Every day I drive down a small stretch of our town’s Main Street in order to drop my kids off at the elementary school, which is nestled a block over in the midst of a tightly-packed residential area, full of quirky old houses and frustratingly-narrow streets. The town has around 7,000 residents and, contrary to popular belief about small-town Nebraska, is wonderfully diverse. A sizable chunk of the population is Hispanic (which is the primary reason I’m trying to learn Spanish)—a relatively recent shift in demographics from the primarily German/Czech heritage in this area. When I first moved here years ago I could still feel the tension in the air from that shift, but it seems to be steadily dissipating; the community has shown willingness to come together and forge an entirely new identity, which I love.

The city has been working on revitalizing its aging downtown area. Many businesses now have new awnings, building facades have undergone historical renovations, and new trees have been planted along the sidewalks. Still, many spots are still sitting empty and looking generally trashy, which is something I’d love to change.

I’ve been dreaming of having a little shop in this town for a long time, but I was never sure what exactly I would want it to be. A bookstore? A café? A few weeks ago an idea cropped up in my mind and has been nagging at me ever since: what about a yarn shop? I could offer a place to buy supplies, gather, take classes: a lovely third space for people who like to knit, crochet, sew, quilt, weave, whatever. There could be coffee, lots of plants, comfy couches.

I don’t know if it will ever happen, but if it does, it will be largely because of YarnBuddy. Working on this app has given me confidence that I can offer something helpful to the world. My husband thinks it’s a cool idea. We’ve even been mulling over the idea of buying some alpacas and making our own yarn. We have the land, the time, and the means…why not? Anyway, I wanted to put this dream down in words because if it does come true…well, this is where it started.

This blog will always be primarily about Apple, technology, and app development, but I don’t suppose you’d mind a little occasional farm-related content? After all, we all need to get out and touch grass now and then. :)