Ordinary Time

I've just finished reading, With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories by Nicole Nehrig. I highly recommend it. It takes you on a journey around the world and through time looking at the relationship between textiles and the woman who make them. I found it fascinating.  Some of the book addresses the idea that the textile crafts and hobbies of women are not seen as 'real', whether that is 'real' work, 'real' art, or of 'real' value. I realized as I read that my negative reaction to the words 'craft' and 'hobby' stems from this tacit second class dismissal that comes along with these terms. "... beyond taking public actions, these feminists endeavored to shift the mindset about what textile work means for women as an expression of our value and influence. Writer and maker Betsy Greer, ... , says, 'It's about making your own creativity a force to be reckoned with. The moment you start thinking about your creative produ...

Our fourth apple tree on the far side of the pasture seems to ripen later than the others. There still seemed to be some apples on it, so J. asked H. and R. to go pick what they could. This explains why my kitchen island suddenly looked like this.  They were taking up a lot of space and I couldn't quite bring myself to ignite them and eventually feed them to the chickens, so it seemed as though I was going to canning applesauce after all. Today I didn't need to drive anyone anywhere and I had no clients during the day. If applesauce was going to happen today was the day. H. pitched in to help and by dinner  I had canned 9 quarts of applesauce with another 2/3 quart in the refrigerator. Don't you think it sounds more impressive to say 2 - 1/2 gallons, though? Why is that? I would make an announcement that I am really and truly done with apples, but I think there are still more on that tree. 

Today is H.'s 24th birthday if you can believe it. She chose a dumpling stir fry for dinner and chocolate mayonnaise cake for dessert.  Grammy sent her a pink sweater and a graphic novel from one of her favorite series.  I am having a little difficulty with the idea of H. being 24 if I'm honest. 

I am continuing to enjoy the podcast, The Rest is History, very, very much. I have finished the first half of the French Revolution and have decided that I am just going to listen to whatever episode comes next because it all ends up being interesting. J. has started listening to it as well, but he has been pretty focused on Elizabethan history.  I thought I'd offer a little history trivia quiz here based on some of my current listening. Answers will be at the end.  1. The number of times Louis XVI had left Versailles in his entire life before being captured by the revolutionaries and taken to Paris.    A. Too many to count, he was always heading to Paris.    B. 1, and only to be crowned king.    C. 6, when he toured other countries and met with foreign rulers.  2. When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette decided to try to escape Paris and flee to safety, the first step in their plan was:    A. Send money on ahead to help ease their esca...

I am nearly halfway through weaving the warp on my floor loom, so that's positive. It takes me just about an hour to weave one guest towel assuming I don't have to stop and wind more bobbins. I also have all the yarn I need to finish this warp and to do a second red one. I don't really have a picture to show you because fabric on a loom all looks pretty much the same. You'll have to wait until I take the fabric off to start hemming the guest towels.  I did finish another wool scarf over this past week. Here it is My goal is to weave at least four, but I'd really like to try to get six made. The nice thing about the woolen scarves is they require very little work to be completely finished after they come off the loom. I can't say the thing about the guest towels. 

K. has been spending some time at W.'s and MC's house. Since they have a lot of fish, K. has been taking a lot of fish pictures. I think he has taken some really good pictures. Want to see?