I have much been thinking about all of you this week and how, for me, these posts… your posts… really feel like a weekly knitting group. We share what we are making and what we are reading and more… and I love that feeling!
This week my making was sort of all over the place. I dug out an appropriate handbag to bring to Jury Duty and found tucked away inside an old project… you know from the days when I actually went places during the week and would have the occasion to sit and knit? Yeah, well I found a half completed Rikke hat inspired by Bonny… long forgotten in a bag that had been put away. Thankfully I had someplace to go recently (despite having to give up my needles) once I saw the hat, I could not leave it uncompleted. Once I returned the needle, it was quickly finished! It just needs a bit of a spa treatment and will be ready for cooler weather!
I have 3-ish inches to go on my sweater back… and then I do some shaping of shoulders and binding off the neckline. So I am making some headway! However, there is still a long way to go to completion!
I also knit two more pop squares for the blanket. It is my new thing to do when I am really wanting to cast on something new. It is working well on keeping that urge corralled! LOL
This might have been the finest reading week of the entire summer! Three incredible books… and all so very different.
Once again, I am drawn into a story simply by the characters in this sort of Stockholm Syndrome tale.
It is loosely based on the Japanese Embassy crisis in Peru that happened in 1996-ish.
Stepping outside of all that reality, Patchett reimagines what might happen within the walls of the lavish home. The lines blur between hostage and hostage taker in a fascinating story that profoundly beautiful. The characters are so very believable. I could not put it down!
An incredibly beautiful memoir to Zauner’s mother… it is tender, profound, and yes, painful at times. The writing is really wonderful… intimate. Perhaps more so since I listened to the author read it to me.
The story is delightful… and so very real. I cried frequently. But can we talk about all the food for a moment? I have this burning desire to spend several weeks eating Korean food… breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It struck me that this story could not. be told without the food… and that simple fact is what makes it so very relatable. Food is the thing that binds us all together… sharing a meal, sharing conversation, sharing the joy of life… and sometimes death.
The struggle was real to get settled into this book. I tried multiple times to find the rhythm and almost gave up. But then a bit of “forced reading”… aka Jury Duty … and I eased past those first 100 pages and then the story carried me along.
The writing style is really so beautiful… different, challenging, perfect. The story of two orphaned sisters, Caro and Grace, and how their lives are inter-twined with those around them… for good and for less than good. There is enduring love, loss, good choices, bad choices, heartache, and more in this really epic story.
The last 75 pages… oh my.
If you are looking for a book that will make you think… read this book. This book is so full of so many tidbits that if you are not reading carefully, you will just gloss over and miss out on the brilliance that Hazard brings to this story!
And there you have my Knit Group update! What about you all… what do you all have to share this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. ― Steve Jobs
This month was spent on the Great Simple Challenge … something that takes a lot of work to be successful at. It was my daily focus in my meditation time… simplify… and simplify more. And I discovered that simplifying is much easier said than done.
We (Steve and I) don’t live very simple lives. Work for him is stressful and that stress spills over… because of course it does. Family miles away (mine) and family next door (his) are not simple. Trying to drop that COVID 20… absolutely not simple. Learning something new (hello, painting!) so not simple!
So this month I worked hard to “get my thinking clean” to focus on simple.
No checking what “news” I might be missing.
No checking what Tweets I might be missing.
Not caring what, if anything, was posted on Instagram.
Half listened to the stress spillovers… realizing I don’t have to have a solution, just “listen” helped with that.
Self-affirming that I did my work on raising my children… they are not perfect, they will all make decisions I would not… and being okay with that. (In case you think this is easy… oh boy, think again… hardest thing ever!)
Instead this month when I felt the complicated creeping in, I stopped and did a bit of breathing (thank you, Nadia for sharing this focus that has been incredibly helpful!) until calm returned. Sometimes just a few breaths, other times… well, the breaths eventually work just keep breathing!
In my ongoing quest to simplify and my successes:
I found knitting to be my very best companion. Slow, meditative… one stitch after another. I can feel the complicated vanish just picking up my needles.
