From Mary Oliver:
“Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
From a hike in upper Millcreek yesterday, lots of things to be astonished about:
August 2015
Friday Unrelated Informaion
1. I think I’m a pretty big fan of Bob Dylan, but I had no idea he recorded a totally different version of Blood on the Tracks first and that the commercial release was re-recorded in 4 days because “said album was too dark and downbeat to be commercially viable.” Read all about it (with tracks to listen to) here.
2. Doc saw this come across Facebook and it was an instant flashback to early, early school days when cartoons were valid teaching materials and some, um, antiquated attitudes were still ok. (Soundtrack by Sons of the Pioneers, though. And nostalgia!)
More August Literature
I found yesterday’s quote and today’s poem at the same time and there’s less than a week of August left, so you get a double dose of words this week. Also, the moon was actually hazed last night so I think it fits.
Late August
This is the plum season, the nights
blue and distended, the moon
hazed, this is the season of peaches
blue and distended, the moon
hazed, this is the season of peaches
with their lush lobed bulbs
that glow in the dusk, apples
that drop and rot
sweetly, their brown skins veined as glands
No more the shrill voices
that cried Need Need
from the cold pond, bladed and urgent as new grass
Now it is the crickets
that say Ripe Ripe
slurred in the darkness, while the plums
dripping on the lawn outside
our window, burst
with a sound like thick syrup
muffled and slow
The air is still
warm, flesh moves over
flesh, there is no
hurry.
August Rain
“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.”
Sylvia Plath
Tuesday Project Roundups: Gathered Skirt
I finally finished the skirt whose measurements convinced me to start doing yoga again and packing lunches. (Post titles considered but not used: Gathered Skirt for a Gut and Poufy Skirt for a Paunch.)
The fabric is the second cut of ankara print I got last September and the pattern is your basic gathered rectangle-with-a-waistband. I added pockets to it like I did the other skirt, but unlike the other skirt I made these out of the same fabric, i.e. correctly. And I made it the fashion-y “midi length” which the internet tells me will be big for fall.
It has a deep hem because I was too lazy to trim off the extra fabric and I think that adds a structure that really shows off the fullness at the bottom. Final verdict: I really like it, despite its waist measurements.
Ask Your Doctor If Nature Is Right For You
“Nature can reduce cynicism, meaningless, anal retentiveness, and murderous rage.” Yes!
Happy Birthday (Tomorrow), Dad
It’s my dad’s birthday tomorrow. When I’m his age I hope I have a fraction of the skills he has–the list is long, but includes:
- Building furniture
- Building pergolas
- Remodeling bathrooms
- Remodeling kitchens
- Finishing basements
- Laying tile
- Wayfinding in the wilderness (I first learned about cairns and blazes and that moss grows on the north side of trees from him)
- Tying knots
- Making balloon animals
- Decorating cakes
- Rigging model ships
- Building and maintaining bikes
- Engineering Halloween costumes
- Staying fit and healthy
- Serving his country
- Giving advice
- Getting up early
- Working hard
- Saving money
- Doing things “the cowboy way“
I’m pretty lucky to have a dad with such great Dad Skills!
Thursday Tunes
Doc took me to a Brandi Carlile concert at Red Butte last weekend and I’m still listening to her. Not only is she a delight to see live, this concert featured her new album, which is really strong. They lyrics on this one are amazing (“a heart that is broken makes a beautiful sound”):
She just released a new video for another great song that features tour footage, log splitting, lots of hats, and a goat!
Take Note
What I’m Making
I started making a skirt last month and had to measure my waist to check the pattern. My waist was three inches bigger than the last time I measured, back in the spring. Since about that time I’d been in a rut about work lunches and was just bringing a frozen entree from Trader Joe’s every day. Coincidence? Nope.
So that got me started making lunches. Inspired yet again by Pinterest, I picked up these compartmented “bento” boxes from Amazon and have been bringing my lunch every day for the last month. Some highlights:
I’m loving the boxes–instead of figuring out a main dish every day, I just have to fill the compartments. It even makes it easy to pull lunch together when there isn’t much in the fridge. Plus, there’s something really satisfying to me about small servings of food in little compartments. (I think the same reasons this article says toddlers like bento boxes apply to adults.)
And it’s working (along with a 30-day yoga challenge): I’m down to just two inches about my usual waist size, so–progress. Yay lunch!
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