"Poppies... Poppies......"

For once, I didn't skid to the last day of the month before finishing the monthly puzzle:

Yes, the table is getting crowded.
This month the pieces include a dragonfly,
a butterfly, a bee. and several flowers.

When I saw what the flower of the month is, I kept hearing Margaret Hamilton's voice.  Did you?

She loves them.

My best friend and I used to see each other frequently - when we lived in adjoining towns, I could almost walk to her house.  After they moved to Florida, I'd visit when I dropped in to see my grandmother for a weekend, which my traveling job allowed about once a month or so.

Then they moved to New Jersey, and while there was one visit before I moved, none since.  This is a very long time to not see each other!  So we worked out a weekend for a visit.  It turned out that we were the only two people in the house, and the weather was drek, so it was just us for the weekend.

Thursday night her husband picked me up on the way home from work, and it was late so after brief visiting (mostly to show me where the guest room and bathroom are in the basement) everybody to bed.  He left early on Friday morning, and she went to work, and I worked from the guest area and sitting at the breakfast bar in the auxiliary kitchen so I didn't have to deal with the cat.

Then my bestie came home, picking up way too much vegan kosher Chinese food on the way, and after quickly prepping a slow cooker and the Shabbos hotpot for water, we lit candles and had a slow supper, and visited a bit, then to bed early.

Saturday was somewhat lazy.  My friend had baked a pumpkin cake - with fresh pumpkin she'd harvested - and we had slices for breakfast.  And fed the chickens, and talked and did a puzzle (we both love jigsaw puzzles) and had a nap, then the crockpot stuff for lunch, and finished the puzzle, celebrating with cake and tea, and petted the bunny.  Eventually it was sunset, and we did havdalah, then had leftover Chinese food for supper.

There was some reorganzing of spaces (she was impressed with my visual-spatial acuity) and we watched the films for my class on Sunday.  Since my bestie lived in Senegal and speaks several languages, she understood the film without the subtitles and told me when they didn't match.

Eventually, to bed - except that I stayed up for a bit watching videos and working on her surprise gifts.  On Sunday morning, after a trip to a local bagel bakery for much takeout, we had bagels with cream cheese and onion and cucumbers and avocado for breakfast.  Then talked more, while I finished the hat and ran in the ends on the hat and mittens.

She likes to fold back the mitten cuffs.

I had been worried because the items looked really big when I was knitting, but they fit perfectly and she is thrilled to have them.  Many years ago, on a trip back to Connecticut she'd visited the farm and brought the yarn to me - two hanks of white, two of brown, slightly different weights and no yardage or other information.  Except the names of the animals: Marshmallow and Charlie.  I decided that they should be a gift for her, but living in Florida there wasn't much need of heavy items.  When they moved to New Jersey, I saw the opportunity - and couldn't find a pattern that I really liked.  I wanted to do more than stripes, and considered a houndsooth as fallback, then saw a new pattern that I realized would be perfect for her.  And they are, plus there's a lot of the white and a bit of brown that I promised would become something for me.

As scheduled, we took the class (with bestie as a 'guest expert' giving information about the language and culture and comparing to how things were when she was there - thirty years or so after the films, and not much change!), then watched the Center for Knit and Crochet's launch of the Maria C. Vallejo Lace Collection.  And did another puzzle.  And had more cake, and Chinese food.

We kept watching the weather, and I was tracking both my flight (showing on time) and departures from the airport (dismal).  We left with some extra time to get to the airport, because I said that I'd rather spend the time at the gate than have to run.  And good thing, because first I couldn't find my driver's license (accidentally slipped into a pocket of my suitcase when I was packing), then TSA was a nightmare of closing and opening lines and just the number of people trying to get through.  And of course mine was one of the furthest gates.  So I was very glad to have the extra time!

After that, the trip was uneventful (I knitted and read), and I got home, unwound, and most of a night's sleep before my work week begins again.

Three films.

In the last week or so I've managed to watch three films about dementia of various types.  This wasn't planned; they just happened to be scheduled by online groups in this timeframe.

One is Still Alice, about a woman with familial early-onset Alzheimer's.  Not a story in my family, but I have a friend who has been diagnosed, as has her sister, so it's something of interest to me.  The online service had some issues but I was able to watch the film, and in joining the discussion suggested that caregivers might want to read Her Final Year, which helped me deal with decisions I had to make.

