as the howling winds and sub-zero wind chills of this Nebraska winter stick around, my knitting needles remain full and in motion. While I’m drawn to the pastel hues of pinks and yellows, an obvious eagerness for spring, there’s still a satisfying comfort with countless cozy yarns.

Last month I shared the results of using Lion Brand Yarn’s newest yarn, Unique. And although we’re already a month out from Christmas, I wanted to share one of my most favorite gifted items of this past holiday season: a blue scarf for my brother-in-law Ben.

As I hinted around for Ben’s Christmas list, he mentioned that he needed a new scarf. Given the fact that I’m an avid knitter (taught to knit, as luck would have it, by Ben’s mom), I was more than happy to craft a warm scarf in his favorite color: blue.

It would be my first time using Lion Brand’s Heartland yarn (I picked a very pretty and very patriotic color: Olympic) and I was curious about the final product. The lighter weight allowed for a more detailed scarf, showing off the dazzling blues throughout the piece.

I have taken for granted the quickness with which I can knit a basic scarf using a thicker yarn (hence the name, Wool-Ease Thick & Quick). The Heartland yarn takes a bit longer to knit, but the scarf is no less lovely (if I do say so myself).

Just ask Ben, who so kindly agreed to show off his Christmas gift before we took down our tree earlier this month.

Anyone who knows Ben knows that he just loves the camera, as you
can so easily tell. His expressions are truly priceless!

Is it any wonder he and Matt are radio personalities and comedians? We spend a considerable amount of time in stitches (pun intended!), as you might imagine.

But back to the yarn: I could easily envision using several skeins of colorful Heartland yarn to knit a blanket or oversized throw. It would be great to have in the winter, but also during the warmer months when a lighter blanket will do.

The best part of knitting and crafting in general: my to-do list continually grows!

One of the other knitting highlights of the holidays was a handmade gift I received from my equally creative husband, Matt. We call it the Yarn Barn: a wooden box designed to hold my knitting projects and needles while effortlessly feed the yarn I’m using. I can easily work on two projects at once without the hassle of yarns getting tangled. And when I’m ready to take a break? I simply close the lid.

Every knitter needs a Yarn Barn!

Editor’s note: This blog post was published in collaboration with Lion Brand Yarn. Follow Lion Brand Yarn on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more knitting inspiration.

Using Digital to Tell an Analog Story

December 27, 2013 | 4 Comments

This blog post originally began as an overview of my new digital camera. In celebration of turning thirty-five earlier this month, I used a portion of my birthday money toward the Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR camera. While I enjoy taking photos just for fun, the purchase was also made to improve the quality of photos here on shaggy-money.flywheelsites.com.

We know the writing for years has been flawless (ha!). However, I say with all truthfulness that since Grain & Mortar gave shaggy-money.flywheelsites.com a much needed design overhaul, I often felt that my blog’s (primarily iPhone) photography was subpar and, at times, distracting.

With great excitement I purchased my first Canon and debuted its image quality with my recent knitting blog post. (This one’s my favorite!)

Then, on Christmas Eve, I unboxed this beauty from my husband. (And shortly thereafter, grabbed my new Canon.)

A vintage Underwood typewriter.

I gasped not only when I ripped open the festive wrapping, but also when I attempted to remove it from the box. It weighs a ton! For years I have longed for an older model typewriter, something tying me to my journalist’s roots. And this Christmas, Matt answered that call in the best way possible.

The Missouri Valley, Iowa, antique dealer who sold Matt the Underwood isn’t a typewriter expert and couldn’t pass along much information about its origin.

I share these photos not only to brag on my new analog beauty, but to pose a handful of questions to you, dear readers and fellow typewriter fanatics. What more can you tell me about this model? How old do you suppose it is? And, where can I purchase a new ribbon? (All of the keys appear to work just fine.)

I find myself tap-tap-tapping away at the old typewriter keys – yes, the little bell even works! – and daydreaming of all the ways I’ll use my new Underwood.

For a writer who has only written on computers, telling a story on such an old machine will serve as a lesson in patience. Typing doesn’t come as quickly when the keys stand sprightly and stiff-necked.

