Letting Go and Moving On

Another UFO is out the door.

Years ago when I worked for the County I knitted in staff meetings to avoid strangling my co-workers. I know. I had knitting needles in my hands, but my hands were kept busy, which is how I avoided wrapping them around the throats around me. (I'm on medication now. Don't worry.)

So, in those meetings I made most of a sweater from some lovely brown tweed Phildar Superwash wool. But eventually the project got set aside and forgotten. Last year, in the process of packing and moving, I "unknitted" all the yarn and started another project with it, but it just wasn't happening for me. Since this project has been toward the top of the overall UFO pile, it's been on my mind lately. Last night at dinner I was telling my sister knitter, Laurel, about it and she, the goddesses bless her, expressed a desire to have the yarn for her very own. Yippee!! This morning I happily boxed up the whole thing and will take the yarn to her this weekend.

In this case I have to admit that the value of the project was in the process, not in the end result. I got my money's worth out of that yarn sitting knitting away in those meetings. Been there, done that. Let it go and move on. I've honestly never had this experience before, that is, the experience of knowing in my heart that the value of the thing was in the process, not in the product, and that it was okay -- good even -- to let the thing go and move on to something else that really interests and excites me right now. Wow.

Not to mention that giving the yarn away gets yet one more UFO out of my studio.

Life is good.

That First Box of UFOs

After I blogged last night I was gripped by the spirit and stay up late dealing with that first box of UFOs. I managed to whittle the remaining contents down to 2 projects. One is a small quilt that I really like and will finish. The more I think about it, the more I think I'll just have someone else machine quilt it so I'll only have to bind it. The other is an antique wedding ring quilt which was hand pieced and really needs to be remade so that it can be finished. But, that's a BIG project that can wait for another time. It can just go on the shelf for the time being.

I tied up a lot of little loose ends today. It's always hard to know where to start. I just picked a pile and started. Funny how when I take that approach I tend to get a lot of collateral tasks accomplished, too. So, this all is part of the grand get-organized-and-unpacked project. I also got set up to bind the last big quilt I had machine quilted. It's a Hunter Star quilt, blue and green with gold stars. Very scrappy. Probably the biggest quilt I've made. It's about 120" long which was necessary to accommodate the design. Now I'm getting excited to get it finished. I love the colors and fabrics. I'm going to get a lot of kitty help with this project....

Tonight I started going back to the gym/health club/fitness center/whatever you want to call it. Kennedy. The name of the place is Kennedy. I went to my favorite class, Chi Ball. Sort of a yoga class, but more active. And I did about 20 minutes of intervals on the stationary bike to warm up beforehand. Man, I'm pooped. Hope I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

Life is good.

The Bucket List

There is one thing that is definitely on my Bucket List: offing the UFOs. Finish 'em. Trash 'em. Recycle 'em. Repurpose 'em. Whatever. Today, another one went the way of all flesh. It's a tulips-and-butterflies small quilt top that at one time I felt obligated to make because a dear friend gave me the pattern. It was an epic failure. I managed to upgrade it to a mere failure, but I never finished it. To me, it didn't even rise to the level of a charity quilt. However, after not laying eyes on it for a number of years, it looked to me today like it could at least become part of a quilt back. Quilt backs take a lot of fabric, so I use weird stuff for quilt backs. Anyway, they should be fun. Quilt backs that is.

Most of the time I don't even know something's on my Bucket List until I do it. Case in point. I've always loved Pendleton wool Indian blanket coats. A couple years ago we were in Santa Fe and I rather spontaneously picked one out and Randy gave it to me for Christmas that year. At that point, I realized that having a Pendleton wool Indian blanket coat was on my Bucket List.

I've always loved Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I loved them before Paul Simon produced Graceland. Last night we saw them in concert and I was mesmerized. Totally. For one thing, their music has much in common with that of Phillip Glass. I didn't know. And I love Phillip Glass. Years ago, when I was single in fact, I went to a Glass performance of 12 Pieces -- all 8 hours of it. And loved every minute. How was I to know that seeing Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert was on my Bucket List? It was, and now I can check it off.

And I'm thrilled that the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their playoff games today. It's gonna be a great Super Bowl!

P.S. This means I can officially check 4 UFOs off the list. Four!!

