At long last we have arrived at the cusp of my favorite season… autumn. I live all year for autumn… and though I have learned to live happily in the moment of *now*… my heart is always longing for autumn! This week we have had some lovely “teasers” with cooler days and nights and I am so ready! I am sorry Summer, but I am really over baking hot days, endless sun, and all.the.humidity! And I’d be ever so grateful for some days of soaking rains… all day soaking rains! Yes, September brings lots of hopes for so many things!
So let’s get RIFFing, shall we?
a REAL goddess —
The Goddess in action!
I don’t know about you all, but this week I have had a laser focus on the US Open! Why you ask?
One word… Serena! (and personally, I think all players should be in self-designed twirly, sparkling tennis attire!)
As of this writing she has played just two games, but both were both so incredible! She is sparkling from head to toe… and taking no prisoners! And I am here for every single bit of it! (She played again Thursday evening… doubles with Venus! Sadly, they lost… but what a match it was!)
Inspired —
This is Week Six (and the last week) of my Beginning Landscape class. This week the Watercolor Gods smiled on me as I feel I did better that I had in any previous week. I know I still have miles and miles to go on learning, but small bits are beginning to click. I have roughly 3 weeks before my next class begins and my plan is to go back and redo each and every lesson… begin again, as it were… with my newly acquired skills! That means 2 lessons a week and I am so excited to “do them all again!” Is there anything in life better than inspiring yourself? I think not! (If you doubt that… see the Goddess above!) And no photo’s here… I shared both paintings on IG!
Finding (my inner sewist) —
Autumn is looming and I really need to sit down at the sewing machine and actually do some sewing! I have things cut out… patiently waiting… to be assembled into garments. In the same thread… I have a garment in mind that I want to make. I have looked for patterns, but have found none that check all my boxes… so I am going to make my own pattern for a simple a-line denim jumper/tunic. And…. I have another Grinch-y Advent Calendar to make for Olivia. (I need to get black flannel and an assortment of colorful buttons…) Anyways, this is notice to me that the coming “Unraveled Wednesday” posts should be all about the sewing… NOT the knitting!
Finding (visibility) —
I saw this tweet yesterday and was intrigued by the photo… Ruth Marcus and Strega Nona? What?
This is a little more personal than usual—-but if you read it you’ll see why. https://t.co/IgdpUadgUM
— Ruth Marcus (@RuthMarcus) September 1, 2022
I am gifting you all the article so you can read as well. It very much struck a chord with me having made the decision some years ago to stop coloring my hair… the invisibility factor for women of a certain age (and older) is very real. Ruth goes on to address how a woman looks… you are damned if you are gorgeous (See the Sanna Marin nonsense) and you are damned if you are not. Women have to think about tone of voice, inflection, what they are wearing, hair – as in appropriately colored hair. This is not a new thing… I am sure you have all heard the adage about Ginger Rogers “doing everything that [Fred Astaire] did…backwards and in high heels.”
Some days it really feels like that for every step forward, we are knocked dozens back… but maybe, just maybe… Ruth has cleared the pathway for us all a little. Maybe we can all pick up some of Strega Nona’s bad-ass-ness, which in my mind… is a very good thing! (And in case you are wondering, yes… I absolutely have read the Strega Nona books to my kids… they are so awesome!)
And I think, Ruth is the perfect Goddess Bookend for this blog post… two amazing women how showing us all how to be the most amazing badass women!
And with that, I am out of here! I will be back on Wednesday with some fun unraveling to share! Have a great LONG weekend everyone!
I love that you are beginning again with your watercolors and I’m also looking forward to seeing your fall sewing in the weeks to come.
I want to be Ruth Marcus when I grow up. I absolutely love that she responded and what she wrote. When I went to my doctor a few months ago she asked about my health goals. I said I’d like to lose weight to be healthier and so my joints and body would feel younger; I was tired of being old and fat. She scowled a bit, typed something on my electronic chart, and then showed me what she had written. It was “Patient is not old and fat, she is ample and time-tested.”
Have a great long weekend, Kat!
I’ve really enjoyed seeing your paintings Kat. You do some beautiful work! And sewing – can’t wait to see your own design – what fun! I, too, gave up coloring my hair years ago. I love saving the $$$ and I love not having to get it done every do often, etc., etc. I also LOVE Bonny’s doctor’s comment!! ample and time-tested – that’s me too.
Thank you so much for gifting us that article — I tried to read it from Twitter before and couldn’t, and now I’m glad that I have. I have never colored my hair (well, at least not to cover up the grays), and it always bothered me that this, and all the ways women look, was such a point of contention. Also, Strega Nona was a favorite of mine as a kid and as a parent, and I say bring on the comparisons — she is a badass!
I too am delighted for the arrival of fall (maybe the weather will get the message after this weekend) and can’t wait to pull out my sweaters and socks. Perhaps fall will also see me back at the sewing machine.
Happy long weekending!
I started finding single gray hairs in my twenties and always pulled them out. Eventually I realized that continuing this process meant that at some point I would be bald. So I quit. Now I think my gray hairs, most common at the front, look like highlighting. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Ah. Thanks for that article! I love her response.
I enjoy reading your approach to learning about painting. I loved Stregna Nona when I read it to my kids. You have a lot of sewing in your future – may it all turn out exactly as you wish.
I love watching your watercolor painting journey and it’s inspired me to pull out mine again as well. There are so many creative pursuits I wish there was more time in my day to do them and I wish I had a personal chef to give me more time 🙂
Love your goddess bookends! I read Ruth’s piece when it came out last week; it’s a good one and I’m so glad you shared it (because everyone should read it). Strega Nona was a favorite at our house; she’s a great role model actually, even though I realize the original comments were not made from kindness or even any type of . . . awareness. (Don’t get me started.) You are a STAR Grandmother with those Advent Calendars!!!! XO