The other two films focused on performers whose work I admired and enjoyed.  SPARK is a film about Robin Williams and his battle with Lewy Body Dementia.  This is the disease that felled a woman I considered one of my godmothers.  She was diagnosed during her lifetime; he wasn't until after he died.  It was interesting to watch, and heartbreaking.

The final film focused on a performer on whom I had a crush: Gene Wilder.  Remembering Gene Wilder is a biography that gives a fond overview of his career, addresses his marriages, his relationships with co-stars and Mel Brooks, and explains how, in the end, his mind faded with Alzheimer's.

The uncle for whom I was responsible had some form of dementia in the end, so I am interested in the various forms it takes.

Things finished today:  Another book (so I am at 23 of 18 for the year) and a scarf for the Red Scarf Project.

Bavarian Stitch, based upon this pattern.

One of the local groups is collecting at their holiday party on December 9th so they can be mailed to arrive by December 15th.  I should have at least one more done by then, maybe two.  The next one is knitted and I did two inches during tonight's online group get-together.

As they say, "Inconceivable......."

I am (mostly) on a yarn diet this year, but a number of months ago I received a newsletter from an indie dyer whose work I enjoy, saying that she would be creating a package based upon "The Princess Bride" and preorders were open for a short time.  She created two mystery boxes, one with yarn and one with cross-stitch supplies, including a pattern.

I know that "The Princess Bride" fandom is huge, and strong, and my love of the film is quieter than most.  There was no way I'd miss this opportunity, even though I skip most of hers because I'm not that into whatever source material is used as the inspiration.  But this time?  I think I preordered both boxes within an hour.  I definitely didn't want to chance missing them!

The mailing was scheduled for early February, and this week I received a package of two boxes taped together.  Carefully I opened them, hoping to preserve the sticker:

One box appeared to have been opened and resealed in the packing, so I have only one intact sticker.  I opened the box from the bottom to keep the sticker intact.  Each box contained the wrapped package as shown.  Each included an informational card, with this on the front and the specific items for each kit on the back:

This is the embroidery kit:

It includes hand-dyed fabric (I chose 36-count linen) and flosses, and a pattern, plus a bunch of goodies.  In the pink heart is a needlekeeper reading "As You Wish".  The black bag contains buttons with a six-fingered hand and a bishop's miter with the word "Mawwidge".  There's a lip balm in "Buttercup" flavour.

This is the pattern:

Many of the additional goodies are the same in the yarn kit:

The nametag boxes are empty; you can put the goodies inside.  This kit includes some needle stoppers that are little hearts, and instead of the needlekeeper the pink heart contains a set of progress keepers and stitch markers, including a tiny bottle of Iocaine Powder:

The yarn colourway is "Humperdink" and it's very similar to her "Flying Monkeys" and an OOAK I purchased at some past point from her clearance section, so I am considering combining the three into something large enough.  I looked online for patterns inspired by the film and found one four-colour multi-patterned shawl, and a couple patterns for double-knit (double-sided) scarves with quotes and images.  Neither right for this yarn, so I will continue to hunt.

I ordered one kit with a flat project bag and one with a gusseted one so I have both styles.

The chocolate-covered almonds puzzled me until I read that they are inspired by Miracle Max's pill.  Since I don't eat chocolate, and there are two packages, they will be a Valentine's gift to my parents who love dark chocolate and almonds, singly or together.

Home again.

I spent the last week visiting my parents.  It's good to be able to travel to them, even if the rest of my travel is curtailed.  In the Before Times I would drop in for a long weekend at least once a month; now it's turning into a week a month.  So about the same amount of time, but extended.  I work from their guest room, and in the evenings help with projects.

As a result, I didn't do much other than work.  I still took a daily walk (except on Saturdays, when I have an early yoga class), but went as close to dawn as possible because of heat and humidity.  I still got back almost soaked, and took a much cooler shower than I usually do in consequence.

I finished a scarf for Knit Your Bit of Lion Brand Scarfie in cream/black, just seed stitch until the yarn ran out.  I didn't make much progress on the Falling Leaves Shawl; I have finished the fourth leaf, of ten:

We watched "The Radium Girls", a fictionalized version (based on a book) of a story I'd heard, but I didn't know much about the court case.  The film focuses on it, and it's fascinating and heartbreaking.