Another One (2 Actually) Bites the Dust

I brought out the first of many boxes full of UFOs yesterday. Given my new attitude toward life in general --and a burning desire to off as many UFOs as possible as fast as possible-- I've decided to think creatively about them. First out of the box were some small quilt tops, (#1) a group of 3 improvisationals and (#2) 1 I made as a demonstration for block-of-the-month years ago. All too good to hit the garbage can, but none worthy of finishing as small quilts. So... 3 of the four pieces have become part of 2 quilt storage bags which I'm still making for my existing (and future) bed quilts. The 4th one will be incorporated into a quilt back for a specific quilt that's in the UFO pile. Yeah!

Last night we went to an all-JS Bach organ concert which was just wonderful. When I was in high school I had the privilege of playing my church's pipe organ. Yup, I was a bona fide church organist for a year or two. I loved that instrument, along with the baritone horn. Those have been my favorites.

And today my big project was in the kitchen. I made chicken broth/stock from an actual chicken and the carcass of a roasted chicken I made awhile back. From there I went ahead and made Chicken Chowder. I followed directions from Cook's Illustrated, but I don't think Alice would mind since Cook's is all about fresh food, seasonality, and other good food practices. The chowder took some time but wasn't at all difficult. No exotic ingredients or tricky directions.

Oh yes! I seasoned the Chowder with my new favorite flavor: smoked salt. I've used coarse smoked salt as a finishing salt. This was the first time I used fine smoked salt in a dish. I think it really added some wonderful flavor.

Okay then. Off to another concert tonight. We're such social butterflies. Ha!

YES!! (fist pump, fist pump)

It's only 2:00 p.m. and already I have declared my studio FINISHED and I have FINISHED a small quilt I started in (gulp) 1999 and I have STARTED a little sketchbook collage. Holy cow!

There's still some fine-tuning to do in the studio. I need to put the rest of my Barbies on the doll shelves. What do I do with old (expensive) cameras and Kodachrome slides and and my slide projector? I have to get some Command strip hooks to hang wall dolls I've made. Eventually I will probably sell my spinning wheel. Maybe not. I've not come to a final decision about that. But next week I can launch into setting up my looms. And I'm otherwise good to go on everything else. Done! Finished! Life is good!

To celebrate, I FINISHED a small wall quilt I started a light year or so ago. It is "cute" and there is no way I would do "cute" at this point in my life. I hardly did "cute" even then. The story is that I made one for my quilt guild's annual small quilt auction. I thought it would be a very fast project (it wasn't), so I started 2 of them: one for the auction and one for some other unspecified purpose. The auction quilt has long since gone on to some other home. Today I finally finished the other one. For the time being, it hangs in our sitting room (or TV room or whatever you want to call it) between my studio and Randy's office. Considering the length of its journey, time wise, I'm not going to part with it real soon. (Yes, I hung it immediately. That was part of getting it finished. I LOVE those 3M Command strip hooks. For this purpose I use their photo clips.)

As for the collage... My sketchbook is full of lots of stuff, but not very many sketches. Mostly it's collages of various kinds. Often involving color schemes. Sometimes just ideas and compositions. This is the first one heading in a new direction: practicing using materials and methods that are new to me. They aren't meant to be anything more than exercises just to see "what happens if." It's nice to be back in that place again, doing "what happens if" things.

Life is good. Which probably means I'll be killed in a car accident this afternoon. Every time life is good, I wait for the other shoe to drop. Life is so good right now that I expect all of Zappos to fall from the sky on my head momentarily. Oh well. I'm just going to enjoy it at as long as it lasts.

Why Travel?

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." --Mark Twain (1835-1910)

My Studio is Coming Together

Yesterday Robert, one of the terrific young men from Semmes & Company who built our passive-solar strawbale house, came over for 4 hours to hang shelving in my studio. So now I am in the final stages of unpacking and organizing, including a little more purging. As big as it is, storage space (aka "places to put stuff") is not unlimited here. (Nor would I want it to be.) I am so excited! Not to mention that working with Robert is a joy. He's a smart, talented young man. He lives in a house of women (his gorgeous wife and 3 adorable daughters), so he knows very well how to work with women. That alone is worth everything to me.

So, today I'll finish (more or less) the unpacking and organizing. Yippee!!

P.S. Last night for dinner I made an original dish. Chicken and brussels sprouts tossed with egg noodles (good ones from Trader Joe's) and a sort of an Alfredo sauce made with cream cheese, white cheddar and pecorino romano. I know this won't sound great to all of my readers but, believe me, it was. Fortunately there is enough sauce left for another round of something similar.

