bee creative

rainy day

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

#91 looking at a finishing line

Closing in on my goal of 100 posts. 

Looking back on post number one (May 8) of this set and thinking about the words I started with:

resiliency, comfort, caregiving and languishing. 

Daily posts did not happen. 

There were days of not being sure what I wanted to say. 

When the moment that I could just show up passed by.

Days of "good enough."

(Layers of windows that need to be washed and lace.)

I realized quickly that comfort was too narrow of a word; caregiving more what I meant. 

That (much like field notes) everything I post is really about caregiving, about being part of a community. 

Everything about resiliency, about how we continue.

(Three 1 gallon bags of frozen grapes stored)

(Act of comfort, frozen cookie dough...all gone.) 

Languishing has been a real thing at times since May.

Of feeling stuck.  Not depressed but not thriving.

(I know, it's becoming the kitten chronicles again.)

There has been, and is, a lot of comfort in making. 

And there is a lot of sadness in knowing I need to make more masks.

Wishing everyone a moment of comfort.

P.S. next word I want to consider...melodramatic, but not for 100 posts! :) 

 

#58 diversify

Purchased today at the farmer's market.  Also cheese and cherry tomatoes.

From the garden: lemon cucumbers.  Also harvested: blueberries, zucchini, onions, garlic, a couple cherry tomatoes, beans, & raspberries.  Keeping a close eye on the peaches and have accepted that the squirrels will probably eat all the hazelnuts. 

From the CSA:  potatoes. Also this week: onions, zucchini, lettuce, beets & dill.

The flour was milled locally and the other ingredients from California via the grocery store.

It's good to have options. 

#49 always have something to read

I have three bookshelves

and stacks of books

and boxes full of books...

I never read just one book at a time, and rarely read one book from start to finish without reading another book in between. 

Checking out books from the library causes me to buy more books than I probably would if I didn't check out books.

I reread books frequently too.  Sometimes just chapters or sections, other times the whole book. 

This selection (for Nancy so she can look closer) is made up of books that I reread often, books that are in the process of being read, ones that I am thinking about or that I want to read sooner rather than later. 

 

finish is a strange thing

A late start today.

I am off work for the day and took an early morning nap.

And there are distractions.

Widget discovered a flock of birds outside the window.

Each time there is a gust of wind the flock flew up and then came back down.  This went on for about 30 minutes.

She would have been a good barn cat.

Finish is such a strange thing when considered.

It can mean being done with something in it's entirety (which I don't really believe in) or finishing a step, using something up.

Today I am setting myself a goal to finish 10 things. 

It could be as simple as finish this ball of yarn on the insomnia blanket.

(I work on this throughout the day, but it remains my go-to for early morning knitting.)

Or finish assembling this.

10 things because I don't want  it to be too easy to accomplish or impossible to well...

finish.

 

open house, day seven

A few seasonal favorites... Sorry for the ads.

 

 

And a current favorite that I would sneak into the playlist...

 

Anyone have a favorite to add to the playlist?

journal keeping

Current journal goals:

1. Reclaim a 2019 daily diary that was partially used as a work log as my current journal.
2. Let go of worrying about tidiness or it looking pretty or my handwriting being legible.
3. Let it be a keeper of many things...memorabilia, words, images, doodles, practice sketches, recipes, news headlines, quotes, lists, pattern ideas. Dump it all in there let the ideas layer and mesh and talk to each other.

Layering images digitally seems like a way to journal too...

I think I am going to print this and add it back into the journal.

And I will make more.

considerations

Pockets do better if they are reinforced.

This one hides a bleach mark.

Blue enough?

I think so.

Original plan was to be a poncho.

I think it would be better as a blanket.

Okay.

Have to consider where the bright stripes land.

Might need to dye more yarn.

 

two things

Insomnia knitting.

Sometimes altering the colors makes it seem more true.

I am hoping that I won't be working on this again at 3 AM but I probably will.

Lots of rain today.

6 bleach stains and counting: the COVID wardrobe

There are those who get to wear PJ's or casual clothes (a house dress?) if working from home, those who have uniforms, others who are business as usual and then some of us who have to decided how much of our wardrobe to sacrifice as we go of to work...

Bleach marks on clothing have always been a reality working at a childcare. It's much riskier now though, the recommended dilution has changed from one that didn't leave marks to 4 tablespoons of bleach per quart of water. And we are making up a lot of bleach dilution.

The joke around work is we need t-shirts that say "Bleach happens."

The majority of us choose to buy second hand clothing for work (considering budget and the general risk factors to clothing from young children). I also wear the things I've made.

Last week was bad...two more items with bleach spots.  This is not sustainable.

Solutions include:

• Only wear things that currently have bleach stains until the bleach to water ratio changes. It would be a uniform of sorts. A capsule wardrobe. 
• Make a set of aprons or smocks just for work. I would need a fresh one each day as it would have to be washed daily.  Having no dryer, I would need at least three.  Might as well stick with the "everything with bleach on it already" plan.  (I do already have one smock for emergency purposes.)
• Continue to mend anything that is a problem. Cut sleeves shorter, shorten dresses into tunics by making a seam that removes a bleach spot, add more pockets, dye things so that bleach spots blend in and so on.
• Add more bleach as a design element.  This isn't a great choice since using the minimum amount of bleach is a good environmental goal.
• Use markers to color in spots so that they aren't noticeable (a black sharpie for black clothing is a classic solution at work).

I am also considering something else... embracing the mark and make a heart patch or a label for each item of clothing with bleach on it... Essential worker, COVID 19. 

It's time to see the mark left behind as one of effort, not a stain.