I stumbled across some poems by Jane Kenyon (from a series entitled “Having it out with Melancholy”). I am having a running battle with melancholy these days and her words fit my mood. But this week I found this bit especially true:
4 OFTEN
Often I go to bed as soon after dinner
as seems adult
(I mean I try to wait for dark)
in order to push away
from the massive pain in sleep’s
frail wicker coracle.
Yes, yes, and yes!
Sleep has been very elusive recently…insomnia has moved in, and I am really so over it. But the more I fight it, the worse it seems to get. It is a vicious circle.
Speaking of melancholy, Michelle Obama’s podcast this week…wow! It has quickly become the best conversation in the entire week. I have written down so many things that I want to keep in the forefront of my meager, depressed, sleep-deprived brain. This one from Michele Norris was the best of the best: Don’t reach for normal, reach for better! YES! It is nice to know that my house is not the only one that is experiencing depression, concern, worry, stress… and the feeling that I just can’t take one more day of the ugly reality we live in…Thank you, Michelle for sharing so openly and honestly. I feel just a little bit less alone today.
If you, like me, have some niggling worries (okay, night terrors) about “what if” scenarios regarding the election not happening in November…this might allay your fears…it did mine a bit! (you will need to fast forward to 34:44 to listen to Teller – of Penn and Teller – give you the run down of what would happen if there are no elections in November…and it does not end with President Pelosi, just saying)
It should come as no surprise that I am in LOVE with Patrick Stewart’s Sonnet a Day and the sonnet from the 3rd was especially lovely:
Yesterday, Garrison Keillor read Hands by Jack Ridl. The words were brilliant and when I realized it was this Jack Ridl, I just had to share with you. I am pretty sure I have run into Mr. Ridl a few times when I lived in Holland, and I had the pleasure of knitting with his wife occasionally at a local knitting group!
But, back to his poem…it is brilliant, and so appropriate for a Monday! Here is to a week with my hands being busy…and no boredom!
What a week, eh? There is only so much avoidance one can do in any given week. I tried mightily to ignore, but sometimes that just does not work and that happened a lot this week. But despite the onslaught of bs, there were some pockets of goodness. And that goodness was enough to inspire me, lift me, fill me, and carry me through the chaos. So let’s get started!
First, are you missing intelligent conversation? Mm-hmm! Need a fix of a nostalgia for what was? Oh yes, I do! Well look no further… The Michelle Obama Podcast started this week! I mean really, stop everything and queue this up right now! You won’t be disappointed… at all! I promise!! Just do it!!
Then this piece just amazed me yesterday. John Lewis wrote it two days before he died… words for us, instructions for us… marching orders, as it were.
While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language, and nationality to demand respect for human dignity. – John Lewis
Thank you for these final words, Mr. Lewis. May you rest in power.
But the best was Barack Obama’s eulogy for “St. John”! It was so amazing. It is must watch…so settle in and be filled and inspired!
But it was not all inspiring finds this week because the Ravelry imbroglio continues, but there was this update from Jess which, frankly had me shaking my head. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. Honestly, all of this is so unacceptable. I don’t know what the fix is to all of this, but I do know this… I am not using Ravelry until it becomes accessible for everyone.
And if that was not all just enough, there was this update from Cat Bordhi… my heart is breaking for her and her dear family. If you’ve a mind to send her an email, you will find her address in her post.
That’s all from me this week… (have you requested your mail in ballot? The deadline is fast approaching!) See you all back here next week!
Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind. – Neil Armstrong
The past couple of weeks I have been reminiscing in my mind about the summer of 1969. Eight-year-old me was fascinated with the Apollo 11 journey to the moon. I watched the landing on our black and white television in awe that Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin were soon going to be landing on the moon! I remember thinking that it took 4-days to get to something I could easily see. It’s funny how looking back at that time, I see the beginnings of a child that was fascinated with science. I loved that the moon could look so close to us, but it was so very far away! It was also the start of my love of Star Trek…and that love continued for years. Apollo 11 went “where no man had gone before” and my life was certainly richer because they did.
