“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.” ― E.E. Cummings
Winter reminded us over that it was far from over this week. We got snow, on snow, on snow, with a bit of freezing rain thrown in for fun… Oh, and bitter cold temperatures for the exclamation point, just in case you weren’t paying attention! However, next week’s more moderate temperatures bring hope!
This week, I found so much hope in conversations…conversations I listened to.
You and Me Both is back for season two… the first episode is titled Hope and seemed so appropriate for Hillary’s Full of Hope conversation with Amanda Gorman.
The other conversation I discovered this week came from Pádraig Ó Tuama in The Corrymeela Podcast. Episode one was one that really made me stop and think. If anyone knows about differences it is the people of Ireland. This first conversation also brought hope.
I have been contemplating the options for a virtual spinning class but I don’t know what kind of class I want to take. I feel like I spin the same yarn ever.single.time. and am sort of feeling like I am stuck and I need a new perspective. Last night I discovered the perfect solution! Jillian’s Patreon!! Hope sometimes comes in a joyfully exuberant person!
Finally, hope was found in writing thanks to remember, commitment, and interdependent.
And that is all I have for this week! Stay safe everyone and I will see you all back here on Monday for my word update!
This weekend being a long weekend was advantageous…it was icy over the weekend and overnight came some more snow, not as much as was predicted (thank goodness) but still, it is good that Steve has today off. I stumbled across this poem by Louise Glück and I thought it was most appropriate for today…especially the ending. Happy Monday all! See you back here on Wednesday!
Lots of good-natured sunshine everywhere
making the snow glitter—quite
lifelike, I thought, nice
to see that again; my hands
were almost warm. Some
principle is at work, I thought:
commendable, taking an interest
in human life, but to be safe
I threw some snow over my shoulder,
since I had no salt. And sure enough
the clouds came back, and sure enough
the sky grew dark and menacing,
all as before, except
the losses were piling up—
And yet moments ago
the sun was shining. How joyful my head was,
basking in it, getting to feel it first
while the limbs waited. Like a deserted hive. Joyful—now there’s a word
we haven’t used in a while.
This week I was reminded over and over and over how poetry brings hope.
“Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”
― Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver must have been seeing what I see when I look out my windows this week. Yes, it is still winter here in Pittsburgh and we have had lots and lots of snow this week. It it just so beautiful… clean, bright, and hushed.
There was nothing hushed about Amanda Gorman’s poetry before “the big game” last Sunday. I have no idea who had the idea to ask her to write a poem to read before kick off, but… imo…this needs to be something that happens before EVERY sporting event! It was simply the best part of the game because it focused on the hope that is working in our communities.
Next Wednesday, Lent begins and with it a journey. I confess that I am nervous and excited for what lies ahead – writing poetry for 40 days…but that thought also fills me with hope.
Finally, I listened to Chaplain Barry Black on Wednesday as he opened the senate impeachment session with these words from James Russel Lowell’s poem The Present Crisis: “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;” I did not know this poem at all, but I have read it a number of times this week. I am stunned that something written 177 years ago has such relevance today…and hope.
Have a great weekend everyone! See you back here on Monday!
“Art is the highest form of hope.” ― Gerhard Richter
This week I really noticed mornings that were lighter. It is just so nice to walk Sherman and greet the morning at.the.same.time! (rather that stumbling around in the darkness!) This morning it was mild but windy. And those winds were moving the clouds right along…almost painting the sky with shades of grey tinged with oranges and reds. A lovely morning to walk!
It was a slower paced week where I appreciated the beauty of small things.
The gradual changes in my Hitchhiker… it is “42 teeth big” and I am almost to the final color of my yarn. I will keep knitting until I am almost out of yarn and then bind off. This project has been so inspiring to make, and I am currently spinning some yarn that I think will make another hitchhiker. Some unexpected inspiration from Bonny this week… a beaded hitchhiker! I found some beads in my recently organizing. I am eager to get this fiber spun up so I can cast on!
The other beauty I have been appreciating is the #WOMENSART Twitter account! What a lovely little rabbit hole to travel down! All the art is breath-taking, but the fiber arts are truly spectacular! I am sharing a few that have caught my eye!
Lucy Sparrow, UK textile artist known as a ‘Feltist’ who plays with and subverts representations of everyday objects #womensartpic.twitter.com/wlUtXmYRkI
Contemporary Nova Scotia textile artist and quilter Laurie Swim creates quilt art which captures her local landscapes #womensartpic.twitter.com/95pXyWOIbI
And finally, did you know the Brontë sisters quilted?
The hand-sewn patchwork quilt created by the Brontë sisters, consisting of silks, taffetas, velvets and cotton which may have been taken from old Brontë dresses #womensartpic.twitter.com/n1UePaf3HI
“We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.” ― Pema Chödrön
I stumbled upon this quote this weekend and have been pondering it ever since. It rings true for me as this new month starts… life is not “passing the test” or overcoming the problem. There is no point when it suddenly all becomes easier, no apex moment to achieve with a reward of “down hill” ease. No, new tests/challenges keep popping up and there is always a new problem…always. Yet despite all of that, Pema’s wisdom in the continuity of things coming together and falling apart is somehow comforting.
Good things to keep in mind as my household approaches one year of Safer at Home… yes, we started in early February 2020. A year of being distant, masking up, and thinking about “is this trip absolutely necessary.” A habit now it seems, yet this weekend our discussions included frustration, disappointment, and longing for life before COVID.
But!! I had an interesting discussion about the efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this weekend, and while it might not score as high as the currently available vaccines, it does boast a very impressive stat… preventing hospitalizations and deaths! More Pema echo’s….they come together.
The reminder for me this morning is that there is no “magic button” but rather a determination to keep on going and hope there is more coming together and less falling apart. (Or if they do fall apart, may they be easily fixed!)
Finally, in these socially distant times there was some most excellent coming together… a small group of fiber enthusiasts got together Saturday afternoon via the wonder of the internet and we spent time spinning, and talking, and laughing, and sharing. We have plans to meet twice a month… and if you’d like to join us, you would absolutely be welcome!
Happy Monday, everyone! See you all back here for some unraveling on Wednesday!
“If you’re reading this…
Congratulations, you’re alive.
If that’s not something to smile about,
then I don’t know what is.”
― Chad Sugg, Monsters Under Your Head
Welcome to Week 6 of Hope. This week, I found that humor is a necessary element of hope… especially after listening to Billy Collin’s “The Present” last week. I had read this poem previous, but hearing it early Saturday morning I was struck by the truth of it. Leave it to Billy to make clear that staying in the moment is… futile. I chuckled about it all week!
Another thing that brought a huge smile to my face is the fact that The White House has dogs in residence again! I am entirely smitten with Champ and Major and some brilliant person has given the First Dogs a Twitter account. They are absolutely worth a follow!
Final funny for the week… I am stuck on Bobble Island. This is nothing like Sleeve Island… it is bumpy, and there is lots of going back and forth. I could find myself trapped here and that thought is terrifying… and I still have what feels like eleventy-billion bobbles to go!
Finally! An accurate photo of the color of my Heart Warmer!
I hope you find some humor this weekend! See you all back here next week!