I got home in the week hours of Sunday, so at the appropriate time (after some sleep) I walked to a bakery for bread, and a scone.  It's a long walk, but enjoyable.  On the way home, this one and I watched each other for a while:

Missing for a reason

I'd been doing well posting weekly until last weekend.  I am bad at remembering a zillion passwords and didn't want to deal with not remembering this one.  Then I planned to post when I got home on Tuesday - and didn't.

More explanation in a future post.  This weekend I was busy with Stitches@Home classes - a dress sewing class yesterday, and a beginner tapestry weaving one today.  Because my sewing machine needs a tune-up I don't have much to show from yesterday's class, but I got this far in this morning's weaving session:

The loom, warped and with the beginning of my piece.
I am trying to not pull too tightly, but it's tricky.

A closeup of the weaving.  My warp thread is too
thick and irregular so not getting buried as it should.

I missed the second session because I am taking a cinema class and since the Stitches@Home classes are recorded, I knew I can view it later and be caught up by the time of next weekend's class.

Speaking of next weekend, it's Father's Day and having passed my COVID-19 test, I'll be spending it with my parents, and possibly a few more family members.  So I might not post, for a good reason.

Livestock and Wildlife

Most mornings I go out for a walk, if weather and meeting schedule allows.  The exception is Saturday, when I do an early yoga class.  On Sundays, I often take a long walk because it's a non-work day.

In mid-July I went to the West Hartford Reservoir #1 for the first time in a long while.  Even with masking less of an issue outdoors, I wear one there, and many times I haven't taken one with me so I'll get as far as the gate and turn around.  There are two paths, the yellow which is shorter but more difficult, and the red which is longer but paved the whole way and mostly flatter.  With weather and work I hadn't walked as much as usual, and was feeling it, so having the excuse of enjoying nature at a couple points – sitting on a rock listening to a rushing stream or leaning on a bridge admiring a small waterfall, which was there only because we'd had a lot of rain in early July – was quite lovely.

 

Then there was the deer.  A half-grown fawn it appeared to me.  I heard a noise off the side of the path and looked, and there it was, maybe five or six metres at most off the path, having a snack of tasty leaves.  What surprised me is that three women had just passed me walking briskly in the other direction, chattering among themselves, and hadn’t noticed the deer – nor had they scared it away.  I stopped quite still and observed it for some time.  Other than occasionally looking in my direction, the deer seemed unconcerned at having a human admirer.  It walked even closer to me as it snacked on the fresh leaves of smaller plants.

 

Then something that seemed a deer communication (several distinct snuffles) sounded from further away, and I looked in that direction to see another deer bounding away maybe a quarter-mile or so distant.  In a flash the one I’d been observing bounded in the same direction, and they were gone.

The reservoir is part-time home to geese, and several times I saw families walking on the side of the road.  More than once, traffic had to pause while they crossed the road, with the goslings as likely to wander into the traffic lane and being herded onto the edge of the road where lawns or forest gave them a bit more protection, and options for snacks.  The first time I saw traffic stopped I wondered if there had been an accident, then I spotted the geese entering the shoulder lane and all became clear.

Closer to my home, a family of turkeys is often about.  The first time I spotted them was walking down the road in front of my building, very early one morning.  Since then, I have seen them several other times, either in my community or at the nearby medical offices.  Often I see the adults, and then notice the chicks only because there's some motion, because they are fluffy and grey and often hard to see against foliage.  The most recent spotting was this morning.  I saw a tom entering the woods from the end of somebody's driveway and wondered if he was related to the family.  As I turned my sight back to the direction of travel I saw motion, and sure enough three fluffy grey chicks were scrambling in the grass at the side of the road.  A moment later a rustle and twig-snap just beyond the tree line, and the chicks scampered to join their mother.

I also see domesticated animals, usually dogs walking their humans.  In this area, no such, although a couple of signs warned me to beware of dogs.  As I retraced my steps, I heard the very unexpected sound of sheep.  Might somebody have a pet goat?  It sounded like sheep, but I was in a residential area.  Still, in older parts of town, farms or ranches may be grandfathered into the deeds.  I decided to walk a short way down a lane, prepared to turn back if it turned out to be a private driveway or road.

