The Minimalism Challenge

A friend's boyfriend challenged her to do this, and some of us think it's a good idea.  I am going to challenge my parents, because my mother is always trying to get my dad to throw things away.

The idea of this game is that you must get rid of as many things as the number of the day of the month.  So one thing on the first day of the month, two things on the second day, and so on. The original challenge says that "each material possession must be out of your house—and out of your life—by midnight each day", which really doesn't work in the middle of a blizzard.  So we've adapted it to you have to put the item in a box, and not take it out again, and on the weekend donate it someplace - Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, local charity shops/thrift stores, a shelter. 

One of the people in my friend's feed suggested: 

If you have anything you think a teacher might use, contact one you know or a local school. Art supplies, old shirts for paint smocks, magazines, even old stickers that come with address labels and envelopes to return bills you pay online can be useful in elementary schools. High school teachers use all kinds of used stuff as well. 

Some after school programs could use art supplies, too.

If you decide to do this, follow the standard rule for donations: Make sure the item is in good, usable condition.  If it's not, throw it away!  Nobody can wear falling-apart shoes, or would want a torn and stained shirt or pants.  Dried out paint and glue will not benefit a crafts program.  Expired personal care products or food.  If you cannot use it, why give it to someone else?

Because I already had a box going, I wrestled with whether to count it or not.  For now, I will, but this weekend I may get caught up on items.  I am going to keep a list so that I can see how much goes out the door.   Magazines will definitely be included in a later week when I have to get rid of a lot of things per day.  There's a debate about getting rid of old papers, and we seem to be agreeing that one inch of paper would count as one thing for the day.  Too much?  Too little?

Resolutions for 2015

I've been thinking about whether to post them, and why not?  I did last year, and it's not as if I have thousands of people reading the blog and keeping me accountable, so there's less pressure to actually DO them.  And it's fun to keep track, sometimes, and figure out where I am in terms of what I think I could accomplish this year.

So for this year, the three resolutions I am making are:

1. To keep the blog more up-to-date, posting at least once a month.  I know, it didn't happen last year, but that's a good reason to re-use it, to see if I can make the goal this year.  Once a month isn't horrendous.  I know where I fall down is because I want to use pictures, and that means resizing them and sometimes other adjustments to get Blogger to like the arrangement I want to show.
2. Keeping a record of everything I knit, crochet, etc.  I've done that sometimes in the past, and there are usually partial records as I blog, or post on Facebook, or keep records for my taxes, or get pictures of people wearing what I have sent.  It's interesting sometimes to keep a real record and look back to see how many of what I have made, or even just finished, in the year.
3. Put together the standing computer desk I bought, when I hurt my hip and then annoyed a back muscle and sitting was painful.  I've used a kluge when I needed to stand and work, in part because I have to clear and partially re-arrange my office area to put the desk where it will work with the rest of the items I have.  I'm well and have this enforced vacation from work, may as well put it to use!

So far this year, I spent yesterday organizing things in my crawlspace, and the extra area I use for yarn storage overflow.  I am trying to get the overflow to fit into the crawlspace, and might succeed, in part because I pulled out a lot of yarn to donate to my father's church, where a group of ladies knits and crochets items for shelters, the kids who come to the afterschool tutoring program, and so on.  A great place for odd balls of yarn to end up, or yarn from projects that never quite got started.

I also started a hat for me.  I decided that I want my first new project of the new year to be something for me, and special, and the hat I planned to wear this winter came out a bit big on me so I put it into my Etsy shop instead.  Since I've gotten into entrelac in the round over the holiday, beginning with this mitt:

Not quite one ball makes one mitt.  Yes, I will finish the other!

I decided to find a hat pattern and use some yarn I have in the stash.  In part it is because I found the yarn in my cleaning, and decided to use it for a hat and mittens for me.  I noticed that the yarn ("mystery bump" from Tidal Yarns) has very long colour changes and I thought that instead of making plain items, it would be fun to take advantage of that and make them in entrelac.  Here's what I have so far:

Not much done because I was busy organizing on January 1st.

