fledge: capable of flying

fledge capable of flying, from Middle English flegge, from Old English -flycge; akin to Old High German flucki capable of flying, Old English flEogan to fly -- more at FLY
intransitive verb, of a young bird : to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity

There are four interdependent elements of flight: Lift, thrust, drag and weight. I will categorize each entry in this flight log/blog according to each of these elements of flight. Many things, for example, will end up in the Weight category. While Weight may seem the antithesis of flight, it is usually the things making up the weight--the passengers or payload--that make the reason for initiating flight. Therefore, no Weight, no flight. Thrust will be the things that inspire and propel me and us higher and farther. Drag will be the things that slow me and us down. And Lift will be those magic moments when we leave the earth and soar.

I’m Nancy. I'm having my 15 minutes of fame. Or maybe I’ve already had them. I don’t know exactly, because my fame is supposedly happening in Holland. Yeah, the tulips and windmills and orange-clad soccer fans and coffee houses where the people don’t go for the coffee … Yeah, that place. And maybe Germany, too. And I'm only famous among people who sew. And only famous among those people who sew for their kids. Admittedly, this is not a lot of fame, but it's mine. Because I don’t think fame is necessarily a good thing, it’s fine with me if my fame is going on over there and not here. Here’s the thing: I make sewing patterns for children’s clothes. I’m not the best at it, but occasionally I’ll have a novel idea, an idea with enough innovation to be popular in Holland. (The Dutch, as I understand it, like to sew more than other people. And, according to the United Nations, the Dutch also like children more than other people in 21 of the most economically advanced countries).

Let it suffice that my sewing patterns are onpraktisch and mooi and afgeleidt. If I have had enough red wine to help my translation skills, I understand that to mean pretty, impractical and complicated. Maybe it doesn't. But I'm going with pretty, impractical and complicated. There is a good chance that if you sought out this blog, it is because you may expect some discussion of my crafting. That may happen. However, it may not happen for two reasons: First, there are great crafting blogs out there and mine, I am convinced, will not compare. My world is by no stretch of the imagination sublime objects silhouetted against pastel walls. While I seek order, beauty and novelty, I often end up stumbling. I make mistakes. And that is where I strive to find humor and insight. The second reason is that I like to write. And a blog is a chance for me, having several unused liberal arts degrees, to write skill and talent notwithstanding. There is also an off chance that a few of the people I have met over this medium will stop by and smile, laugh and/or scratch their heads at whatever I am trying to say, just like the people in my real life. I may also write a thing or two in German, because I speak German. But not Dutch. Which is too bad, because, you see, I might be famous in Holland. As the name of this blog suggests, I’m peering temerariously over the edge of my comfortable world, ready to try something new. I may land on my face. I may soar. This will be my flight log. Let’s stow our thoughts in the overhead compartment and get blogging.