RIFFing to bid February Adieu | 2.24.23

RIFFing to bid February Adieu | 2.24.23

This week has been a Weather Roller Coaster… we have had temps in the 70’s and the 30’s. Let me just say that this mornings 30° felt bitterly cold after yesterday’s 72° and I was so glad that I had mitts tucked in the pockets of my coat for Sherman’s morning constitutional!

With just four more days of February, I really need to harness the looming closet chaos and rearrange my closet for “Transitional Wardrobe” season… you know the one where the temperature can fluctuate greatly from day to day. So you know what I am doing this weekend! Ha!

Reading… Again —

Signal Fires. Yes, I finished it this week. Yes, I immediately restarted it. This book! The threads that Shapiro begins to pull together as the story progresses… oh my. The writing is so, so good! The second time through, I am paying more attention to the threads and am in awe of how brilliantly this story is crafted. If you have not put this book on your “read soon” list… why not?

Inspired… by ME —

Yes, yes! I have all month long been thinking about my Authenticity Manifesto! Contemplating a manifesto for my word was the prompt from Ali Edwards this month and at first I was all wow… okay! And then I sat down to consider putting one together and it all my initial enthusiasm fell apart. BUT!! I did not let that defeat me! Instead I have spent the month contemplating things and before long I had ideas all over a page of my morning journal. I am eager to share this with you all on Monday, but I just have to say that my word that was feeling not quite right in January began singing to me in February. And this, my friends, is the joy of having a word to carry along with you during the year!

(in)Famous… Gifting —

I took great pleasure this month in matting and framing a couple of my watercolors to gift. I have long loved giving people things I have made, but they have always been wearable items… hand knit socks, scarves, mittens, hats, shawls, cowls, etc. But to give someone something they can hang on a wall is a first for me! I had no idea when I began this new craft how much I would love it! I have been practicing the techniques I am struggling with every morning… a sort of swatching, I suppose. It’s amazing what you can improve with just 15-20 minutes a day of practice! (There is a huge life lesson there… one that I should apply to so many things!)

This is one of the paintings I gifted this month. Who knew that rocks and water could be so delightful to paint!

Fearless… Cooking —

One thing I have become very adept at is adjusting recipes for what I currently have in my fridge and pantry, but that was not always the case. I believed recipes needed to be followed to the letter and if I did not have something… well, most times I did not make it. But, I had a daily routine of calling my nana while I was making dinner and she was a wonder… she could make something incredibly delicious out of practically nothing! And… she was a Master of Recipe Substitutions! So in our conversations, I would say “well, I was going to make this, but I don’t have any of that.” and she’d ask, well do you have x? y? z? and generally I’d have one of those. She eased me into learning how to make good substitutions… a thing that has served me very well over the years, and most especially in Pandemic Times! Ha! Well I used those skills again this week! Kym posted a soup recipe that looked amazing, but I had no kale (okay, I never have kale!!) but I am here to tell you that it is just as good with a can of diced tomatoes and a half of an avocado diced on top! Delish!

This soup was absolutely wonderful… even on a very warm evening!

And with that, dear friends, Happy Friday! Let the weekend begin!! See you all back here on Monday with my February word update!

A Few Good Things | 2.10.23

A Few Good Things | 2.10.23

Hello Friday… it’s been a week where my motto has been this: “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get”

I have felt like I have been playing catch up all week but there were a few good things.

Thing One: I have had tremulous buds on my snow drops for weeks and I feared that the bit of an arctic blast we had last week would do them in. But as you can see above, bloom they did! They opened yesterday and it was fun to see them “dancing in the wild winds” we had! A very good thing for the list!

Thing Two: I got my homework done! Wooo! The theme for this week was “Atmospheric” and while I don’t think I quite achieved an “atmospheric painting,” Rick’s first comment in my feedback: “This reads well” was enough for me. He then gave me some ideas to “fix” my foreground trees… that look a bit like lollypops! Yes, they do!

Thing Three: Kareem Abdul Jabar’s response to having his decades long NBA Scoring Record broken by Lebron James on Tuesday night. I deeply loved watching Kareem play basketball, but I confess… I love even more where he has gone with his life post-basketball.

Thing Four: I stumbled entirely accidentally upon the Emergence Magazine Podcast a couple of weeks ago and I have been meaning to tell you about it. The episode that drew me in was one with Robin Wall Kimmerer talking about Serviceberries. It’s absolutely worth a listen and I been delighted with other episodes as well!