Then I spotted the "WARNING <sheep silhouette> LIVESTOCK" sign.  Truly, sheep?

Yes, indeed.  I spotted them at a distance, through the far trees, then they were walking down a road or driveway on the far side of the space I could see.  Not too much time later, they were heading for the fence, and I walked slowly back to the road, hoping to not spook them or the human I could see behind the flock, walking the fences.  Very sweet they looked (the sheep, not the human, who was too far for me to get a good view) and chatty, having breakfast on the vegetation.  Or maybe, given the hour, second breakfast or elevenses?

No pictures, as I usually don't have a camera with me on the walks, and I like to enjoy the world unfiltered.  No need to take constant photos, in my humble opinion.

Midmonth Mini-Resolution Report

Not much progress on the UFOs, because I need to finish a graduation gift and want to get the charity items done and shipped.  I sent three (two scarves and a hat) to Dallas with some sheep-shaped soaps I made, for a friend to contribute to the goody bags of a retreat she attends each August (except last year, of course).  The scarf is almost done, and having quite a bit of the yarn left I signed up to do a hat and mittens for another grad, and maybe a scarf.

I finished The Hamilton Affair and decided to turn back to Mad Scenes and Exit Arias, which my parents lent to me and I should return during my next trip.  It was to be next week, but with the various COVID-19 variants and infection numbers increasing, and my mother's worry and insistence, I postponed it to next month.  So far I am up to 2007 and should be able to finish the book in reasonable time.

The graduation gift stagnated all week because I was almost finished with the back and found out my gauge was off.  So, I frogged it and restarted it Friday evening.  It's going quickly, I have the back and both fronts done and in this photo had just started the first sleeve:

Hopefully I'll be on the border by the end of today, or ready to start it tomorrow.  I read that today is National Relaxation Day, so after the long walk this morning I am relaxing by watching old films on TCM, a recording of "Wolves" on a temporary streaming opportunity, and crocheting.

Harvest Moon Night

 It feels just fall, a bit cool, but perfect for a movie outside:

Real Art Ways has been holding movie events and concerts in its parking lot, with bubbles painted on the pavement.  Tonight was a special event, a showing of "RBG" in memoriam, and for only women members.  Plus a couple toddlers and at least one small dog.

We sheered, we applauded, we cried.  Even those of us who have seen the film before.  And parts were made so much more poignant by her death the Friday before last, especially her reaction to the 2016 election.

It was my first big event since March.  I went to tashlich but it was small.  I knew that I could leave if I needed to, but I felt safe in my bubble, and people were respectful of others.

Mini-Resolution Update

I did not finish the Boneyard Shawl, but I did finish one of my UFOs.  And quite a few hats, mittens, and at least one other scarf.

October Mini-Resolutions

On the KnitTalk list we call this "Aftober" because a woman started encouraging people to finish things in October.  Anything.  Something old, something new, any color, red or blue.....  You get the point.  Since some of the others on the list made Boneyard Shawls I should finish mine.  They've been encouraging it.  But first, the third hat I started on Yom Kippur; part of my way of distracting myself during all the discussions and services and other services and ......  I finished two crocheted ones on Monday, having started the first on Sunday evening.

Leap Day!

What does one do on Leap Day?  I went to yoga, did errands, and worked on projects at home.  Pretty much the same as any Saturday.  Keep Hartford Warm held a distribution event; I dropped off a toddler jacket that I was given to pass along, but did not stay.  It's been a busy month, and I needed to catch up on laundry and decompress.

Work took me to Chicago, then I went to North Carolina to see Kinky Boots with family (DNiece #1 loves it as much as I; over Christmas I introduced my nieces to the original film) and stayed for the discussion afterwards.  It was not about the show, as talkbacks usually are, but about LGBTQ+ persons and their lives in North Carolina.  My mother ended up talking to one of the panelists about adoption and all kinds of things, until we all were kicked out so they could set for the next show.  If you haven't seen the show - you must do, if only for the showstopping Act I ending.

I stayed a couple days for a recital by Lawrence Brownlee, which was wonderful.

