by Kat | May 18, 2023 | General, Poetry
I do not recall when I first stumbled across this Rilke poem… but it has become a frequent guest of my morning meditations as I read it, prayer like, to help me begin my day…
I hope this poem finds a spot in your day to lift you as you remind yourself “I am!”
Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.
And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.
Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower by Rainer Maria Rilke from Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29. Translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows.
Please stop and see what Kym and Bonny are sharing today!
See you all back here on Monday, have a great weekend everyone!
by Kat | May 17, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers! Happy Wednesday!
I should be sock knitting, but my days have been a bit hectic. I am behind on my painting class, I am behind on garden chores, my closet is at the implode stage with winter/spring/summer all in a huge muddle…but what I have been doing instead of all that? Why knitting of. course… knitting round and round and round on my Shakerag Skirt!
I have gotten through the lace section, I did the short rows for the back and I am in the “plain knit” rounds before I start the decreases. And so far, I am loving this knit…but I have miles to go before I get to the “try on” point in this knit and so I am trying to knit a round or 10 each day. I am off on the row gauge, so I am knitting more rounds to get to the decrease point. My hope is I will have time today to get there… because less stitches every once in a while will be a good thing! These are long ass rows! Ha!
The reading this week has been delightful though… I was so fortunate to be approved for the latest Dominic Smith book: Return to Valetto. I loved it! It was so so so good! If you like Amor Towles or Sarah Winman… I think you will very much love this book! The writing is brilliant, the characters are well developed, and the story is one that keeps you moving along with it to the very end… and I really was not ready for the book to be over!
I also finished the third installment in the Thursday Murder Club mystery. Delightful, brilliant, and I loved it! I hope there will be another installment sooner than later!
So what am I reading this week? Well, my daytime listen is Kate Atkinson’s Shrines of Gaiety. I have just started, but so far I am enjoying it. I just picked up two books from the library,
Donal Ryan’s Queen of Dirt Island, and Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses! I need to find a quiet afternoon where I can just sit and read!
My nighttime reading has been consumed by another Sarah Winman book, When God Was a Rabbit… and she might just be my new favorite author!
So there you have my week… what is consuming your time this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 15, 2023 | General, Museum of Me
There is always one moment in childhood when a door opens and lets the future in. — Graham Greene
I have spent a good bit of time contemplating this post. Then versus now… 10 year old me versus 62 year old me.
I looked for photo’s, but… sadly, there are few photos from my childhood. I could find my 6th grade photo… but not one from the year before. But perhaps my memories will be enough… and by leaning in to authenticity… perhaps I will have some success telling a story that is hard to tell.
Ten year old me was an avid reader… books, you see gave me the greatest escape. I could settle into a book and suddenly be miles away. But, really… the only hope I had for my childhood was to simply survive. The “open door to my future” did not come until my sophomore year in high school, when I moved in permanently with my grandparents.
I’ve never spent any time then… or now… immersed in self-pity. Do I wish things had been different for me? Some days yes… (especially, when I have to figure out how to unpack the past and talk about it in any fashion…sigh) but most days not at all and though it has taken me a long time to say this… I very much like the person I am today… a person who still loves to read and most definitely is a survivor!
I think that 10 year old me would love what I am today… a confident, independent woman. I think that 10 year old who had no confidence for so many things, herself included, has found the confidence to say yes to things, and, perhaps more importantly, to say no to things as well..without worries of repercussions. I think that 10 year old me would love that I make myself a priority for some part of each day. I think 10 year old me would love how I am working through this year learning how to be more authentic with myself… a big part of which is learning to temper my inner critic. I think 10 year old me would be amazed that I am like myself…lots! And that I am learning to nurture those moments like the treasure they are!
But there are fun then and now things as well… I think 10 year old me would be shocked at how I now have an entire wardrobe made by me… that I wear regularly and LOVE! (10 Year Old Me thought ready-to-wear clothes that were not “second hand” were a wonder!)
I think 10 year old me would really wonder how I can like to read books that aren’t about horses…(for the longest time 10 year old me thought that Black Beauty was the be all, end all of books!)
I think that 10 year old me might wonder why I don’t spend time outdoors galloping around… or singing silly songs… (10 year old me could belt out all the “jingles!” and I still have perfect recall of all the words of this ditty as well as practically perfect recall of every episode of Schoolhouse Rock!)
I think that 10 year old me who struggled mightily with math would be in awe of my mad math skills today!
All in all… I am so grateful to that 10 year old girl who knew that escape and survive was the best solution then…and to the me now who realizes that it is okay for the past to stay in the past. That while that past made me what I am, it does not make up the minutes of my day today. And that makes then and now so much better!
Thank you for visiting this month… I will be. back on Wednesday with some Skirt Knitting updates!
by Kat | May 12, 2023 | General, In This Moment
Last week’s break was such a good thing for me… mentally. I did not blog and I did not spend much time on social media… the total time I spent was picking photos for two IG posts from Erie. Posting and not scrolling seems selfish as I am writing this today. But being away from social media has given me lots to think about and while I am not at all ready to give up my blog, perhaps I am ready to give up social media.
But while I mull all that over in my brain… I do have some AMAZING finds for you this week! Things that will get you outside, give you things to think about, and perhaps discover something new! Let’s get started:
Thing One —
Tomorrow is Global Big Day! That’s right, another bird count day… an important one because we are at the peak of migration season! Recording the birds you see or hear is super fun… and super easy! All the “how” details are here so get out there and look for birds!