I have created a space where I can paint and not feel guilty about the “clutter” that painting brings. It was my huge success over the weekend…I moved all the painting bits and bobs and set everything up. I am very, very ready for my first class this morning! (And so eager to begin!!)
I stopped myself from “thinking about that next project” and stayed focused on the current projects. When I am itching for “something new” I knit another “pop” square for the blanket. It gets the urge for something new out of my system!
And I plotted out some sewing time as well!
I am still washing dishes by hand… and am not at all upset by this. We will eventually get a new dishwasher. I think, lol!
There is one thing on my list that I have not gotten to yet and likely won’t before August arrives. I need to finish the reorganization of the living room and find a better spot for my little e-Spinner. It is in the “out of sight, out of mind” space right now. I want to spin a bit more each week… or perhaps it is better said to do some spinning each week!
Being simply full will be a work in progress… and perhaps one I won’t ever be finished with! But getting a taste of being simply full has been wonderful. I am not sure I have a need to move mountains, but a simple life is so, so, so appealing!
A huge thanks to Carolyn for providing the landing space for us all to share our journeys with our word.
I will be back on Wednesday with some making and reading!
Hello from an extremely muggy, warm Pittsburgh. I confess that I am really just sooo over all this heat and humidity! Steve has not mowed in a month… yes, you read that right. We did get some rain which curiously made the weeds grow, but the grass is still… dead. Lush and green are not terms to describe summer in my backyard right now! (Although I think nothing can kill those damned thistles…they are green – always!!)
Released —
I checked the court website after 5PM on Wednesday, and sure has heck… I was called up! So I scurried and finished getting my “court bag” ready for my service to the courts. Water – check. Book – check. Knitting – check. Masks – check. ID – check. Jury Summons – check. Traffic from the South Hills into Pittsburgh Proper can be a gamble. It can go from 20 minutes to an hour in the blink of an eye. Actually, a mere 5 minutes can make or break your commute… and the 8:30AM starting time put me right in the cusp of that travel dilemma. I erred on the side of caution and left at 7AM and got to court at the screaming early time of 7:30AM. Good thing I was early, I had no clue that knitting needles were considered weapons. (However, the much pointier ink pen… fine, just fine!) Purposely pulling the needles out of ones knitting is painful no matter what time it is, but 7:30AM… the swear words were echoing in my head! I briefly considered telling the gentleman that me without knitting was not a good thing, but I bit my tongue. I have never “checked my needles” before but there is a first for everything! I was masked, and I counted 104 potential jurors, including myself. Yep 104 souls in a small room, with no ventilation, and a noisy-ass, but barely working AC unit… and just 9 of us were masked. However, each and every one of us were released from our service because all *three* criminal trials decided to proceed without a jury… thank you very much, citizens of Allegheny County for sitting around for HOURS on end. I was fortunate (??) to sit next to a masked physician who shared that COVID is “so bad” in Allegheny county right now… his office is packed full of sick people. Yay. But, I don’t need to return… so there is that!
Investigating —
New watercolor paints (Daniel Smith Watercolor tubes). A new ceramic palette. New paper (Arches on a recommendation by Kym). New brushes. My first watercolor class drops Monday and so I am going to spend some time this weekend getting acquainted with my new tools! I also have been thinking lots about a permanent watercolor work space… 90°+ is not comfortable for my outside spot and right now my “dumping ground” is a table in the living room… which needs to stop! So my goal today is to figure out a permanent inside home for my paints and get it set up and ready for Monday’s class!