The second hank, at the top, and whatever is left over from the hat-ball will become mittens.  The yarn is soft and squishy and I am enjoying knitting it.

My cordless drill needs charging, so I guess it's back to knitting.  Or maybe I'll replace the bulb in the entryway ceiling light.  And there might be a couple upstairs.  I like quick-to-finish chores!  Then I'll get back to knitting.

Reviewing the resolutions

It's the last day of 2014, and a good time to review how I did with this year's resolutions:

• Each month I will try doing one new thing.  And it cannot be a variation on something I have done before - snorkeling in new waters, or going for brunch to a restaurant where I've been only for supper, or sorting food donations at the food pantry at whose mobile distribution trucks I've volunteered for several years.  This might take some real thought.
• I will try to keep this blog more up-to-date, hopefully blogging at least once per month.
• I am going to update either my kitchen or my upstairs bathroom.

In order:

• Kinda OK.  Look at the blog posts through August as I kept track, somewhat.  I think I fell off in the later parts of the year, for the same reason as:
• OK until August, and then crickets.  I know what stalled me: I needed to organize the pictures for the last post.  And life got busy - I stage-managed a local community theatre's production of "The Producers", and traveled, and got involved with fiber things, and traveled, and was busier at MakeHartford, and ......  You get the idea.
• Nope.  Got busy.  And decided to spend money on a certification course for information security systems professional, which my job promised to pay me back for and then didn't.  So I am saving up the money again.  And this summer, when it would have made sense to do painting because I could leave the windows open - I was outside.  A lot.  Hiking some, riding a bike some, enjoying a good summer.

So I will probably re-run at least one of the above for 2015.  I could probably re-run all of them and see how I do in the new year, but it's more fun to mix things up, at least officially.  I'll think while I am working at First Night Hartford (Wadsworth Atheneum, and then I think City Hall unless I am needed elsewhere) and then friends' party (parties?) and so on which one will be the choice to officially repeat, and which other things I might do in 2015.

How did your year end?

Ten on Tuesday - Things I Like To Do Outside

My friend Mary Kay periodically posts her lists, and every so often I am inclined to as well.  This is actually from last week, but I didn't see it then and last week wasn't very good for outdoors (due to us getting a snowstorm, yes, in mid-April), so since Carole is on vacation this week thus did not post a new list, I think it is OK for me to use this theme.  My blog, my rules.

Ten Things I Like To Do Outside

1. Hike
2. Concerts
3. Sailing, canoeing, and other boating
4. Reading
5. Movies (drive-ins, in the park, someone's back yard)
6. Baseball
7. Fair rides (essential part of going to a fair, like fried food)
8. Ziplines and flying squirrels
9. Picnics and cookouts
10. Knitting, crocheting, and suchlike

OK, some of these are things you can ONLY do outside.  And you can add to that list things like flying kites (I am thinking of running some workshops and possibly hosting a kite-flying contest at the Hartford Makerspace this summer), riding horses, climbing trees, and so forth.  There are other things, like swimming, that I couldn't figure out how to fit onto the list but I'll do them inside or outside - like reading, knitting, crocheting, concerts, .....

Some of these I have not done in much too long.  I think I'll be glad I am not stage managing a show this summer!

I'll add another photo from Sunday's hike, just because I can:

Picking the Winners, Inimitably Randomly

As I posted the other day, my friend Jim asked me to draw the winners for a contest he was holding.  All you had to do was post a review of his book on Amazon, and link back to it in a comment to the intro post for the contest.
 
The cutoff was "midnight Sunday" which I read as the one between Sunday and Monday, and Jim meant as the one between Saturday and Sunday.  No great trauma, except that there was a list of persons who wanted to find out if they had won or not.  And I ended up spending much of Monday helping a friend with a massive baking exercise and got home too tired to look at the names.  Had I thought about it in advance, I would have printed the list onto slips of paper and had one of my friend's children (conveniently she has only two) pick each of the winners.
 
