Monday Poem

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Literally–it’s titled “Monday” and it’s pretty recent (seen here, if you’d like audio). Yes, we all deserve “a flute of champagne/ for having made it this far!”

 

Monday
by Alex Dimitrov

I was just beginning
to wonder about my own life
and now I have to return to it
regardless of the weather
or how close I am to love.
Doesn’t it bother you sometimes
what living is, what the day has turned into?
So many screens and meetings
and things to be late for.
Everyone truly deserves
a flute of champagne
for having made it this far!
Though it’s such a disaster
to drink on a Monday.
To imagine who you would be
if you hadn’t crossed the street
or married, if you hadn’t
agreed to the job or the money
or how time just keeps going—
whoever agreed to that
has clearly not seen
the beginning of summer
or been to a party
or let themselves float
in the middle of a book
where for however briefly
it’s possible to stay longer than
you should. Unfortunately
for me and you, we have
the rest of it to get to.
We must pretend
there’s a blue painting
at the end of this poem.
And every time we look at it
we forget about ourselves.
And every time it looks at us
it forgives us for pain.

Friday Links

By in Friday Unrelated Information No Comments

1. What’s the latest on the John Deere strike? The company is doing whatever it can to break the picket lines:

If you want to help the workers on strike–who have no wages, no healthcare, and clearly no hope John Deere is going to work towards a resolution–this Go Fund Me is active again (it raised so much money in its first 24 hours, organizers briefly closed it to consult with UAW about the best use of funds). Hold the line!

2. This is just fun to look at: Flower interpretations of works of art (via Laura Olin’s newsletter).

3. And finally, this was fascinating and really humane (and I learned about ancient “sky burials,” which sound awesome). To Be a Field of Poppies: The elegant science of turning cadavers into compost

 

Wholesome Tweets

By in gram time No Comments

This is a wholesome (and massive) thread of people who cave to their pets’ ridiculous demands. As someone who does this as well, I was delighted and reassured:

 

Some highlights:

“The Fall Regression”

By in burn out No Comments

via

Anne Helen Petersen wrote a newsletter this week about “a blob of amorphous unease” that had been growing all month, and the feeling of no progress:

The calendar moves forward but we’re stuck. In old patterns, in old understandings of how work and our families and the world should be. That’s the feeling of regression, I think. It’s not that we’re losing ground. It’s that we were too hopeful about having gained it.

I’ve felt the same way, steadily growing for a month. I chalked it up to the change of season, but then I started thinking about refinancing the mortgage and it all kind of fell apart: Where do we want to be? How do we get there? What do I want to do? If it’s not what I’m doing, how do I do something else? What about money? What about the future?  Why is it all so difficult?

Petersen talks a lot about community in general, and ends the newsletter with saying her October regression feels “so much less swallowing when shared.” I guess if nobody know what they’re doing, then not knowing what you’re doing yourself isn’t as big of a deal. We’re all just figuring out what to do with our boulders together.

 

 

Tuesday Project Roundup: Card-again

By in sewing, Tuesday Project Roundup No Comments

I used to wear a cardigan over a t-shirt or turtleneck about every day in high school. I don’t know why I stopped–style change, I guess–but 20-something years later, I’ve rediscovered them. This time, of course, I’m making them:

This one is out of a gorgeous German cotton sweater knit from Jumping June Textiles (I got a lucky remnant) and the pattern is the Marlo Sweater from True Bias. Looking at mine vs. the pattern pic, I clearly ignored the suggested button placement, but it’s fine. No issues sewing or fitting, although this knit is drapier than the stable knit the pattern calls for.

Cardigans are great for regulating heat as you move around or the house warms up during the day (how had I forgotten this?). I already have another longer one planned in polar fleece–gotta make up for lost time.

Seasonal Activities

By in Skyler, weekend report No Comments

We had some good weather yesterday and hadn’t done anything with our nephew in a while, so we spent an afternoon at a local…Halloween/fall extravaganza? Its official name is “Kuwahara’s Pumpkin Patch & Thriller Park,” it had the production values of your local high school theater class, and it was great.

(In fairness to the production values, I think a lot of it was meant to be seen at night, with people popping out from the pumpkins to scare you, but I liked it during the day.)

As aunt and uncle, we’re contractually obliged to buy Skyler whatever he wants on these outings, and this time he wanted a 42-pound pumpkin. This is why I work out.

Friday Links

By in Friday Unrelated Information

1. Over 10,0000 UAW workers at John Deere are on strike and it makes my union-loving heart happy to see it.  I found journalist Jonah Furman on Twitter who really breaks down what the issues are–and posts stuff people on the picket lines send him, like this:

2. Enough unions are on strike that the #Striketober tag is happening–healthcare workers, coal miners, Kellogg’s employees, potentially the IATSE starting on Monday. Teen Vogue (!) explains why this feels uncommon and what you can do to support striking workers, who have no paycheck, no insurance, and no guarantees they’ll get what they demand. (Where I could find them, I linked to funds that help workers on the picket line.)

3. And on non-strike Twitter, a thread of putting googly eyes on things.

 

Thursday Poem

By in poems

It’s a dark fall day here, so this feels appropriate:

Fall Song
by Joy Harjo

It is a dark fall day.
The earth is slightly damp with rain.
I hear a jay.
The cry is blue.
I have found you in the story again.
Is there another word for ‘‘divine’’?
I need a song that will keep sky open in my mind.
If I think behind me, I might break.
If I think forward, I lose now.
Forever will be a day like this
Strung perfectly on the necklace of days.
Slightly overcast
Yellow leaves
Your jacket hanging in the hallway
Next to mine.

I Think Of This Every Year

By in Uncategorized

It’s not a rarefied poetry quote; it’s the part from Fantasia where the naked little Art Deco fairies make the leaves turn colors and the frost appear. The willow leaves! The milkweed ladies! The pond freezing over! I know it’s tinged with a lot of nostalgia, but it’s really sublime:

(This isn’t the best quality but you’d better watch it before The Mouse takes it down.)

Tuesday Project Roundup: New Couch, New Pillows

By in decorating, sewing, Tuesday Project Roundup

I’ve made my own pillow covers before, but I always got lazy and just did an envelope back–then got annoyed when the cover didn’t ever fit snugly. This time around, I took the time to put in a zip. I even added piping! And I can’t believe I hadn’t been doing that all along. It’s not that much extra work and it looks so professional:

When I was starting to plan all of this redecorating I went to a local warehouse for decorators’ fabric and saw that serape-ish stripe. I went back the next weekend and bought it, then realized it went really well with the leftover blocks from my quilt coat. (Wow, is it a lot faster to quilt just a pillow front and back than a whole long jacket.)

My other tip for nice plump pillows, other than adding a zipper? Make them 1-2 inches smaller all around than the size of your insert. The inserts here were 18×18 but pretty squishy, so I went with a 16×16 final cover size and it worked out perfectly.

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