Ordinary Time

I fly to Arizona tomorrow, which means I need to think about packing. (Why did I love to pack so much as a child, but dread that as an adult?) True to form, I'm finding myself spending far more time thinking about the books and handwork I will bring rather than what clothes to pack.  I think I have settled on two books. (Just 2! It may be some sort of a record.) I'm taking The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons, which I'm already one hundred pages into. It's about the counter-intelligence spy organization that Ernest Hemingway created in Cuba during WWII, so locate Nazi submarines. While it's fiction, based on the author's notes, the book is actually about 95% based on historical record, including documents previously undisseminated which the author received via FOIA. While it's been a bit slow to start, I think it is going to be very interesting, especially since this is a piece of history I know very little about.  The other book I'm taking is Focus: The  Hi...

Today we are celebrating Y. being able to vote for the first time. I hope you'll forgive me for hoping it's not also her last. 

B. and HC decided they would like me to weave them a light throw as their wedding gift. They also decided that they would like the colors to be similar to the ones which were in HC's bridal bouquet.  And here is what I ended up making for them.  The color is more accurate in this picture. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It looks like what I envisioned. I'm also pleased it is a good weight because for a while I was concerned it would be too thin. The yarn is 50% merino and 50% silk, so it's warm and soft.  In other news, I'll have some more things to share next week. I have a new project for the loom, I'm about to ply a large spinning project, and today L. began working on sewing a pair of jeans. No, she's never seen before, but she wanted to learn to sew and pants were what she was interested in making. I figure if she can learn to make pants, then anything else beyond that will seem easy. I'll be helping her and I chose a pattern with video t...

I'm tired. J. had been out of town all weekend and I've been single parenting. With everyone the ages they are, that's not actually difficult because everyone is helpful. I think it's that I don't sleep well when he's gone and I am a person who very definitely needs my sleep. And what I my key signs that I am more fatigued than usual? Well, I fell asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon and I don't normally do that. I also haven't read nearly as much in the past couple of days because my brain wasn't focusing well. But the biggest indicator is that I found myself getting in an argument on Facebook which the rational, well-rested version of me knows better. Given all that, I think my wisest course of action is to give myself an early bedtime.  This is also a heads-up that posting over the next few weeks could be spotty. I'll be in Arizona next weekend to visit my mom and do a little piano judging. And, in the next few weeks I need to finish writin...

You will have to all bear with me as I read though Radical Homemakers and drag all of you along with me. Despite it having been published in 2010, I don't think things have improved for US society, and in fact, I think there are some important dots to connect as we live through the fall of our democracy.  This first part has to do with busyness. Forgive me for cherry picking quotes, because I really dislike doing so, but if I don't, I will essentially be typing out the entire chapter for you. You don't want that, I don't want that, and the copywrite lawyers certainly don't want that.  To begin: " Indeed, the woes of work have plagued Western society since the industrial revolution imposed clock time upon us. Despite labor regulations, the number of hours we toil today is more than the medieval peasants endured during the feudal period." (p. 88 - Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes) I don't know about you,...

K. took these while he was at work on Tuesday.