From there I went to Stitches West to help friends at their booth.  As I said last month, my mini-resolution was to make a sample bag from their hemp yarn.  That didn't work out because I was rushing and the yarn was snarling and it was a bad combination.  So on the day home between trips I grabbed a couple hanks of Makimo that I had lying around for other purposes, and before Stitches West ended they had a sample of the bag in their own yarn:

Closeup of the bag bottom
and the lace pattern.

The small pink balls are all the yarn I had left after finishing the bag.  There is more pink on the handles than the pattern instructs; I was using the Makimo doubled (the original used a worsted weight cotton, and Makimo is a DK weight), which gave a little less yardage than the original yarn.  I started the pink when the purple ran out.  So you can make the bag with two hanks of Makimo.

I bought almost nothing (some stitch markers as a gift, and a couple patterns) because I don't need yarn and didn't find anything that made me excited to dip into my purchasing money for DFW Fiber Fest.  The big names that I really like will be there, and I enjoy buying from small indie dyers who mostly cannot afford to be at Stitches events.


I returned just in time for Fat Tuesday.  A local makerspace held a Fat Tuesday party but it was also Science on Screen night at Real Art Ways, so I made a cameo, dropping off some from-the-pantry jambalaya on the way to the talk and film.  It was fairly interesting, the talk more than the film.  I look forward to the next two but may be out of town for one.

Wednesday I went to a library cookbook club that I'd just found out about, where they cook from a specific cookbook each month, sample and talk about the recipes.  This month's choice was Food52's Genius Desserts, and since I didn't have time to swing by the library to select a recipe I did some online research and chose World Peace Cookies.  We agreed that having nothing but desserts was a LOT to take, even if you just do a bite of each one - and most were too good to stop at a single bite.  Luckily for me, about tw0-thirds contained chocolate, so I didn't have as much to taste as the others.  But what I did taste was fantastic:  Lemon cookies (with a hidden ingredient of avocado); Guinness stout cake that was like the tenderest gingerbread ever; espresso gelato; blueberry cake with pecans; the famous 62nd Street Lemon Cake; almond cake.  Most of these I would make, yes.

Not for tomorrow's monthly brunch, however.  If I had Guinness around I might make the cake, but I decided to make potato cakes instead.  These are something between boxty, which is a griddle-cooked bread, and scones.  I doubled the recipe and am leaving out the seasoning, so they will be plain and make nice sandwiches - if any are left!

Resolutions for March

As noted above, I completed the knitting mini-resolution I set for February.  For March, I am going to make a baby blanket for friends.  I bought the yarn some time ago, and thought I knew what pattern I'd do, then a new one came out and I decided to do it instead.  No photos until it's delivered in April.

Then I have to finish the items I am making for Mittens for Akkol's grads program.  I signed up for four:  a purple scarf, a blue and orange hat, and a red and yellow (or gold) sweater and scarf.  I chose these because they will use up yarn in my stash.  I have a purple scarf, but decided I may offer it for sale at an upcoming sheep-to-shawl-and-beyond event, plus I had some other yarn reclaimed from the sweater that I pulled apart, making the multicolored yarn used in part of it into a scarf.  I'm using broken rib stitch and it's going fairly fast.

Books:  Still finishing The Ballad of Frankie Silver.  I don't have much sit-and-read time, but I am enjoying the historical chapters, which are written in the first-person voice of a young frontier lawyer and court clerk.  So I'm behind on the February book but decided to finish The Agony and the Ecstasy, which I started some time ago and put aside for an unremembered reason when I was halfway through.  Hopefully I'll get caught up in March.  I do have the "book with a nature word in the title" set aside, and it's fairly short - more about it in the next post, once I've started reading.

In Other News..........

Covid-19 is big in the news.  With stories like Communion of Dreams and others, could it become a truly devastating pandemic like the 1918 Flu Epidemic?  I guess we shall see.  My parents are pressuring me to skip the North Texas Irish Festival this year.  I am a manager and we are shorthanded and I hate to not go.

We had more snow today - the weather went from clear and sunny, to a snow squall, and back to sunny within an hour:

Many years ago in Dallas, I worked for a company called Affiliated Computer Systems, or ACS.  After I left, they were acquired by Xerox.  A couple weeks ago, the building where I worked was slated to be demolished.  The usual way to do it in a city these days is by a controlled implosion.  However, that didn't work.  It's been fun to watch the reporting (a wrecking ball is now in use, slowly), and I have to say that this is my favorite photo so far, titled "They finally brought in an expert":

Where did the summer go?