Forced (reading) FTW —
One very good thing that was the result of yesterday’s attempt at Jury Duty was the removal of those knitting needles because it forced me to pick up the book I brought along… The Transit of Venus. I had started this book at home where the distractions are many… and the start of this book is a bit tricky. There is a writing style to get comfortable with, there are characters that sort of just drop in on the page to get to know… and there is a time line to figure out. I pulled out the book mark and restarted (sitting next to that physician who was reading The People in Trees.) Sometimes, all a book needs is a bit of time… (in a space where you’d really like everyone… okay, I’d settle for most… masked!) I ignored everyone and got lost in The Transit of Venus… and you know what, that was all it took! I am now counting the minutes until I can pick it back up today!
eFfortless —
I did not forget the simple things this week. I embraced the simple. Pulling a few weeds each morning. Dishes as meditation. The simply joy of stockinette knitting. And yes, pinning out some patterns so I can begin sewing next week.
That is all I have for this week! I will see you all back here on Monday (with a word update! Gah!!)
Greetings, Gentle Unravelers! And a happy Wednesday to you all!
Apparently hot hot weather means lots and lots of knitting time! (Truth, I spent little time outside after 9am each day… early morning weeding only!)
I have some momentous knitting achievements this week. I have divided for the sweater sleeves! This is good and bad… good in that I am only working with half the stitches, the bad thing is that I can no longer avoid those purl rows! Ha! I have an inch or so done with roughly 10 inches or so more to go.
I also finished the BIG FOOT FOOT! Yep, heel placement is in and I am now cruising on the cuff of the sock.
Meet, Gnigel. He is an avid gardener. His speciality though is carrots! LOL
So first, about dear Gnigel’s shape…. it is curiously similar to Kym’s watering devices and once that was in my head…well, it has stayed there. I have tried to “reshape” Gnigel to no avail. So in order to make him less “Garden Dildo” and more “Garden Gnome” enter the carrots… because of course, right?
Anyways, I free-styled those carrots, gave them some lovely carrots tops, and even managed roots! And that garden basket… even I can knit “Basket Stitch” for a small item! And, now dear Gnigel is on the mantle with the other gnomes! And I am sure that he is sharing all the good gardening stories!
After week with no finishes this week I have three completed books. (And I am well into Bel Canto… my goodness I love Patchett’s characters!) Anyways, these books have some stellar characters as well and I recommend all of them!
This book. Oh my. It is epic. It is heartbreaking. It has believable characters. It has good things and it has some very, very ugly things as well. And I really loved every word. It is a well-told story, along two timelines… woven together so expertly. I felt incredibly privileged that Jeffers invited me in so I could learn.
This book comes with some trigger warnings… There is child sexual abuse by a family member – it is painful but if you are paying attention, Jeffers tells us how to get through those bits. Ailey’s advice from her professor served me well as I worked through all the painful bits. Jeffers puts a face on the people who were enslaved… you cannot read this book and remain unchanged.
“And if anyone asks, you’re Chinese. The boy had nodded. “Chinese,” he whispered. “I’m Chinese.” “And I,” said the girl, “am the Queen of Spain.” “In your dreams,” said the boy. “In my dreams,” said the girl, “I’m the King.”
A precursor… what I know about Japanese internment during WWII would be drops in a thimble. After reading this book, while I might know the tiniest bit more, I still don’t know enough. But Otsuka has spurred me to learn more.
One thing that struck me with this unnamed family – their stoic acceptance of what happened. I fell in love with this little unnamed family… unnamed, I think, because this family is everyone interned and no one in particular. The anonymity of this family made me see the bigger picture.
The timeline felt a bit “choppy” to me, I was wanting to know more about the in-betweens… the before, the during, and the after.
And, despite the timeline issues, I do very much recommend this little book!
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Once I started listening to The Swimmers, I could not stop.
It starts with a group of swimmers, all very different, swimming each for their own reasons… they come and go with little interaction with each other outside of their time in the pool. And one day a crack appears… and then the story takes off in the most incredible way. Don’t focus too much on the crack… after all, our lives have cracks that there but are not necessarily visible, don’t we? Rather focus on the people in the story… and one in particular – Alice.
Get LOTS of tissues and buckle in… it is a short ride to the end, but wow is it a powerful one! The writing is incredibly beautiful. I cried, lots. And I have not been able to stop thinking about Alice since I finished the book.