Adult Truths

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die. 2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. 3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. 4. There is great need for a sarcasm font. 5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? 6. Was learning cursive really necessary? 7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. 8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died. 9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. 10. Bad decisions make good stories. 11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. 12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again. 13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to. 14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. 15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay. 17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. 18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. 19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? 20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters! 21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever. 22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. 23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time. 24. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Clutter and Parsnips and Phillip Morris

January seems to have become the retail world's annual time for all of us to get organized. Every store is selling bins and baskets and storage something-or-others for every possible kind and type of stuff you can imagine. They must make a mint off all our crap and clutter in January. Fortunately, there are those occasional glimmers of sanity. How about saving some money on plastic storage bins by getting rid of some of that stuff?

You've read my recent thoughts on the subject of purse "ephemera." Into the mix wades Linda Lewis Griffith this morning in the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Here's what she wrote:

"Want to increase your personal tranquility? Clean out your closets and medicine cabinet. Research shows that the state of our desk drawers and garages reflect the amount of chaos in our lives. The more clutter we keep in our environments, the more scattered we feel in our heads."

Right on, Sister! Griffith suggests targeting some small area and going at it with a garbage can and recycling bin (I'd add a big box for a charity) for 30 minutes. Set a timer. And work like a fiend for that 30 minutes. Good advice. Don't know where to start? Linda lists 5 "sure-fire clutter-traps that invariably need cleaning out."

1. THE PURSE You've already heard me on that topic.

2. THE SPICE CABINET Mine got purged when we moved, but we cook a lot so there are a lot of different items in ours. When I buy them now, however, I write the date on the jar using a little stick-on label. That should help the aging herb issue.

3. RECIPES AND COOKBOOKS Again, ours got purged by half when we moved. I have dedicated shelf space for recipes, related magazines, books about food and cooking, and cookbooks. (The shelves above the desk in the kitchen.) When this space fills up, something has to go in order for something else to come in. Period. End of story.

4. TOOL KIT Randy stole my old one. So I bought a new one. Actually, he bought me a new one, although he doesn't know it. And new tools and supplies. This tool box lives in my studio NOT in the garage, which is how the old one ended up being stolen.

5. UNDERWEAR DRAWER Oh goodness. This is a tough one for me. As in, "They're just underpants. So what if they have holes. No one will see them." Sprung elastic, however, does get to me every time. The undies I'm wearing right now will be hitting the garbage can at the end of the day.

Yes, recluttering and getting organized (the organization of my studio is continuing) really does make me feel calmer, more confident, and more in control of my life. I love knowing what I have and where it is. I love being able to put my hands on things instantly. I love not having to move 6 things to get at the thing I actually want. I love not being visually cluttered. So, for me, the task month, the joy month really, is January and every other month. I make an ongoing effort to get rid of boxes and containers, not add more. (I just gave 5 of them away!)

Parsnips. I tried an experiment tonight. Kind of hard to describe. It's something that Chris Dillow at Fig Good Food wants to try. It's led Chris and me to have smoked salt sampling and discussions. Anyway, I tried it and thought it was a flop. Maybe Chris will have better luck. I LOVE parsnips, by the way. A highly underutilized vegetable.

"I Love You Phillip Morris." A very funny movie. Jim Carey really is a fine actor, as is Ewan McGregor. Either of them could sell freezers in the Arctic. They sold me on this movie, which I saw yesterday.

Meat and Guns

I'm a total carnivore. I never met a meat I wouldn't at least try. I've eaten mystery meat tacos in Mexico. I love venison on a plate as much as I love the does and fawns that grace our property with their gentle presence. I enjoy watching cattle out in their pastures, and I enjoy their muscular tissues on my plate. I eat chicken a lot. I had a pet chicken when I was a young child. While my mouth waters over bacon and pulled pork, I've been a pet sitter for pot-bellied pigs and I've enjoyed their company (they're very independent, more like cats than dogs).

Since I love animals, I do my part to ensure that meat animals are treated with respect when they are forced to give up their lives for my sustenance and culinary pleasure. I have no issue with hunting when it is hunting for food. I come from a long line of food hunters. One of my favorite childhood memories is eating Aunt Blanche's canned venison and gravy that she made every year from Uncle Harold's kill. I have hunted. I would hunt again if I had to for food. (However, I condemn trophy hunting. I have a relative who travels to South America to hunt. I assume it's for trophies. I have to take a don't ask, don't tell stance with him since we are otherwise close friends.)

But, whenever I talk with vegetarians and vegans and hear the reasons why they eschew eating animals and/or animal products, I listen closely to their positions. I'm always interested in hearing from them. Each one tells a different story about why they eat as they do. I've learned a great deal from them and have actually modified my cooking and eating as a result. Today I eat less meat and more vegetables. I frequently prepare vegetarian meals not because they are vegetarian, but simply because they are good and they are sufficient. I'm not likely to give up cheese, eggs, butter, and milk, but I am willing to eat less animal flesh.