I intended to update the blog over the summer, but I was out and about and kept forgetting.

RESOLUTIONS:

I have now finished all the books in my Resolutions post!  I'd previously reported about finishing "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles", and since then I finished "Dreams in the Golden Country" (I almost finished it on the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, but couldn't, and finished it earlier this month instead), "Rookie of the Year" (which I did indeed finish while at summer camp), and "The Whisperer", which was better than I expected, although with an unsurprising ending.

I have also finished an additional book, "Shopping for Buddhas", a Lonely Planet book from the late 1990's.  I started it at camp after finishing "Rookie of the Year" and since it's not seasonal I continued until the end.  An interesting light read, definitely viewing Nepal through the eyes of an unschooled but sympathetic American.  I feel as though I have read more, but it may be that I read a lot of articles and such, not proper books.

I finished one of the three shawls I listed, the one of handspun (two different skeins by related but different spinner/dyers) purchased at DFW Fiber Fest:

I tried to get a closeup to show
all the wonderful colours.

Very simple basic triangle, with four rows from one skein in stockinette, and two rows from the other in garter, which helped disguise the differences in spinning.  Although they looked very different in the hanks, the yarns blended so well people sometimes though it was a single skein.  The yarn is incredibly soft and this is both light and warm.

I finished another UFO shawl that I located after creating the resolutions post. It's a basic pattern (based upon one I got in a holiday gift exchange an number of years ago) from a single ball of Taiyo Sock purchased on an excursion with two friends a number of years ago, and which languished a lot.  I took it on a whirlwind trip I had to make suddenly in July, when I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to think and not a lot of space for packing.  Here it is on a long layover:

Yes, it has since been finished and worn.  Another basic triangle, this one with an eyelet row at every colour change, until those got very skinny and then at every other colour change.

I have made several other shawls, all for my grandmother.  She is always cold, and mentioned that shawls are "the thing" right now, and since they are simple and fun to do, I whipped up a couple:

Crocheted Shawl of Red Heart Dreamy Stripes, and knitted shawl
(Wailea pattern) in Lion Brand Cupcake, colourway "Tundra".

She liked them, so I made three more that I delivered at my last visit, but I forgot to take pictures of those.  One was a rarity for me, using the actual yarn and pattern together, but it came out nicely and my grandmother likes it a lot.  The other two were basic crocheted patterns, both different from the one in the photo.  She likes all of them, and even shares them with friends, but only for the duration of a meal or concert and then makes sure to get it back.  I think she's showing off a bit.

October is coming, which means the KnitTalk list has its annual "Aftober" of completing projects, and I plan to finish the "Omega" shawl (also on my Resolutions list) next month.  I have a lot of travel scheduled, and it's still small enough to be a briefcase project.

SUMMER:

I went to camp.  A friend teaches at a camp, and she has a small cabin of her own during that month, so can host guests.  She gets one day off per month, and we go exploring.  Last year, it was to a local glassworks museum and a small hike.  This year, we went to a local town and wandered through secondhand shops and a flea market, then stopped at a chocolate shop that also carries non-chocolate items.  We got some really cute things for her family and my grandmother.

I visited my grandmother; we wandered around flea markets (one has a pickle-on-a-stick-snack-as-you-shop stand, and you get any of the pickles they have on offer - mine was garlic half-sour - or you can buy quantities to take home) and attended a concert and drove around looking at stuff.  And clouds, my grandmother loves looking at clouds.

MakeHartford celebrated its fifth anniversary with a gathering, and show-and-tell that included a portable pizza oven and a "thermonuclear hot dog cooker", otherwise known as a solar cooker.  We had competing chocolate chip/candy cookies, and I made strawberry marshmallows, and much food and drink and conviviality was had by all.

I've traveled a lot, some for work and some for family and friends.  I've tried to get out more, especially given how nice the weather has been, so movies in the park and concerts in the park and lots of cemetery walks and park walks and other things.  Since the weather is lovely, I think I'll go do more of that today.

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:

I went to an art museum and a fight almost broke out.......