Thing Five: Otherwise known as The Things That Kept Me Behind This Week! I had the appointment with the NP which caused me to have to go for X-rays (which were inconclusive) but I called to make the referral appointment with the Ortho who I eventually did manage to make contact with and set an appointment. Because I was in “Appointment Mode” I also made the appointment for my annual mammogram. I mean what is not to love about calling into Doctor Office Phone Queues and making sure you are pressing the correct number for what you want to do… and then waiting… listening to Hold Music… with interspersed advertisements for UPMC… Oh! And could you please complete a survey for us at the end of this call! (Because who does not want to have the opportunity to push more numbers!!)

And with that, I have some things to finish (still) from this week. See you all back here on Monday!

RIFFing to bid February Adieu | 2.24.23

A Final pre-Holiday RIFF | 12.23.22

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. ― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today, I hope to do a bit of what Halfpint so nobly encourages us to do… but perhaps a bit less reverently, ha! So let’s get RIFFing!

Read (poetry) —

I heard this poem this week and have not stopped thinking about it. A good poem will do that… linger, niggle, inch into your thoughts. Kay Ryan is one of those poets… her work lingers…wonderfully.

Crib

by Kay Ryan

From the Greek for
woven or plaited,
which quickly translated
to basket. Whence the verb
crib, which meant “to filch”
under cover of wicker
anything–some liquor,
a cutlet.
For we want to make off
with things that are not
our own. There is a pleasure
theft brings, a vitality
to the home.
Cribbed objects or answers
keep their guilty shimmer
forever, have you noticed?
Yet religions downplay this.
Note, for instance, in our
annual rehearsals of innocence,
the substitution of manger for crib
as if we ever deserved that baby,
or thought we did.

Kay Ryan, The Best of It © Grove Press, April 2011. 

In (unity) —

Michelle Obama knit us all together with the image that she posted on IG this week of a sweater she knit for a baby. This wondrous thing we do, that causes us to oooh and aaah over the things other makers knit. We understand… knitting is not quick and so we lift each other up. It is one of the best parts of this community.

 

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A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama)

Fun, fun, fun! —

For those of you who enjoyed Knives Out (I did for a variety of reasons!) there is a new mystery dropping today on Netflix… Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. More Daniel Craig over the holiday weekend? Yes, please! Hahaha

Festivus —

That’s right… today is Festivus! What is that you might ask? Perhaps this can explain it all better…

And with that… Happy Festivus for the Rest of Us! I will see you back here on Monday!

I hope your holidays, however you celebrate them, are overflowing with every good thing!

RIFFing to bid February Adieu | 2.24.23

Early December RIFFing | 12.2.22

December. A desperate celebration of an end.
— Chandrama Deshmukh, A Teaspoon of Stars

This quote sort of sums of December for me…the end of a year, the end of a word (which has been a very good word for me!), the end of my being 62, the end of my Year of Gnomes (yes… I am doing a +1 in January… there is no way you can quit gnoming cold turkey! haha)

And with all those ending things, it is so hard to not look ahead to what is coming.

I don’t want to do that and so I am going to daily remind myself to savor the day… be full of the moment… and not filling myself with the anticipation of what is to come.

Do I need to do some planning and thinking about January? Yes, I do… but I am not going to allow that to overtake the Celebration of December!

Now, how about some things that have been on my mind recently!

Remembering —

Christine McVie. Her death came as a gut punch to me this week. I will forever remember her singing this:

Infatuated (with) —

Three hand knits have found me circling back to look at them for a while now. I have been in the ‘wait and see’ mode… waiting to see if this infatuation I have for them will grow into a lasting love… which will mean I can cast on with confidence!

  1. Kate Gilbert’s Nouvelle Vague (From Knitty Deep Fall) or really… a Clapotis Gradation. IMO, the Original Clapotis has the preferred shape and I had I had knit one eons ago but maybe I need a new one? I don’t know, but I am enamored of the idea of doing one in the Fade Fad. But the fad idea has halted me from moving this from infatuation to project.
  2. Drawing Sweater. Oh my. Sweater as a work of art… absolutely. And when I first saw this, if I had the yarn to knit one in my stash, I would have instantly cast on. But then I saw this….
  3. Flutter. Wow, right? Anyways, in my brain, I would do this and steek it. Flutter is just so lovely… and maybe more useful than a sweater?
(be) Fuddled —

Imagine my total surprise when Spotify notified me that my Spotify Wrapped 2022 was ready for me. Huh?