Yet somehow I know the experience will be just as magical – if not more so – as typing the tens of thousands of words I have thus far on my beloved MacBook Air and all of the Macintoshes that have come before.

Colorful Stitches for Christmas

December 20, 2013 | No Comments

Since learning to knit late last year, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to begin knitting pieces for family and friends. (Well, OK. Let me stop right there. Even more exciting than knitting is shopping for yarn. Am I right? So many colors! And textures! And weights! Honestly, my head becomes a just a little dizzy thinking about it.)

But back to the knitting. By the time I mastered the standard knit stitch, it was nearly Valentine’s Day, which meant any knitted gifts for Christmas would have to wait another ten months. So I perfected the basics and my technique, stockpiled yarn to the point of hoarding, subscribed to a million knitting blogs and email newsletters, and yes, even opened the virtual doors to a modest online shop through Etsy.

Fellow knitters, crafters, and DIY-ers can understand my delight when, earlier this year as July became August and the days grew longer, I slowly began planning my knitted gifts for the Christmas season. Given the fact that Christmas is only five days away and I’m fairly certain the recipients of my handiwork read my blog, I’ll keep my lips sealed on the details of the aforementioned gifts. (For now.)

However, I can tell you that after grabbing my eyeglasses each morning I immediately reach for my knitting needles. The past few weeks they’ve rarely been empty. When I’m not knitting, I find myself thinking about knitting.

It’s a wonderful way to relax, unwind, and ignite my creativity. Just shopping for yarn provides enough motivation that I often leave Hancock Fabrics, Michel’s, Hobby Lobby, and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft with multiple projects on my to-knit list. When I learned about Lion Brand Yarn’s new Unique yarn, I was drawn by the variety of color and pattern just one skien effortlessly provides.

I began experimenting with a basic scarf. The Unique yarn provided a lighter weight than my trusted Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, but with a gorgeous variety of hues. Rarely have I knitted with needles smaller than US 11, so I was skeptical how the final product would look. Now that my Unique (pun intended) scarf is complete, I couldn’t be happier. The ombre effect is beautiful, the texture is soft, the weight is light, and the stitches are flawless. The red/maroon/navy combination is perfect for the bolder colors of winter; however, I’m eager to try Unique’s other colors in the coming months.

Next month I’ll provide an overview of Lion Brand’s other newer yarn, Heartland.

What’s on your crafting table in these final days before Christmas?

Editor’s note: This blog post was published in collaboration with Lion Brand Yarn. Follow Lion Brand Yarn on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more knitting inspiration.

Untying Emotion: Tyler Knott Gregson

December 17, 2013 | No Comments

One of the great things about Twitter is the peaceful, meandering jaunt on which I often find myself. A few gentle scrolls of my mouse and away I go, clicking on a retweet to a website that, until this moment, was foreign.

That’s precisely how, earlier this year via Twitter, I stumbled upon the typewriter poetry of Tyler Knott Gregson. With analog typography and emotions so stark and searing you find yourself, at times, holding your breath while reading, Tyler’s blog has become a popular destination for writers, readers, lovers, and creators. (He’s even popular on Pinterest. Tyler’s Typewriter Series board has nearly 18,000 followers.)

After several hours clicking through his previous works, the charities he supports, his awe-inspiring outdoor photography, and his life living with Asperger syndrome, the journalist in me had a handful of questions for Tyler. Not the least of which included: How do you do all of this? What’s the source of your continual creativity? And why are you drawn to typewriters?

Read on for my recent Q&A with Tyler Knott Gregson.

WT: Let’s begin with your background. Where did you grow up, and where do you call home today?

TKG: I grew up all over the United States as my dad was in professional baseball. We would live half the year in Montana, where I currently live, and the other half wherever my dad’s team happened to be that year. We traveled A LOT growing up, non-stop.

Describe a few of your fondest childhood memories, ones that you reflect upon and revisit even today.