This is a must read book. Really. Go get it now!
What about you? What is helping you combat the heat?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
…brings rain! And that, my friends, is a very, very good thing!
My focus is still on keeping things simple this week, despite an incredibly unsimple event that might occur this week… Jury Duty. I got the summons a couple of months ago and this is the week when I *might* be called up to serve. Err, rather I need to “log-in” Wednesday night to see if I have to report on Thursday.
What makes this unsimple event a bit more troublesome… I got a notification from the Colonoscopy Office… if I get COVID between *now and the date of my colonoscopy* I cannot get the procedure…because of course, right? I am not exactly stressing… I will of course wear a mask if I have to report for Jury Duty but I don’t want to delay my colonscopy… at all. I am sort of hoping that my reporting group will not have to report.
To keep my mind occupied and not dwelling on a situation that I have no control over, I am going to continue in with my sewing theme. Okay, maybe not actual sewing, but rather the cutting out bits. I *thought* a lot about that part last week but did not do one second of the *doing* of the pinning out. That is the ONLY thing on my Start List this week.
And with that, I am off to begin my week! Happy Monday all, I will be back on Wednesday with a rather Whimsical Unraveled post!
This week I am doing a TGIF-like post… sort of. I think you will get it once we get started! Some weeks Friday feels like, well… just another day in the week. This week, it feels very much like a Friday… and that, my friends, is a very good thing!
Replacement —
This week saw a changing of the poet… the Poet Laureate, that is. From Joy Harjo to Ada Limón. Two poets I love deeply. I have been spending my mornings in Ada’s The Hurting Kind… one poem each morning to end my meditation time. It is such a lovely place to be… immersed in Ada’s poetry. But this change over has made me want to do the same with Joy’s poems… I had borrowed latest book of poems, Poet Warrior, from my library… but I think it merits some meditation time as well so I will be purchasing a copy for my poetry library. NPR’s Book of the Day podcast shared this lovely interview on Wednesday, it is worth the listen. Likewise, hearing Ada share how she learned that she was selected as the 24th Poet Laureate is an equally inspiring listen (and includes a poem by Joy Harjo!) It makes me a bit sad that Ada will be moving on from The Slow Down, but change is the one constant in life… and so I will embrace her replacement with great joy!
In (case you missed it) —
Change seems to be a common theme most days and there was another big change this week. And the minute I heard of it happening, I knew it was going to be a giant disaster for the City of Pittsburgh. If you are not a Steeler fan, you might have missed the insane news this week that Heinz Field will no longer officially be Heinz Field. Heinz did not renew their Naming Contract. Now, remember what I said about change being constant? Well… all bets are off in Pittsburgh. This is the city that does not do change well! LOL But no one tells it better than the Pittsburgh Dad does!
And for those of you who do not get Pittsburgh, sorry… much of this won’t make much sense to you. However, this Michigan Girl is LOVING that a Michigan company is the new Name Sponsor for Acrisure Stadium!
(in a galaxy) Far, Far Away —
This week had me blown away by the images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Fascinating. Awe. Wonder. These are just some of the adjectives to describe my feelings as I looked at the pictures! However, perhaps the most inspiring is Gregory Robinson… the son of a sharecropper… the man who made all those images possible! (You can hear his interview this morning with NPR’s Steve Inskeep here) Of course, NASA has a blog for The James Webb Space Telescope where they are sharing images and information. It is my new daily check in! Ha!
Fresco-rama —
Okay, maybe not fresco’s per say, but I have signed up for some more watercolor classes which start later this month! This one is an actual class with actual homework. I know! I am so so so geeked! Anyways, I soon will be posting my homework to a private Facebook Class Group for us to see each others work. I am really rather eager for this… as I love learning things from others. This class will go through the end of August. I very much like Rick Surowicz’s style of teaching and I am really looking forward to all the things I am going to learn! (For those interested: I have signed up for the Beginning Landscapes Class)
And there you have my RIFF on TGIF… have a great weekend all! I will see you back here on Monday!
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
