Introduction to the Hands Series

There's something empowering about working well with your hands.  Someone whines, "I need a hair cut!  But all the salons are booked!"

And you reply, "Let me cut it for you."

Or say you need to think of a birthday present for someone.  You think no further, and say to yourself, "I'll just make a them a blanket!"  

I dream about the day when I don't just say, but can actually do these things.

That's why I'm starting this project.  All my life, I've always been the sister who's "not-too-good-with-the-hands."  A running joke amongst my two sisters and I.  I'll be trying to make a bracelet with them, and my older sister Mary will take over saying, "Not too good with the hands, eh?"

It's endearing up to a point.  And after I cross that point, I just look completely helpless.  And no one want to pity a helpless twenty-four-and-a-half year old, do they?  It's time I learn how to do some shit.

Here's what I have on the agenda to learn:

--Change a tire

--Check my oil

--Braid hair

--Make a blanket

--Hem paints

--Paint a picture

--Bake a beautiful and delicious cake

--Cook a complex meal for three

--Wrap a present really well

I'd like to tie in some research and some interviews with each one.  Say, if I change a tire, look up some fun facts about GoodYear.  Or say if I go to Black Beauty Salon to learn how to make cornrows, do a simultaneous profile on the hairdresser.

The thing is, when people ask if I know how to do something, I want to respond with a big, fat YES, instead of looking at them with a question mark shaped face.  I want to be a Renaissance woman.  Someone you can rely on to do something, someone who will surprise you because they know how to do so freakin' much!

Time to go there.