Get Gnarly Today

The last Friday in July is, among other things, "National Get Gnarly Day". The word “gnarly” can mean “bad” or “dangerous” but can also mean something exciting and unpredictable, which is the way I learned it, from surfers who use the term to describe the waves they tackle.  Dictionaries tell us that "gnarly" means both "twisted" as in roots or fingers, and "difficult, dangerous, or challenging." Much like surfers challenging the waves, Get Gnarly Day challenges us to put some gnarliness into everything we do, providing an opportunity to embrace new ideas and toss out old ways.

Many people look at January 1st, the first day of the Gregorian calendar, as a time to start new things.  Some people call in a backup at April 1st, the day the Romans set as the first day of the year, and others follow religious new years such as Rosh Hashonnah.  I've said that we need to have more "first days" and starting points, because it can be daunting to have one day a year, and measurement can be a struggle.  This is why I started the mini-resolutions and every month to do something new, or different, or accomplish something.

Get Gnarly Day might be a another good starting point, but a day to not just mark something routine such as making sure all the floors get washed, or you eat enough vegetables (too easy for me in the summertime!), or starting any new thing.  It's a day to pick a new perspective, something truly new, something you normally wouldn't because it is, or appears to be, difficult, dangerous, or challenging.  Embrace it, and the learning you will experience as you undertake something gnarly today, this weekend, and in your life.

Virtually 5K

Technically, it was a virtual 5K, since I definitely walked that distance - over double, since my FitBit said I walked 11.54km this morning.  I've done a number of virtual 5K walks in the last year-plus; some friends have signed up for multiple walks as a personal challenge and also because I think one person loves to collect all the badges and medallions.  I decided to do ones where I support the cause, such as the ones for Foodshare in April of this year and last September.  Usually their walk is in May, but of course last year's was postponed, and then they went virtual.  To keep people interested they set up a theme for every day of "Walk Week", and apparently I posted on Facebook but not here.  These are the outfits I wore:

The themes were:

• American Football, and I thought I'd be different so instead of my Bears T-shirt I wore my University of Chicago Big Ten Champions shirt.  Yes, it's been a while......
• The Yard Goats, the local minor league baseball team, since recent walks were hosted in their stadium.  I do not have anything by either them or the Hartford Whalers, so I wore my Cubs shirt.
• Past Foodshare Walks, and while I hadn't kept any of those (usually, I wore the shirt of my congregation, as we walked together, so I didn't have collectibles) the "Stronger Together" shirt was a Foodshare fundraiser.
• Local shirts, preferably for your town but this is all I have.  Love it!
• Fancy Friday - I wore the formal only for photography purposes and a bit of the workday, I definitely did NOT want to do the walk in it!  Especially as the day was warm and sticky. 

On June 26th I did this one:

It's hosted by The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri which has a VIP Veterans Packs program providing food and food and toiletries to over 400 veterans in twelve Missouri counties.  You could do it in a local park or virtually.  Of course, I wore something appropriate when I walked:

I also have a University of Chicago Alumni medal from our Virtual 5K which raised funds for the Odyssey Scholarships.  I also got a participation prize for posting a picture on social media.

Today's walk was for the Saint Andrews Society of Hawai'i.  A friend who is a badge collector is an officer of that organization, and it was a fundraiser, so why not?  I told her I'd try to wear a clan sash or something, but it was hot and sticky today, so I wore this:

It turns out I received an extra badge: Because I walked so much today, FitBit sent this:

Anniversary Redux

 A quick note to wish these people Happy Anniversary - I haven't been able to celebrate with them for the last two, but hopefully we can make up for it soon:

[My parents in NYC about twelve years ago, taken with a very poor quality flip-phone camera.]

Resolutions Report

Yes, I didn't get my end-of-month report up yesterday.  It was End Of Quarter at work, and we've been slammed for several days.  Plus my a/c is out and it's been in the high 90's (Farenheit) and I haven't felt much like playing with yarn.  I almost finished a UFO from last year, which is also in three colours, and since the heat wave is supposed to dissipate this weekend I'll get a photo and post in a few days.

Half Things

I meant to write yesterday, which is the true halfway of the month, but I didn't.  And today is my half-birthday, so I suppose it's appropriate to do the midmonth report today.

Strawberries arrived at the local farmstand and I've eaten my share; the second week's crop was better, more ripe, than the first.  I think asparagus is finally done and I didn't get to try all the recipes I'd found, but I made quite a few and mostly ate it steamed or boiled (when the stems were thicker) with a bit of spice or just butter.

The farmstand has a festival on the first full weekend of August, and I am debating whether to participate as an arts and crafter.  I could offer handdyed yarn and such.  Most of what I've made lately is designated for charity but I could finish a few things in case people want made goods.  It's hard to think of warm things in the heat of August, I know.

