There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself. — Ann Pachett, The Dutch House
Oh boy, another Monday.
It seems like last week the world began to be more topsy-turvy, and overflowing with uncertainty. I cannot get Danny’s voice out of my head because how he describes it is exactly so! The footing has fallen away, and the firmer future is still 58 days away. So here I am, suspended in knowing nothing and no one… not even myself.
I don’t like feeling so helpless with this uncertainty. One thing that is definitely certain – this virus is here and active. Sadly, not everyone gets that, or is it really that not everyone cares? But out in that “not everyone cares” world, are those I hold most dear. There they are braving places where the virus is like a speeding train… work. And I am truly at a loss this morning. Honestly, I am just so damned mad at people, ALL THE PEOPLE!!
I was certain that there would be no magic to fix all of this, but then this morning I heard this poem by Joy Harjo and as I let the words wash over me, I felt the tiniest crack in the dread… the uncertainty.
To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
See you all back here on Wednesday… I am excited to share some FINISHED THINGS with you!
It feels like I survived the wars this week, and came out standing!! Nothing takes your mind off the insanity of politics like a plumbing problem… however, I hope we are good on plumbing for the rest of the year! LOL
There were some lovely little bright spots this week, though…
I was excited to see a trailer for Between the World and Me, airing tomorrow on HBO (and HBOMax) at 8PM.
And, finally… I have a baby in knits! Winston has finally (sort of) grown into the vest and socks I made for him! I think it will fit him for at least for a little while. If I can’t hug him in person, it is nice to know he is snug in something I made him – each stitch filled with love, prayers, hope for his future, and joy in his being.
That is all I have for this week. I hope your weekend is full of good things! See you back here on Monday!
Today is going to need all sorts of magic… I have a clogged drain and no amount of *anything* worked to unclog it on Sunday and we tried practically all.day.long! It made for a contentious, irritating day… and yes, there were LOTS of raised voice conversations. So when I found this in my in-box yesterday, it was exactly what I needed. So with a nod to the brilliant Sarcastic Lutheran… I present my take on the Serenity Prayer for a Monday Morning!
Dear Monday
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change or fix like…
clogged drains
laundry
neighbors who are on the opposite side of the political spectrum from me
Give me the courage to change the things I can (and a willing heart to do them!) like…
my attitude… hoo boy does it need an adjustment
renewed contentment with simply staying home
the sheets, it is Monday after all
And the wisdom to know the difference…such as
Not moving the things from one list to the other and vise versa.
AMEN!
P.S. I have been doing lots of OLW contemplations… and I think I might have found my word. Maybe.
Every Friday, I like to high-five myself for getting through another week on little more than caffeine, willpower, and inappropriate humor. — Nanea Hoffman
Hello, Gentle Readers and Happy Friday!
I hope that none of you suffer from triskaidekaphobia and that today is simply the gateway to the weekend!
Here in the ‘Burgh, its been a week of all.the.weathers! We have had sunny, clear days with temps in the 70’s, we have had soggy, rainy days with loud claps of thunder for extra emphasis, and this morning… a hard frost greeted Sherman and I as we went out for his morning constitutional. This meant it was a very short trip, with lots of those “looks”… yes, his little toes were cold! lol
This week, I found some very good things to share with you all!
First up, contemplating Thanksgiving with a group of your family or friends? You might want to utilize the COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool. It also helped Steve determine the risk for everyone at his office (they have a 27% risk) and thus, lay the law down about mask wearing at all times…no exceptions.
Thanks to Andy Slavitt’s podcast this week, I discovered Livinguard masks and we ordered some! But I found especially useful the parts on grocery shopping, which I confess have become quite lax on the amount of time spent in the store… wandering, looking, dawdling. A wake up call for me…in Allegheny County (where I live) if there are 50 people in the store the risk jumps to 72% (yikes! and there are usually more than 50 people there, so yeah.)
Finally, Good Knitters, TODAY IS YOUR DAY! It is Cardigan Day! I mean… it is a day made for us, amirite?!? That this coincides with World Kindness Day is just the icing on the cake. Because the most famous Cardigan wearer in the world was also the kindest person ever. So get your cardigan on and spread some kindness today! However, you all have LOTS of work to do to beat Sarah! She wins Cardigan Day, hands down!
Every election is determined by the people who show up. — Larry J. Sabato, Pendulum Swing
There was no magic at all in last week’s election, it was simply counting the votes of the people who showed up! (and show up they did!) But I fear we will need some magic to heal the rift in this nation.
There is absolutely something magical about transforming a bit of fiber into yarn. I spent quite a bit of time on Thursday ignoring the news media and instead I focused on plying my singles! I did this while watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. It is was so good! That combination – spinning and watching – was the perfect diversion from the angst of the day! I am happy with the end results, although it needs a bit more twist, which is, thankfully, easily fixed!
It’s not perfect, but I love how it turned out.
The other simply magical thing has been the weather these past few days! Sunny, cloudless skies and mild temps meant that we braved the “world” and sat outside (in NOVEMBER!!) and enjoyed lunch and some beers at Spoonwood Brewing. It was the perfect way to wind down the week (and eating wings is not conducive to doom scrolling on your phone…lol)
The other magical thing of the weekend was this soup!! (I hope the link works…if not, let me know) What an unexpected treat! The rice makes the broth so silky. It is my new favorite Chicken Soup with Rice!
Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on. — Thurgood Marshall
Thinking About —
This from the NYTimes. The hardest thing for me is this…58% of white men and 55% of white women voted for Trump. How the eff?
I don’t know how to heal this, how to get over this, or how to fix it and that is the thing that most upsets me.
Grateful For —
Laughter. It is certainly necessary! I found this most brilliant, and yes…the internet remains undefeated!
Live look at the White House bunker where Trump is trying to stop the counting of ballots.
The tenacity of the Black community. Thank goodness, they did not give up! They truly saved this election! I am so proud of Philadelphia, whose wise and wonderful voters just gave Joe a lead of 5,587 votes in PA. (And let’s not forget Detroit either… their final results: Joe Biden, 93.51% and Donald Trump, 5.06%… oh hell yeah!)
BREAKING: Joe Biden has taken the lead in PA by 5,587 votes.
