1. I didn’t mention that the layoffs last week included the other writer on my team–that’s why things are so busy. I just keep telling myself I can do hard things.
“…our brain evolved to protect us from the threat of extinction, so it has a problem focused, negative bias and left to its own devices, you will most likely be unaware that you are “ rehearsing” whatever your attention rests on—problems and threats. Your mental activity is forming neural circuits that make it more likely you will return to that line of thought.”
After making that crane dress with the bottom ruffle, suddenly I’m all about 1. volume (like the culottes); 2. dresses; and especially 3. dresses with volume. After a twelve-year hiatus from Big Dresses, I’m back and I’m twirling!
whee!
This is McCalls 7948 in a yarn dyed stripe that I first saw at Stonemountain. (It was sold out when I wanted to order so I tracked it down on Fabric.com, but looks like it’s back in stock!) I wouldn’t have ever thought to look at McCalls but saw Martha Moore’s version in white eyelet and thought, “Wow, that looks big and chic.”
I hadn’t worked with a Big 4 pattern in years so I forgot how big they are–if I make this again, I’d size down for the bodice/redraw the shoulders like Martha did, but the boxiness doesn’t bother me too much. I think it’s giving off Ace & Jig vibes in the stripes, and Big Dresses can’t be beat for comfort.
1. It has been a WEEK: There were layoffs at work, my gym schedule is interrupted, I’m not sleeping well, we have extremely bold rats under the front porch, etc. etc. Looking forward to a workout tomorrow.
2. I came across this Jung quote yesterday and, based on the work I’ve been doing in therapy versus my past attempts to feel better with yoga or Zen quotes, I can say it is 100% accurate:
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.”
This birthday appreciation post is tricky to write, because I know my dad will say, “I don’t need any special sympathy. Other people go through this, too.” But I want to tell the world how strong he is and how much I admire him for what he did for Mom.
We all helped with Mom’s illness but he was the one who had to carry the most, do the most, be the strongest for the longest time. He was at Mom’s side every minute. He handled appointments and pill schedules and injections and talked about making it to their 50th wedding anniversary. I don’t think “devotion” even begins to cover it; I can only hope I’ll be able to show (and receive) that kind of love.
Now he’s doing grocery shopping and pruning Mom’s roses and just…keeping going. The endurance required to do that in the smoking crater of his old life just staggers me.
He would always say to Mom during chemo, “You’re the strongest woman I know. You can do this.” In many ways, what he’s doing now requires even more strength. I always knew my dad was strong, but I didn’t know he was this strong.
Happy birthday, Dad. I love you.
Not only is he enduring, he’s finding some little things to enjoy: He’s getting into programming and running model trains.
Measure the walls. Count the ribs. Notch the long days.
Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires
with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.
Call old friends, and listen for echoes of distant voices.
Organize your calendar. Dream of the beach. Look each way
for the dim glow of light. Work on your reports. Review
each of your life’s ten million choices. Endure moments
of self-loathing. Find the evidence of those before you.
Destroy it. Try to be very quiet, and listen for the sound
of gears and moving water. Listen for the sound of your heart.
Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope,
where you can rest and wait. Be nostalgic. Think of all
the things you did and could have done. Remember
treading water in the center of the still night sea, your toes
pointing again and again down, down into the black depths.
This is more of a “get the look,” since the original pants are Dolce & Gabbana and thus more than a mortgage payment (plus from designers known for racism, sexism, and homophobia)–but how easy would it be to use this fabric and the Winslow Culottes pattern to get some even cooler (i.e. non-floral) pants?
Inspiration via(Did I already buy this fabric? Yes I did.)
Instead of a hike, we went wading yesterday. I’m not a great swimmer and have no desire to become one, but rivers (or creeks, in this case) have my heart. Let me stick my feet in one and see the hidden banks and suddenly I’m thinking of becoming a river guide and breaking out The Wind in the Willows quotes:
Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again. All was a-shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated.