My point is that when it comes to meat, I'm willing to listen to vegetarians, I do listen to vegetarians, and I allow them to have an influence on me because I am willing to examine my own position and modify it based on what I learn from them. I'll never give up animal protein and fat altogether. I crave the stuff. But my position is not the only viable one, nor is it etched in personal granite.

Here is something I have observed in the wake of the Tucson massacre. Gun toters are not willing to listen, or learn, or modify their behavior. (Of necessity, I speak only based on those with whom I've tried to have conversations.) The gun nuts are out in force on the internet, terrified that they will lose some particle of their ever-expanding right to carry and use ever more powerful weaponry.

I've had some exchanges with gun nuts since the killings and woundings. The only thing any of them seem to think about is the gun aspect of this horrific crime and how it applies to them. They don't seem to care about the why of the massacre, which is pretty complicated anyway. They don't seem to care much about the victims, of which there are hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions. They aren't interested in hearing about the political and social climate of our times. They're just worried about losing their guns. They need their guns to hunt. They need their guns to protect themselves. They need their guns for recreation. They need their guns to stay in control of their own lives (an illusion at best). They need their guns to... I don't know what all else. The list goes on.

And when it comes to listening, to considering another point of view, to willingness to modify their own outlooks on life in view of occurences such as the Tucson shootings... well, it just isn't there. There are many, many aspects of the massacre to consider. But the one that has stuck with me the most is the extreme defensiveness of the gun nuts. That's why I've chosen to contrast their reactions with those of mine, a self-described animal fat and protein nut. I guess some nuts can be cracked and others just become harder and harder and harder.

A Mixed Bag

What a mixed bag this weekend is. In the first place, I'm on my own for a few days while Dear Hubby is in Florida. And I'm not? Get this-- it's colder where he is than it is here. Need I say more? I thought not.

I took advantage and went to 2 movies yesterday. "The King's Speech" is simply superb. Of course, Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are 2 of my favorite actors anyway, but this movie had me in tears at the end. Based on the true story of 2 incredibly brave resilient men, this character study wrapped me around its little finger without sex, violence, or sexual violence.

I stuck around for "The Social Network." Not quite in the same league as "The King's Speech," but darn close. An intriguing character study of a different sort, told without the usual trash as mentioned above.

But then I came out to a world where the Tucson shootings had occurred. I can't imagine how the right-wing whacko gun nuts and general hate-mongers are going to spin this. I don't even want to know. A judge. A congressional staffer. A pastor. Two grandmothers. And a child. Not to mention the wounded, the friends, the families, the neighbors, the people whose livelihoods depend on that grocery story, and all of us who still have consciences and hearts. I'm still kind of in shock. No matter the killer's mental health, this is yet another act of domestic political terrorism. All the Taliban has to do, really, is sit back and wait for us to destroy ourselves with our own hate.

Anyway, this morning I made steel cut oats for breakfast. That's a new one for me. The steel cut part, that is. Good stuff, although it does take a bit of time. Not a bit of work, just a bit of time. I'd certainly do it again, although it's always easier to make stove-cooked oatmeal for 2 or more people.

I'm otherwise just being a bum today and doing some housekeeping. That's all.

Steig Larsson's Books

I just finished the first of the 3: "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." I will read the second one just because I have it since a friend gave it to me, but I don't know about the third. I realize this is the hottest thing since "Inception" and that EVERYONE has read them, but... I don't get it.

Honestly, I could have walked away from the book at any point. It was obvious to me from the beginning of the Vanger family story that Harriet was still alive and well somewhere. The sexual torture and brutality (always, always, always inflicted by men on women) has gotten really old with me as I have gotten really old. Isn't there any other way, other than extreme victimization, to make a female character's back-story interesting? The rest of the Dragon Tattoo story was as overwrought as a tangle of wild brambles. It could have stood a whole lot of pruning in my estimation.

The most interesting part of the book for me, maybe the only interesting part, is that it's set in Sweden, so you get a look at a different culture, a different way of life, a different climate. I almost always enjoy reading authors from other countries translated into English just for that experience.

So, I've read it. I'm no longer the only person on earth who hasn't. I'll even proceed on to the Played with Fire book and pray that Ms. Salander becomes a more interesting woman with a greater claim to fame than sexual victimization and Asberger's.

