Sometimes Monday | 8.1.22

Sometimes Monday | 8.1.22

Welcomes August.

So, August… how should I fill your days?

Of course, painting. I am just having so much fun. I have no expectation for the results… outside of learning new things! This is delightfully freeing! My inner perfection demon has been curiously silent!

Some sewing… not just talking about it. I have almost finished the cutting… so let the sewing begin!

And this weekend I re-organized my spinning and I even did some spinning this weekend! I am looking forward to more spinning this month. I have a SQ of fiber that I really want to make into yarn so I can knit a sweater with it! So I have a a good bit of spinning to do this month! Stay tuned for a little surprise update later this week on the spinning front!

As you can see, I have many ideas of what I’d like August to hold… but then I saw this on IG from Emily P. Freeman and I stopped dead in my tracks when I got to this bit:

I love this so much, I wrote this in my journal this morning. And so my list and… change?

While I wait for what August will bring… poetry. Because, of course, always poetry! I have been working through two poetry books this summer but this poem by Derek Walcott has spurred an urge to fill my August days with him. I leave you with some beautiful Walcott imagery to fill your Monday. See you all back here on Wednesday!

Midsummer, Tobago

by Derek Walcott 

Broad sun-stoned beaches.

White heat.
A green river.

A bridge,
scorched yellow palms

from the summer-sleeping house
drowsing through August.

Days I have held,
days I have lost,

days that outgrow, like daughters,
my harbouring arms.

from “Sea Grapes,” 1976, published by Jonathan Cape. 

Good Things | 7.16.21

Good Things | 7.16.21

Hullo, Friday! Like clockwork, you arrive bringing with you the weekend, which might be the best constant ever.

Last night my “new” book club finished Good Talk. It seemed most fitting that we met in the Lincoln Gallery for our final discussion. The conversations around this book have been enlightening and so very helpful. I am eagerly anticipating our next book, which will likely be Caste.

I don’t love FB, but every once in a while something amazing shows up there and this week brought a two-for! First, this story showed up and I could not get that story out of my head! I started Googling and discovered this article which included information to donate fabrics to these amazing men. (scroll down to the bottom of the article for that info!)

The second good thing that showed up was a post by a spinning “friend” who was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the size of her stash and she wondered if there would be any interest in joining forces to “spin down our stash” in the second half of the year. Ummm, YES!! (and so many people said yes! lol) More spinning in my life is never a bad thing. I have a sweater I want to spin for so this is exactly what I need to get that done! (if you want to join this group, let me know and I will send you the link to the group)

Finally… I have worked for two weeks on a pastel drawing… and this week I think it is finished. I put some final touches on it this morning and signed it. Oh boy… it is not perfect. I learned so much about my limitations with pastels… but I kept working and I learned some work arounds… and that is always a good thing.

That is all I have for this week. Have a great weekend everyone!

Good Things | 7.16.21

Very Good Things | 6.25.21

“How did it get so late so soon?”
Dr. Seuss

Today I am one with Dr. Seuss. It is the last Friday in June… and all I can do is wonder where the heck the month went?

But it is still June for a few more seconds and so let’s slow down and savor some things that stood out for me this week.

First up, a very good listen… Ibram X. Kendi and Ari Berman talk about voter suppression.  Voter Suppression is my new “constant worry” and if it is something that worries you as well…. the latest episode of Be Antiracist has some frank conversation and even some things to think about, to read, and ways you can support groups that are fighting voter suppression! PA is not immune to voter suppression and there is a bill making its way through the State Congress that will make it more difficult to vote here and despite the promise of a veto from our governor they forge ahead. Sadly, 48 states have a 389 restrictive voting bills that have either passed or are in process so chances are that this will have an impact on how you vote as well.

I had a very slow (and yes, painful) journey with my summer art project this week. Full disclosure… this little pastel drawing was just a bit of a much bigger photo I found online. It has more wrong with it than it has right… but I am proud that I did not give up, I did not start over, and I kept working at it. I am even going to try again next week because each day as I worked on it I could see how I could have improved it…what I should have done…placement on the page, etc. So… here is my first attempt… I hope next week’s attempt is better in all aspects!