Holidays always stand out, as they’ve always been huge to my family and they never really lost the magic. Besides that, the way I grew up was so inspiring because we were constantly on the go and constantly meeting new people in new places. Seeing the whole range of the country.

Typewriter Series #620 by Tyler Knott Gregson

When did you first begin to dabble in poetry?

I think, besides writing poetry for elementary school projects and such, my first poetry written for no other reason than for me just to write was when I was 12 years old. I loved it and it kind of took off and I haven’t stopped since. I just have too many words inside, and they have to come out.

When did you begin making your poetry public? And, what has been the response from readers?

I started blogging back in 2003 with Blogger and would occasionally share my poetry, but it wasn’t really until my Daily Haiku on Love series that people really began to notice and to read. I never expected the snowball effect that has occurred, and I am still shocked by it today. The response has been overwhelming and fantastic, but, as always, there are those who really don’t like what I do, or why I do it. People like what they like and they don’t what they don’t, and so I’ve always just written for me, because it helps me.

How do you create your poems? Do you own a typewriter and scan your works? Is it Photoshop? Something else?

I use a Remington Rand Seventeen typewriter (made in 1928, I believe) and I use scraps of paper I find all over the place to type the poetry on. Then I scan them in, and make them into files I can post online. It’s all done analog until I need to get them on the computer.

I understand that you live with Asperger’s. Tell me more about this condition and how it impacts your life.

I think the things inside us all that make us who we are — be they disabilities, conditions, whatever — are what will turn us into the people we are meant to be. I think my creativity comes from this. From the fact that I don’t have a filter and I feel and see things ‘uncensored,’ in a way. I have always believed it is part of what allows me to see the world as magic, all the time. Fresh eyes, always fresh eyes I am seeing things through.

Typewriter Series #602 by Tyler Knott Gregson

What is your philosophy as a creative? How do you approach creative projects?

I have always believed that true creativity comes from not being taught how to do it. I know many would disagree, but for me, I was always terrified when it comes to creative endeavors, that being taught by someone would inherently make my creative work like theirs. It would be painted in their hues, sound like their words, or resemble their photographs.

I never wanted that, so I self-taught myself on everything. I think creativity is just letting all the things inside you out, and trying your best not to filter them.

Share with me details of your work as a photographer.

I have a photography company, TreehousePhotography.org, with my amazing and wonderful partner, Sarah Linden. We shoot mainly weddings, but we photograph everything and we do so all over the world. It’s an absolute joy and it’s our most favorite thing to do and we love traveling and meeting new people. What an amazing thing to be with people on their absolute best days.

His eyes are smiling: Tyler Knott Gregson wears a beanie in support of the charity Krochet Kids.

Complete the following sentence: “On a cold and snowy Sunday afternoon, I prefer nothing more than …”

Drinking a ton of tea, looking out my big front windows, and watching the snow fall down on to the city below me. Reading a book, watching a movie, laying under a blanket, and just taking a deep breath.

Favorite comfort food?

Once again I would probably have to say tea. I love tea: cold, hot, whatever, I love it. And avocados. I love avocados.

Name three books that have taught you the most.

The book that got me started on Buddhism: The Teachings of Buddha. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. And the last is technically a young adult book, but The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Eat This: Did Someone Say Nutella?

December 4, 2013 | 3 Comments

Certain recipes and I have become the very best of friends.

(Thanks, Pinterest!)

Which is not to say that I fancy myself a good cook. Far from it. I’m an average cook who has a penchant for order, which means I can follow directions (structure) to the letter.

Any number of the recipes I’ve posted in this special space are among my favorites and those I’m best at preparing. I feel it my responsibility to share such recipes with my readers who pine to perform in the kitchen, but aren’t always certain where to start.

Which brings me to Nutella.

Yes, Nutella. That creamy, sweet, gooey, curiously wonderful, hazelnut spread that some love and some loathe. I wouldn’t call Nutella a replacement for peanut butter (it’s not), but rather a scrumptious condiment I dare you to try if you haven’t already done so.

Don’t let the brown coloring fool you. It’s sweet, but not sweet like chocolate.

