Park

Shawl at a crawl

Love love love Noro colors. This is a skein of Kureyon sock yarn. The two balls should be roughly the same size...not :-p The knitting of this has become slightly tedious. The rows go on forever now and take a looooong time. It's a triangle shape that started at one corner and is ever widening.

I should get some blocking wires and boards...the shawl will not be complete without the magic of blocking. Blocking means soaking the knitted woolen in a gentle wool soap and warm water, rolling it into a towel to drain out as much water as possible (no pulling or squeezing), then shaping the item by stretching it out using wires and pins, and letting it dry while held in place/shape by the wires and pins, on the board. The soaking loosens the fibers and allows the knit to literally grow to its full potential, critical for pieces like shawls and garments.

Spring walk

Do yourself a favor and get to the woods for some tree time.

Digestion

(pic taken by Gem)

"Digestion is a function of the whole body. It applies to food, as well as, emotions and spiritual aspects of the soul. Try to process everything you put into your body in a calm, peaceful way."
---Nan Lu, TCM

I am preparing to start Dragon's Way next week. What are you doing to boost your self-healing these days?

Quiet

Reading my overdue library book, almost done. I'll be frogging my shawl project later and restarting since I have figured out some mistakes I've made. It's all about the process.

Enjoying the turkey chili I made for common meal last night. I roughly followed the Silver Palate recipe. Chili is one of those foods that I like when I eat it, but never think about unless someone has made some and is offering it to me. I made it yesterday because of time and circumstance and am surprised by how much I like it.

The kids are reading, creating Lego starships, making clay models, and writing screenplays, having spent their allotted time playing their computer game.

Cap is taking a break from grading and playing basketball at the Y.

A cloudy, drizzly day outside, cozy and quiet in here.

LOST

Wow.

Wow.

OMG.

Wow.

Shifts

Things are slowing down here at the blog. There are numerous factors.

One is certainly Facebook. I am over there hourly daily and tend to get distracted by it. For example, I will go to the computer to do something other than Facebook, end up in FB and then forget what I meant to do at the computer in the first place, and walk away from the computer. I'll remember later that I never did what I meant to do before and go back, and, sadly, the cycle often repeats itself.

Another is that since we bought the new desktop, the kids have been spending more time on the computer playing their games. Our old desktop didn't have enough memory to support the Lego Star Wars (and now Indiana Jones) games they love and there has been a natural enthusiasm / increased computer love with the faster, bigger computer.

I suppose I am using my time differently in other ways, as well.

I haven't been cooking much. But, I anticipate that will shift as our CSA gets going in about a month. Nothing like locally grown seasonal veggies to inspire the earth mama in me. (I also look forward to gently increasing the kids' repertoire to include more veggies, whole grains, fish, and beans. This will take time and creativity :-)

I have been reading a bit more. I am trying to finish up The Unforgiving Minute before I rack up too high a fine. It was due on Sunday.

I am watching tv a bit less. The DVR is starting to fill up with episodes of shows I consider "regulars".

I am knitting in spurts. The rate of my knitting probably hasn't changed much. I do have a few projects (as opposed to just one) on the needles which never used to be, but is becoming more me. Hypoteneuse is hibernating. I started a Simple Yet Effective Shawl using a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn I got during my last visit with Barb out in Oakland. I'm happy to be using it for something other than socks because it will get less wear and tear and the colors are particularly gorgeous. It will "strike" others as much as it does me around my shoulders rather than on my feet.

One of my local yarn shops is shuttering up. They are in the final, 45% off everything in the store phase. I nibbled at 25% off, got organized around needles needed for firmly decided upon future projects at 35% off, and walked away with the motherlode, yesterday, at 45% off. Yeah, you could say I hit that. I won't be buying yarn till Rhinebeck in the fall. Wendy is planning on coming up and we will be mashing our faces into fibery goodness upstate New York style...

I haven't been taking as many pictures lately. I need to get some new camera batteries. And perhaps my own camera in the late fall when I may give Sag this one. I have been more "in the moment" lately and less inclined to be documenting. (I have been using Photo Booth quite a bit on the new computer which satisfies, to an extent, my creative photography jones. Self-portraiture is fun!)

I have been listening a greater variety of music. YouTube is truly an amazing resource. And seeing Glen Phillips live a couple of weekends ago gave me new awareness of the powerful and connective force that music has.

The gall bladder workout I got a couple of months ago changed something for me. Living without moving after 2 years has had a positive impact on me. Being in my 40s is giving me a new perspective. Growing with two children who are rapidly moving out of their young childhoods is opening up my time and mind.

I am living with more courage, flowing more truthfully through the moments that form my path, and in ways simple and complicated, being my self.

Kids and cake

Karen and the kids came down for a visit. Cap made Karen and me a Mother's Day cake. Cardamom with a choco drizzle...GFCF of course. Amazing.

More photo booth fun

Are you sitting down? Pictures of Cap ahead! I know!

R&R

Karen is coming down from MA solo and we're having a weekend to ourselves, for the very first time, in Manhattan. I'm meeting her at Penn Station in 10 hours :-) Food, music, yarn, books, art, spring rain, my mom's place as our crash pad (she's in Japan)...it's going to be amazing.

Dolores Park Cowl

Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Jacinto. Needles: US size 13

I knit the whole thing and then realized, with Wendy's help, that I didn't choose the right M1 increase. So I let it sit for a couple of weeks and then unraveled the whole thing and re-knit. This is unbelievably cozy and cushy. Malabrigo yarn is renowned for its softness. I wasn't sure how this color was going to look on me, but I like it!

Now

(completely pilfered from my Facebook status update)

...a table cloth, she thought. And, somehow, her world tipped back into balance.