In another update, my tax refund arrived.  Now I have to get off the stump and talk to contractors, if any are available, about re-doing the bathrooms.  It was a plan for last year that was postponed, of course.

Midmonth Resolutions Report

I am making progress on the biography of Mary, Queen of Scots.  I think Antonia Fraser needed a stronger editor.  No progress on UFOs but good progress on a sweater for the orphanage, mostly from some Kureyon that I like the colours but there's a limit to how many sweaters I can make for myself, especially when I seem to gravitate towards certain colourways.  This way somebody will enjoy wearing it - I hope!  And I have the fun of using it for knitting.  The tricky bit is getting the balls to blend so there's a bit of cut-and-tie when one ends, to keep the sequence flowing.

There and back again.

 I meant to write yesterday, the usual end-of-month wrapup, and I didn't.  So both today, a wrapup and a looking-forward.

Venturing out.

This weekend I did two excursions where I interacted with people, more than just picking up the mail or shopping at the farmstand, although I did those also.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to the Art Museum at the University of Saint Joseph to see "Ansel Adams: Early Works" which I definitely enjoyed.  I love his photography and like many people know mostly the later works.  Some of the early ones are quite stunning, and some we know primarily from later prints but the originals have additional depth.

Today (Sunday) I decided to join a friend who was taking a handful of people from New Haven on a bit of a walk around the city.  Kerri said it would be a pastry-centric walk, but only the first two stops focused on baked goods.  That isn't the key for either Story & Soil or Aurora's although they do have good options.  I bought three things at Aurora's, intending to hold two for later meals, and enjoyed the concha as we set out.  I was going to get one from the case but the server took my bag and added a fresh one from the kitchen.  I haven't had a concha in a long time, and while it's different from the Mexican style with which I am more familiar, it was thoroughly satisfactory.

After starters we walked down Columbia Street, which is a historical district, wandered through Pope Park, and down Park Street to the Parkville Market for lunch, after a brief tour of the public areas of the 1429 building.  None of those spaces were open, but we did some window-peeping.

The nifty thing about Parkville Market is that it is mostly a food hall, which does make it slightly problematic to decide on what to eat.  I usually choose things I don't make at home, and this time it was Vegetable Momos and Samosa Chaat from Bombay Market.  I love momos (Nepalese dumplings) and never had Samosa Chaat before, so they are good choices.  And I have a lot of leftovers.  We took one of the shaded outdoor tables, a perfect option on a breezy and warm day, and away from the crowds that were starting to fill the inside.  None of us were ready for crowds.

Because we were full, further pastry-hunting was postponed for other days.  The visitors loved my "Small State: Big Heart" t-shirt so I pointed them to Hartford Prints!, and they took the website for online ordering.

So.

Two outings in two days.  It felt odd, but good.  Yesterday I was mostly solo (the Art Museum limits the number of persons per hour, and I didn't go with anybody); today we agreed that re-entering society and learning to socialize might take some doing.  As I said to Kerri after the others left, I remember days when I would be out and about the Hartford area on a weekend, nonstop from yoga class in early morning to one or more social, arts, or other events in the evenings.  I still have the energy, but I'm not sure I'll ever do that much out-and-abouting again.  I guess we shall see.

May Mini-Resolution Status

I did get my taxes filed, and not just on time but early!  Now to await the refund.

More progress happened on the Omega Shawl, although mostly I focused on finishing this for my mother for Mother's Day:

It is just my usual pattern, done in a K3P3 garter rib, made from Lion Brand "Scarfie" because the colourway reminds me of my mother - she loves red, and wears red and black often.  She's already worn this on a couple of unseasonably cool days.

I also worked on the items I've committed to make for the next Mittens for Akkol delivery, and am trying to not commit to anything else until I have the last two items finished.

Books:  I have finally broken the block, and finished two books.  The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean by Alexander McCall Smith is a very slim one, written for children, but it counts!  It was the second book I finished this month.  I'd started The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories by Raw Carson earlier this year, or last year?  It is three prequel novellas to a series I haven't read, and I hit a scary point in the first one and just couldn't go past.  Last week I picked it up and managed to get past, then quickly finished all three stories and enjoyed them.  I'm still slogging through Antonia Fraser's biography of Mary, Queen of Scots and while she is extremely knowledgeable, Ms. Fraser seems determined to show off everything she has learned, found, or determined.  She said she wanted to debunk some of the things that were said about Mary Stuart, and that is possibly why she includes so much.  I'm stubborn enough to finish it - and since the old paperback I have is falling apart, it will probably become a piece of book art, like this one:

That is one I created for the 2017 "Paper Possibilities" show by MakeHartford's Paper Arts Gathering.

"Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn't..."

 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn't, bleed, like colors, on the whole of our existence. -Honore de Balzac, novelist (20 May 1799-1850)