In 1787, a man named Robert Burns was ploughing a field in Scotland when he accidentally destroyed a nest that a mouse had built in preparation for the coming winter. According to his brother, when it occurred to Burns that his actions would lead that mouse to certain death, he composed a poem to the ill-fated rodent with his plough still in hand. That poem was aptly named, “To a Mouse.” Its famous fourth stanza reads: “But Mouse, you are not alone, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy!” If you are not a master of 18th century Scottish poetry (I very much am not), this stanza is most likely more familiar when summarized as “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” As I have planned, attempted, and subsequently failed to commit to blogging several times, I had that notion of mice and men and their plans in my mind when I decided to draft this post. And, w
My many adventures - and misadventures - in crafting.