We regularly listen to Spotify, but we *always use Steve’s Spotify* … as in I make the food, Steve does the music. I know, it is a massive contribution that he makes! LOL

Anyways, the *only* thing I have used Spotify for in the past year was to listen to podcasts that were only on Spotify.

However, the list was even more befuddling… I have never listened to any of these songs, nor has Steve ever selected any playlists with any of these on it! WTAF Spotify, WTAF!

(some word) Forethought —

As my year with Full draws to a close, I have had the curious incidence of a new word nudging me for some time now. I ignored it at first, but the nudges persisted and became more frequent. I have settled in to the idea of this word, but it is a bit scary as I contemplate “the how” of this word so I have been contemplating it lots. In lots of ways. So to make sure that I capture any and all ideas that pop into my head during the day… I have started an Apple Note(s) for it. Some ideas I am sure will be hilarious to look back on, but I am capturing them all. And, while I think this technically might be Word Cheating, I am happy to be filling the tiniest bit of my days with Word Planning 2023!

And I am even more excited to sign up for Ali Edwards OLW 2023 “class” and this year I think my word will work in such a way that I can do some journal documentation! Stay tuned!

And there you have some very varied RIFFing for this first weekend in December! See you all back here on Monday!

RIFFing to bid February Adieu | 2.24.23

Pre-vacation RIFFing | 10.14.22

First up… before any fun begins… I want to give a bit of a reminder to check your voting registration… in PA you have until October 24th to register to vote in the November election AND there is still time to get your mail-in ballot! You will find your state information here! There is so much that is not on the ballot, so who you vote for has never been more important.

No matter who you vote for, the most important thing is that you vote! (and with that I will get off my soap box and return you to your regularly scheduled blog post)

Now how about some excellent RIFFs for this chilly Friday!

Radiant —

A clip of the video below showed up in my Twitter feed one afternoon this week and I just needed more. I thought this might be the perfect way to usher in Friday. Brilliant, joyful, so uplifting and I believe that this was exactly what Mr. Vivaldi was hoping would happen with his music! This week, the Goede Hoop Marimba Band has given me the best “ear worm” ever! I hope you enjoy it as well!

Indigenous (Mapping) —

Steve had the day off on Monday for The Holiday Formerly Known as Columbus Day. In all honesty, I never spent much time thinking about the greatness of Columbus on this day. But recently I have been thinking much more about the silliness of celebrating a day of discovery of a land that was already discovered… and had been for roughly 25,000 years. I had so much fun with this map that NPR shared this week. It shows a well-inhabited North America… and drilling down to my neighborhood, I now know that I live on lands of Osage and Shawnee as well as the ancient tribe of Monongahela Indians.

Fretting (over) —

Throat-Clearers and Wan-Intensifiers” (I have gifted this very thoroughly enjoyable article from the WaPo for you all)

My library does not contain many books so the fact that I have a copy of Dryer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style should tell you that I thought this book was important and very necessary. Reading his article has reminded me that I am long overdue for a reread.

But… this could have been written for me: “Good writing, I think, ultimately exists between the twin goal posts of as-few-words-as-you-need and as-many-words-as-you-want. I, a natural natterer, lean toward the latterer.”

I am thankful for Dryer’s reminder on my over use of very and actually… at least for the moment! LOL

(and) Finally —

A bit of a vacation blogging schedule notice. Next Thursday (10/20), we head off to my most favored of places on the planet – Mississauga Lands (otherwise known as Presque Isle in Erie, PA) for a bit of a rest and rejuvenation! There will be an Unraveled post on Wednesday (10/26) but that is it. I don’t know how much making and reading I will have accomplished while on vacation, but you never know… I might even surprise myself! Ha!

I will be here as usual next week. On Monday the docent will have a new Museum of Me exhibit, and of course, there will be some Unraveling on Wednesday. I will be closing the week out on Thursday with A Gathering of Poetry installment and I’d like to invite you all to join in with us and share a poem that you might have stumbled across recently. Or share a poem that is near and dear to your heart. Really. The more the merrier… life can never have too little poetry!

And with that I will let you all get on with your day! Happy Friday All!

 

 

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