Those who love Nutella will back me up. Fork over the four dollars, buy yourself a small tub, and spread it on toast or a banana (my favorite). If you don’t immediately follow that by eating the rest with a serving spoon, you’ll have enough Nutella left to make this delectable recipe that I have made three times in the past two weeks.

These cookies are far beyond the beloved chocolate chip cookies you know and love, so take advantage of this cookie gifts delivered service and surprise your family. They take dessert (or, if I’m completely honest, breakfast) in a wonderful new dimension and direction.

I present to you Nutella Lava Cookie Cups by Julie Chiou of the too-cute-for-words food blog Table for Two.

Trust me when I say this recipe is worth bookmarking and baking throughout the year. It may take a bit more handiwork, but they’d also be adorable made using a pan of mini muffins. Don’t just keep special treats for the holidays! And be sure to have enough cold milk or hot chocolate on hand.

Knever Stop Knitting

November 26, 2013 | 4 Comments

It’s the holiday season, which means my fingers (when not texting or scrolling) have been busy knitting.

Can you keep a secret? A handful of family members will find knitted pieces under the tree this year. Which means shopping for yarn has never been more gratifying or adventurous.

There, I said it: shopping for yarn is an adventure!

Then there are the pieces I’m knitting for charity, those for close friends, and the orders from my Etsy shop.

I’m finding (and sharing) color, texture, and design inspiration from Pinterest, #knitting, and Instagram, of course, but also in the countless catalogs clogging my mailbox. It’s a sensory-overload time of year, yet I couldn’t be happier.

And speaking of good cheer, I’m excited to mention another partnership with Lion Brand Yarns. You may recall Lion Brand’s involvement earlier this year when I hosted an afternoon of newbie knitters.

Next month I’ll try my (knitting) hands at two of Lion Brand’s newest yarns, Unique and Heartland. Unique’s colorful tweed design has kept my wheels turning on a number of potential projects.

Watch for my post next month with a snapshot of my finished products.

‘Tis the season for everything handmade and DIY. Even the simplest and least expensive projects can make the best gifts. What are you crafting this month?

Attempting Daily Gratitude

November 21, 2013 | 8 Comments

It seems so simple, doesn’t it? Saying “thank you.” Being thankful. Welcoming gratitude at whatever the day may bring.

This movement toward gratitude surfaced on Facebook the first of November. Suddenly hundreds of people were beginning their days with status updates focused on gratitude.

“Today I’m thankful for …”

To say I was tempted to join the conversation would be a true statement. Gratitude — in the best of times and the worst of times — is good for the soul. It centers you. It calms you. It reveals what matters most.

Rather than logging on to Facebook each morning, I reached instead for my favorite pen and a new pink journal. The journal was a gift from the Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska, thanking me for speaking at their YWE Lead Conference earlier this month. What better place to privately record thoughts of gratitude than within the pages of a thank-you gift?

The timing was just too perfect.

My first journal entry is dated November 2. I sat in front of my journal, a latte nearby, and just began writing. Journaling is something I’ve never quite felt comfortable doing. As a writer and journalist, my essays and articles have always been crafted for public consumption. Writing something for my eyes only rarely felt natural.

Yet I owned this new journal. Everyone around me (on Facebook) dug deep to identify gratitude. And I felt that I arrived at a place in my life where a greater focus on deeper, more meaningful issues were needed. So, I began to journal on the first blank page.

My most productive and creative hours occur before 9 a.m., which is why I strive to journal before work during the week, and before starting my day of errands and such on the weekends. Before picking up my pen and turning to a clean page, I’m certain to have a one-word answer to the question, What am I thankful today?

And then, I just write. Free writing. Unlike magazine articles and blog posts, I’ve given myself permission to write without an outline, to develop ideas as I go. From a writing perspective, I find it to be a foreign concept.

As I write about gratitude every day or two, I have unwittingly made discoveries about my own life, my behavior, my relationships with others. Such inward reflection wasn’t something I expected, but it has proven to be a welcomed byproduct. The little lessons I have learned just by putting pen to paper have made me grateful for simply that.

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