I found this Moonwalk Montage video on the NASA website and watching it brought the same thrill today as it did when I was eight! (if you want to watch the restored, full-length version you will find it here!)
Some years later, I was in Washington D.C. and I saw the Space Window at the National Cathedral, it filled me with awe and wonder that I was seeing a piece of the moon those brave men had brought back.
In these days when travel to the simplest of places seems impossible, it is a very good thing to remember and celebrate this incredible journey.
Finally, it would be remiss of me to not mention the passing of John Lewis. He might have been a man of small stature, but he possessed the drive of the mightiest of men! Though he is no longer here to inspire us, he has given us our marching orders: “I want to see young people in America feel the spirit of the 1960s and find a way to get in the way. To find a way to get in trouble. Good trouble, necessary trouble.” We must not let him down and find some good trouble! May you rest in power, dear sir.
One salvation in these endlessly mind numbing days has been The Slowdown. This week has been especially fun as each post has been about food. However, the Ode to Butter might just be the best thing I listened to all week!
This week saw the end of the 100 Day Project. Oh boy, the best laid plans of mice and stitchers…I started off very well and managed to keep up the momentum until about day 50-ish when I realized that there was no way this stitching was going to take 100 days to complete. I have a few bits to fill in, I think. I have been looking at the stitching with a critical eye over the last 20 or so days. Some days I add a bit of stitching, others I do nothing but look and think. Am I happy with what I have? Yes! I will continue to contemplate and fill in when the mood strikes me…and I am okay with that.
This weekthis news made me squeal and dance with joy!
This week … this photo has filled me with all the feels!
All.The.Love!
But this week also had some hard things…I have been reading some blog posts that really have spoken to me…loudly. It felt good to know I am not the only one who is horribly out of sorts, unsettled, scared, and just so damned angry. I should not be surprised because every day is out of sorts, unsettled, scary, and full of things to make one rage…but I have been trying to ignore, avoid, pretend, and keep my rose-colored glassed clean. Except sometimes ignoring, avoiding, pretending, and trying to see good when there just isn’t any takes more work than a body can handle. I found myself unable to focus on the simplest things, unable to follow through (see last Friday’s blog post for a prime example… I spent about 30 minutes ‘polishing’ it on Friday morning but never published it…and I never realized it until Monday morning!) unable to let go of little things. I have had thinner skin, which has resulted in an increase in arguments and/or hurt feelings. So this week…I got off the “isn’t life grand if you ignore, avoid, and pretend train” and took off those damned rose colored glasses and stared reality down… the ugly, out of sorts, scary, oh.my.gosh I am so angry reality. I allowed myself to be angry at what is happening rather than smothering that anger only to have it erupt when I least expect it. I allowed the fear in… and I meditated with that fear. Did the fear depart? Nope…but acknowledging the fears and remembering that I am not alone helped. The thing I learned is that life is not always rosy…and pretending it is, or letting everyone think that it is, simply is not working for me.
But in the midst of all this chaos…there are only 108 days until the election! Are you registered to vote? Have you applied for an absentee/mail in ballot? If not, put that on the top of your to-do list and I will see you back here next week!
‘Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about. – John Mayer
Joy of joys, this morning I found the temperature had departed from the 90+ degrees where it had been lingering far too long. A little bit of 90+ days go a long way, right? The weather person says that I will get a few days of reprieve before those hot days come roaring back. My plan for this welcome relief…knit.like.the.wind!
I finished Clue 5 last night, and I am having a bit of panic because I am not quite sure I will have enough of the darker yarn…sigh. If that is the case, then I will just figure out some work-around bind off.
I also have been watching the US COVID-19 numbers in horror. I listened to this timely Life Kit episode this morning. I added “make more masks” to my weekly list.
Random things from my Gratitude list last week:
Rain
More rain
Ripening tomatoes
All.the.beans!
AC
That is all I have for this slow starting Monday. How about you? What things were you grateful for last week?
P.S. Apparently, my brain was totally fried from the heat last week. I spent lots of time working on this post, which I then did not publish. What? LOL So, you get a bonus post today… from Friday, published late. But, better late than never, yes?