Thing Two —
This one has been loudest in my brain. I have listened to this episode twice and I have it saved so I can listen again. It is the Emergence Podcast discussion with Jenny Odell about time. I am on the waitlist for her book so I can delve deeper into her thoughts on time. One thing I know for sure, I have been working on incorporating more vertical time into my day… less horizontal time and my gosh, I love it!
Thing Three (a) —
This week, The Slowdown podcast has done something amazing… Major Jackson has spent the week discussing poetry with a guest host… a young guest host! It has been so much fun! I have LOVED the poems the kids have selected, I have LOVED the conversations the kids had about their love of poetry, and I have really LOVED the poetry word games that Major Jackson played with the kids each day. If you have children in your life… queue up The Slowdown and introduce them to the joy of poetry!
Thing Three (b) —
It has been the week for Discovering Youth Poets! Twitter has become less of a hellscape since I discovered Joseph Fasano and his “daily poetry thread” But really, his poetry prompts for kids might be my favorite and have blown me away! And he has a prompt for Mother’s Day!
And there you have my finds for today… enjoy your weekend and Happy Mother’s Day! I will be back on Monday with a new Museum of Me exhibit!
by Kat | May 10, 2023 | General, Unraveled Wednesday
Greetings Unravelers!
It felt good to have a bit of a break from all things electronic, although I did miss you all. I am trying to catch up on blog reading… a little bit each day. I should be all caught up soon!
My list for the week is looking good… all the laundry is done, so I feel caught up on some things but you know those damned weeds did not take a vacation, so I am still (always?) pulling weeds!
I think (fingers crossed) that I have my last PT session today. It has been so amazing how some simple, targeted things can make such a huge difference! Am I pain free? No, but it is so much better than it was and each week is a bit better than the one before.
Hermoine’s Everyday Socks in Miss Bab’s in Zombie Prom (I think!)
I mentioned that I did more knitting than ever on a vacation… I have a sock and just over a half to prove it! I have not given that second sock much “air time” since I got home because my “night time knitting” has been consumed with Gnome Housing (as you can see above!) Yes!! I have the house done… it now needs some embroidery to perfect it…think ivy covered cottage!) It is a good size! (and I am contemplating a two story version with more windows!!) But before any new housing plans, I have a Mystery Gnome that I am eagerly anticipating!
Before I left for Erie, I ordered some yarn from Holst Garn figuring it would be arriving this week… silly me! Helle Holst and crew swiftly packed up my yarn and it arrived while we were in Erie (7 days after ordering… from Denmark… just saying.) Sunday I began the swatching process… in the round… with a US4 and US5. Once I had knit a nice tube, I steeked it and then gave it a bath. Monday I began Swatch Measuring! (of course my gauge is my gauge and no where near Nell’s gauge… thank god for Knitty Maths!) I think a bottom up skirt might be a bit tricky for fitting (we shall see) but Nell has really great instructions (and even offers to help if you need it with gauge, math, and the fit you want!) So I cast on on Monday night… a plethora of stitches. I love the start and her way of avoiding twisting your cast on… I feel like this will be a well worn piece in my wardrobe… and I love the color – Tides Nightshade! It feels like a LOT of knitting… but decreasing instead of increasing is a plus! Ha!
A newborn Shaker Rag Skirt…in the perfect denim-y blue!
Reading has been a bit of a mixed bag… some things I loved…Tin Man by Sarah Winman… stop everything and read this book now! As well as Beaverland… so so good! (they were both 5-star reads for me.) One I liked, but gosh does it need some editing: The Covenant of Water. Some things I did not love so much… The Boys and Babel… just did not work for me. But that is okay, because at night I am reading a new Netgalley book: Return to Valetto… I am about a third of the way in and so far, so good. And in my ears whilst weeding is Richard Osman’s latest Thursday Murder Club Mystery…I have just begun, but I have loved the previous installments so I have great expectations for The Bullet That Missed!
So there you have my update… what about you? What is at the top of your list for making this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
by Kat | May 8, 2023 | General, In This Moment
The vacation was… interesting. There was a significant amount of rain and the beginning was very cold. However, I am very happy to report that my Handspun sweater and newly stitched sweatshirts were PERFECT in every way!
One of us had plenty of things to occupy their time on a rainy day (or days)… reading, knitting, stitching… and one of us did not. So if you are reading between the lines here… I think you get the picture of how some of the week went.
I did more knitting on a vacation than I have done in a long time… (I finished that first sock and am almost done with the second sock…so yeah, a lot of knitting! Ha!) I’d have read more if someone had not been complaining so much… sigh.
I think the rainy days provided some of the most amazing skies! And the unseasonably cold weather that kept the trees from all leafing out made it so easy to find and see birds! And see birds I did! We saw Bald Eagles every day but one… so many eagles! We also saw so many ospreys! Going a week later than we usually go also meant warblers… so many different warblers! I saw 21 *new* birds last week. I saw Baltimore Orioles and Orchard Orioles! Rain or shine, I simply love quietly walking through the woods listening to the birdsong. And PT is a wonder, I was able to do the hike out to Gull Point twice! And walking with walking sticks provides a pretty good workout! (although perhaps that is a sad state of affairs to confess… but gosh I was just so happy to be mobile!)
Despite the weather, I also channeled Vera because I saw so many turtles and although they were not at all easy to catch with my phone camera… I did manage to get one!
One small brave little turtle!
The other very good thing was the “Treat Dispenser” that is now Icing on the Lake… and the cocktails at Cork! (And the food was not bad either!)
All in all, it was a good week… even with the rain! But the Mondayist Monday on earth is Re-entry Monday! See you all back here on Wednesday with some raveling!
P.S. Today my youngest turns 31… how is that even possible?! Happy birthday, Sam!