Failing that, this is the method I used:

• There are ten persons who met the criteria for the drawing.
• My favourite numbers between one and ten are three and nine.
• I decided that the winners would be at positions three and nine on the list.
• I decided that since the list could be different if done chronologically or alphabetically, I'd look at both versions and see if there were any overlaps.
• Jim ran the lists for me, partly as a reminder that I needed to get the drawings done.
• One of the positions had the same person on both lists, so I decided that position would get the leatherbound version = TanteLiz at number nine.
• Since position number three had different persons, I thought that if one is already getting a book, I would designate the other as the winner of the cloth-covered edition.
• Jim told me that neither of these reviewers is getting a book.
• I flipped a coin (specifically, a ten-cent coin from New Zealand), and CJ wins.

 

In case someone wonders, heads=CJ and tails=Lloyd, based upon earlier-in-the-alphabet associating.  Since the New Zealand 10-Cent coin could be seen to have a head on both sides, the obverse (with Queen Elizabeth) was deemed "heads" and the reverse (with a mask) was deemed "tails".

I tried to take a picture of the coin after flipping, but my camera washed it out.

Why use that coin specifically?  It's in my coinpurse as a memento of a trip to New Zealand that Jim and I (and a busload of choiristers and family) were on a couple of years ago, so it seemed appropriate to use that one.

Why such a complicated process?  Well, because I'm me.  To me, this is a fun sort of randomization that is harder to challenge (in my mind) than picking a slip of paper out of a hat, because there are so many elements that add to the randomness.  What if there wasn't a name at the same position on both lists? Or if there was the same name in both places?  Or the same names exchanging places depending upon how the list sorted?   What if I didn't have two favourite numbers between one and ten?  And so forth.

Probably part of this is because I am a STEM person = Science Technology Engineering & Math.  My skills are being organized, logical, and so forth.  So what looks like a Rube Goldberg way to accomplish the simple selection of a winner from a list, makes perfect sense to me.

A month of being thankful

There was a meme on Facebook to post something each day about which to be thankful.  My final post got a bit large and FB kept freezing, so I decided to move the whole list here.

1) Coming through safely the storm, and also my loved ones and friends losing no more than some fences and trees at most. We were very lucky.

2) That I can work as a volunteer at the Mobile Foodshare truck today instead of being a customer - and that I can help the people who do need food distributions.

3) I am thankful today for all the people who helped make breakfast and lunch a success - we fed two crowds! Five people helped cook and serve, plus to husband of one for dishing "Gypsy Soup" (that his wife made - vegan and everybody RAVED about it, we served many second portions) and helping some people carry their lunches to their seats.

4) Today I am going to be thankful that someone else is cooking breakfast - and lunch too, if I am lucky!

5) Thankful that there is just one more day of insanity before the election!

6) Thankful to be in a country where I can vote, where I will not get shot for voting, and where almost anybody of any colour, creed, gender, or economic status has the ability to vote.

7) Today I am thankful that I am working out of a home office and did not have to try to drive home in this weather.

8) I am thankful the temperature warmed and the snow melted and I could get my car out of the snow with no trouble.

9) I am thankful to be having supper with a bunch of "Chaotic Peasants" tonight.

10) Thankful to have spent an evening with good friends at an interesting and to get a blue-frosted cupcake with a Cyclops (X-Men, for the uninformed) pick at the concession stand.

11) Today I am thankful for our VETERANS.

12) Since my thankful yesterday was for our veterans, my thankful today is for those serving in our military, because they will become our veterans.

13) Thankful for our cast and crew, pulling together to solve problems and make the show run smoothly. And especially for people like Greg, who is basically rebuilding a major set piece overnight (with some help from Adam and Paul), and Barbara who is coming in to finish all the painting the set designer/builder couldn't get around to doing.

14) Thankful that we have a day off from rehearsals tomorrow.

15) Thankful it was the last CSA delivery of the year. We got some great stuff (including romanesco, which I am very happy my share partner let me take from our share, and apple jam and kimchi in the last salty/sweet share) but it’s getting pretty cold to be outside at the distribution site for 2-3 hours.