Tomorrow starts the Tour de Fleece… which ironically coincides with the Tour de France, LOL. Generally, it’s all about how much you can get spun during the Tour… yards and yards and yards of singles that are then extrapolated into miles… in other words, it can be as competitive as the actual Tour! Not so for me this year… I am going to worry less about my “mileage” and focus on savoring these gorgeous batts that I got from Hipstrings! They are so soft! I am going to set aside 30 minutes each morning to do some spinning meditation at my wheel. I am not on any “official” team, but rather this will be a solo ride of discovery!

Finally… a wee little Animal Crossing update. This week I achieved a big milestone! I have managed to “cultivate” all the different colors of flowers! My practically impossible final flower… the elusive Purple Pansy sprouted this week!

That is all I have for this week. I will be back on Monday with an update on my word! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Currently | 8.14.20

Currently | 8.14.20

I cannot remember the last time I shared what is my “current world” (small as that world is these days) So here you have a little slice of my world!

Celebrating —

K-A-M-A-L-A…. oh my gosh! Yes, there were tears and cheers! I am so thrilled! But honestly… watching Kamala debate Pence in October will be a must see event! Ha! But we have reached the 80 day mark, people. 80 days!! Although, I think these next 80 days are going to be a really rocky ride… but I will take a moment to ask you all… are you registered to vote? Have you applied for your absentee ballot?  80 days will go a lot faster than we think!

Anticipating —

I am a huge proponent of my local library and usually I don’t mind waiting my turn for a book… that is until I listened to Isabel Wilkerson talk about her new book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. After listening to this and then this I don’t think patiently waiting to read this is  an option. Now to decide, physical book? Kindle copy? Audible?

Contemplating —

Some weeks ago, I made myself a promise to *finish my plethora of in process projects before starting anything new* but boy… the new MDK Field Guide has some amazingly yummy things in it! I can’t get the Aperture Stole out of my head and I am itching to make it however, I have not bought any yarn… yet.

Harvesting —

I had a brief lull in bean production, but that has resolved and now I am back to picking an overflowing handful every day. And so.many.tomatoes! I roasted some cherry tomatoes yesterday. And have shared more tomatoes with neighbors… But I think the end is near for the plants. This heat has really put the garden on “fast forward” it seems. My containers look like they do after Labor Day and the tomato plants are about “done” so I don’t think I will have the luxury of a September garden that is producing anything significant.

Over —

This unrelentingly hot summer. Since Memorial Day we have only had 20 days where the temperature was between 70 and 80 degrees (no days below 70 at all) and 61 days of 90+ degrees. Steve has not mowed the yard since mid-June. I am not kidding you. We have had virtually no rain to speak of and it is so dry. It’s not that I want to usher in the next season early, but boy do I need a break from these endless days of heat and humidity. (And really… a week of soaking all day rain would be so welcome!!) The weather person (whose reliability in forecasting is really not good) says that next week no temps above 80…. I have my fingers crossed!

And with that… this week is a wrap! I hope your weekend is exactly what you need!

 

 

Looking Back | August 2019

Looking Back | August 2019

August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold.
April Come She Will, Simon and Garfunkel

If you asked me what I accomplished in August my response would be, ‘not much’. But as I look at these images, it seems I accomplished more than I realized!

There was so much making… pies and jams, sewing, and always knitting! Plus, hours in the gardens (although if you saw them today you’d be doubtful of that!)

Vegetable Garden Productivity was stunningly awful. I never had more tomatoes than I could use and not enough to preserve any for future use. The only tomato plants that had any success at all were the Oxhearts – and even that was a manageable production. As for my flower beds – alas, the deer ravaged them multiple times this month…sigh.

The biggest changes were in light and skies – those August skies were less blue but rather filled with interesting clouds! And, as the August days drew to a close, we felt the first inklings of the change of seasons. Cooler breezes paired with cooler days and nights that  required another blanket on the bed and a sweater for my morning garden excursions.

The video this month was so much fun! There was so much butterfly footage! Including “Butterfly Skirmishes” – which look like a gentle, swirling, fluttering dance…those Swallowtail’s are very territorial, it seems!

And with that, August memories are tucked away.

What about you? What is your favorite August memory?

P.S. If you want to knit a hat or two for Asylum Seekers in NorthEast Asylum Cities – all details about a KAL are here!

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