I know I have been neglecting the blog.  Work is busy; I keep thinking I’ll write about something but want to add photos, and the photos aren’t ready, so I don’t add anything.  I should just write once a week and hope for the best.  In the meantime, I had posted on Facebook that I went to a movie lecture at a local art museum, and a fight almost broke out during the post-film discussion, which caused one of my regular correspondents to ask “So, what was this about a fight almost breaking out?”  After all, art museum patrons, especially when we’re talking about Renaissance art, tend to be a more genteel set.

I sent an explanation to him, and he suggested it was sufficiently well-written to post.  I thought it might be a way to reinvigorate the blog, and made a few additions to set the scene a bit more.  Otherwise, this is much as I sent it to him:

The Wadsworth Atheneum recently opened an exhibit about the painter Michaelangelo Caravaggio and his effect on contemporaries and later painters, called “Burst of Light: Caravaggio and His Legacy.”  It’s compelling and I encourage you to go see it.  As always, in conjunction with such exhibits they are offering a number of special lectures and related events, including a showing of the Derek Jarman movie "Caravaggio" with introduction and discussion by Ronald Gregg, Senior Lecturer and Programming Director of Film Studies at Yale University.  The professor is gay and from his resume is clearly into LBGT studies.  But not offensively so, and he spoke very well about Jarman and how he made the movie and some of the facts behind it, such as the very low budget and how Jarman cast the film based upon an existing painting of Caravaggio and the people in Caravaggio’s own paintings for a realistic effect, yet incorporated anomalies such as a typewriter, motorcycle, and pocket calculator.  Then we saw the film, and a lot of people left without waiting for the discussion.

If you have not seen the movie, do not expect a biopic along the lines of “Pollock” or “The Agony and the Ecstasy.”  This film very much reflects Jarman's aesthetic, with much a fabrication because there isn't much known about the painter.  Not a linear telling, it is in many ways as much about Jarman as it is about Caravaggio.  As I described it to my friend, the movie is “very sexual, both homo and hetero, back and forth in time, and clearly the imagery was based upon Caravaggio's paintings, including most of the ones in the current special exhibit in the museum.”

The first person to say anything was a youngish man with dark curly hair who looked as if he could have been one of Caravaggio’s models.  He didn’t wait for the formal discussion to start, but stood up as the professor was walking to the front of the stage.  He was very passionate about how horrible and "disgusting!" he thought the movie was, loudly stating that it didn't represent Caravaggio at all, there was too much sex, and Jarman should never win an award, and how dare anybody pay him to make the movie, it was a waste of time and should be investigated!  [Nevermind that Jarman died in the 1990's and made the movie in England, so investigating the NEA or other groups wouldn't do anything.]  He was quite agitated and rushed out in quite a state, not staying for any response, but an older lady stood up and shouted after him that she thought it was a good film and he was very rude, at which the young man paused in the doorway to shout that she was wrong, it was NOT art, it was a waste of time and film and money and a horrible slur on a great artist!

So we were in a bit of an uproar, which didn't settle down when another, older man kept arguing that the depiction of Caravaggio's death was all wrong, at which the professor pointed out that we don't know for sure as even the few facts known about Caravaggio’s life aren’t always clear, and the man argued that we do know, and the professor tried to get back on track with the discussion by suggesting that the man knew more about Caravaggio but the professor was there to talk about Jarman and cinema, and we were off again.

It did calm down a bit as people said they saw the echoes of Caravaggio's work very clearly throughout the film, not just in the reproductions of his paintings.  But it was still more exciting than normal and I think the film curator cut things off earlier than usual.

I never did get to talk about the way Jarman used light in the film, which is one of the things we'd been told to look for and I found very interesting and effective in a number of key scenes.  Oh, well!

I will be going with one of my alumni groups on a guided tour of the exhibit in mid-May, and look forward to seeing the artwork again, having seen the film.  I agree with the person who said that a number of the scenes appear to be staged to echo Caravaggio’s work, especially in the way people would stare into the camera, or were framed against or dressed in or holding objects used in the paintings.  Having heard the professor discuss chiaroscuro, I am looking forward to studying that in Caravaggio’s work, and the paintings of those he influenced.

And I’m going to attend some of the Wadsworth’s other special events for the exhibit, we’ll have to see whether the painter and his work continue to stir such emotions in the audience!

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.