16)  Thankful that tonight is OPENING NIGHT for West Hartford CommunityTheater’s “My Fair Lady” and we can get that show on the boards!16) Thankful that tonight is OPENING NIGHT for West Hartford Community Theater's "My Fair Lady" and we can get that show on the boards!ple jam and kimchi in the last salty/sweet share) but it's getting pretty cold to be outside at the distribution site for 2-3 hours.
16) Thankful that tonight is OPENING NIGHT for West Hartford Community Theater's "My Fair Lady" and we can get that show on the boards!

 17) Thankful for the cast and crew who made today's doubleheader (matinee and evening show) not just possible but fun and terrific.   (Although I have to admit, ditching the cast party for a cast nap instead does seem like a good idea...........)  Also thankful to the director for treating the backstage crew to supper from Noodles & Co. tonight (Japanese udon with tofu for me).

18) Thankful for my Jacuzzi tub.  (Posted after strike of a show with four performances in three days.)

19) Thankful for insurance, and how much of prescriptions it covers.

20) Thankful for understanding and supportive boss, boss-of-boss, and matrix boss.

21) Thankful for my family, in so very many ways.
(Except maybe the teeth-of-chalk, wide feet, and bad eyes. And my dad's sense of humour about half the time.)  (OK, also not so fond of the fact that my nieces are both my height or taller. SHEESH!!!!)

22) Thankful that we live in a country where people can write, sing, and enjoy a song like this. And so many others.

23) Today I am thankful for my baby brother, born on this date a bunch of years ago. While there were times when we were kids that I would gladly have sold or traded him to gypsies, pixies, or anybody who would take him, since I was almost three he has been a constant in my life - companion, confidant, conspirator. He is also a great father (even if my nieces are already taller than I - he should have worked that out a BIT better, maybe not until they are fifteen or so?), a great husband (so says SIL), has his name on a patent, an MBA (gotten while a father AND traveling a lot for work – I am very impressed), published photography, and mad chef skills.  Which we are giving him a break on for his birthday with takeout from Outback and dessert from Kilwin’s or Carvel.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB!!!

24) Thankful to have spent money locally today - local merchants, local restaurant. Couldn't do anything about the cinema but I do recommend "Lincoln" - there was hardly an empty seat and the audience reacted as if it were a play, laughing, cheering, and applauding at various points. When they did the roll call, you could hardly hear breathing!

25) Thankful for a weekend with the family (and random gekkos), full of laughter, music. food, games, swimming, and ice-cream. Also thankful that SouthwestAirlines got us all there and back with our luggage - and letting us take luggage at no additional charge so that we could do our usual Christmas-at-Thanksgiving swaps.

26) Thankful for a good Monday.  Work done (and I didn't forget my passcodes after the long weekend of food-coma!), errands run, boxes moved into livingroom in prep for sorting exercise. And speaking of exercise - new elliptical is set up and working. I just have to figure out the display stuff..........

27) Thankful that I have a warm, secure house with enough food and warm clothing. On "Giving Tuesday," what did you do to help those who don't?

28) Thankful for my bestie Judy and fellow Texan Laura, who drove me to and from surgery, today!  Also to the Brenners for keeping me overnight, just in case.

29) Thankful to be home again after a successful Surgery Part 1, hoping for a rapid adjustment. Now that I know what to expect, I'm looking forward to Part 2.

30)  Looking back on the month of thankfuls, I see that I have a really good life and a lot of things for which to be thankful – and yet so many other things that I could include:

·         Art museums and galleries, and the artists who fill them.  And the fact that you can experience them by more than just walking around, through things like Second Saturdays forFamilies and the living Clue games and other activities.

·         Theatres, and not just because I like to play in them.  Places that transport us, entertain us, enthrall us, and sometimes challenge us.

·         Cinema, because there are some things that don’t fit into theatres (and it’s cheaper).

·         Travel, because I like to do it and can afford it and get to visit some of the above and other places and experiences all over the world, from the Mariinsky Ballet to The Reclining Buddha to the Grand Canyon to almost touching the sky in New Zealand.

·         Music.

·         Public television and radio, without which I could not enjoy some of my favourite shows and without which I would not have learned a lot as a child and teen.

