Of all kinds of making I think that knitting or crochet soothes me the most. There doesn't have to be thinking, just motion on repeat. Yarn that keeps coming for long than a needle can hold thread.
This morning, listening to Wendell Berry read, "The Peace of Wild Things" here.
(The creek has been high the last few weeks.)
And Mary Oliver reading "Wild Geese," here.
Imagining the two of them having a conversation.
(Not the best photo as it was taken through the window, but oh it made me laugh!)
Sometimes I listen to podcasts while working on a project, like when I am trying to make yarn with coffee filters.
(Not going well, need the cats to take a nap.)
Other times, like this morning, I listen after waking up very early and am just not ready to start doing something.
"On Being" remains a favorite and funnily enough this week's interview was with an author, Oliver Burkeman, who has written about time management.
One of my favorite parts
"Every new, extraordinary thing that a small child does is the end of the time before that time. But it occurs in everything, all through the day and all through one’s work, all through everything, that to do anything is to forgo all sorts of other things. And this isn’t some recipe for making the pain go away, but I experience a sort of amazing drop of my shoulders and all the rest of that whenever I can recall that this is just built in. This is like, how it is."
Another podcast I've found recently and have been really enjoying is "The Ezra Klein Show." I've listened to several episodes from the archives now and am thinking about much of what I listened to. One interview was with Richard Powers, author of The Overstory. I am about half way through the book and am loving it. A favorite passage,
"It feels good, like a root must feel, when it finds, after centuries, another root to pleach to underground. There are a hundred thousand species of love, separately invented, each more ingenious than the last, and every one of them keeps making things."
Last week's walk through the park.
Always time well spent.
3 rows done.
Maybe the daily-self-challenge I need at the moment is what can I do in 15-30 minutes that feeds the non-work side of me?
Back to working on the sweater.
Mostly when...
the cats were sleeping (Gibson's tail is almost ridiculous, he flounces at times).
There was also a lot of thinking (about how we chose to spend our time),
some wishing (for the rain to stop among other things, 2 inches in 7 hours this morning)
and some soup making.
Minestrone (vegetable broth + orzo + beans + kale + peppers + herbs + tiny potatoes from the garden + carrots + a dash of vinegar + olive oil + parmesan)
and Ricotta.
Not sure what I am going to do with the ricotta, just using the milk up.
I'll decide tomorrow.
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life." Mary Oliver
Last week the kittens went in for shots and their checkup. For the first time in over a year there was an option to go in rather than wait in the car. I had questions so I went in.
The tech checked us in and then went out the door and I could hear him as he went into the backroom, "There are kittens!"
The vet came in, they leaped and pounced and explored, pausing just long enough for their check up.
The vet laughed, and laughed again. "What great cats!"
Two more techs ended up in the room, coming to say hello.
The boys are very friendly.
The vet said they are very large for their age.
Hmm.
I sat there smiling; there is such pleasure in watching other people's joy.
And I thought joy follows joy...the sharing of it.
It's part of community, care giving, resilience, mending.
Widget's pretty blurry in this photo but I love how she wraps her paws around Timber; insisting that he stay still for a bath.
Care giving.
Today's project, unraveling the sleeve for the sweater I haven't worked on for a long time. I can't find my notes with the count for the increases.
Thinking sometimes mending is starting over.
I unraveled the whole thing, all the way back to the beginning.
Thinking about "languishing" again. It's been almost six months since I encountered this idea. I am feeling a lot of things, but languishing isn't one of them.
"It's not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It's about healing the world that touches you, that is around you."
Rachel Naomi Reman
From my journal, Saturday morning:
9:05 AM I thought I wanted to go walk along the bay, then go to the farmer’s market. And then I didn’t. And Now I kind of do. I have enough projects to do: tomatillo sauce, tomato jam, onion jam, apples for something? Beets that I could pickle. Carrots for drying. I don’t need more projects. I do need to take a walk. I do need to work in the garden some. I want to sleep but I m not tired. I want less clutter but I am not good at letting go.
What I did:
Tomato jam. It took hours to cook down
Tomatillo simmering sauce.
The laundry.
Looked out the window at the dark.
Sat in the sunshine.
Puttered.
Napped (because I really did need to).
Worked on the insomnia blanket while the kittens napped.
Read.
Took a short walk.
Picked the last apples. `
I did not go to the Farmer's market.
Chewed on? I don't know but they snag as I work now.
These are two different sets of needles (on cables). I've flipped to the other ends that are smooth and work back and forth using the smooth end.
Problem solved.
Yesterday...
A short walk before going to work.
It was quiet, but many friendly hellos.
I would have liked to stay longer.
Finished the second panel for the insomnia blanket and have started a third.
It's now lap sized, I would like it to cover the bed.
Today there is gardening and collecting to do.
Up early...knitting because all cats are occupied.
Either sleeping, playing, watching, exploring or eating.
(Noticing how every different way of folding creates something new.)
Widget is trying hard to figure out how to interact.
Chase is good.
Swatting is good (especially from different levels).
Take down is bad when it's Widget versus one of the boys.
Surprising Widget is bad...
(Recently made new pillow cases. Eventually I may dye these in indigo...the vat definitely needs to be brought inside.)
Last night, thinking the boys weren't ready to be out during the night, I put them in the bathroom. An hour later Widget's growling woke me up.
Two kittens on the prowl.
Companionship is good.
Begin the day with a cup of coffee, peach pound cake, knitting, some reading and listening (interview with Takayuki Ishii about indigo!).
Learn something new: the original definition of a blue moon is a 4th full moon in a season. Typically there are 3 per season.
Go walk along the bay and watch a flock of geese, a tug boat come in across the bay, the light on the water and the clouds.
Think about blue.
Go home & take a short nap.
After lunch start a new fermentation vat:
And then work in the garden.
A few onions, a few potatoes.
It was a good day.