Purse Ephemera, and Ephemera in General

Today's Crafter's Devotional exercise involves dumping out one's purse(s) ephemera and using it as part of or inspiration for new work. Alternatively, one could dump out "other vessels or places that accumulate ephemera, such as suitcases, backpacks, glove compartments, and junk drawers."

Good Goddess of Inspiration! I can't tell you how much I fight, constantly and every day, against the accumulation of "ephemera." To me, this kind of stuff is just garbage and clutter. I've been through the phase where I couldn't throw anything out -- or, better yet, recycle it -- because it might be useful one day. I'm so glad to be over that. When I watch those TV shows about hoarders and hoarding, my battle against over-consumption and against stuff is simply and terrifyingly reinforced. There's a not-so-fine-line between "collecting" and "hoarding." Since I come from a long line of "collectors" and am inclined in that direction myself, I work hard to keep up my self-awareness in that direction.

While moving from our old house to this new one, I de-acquisitioned a lot of stuff. And I continue to do that. Stuff comes in?? Stuff must go out. In the last 2 weeks, while getting my studio organized (or at least better organized), I offed plenty of purse-type ephemera. I'm not about to go hunting for more. And what's so interesting about old Costco receipts and used kleenex anyway? Which is what my purse ephemera usually is.

In the interest of full disclosure, I do have some boxes of ephemera here in my studio, all nicely and just recently edited and organized. This is the good stuff, the "junk" that isn't junk and the "junk" worth saving. So, again, I quote: "Think of these collections as forgotten fragments of your life that can be reassembled, reorganized, or reused as art, as inspiration for new projects, or as craft materials." And I'm sure I will collect more of this kind of ephemera in the future, for just this sort of use.

My point is that there is a fine line between useless junk and garbage, and ephemera that truly has some potential. There is a fine line between collecting and hoarding. Your purse may be a better collector of swell stuff that mine is. But I can guarantee you that my suitcases are totally empty when not in use, my glove compartment is tidy, and my "junk drawer" is actually more of a "miscellaneous" drawer and I intend to keep it that way.

I Finished a Project!

I am famous for not finishing stuff. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have. Really. I can't. However, as recently discussed, this is a New Year. This morning, I FINISHED a project. I FINISHED making a total of 16 origami books (can be used as little journals or little scrapbooks or whatever). FINISHED, I tell you. FINISHED.

I'm having a good time with my Crafter's Devotional project. Do something or thing about something and then move on to a new day. Hit it. Do it. And then-- next?? I'm not going to be able to do the exercise every day (which, honest to the goddess, will be okay), but I'm going to actually exercise my creativity every day that I do, in something that can actually be accomplished. In the meantime, I'll be solving design problems and learning more about how to use my materials. Today I'm recovering my Big Black sketchbook. It will become my Big Green sketchbook. (That's a dusty blue-green, actually.)

Let's see.... We spent at least an hour this afternoon watching "our" bobcat couple hang around the house. Bobcat and Bobettecat are in love. They cuddle and flirt and groom each other and just hang out. We also walked through our preliminary landscape plan. Much to be done yet. Since I'm having my Tooth from Hell removed tomorrow morning, Randy took me to Pier 46 for a fish sandwich. I didn't want to have leftovers for my last meal.

My Breville stand mixer arrived today!! I'm so looking forward to trying it out. But I gotta deal with this tooth before I can think about any more cooking or baking.

Happy New Year!!

I am a happy camper. We're getting lots of rain which is a very good thing. My studio organization project is coming along very nicely. I'm ready to call in Robert to put up the shelves that will house my dolls (some are my own art dolls and art dolls made by friends; some are my fashion dolls -- Barbies and Gene Marshalls and Gene's friends) and my Japanese pink cats plates and bowls. I now know what art supplies and equipment I have and where it all is. Pretty much. Between organization hours I've been working on finishing the origami books.

Yesterday my very good friend Jane and her partner Dan spent most of the day with us. I was very close to Jane and her older brother Michael in high school. Jane and I were freshman roommates in colleges. Jane's daughter Lizzie married in SLO on New Year's Eve to Spencer, whose parents are from Wisconsin but are retired in SLO. Wedding planning in the fall facilitated our reunion in September when our other high school friend, Janice, now in Texas, was able to joint us. Dan has some ties in southern CA, so I'm hoping that will help facilitate all of us seeing more of one another in the coming years. Too, I'm planning a trip to Texas in the spring, which will include seeing Janice and her family. Renewing these old friendships is simply making my heart and soul feel good. These women and their families enrich my life. Honestly, it makes me teary-eyed thinking about it.

Altogether, I'm feeling more centered and grounded than I have in a long time.