·         Having really good doctors and access to medical care, which has saved my life a couple of times and is now restoring my sight to a level I cannot remember having.

·         First responders, who protect and serve.  Policemen and firemen and paramedics and all the others who are there when we need them and do things that others wouldn’t dare.

·         Having a warm house and enough clothing and food and things, and being able to help those who don’t.  I know I said this earlier in the month, but I’m still thankful as I read about people who don’t.

·         That there are good people in the world who DO try to help others, and make the world safe for them and the next generation.

·         Speaking of the next generation – baby giggles.

·         Being able to experience the world with children and learn from my elders.

·         Ice cream.  And naps.  Had both today.

·         Friends, and not just the ones I have on Facebook.  People with whom I can be myself and be silly, and discuss things for hours or sit quietly and enjoy each other’s presence, do “what can possibly go wrong?” and have stories to tell on the other side, who I can rely upon even if we don’t see each other very often anymore.

·         Family.  Because according to a lot of people I have a good one – and I agree.

·         For living in a country where, whatever you may think of it and its leaders, we have a lot of freedoms and opportunities that you might not get elsewhere.  My forebears came here because of that, and I see it today, especially with all the griping that people are able to do about the government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”  I have been in places where this freedom doesn’t exist, or didn’t so recently that people still whisper.  Having the freedom to speak out, the ability to make changes, and just plain being able to vote, is a real treasure that we should cherish and respect.

·         Freedom of religion, and freedom from religion.

·         Creativity.  I may or may not have it, but I can enjoy it from others.

·        Books.  And public libraries.  The former can take you anywhere, anytime, suck you away better than time machines and magic carpets.  The latter make them accessible to all.

Ten on Tuesday

I got this idea from my friend Mary Kay, who got it from someone else. Although yesterday was officially Pi Day, which I missed because of the SNAP Challenge (and because the cheap leftover mini-pies I'd seen at the grocery on Saturday were GONE on Monday), the theme is one that is close to my stomach. Even though I cannot make a pie until the weekend, and I may not make one elaborate enough for the Pi Day Baking Challenge (although I'm tempted to borrow an idea from last year), here are my Top Ten Pies (subject to change with the seasons, of course):

1) Fresh peach. Only if you can't get fresh peaches to eat without wrapping in crust. It's a good thing to do with underripe peaches.
2) Fresh blueberry. OMG! Probably THE BEST pie ever, except maybe for.......
3) Fresh sour cherry. Yes, I have a theme here.
4) Spiced meat pie. I have had these with beef, lamb, and chicken. Some are based upon medieval or renaissance recipes and contain raisins or figs and other things you might not consider. A wedge is a really lovely meal, side of salad optional. Steak-and-kidney was a popular cheap meal when I was a student in Oxford, although the shop had a lovely mixed-veg that I liked as well. I suppose that Shepherd's Pie would also fit into this category, as does b'stilla.
5) Spanakopita. But only if it's well-made and doesn't have an oily, soggy bottom crust.
6) Pumpkin. My great-grandmother's recipe is a family tradition.
7) Apple. My mother's recipe, preferred. She adds crushed cornflakes to the bottom crust.
8) Citrus, usually with meringue. But the meringue should be well-done and not soft and gooey. This is very tricky. I've had these in the most-common lemon, and other times in orange, lime (NOT the same as Key Lime Pie, which is also good but too often very badly done and an excuse to carry whipped cream), and grapefruit.
9) Mixed fruits. Apples and pears, plus chopped dried fruits and spices. Another from my historical cooking background.
10) Italian Easter Torta. Meal in a crust! Very pretty layers of all kinds of things, vegetarian or with meat, simple or elaborate. Terrific to take on a picnic.

I realize that the generality of #4 and #8 could be considered insufficiently specific for this, but really for those it depends upon the type of pie. Plain old chicken pot pie doesn't do it for me, possibly because I had to eat too many of the cheap ones as a struggling student. But add a bit of wine or vinegar, and some crispy vegetables, and spices and chopped dried fruit and nuts - lovely!