After months of writing nothing – and before that writing solely about life after my marriage ended – a request for instructions on how I make upcycled dog toys is what gets me to post again.

I’d been thinking about writing again for some time, but kept getting stuck on how best to resume. Should I archive all my divorce-themed posts? If I’m writing about upcycling and making (the original purpose of this site) what would new visitors think when they started reading through my three-year-walkabout? I let my hesitations become hurdles and convinced myself it must not be the right time to resume.

Then, this afternoon, I used Facebook to crowdsource old t-shirts I could use to make upcycled dog toys for a local pet rescue. Within minutes I got a handful of messages – individuals, Girl Scout Troop leaders, curious friends – asking, “How do you make those?” The answer was too much for a quick reply, but not so complicated I couldn’t answer, so I snapped a few pics, made a down and dirty set of instructions, then posted the tutorial on my website, so I could easily share the link next time someone asked.

How cool is it that I can do that? Every year, I consider not renewing my website or switching to something simpler, then a moment like this happens and I think how grateful I am to have this site, to share anything I like with people I like about the things I like.

Oh, and how cool is it that the educator and maker in me popped her head out of the sand and actually felt like responding?

I’m still not sure how I’ll get back into my blogging groove. The amount of writing I did while processing my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad three years was quite the digression. Maybe I can find a way to bookend it and just move on. Or maybe I will archive it and keep just the creative posts front and center. Whatever I decide, I just wanted to say “I’m back.” (I think.) and thanks for hanging in with me.