It’s Labo(u)r Day for the rest of the world, aka International Workers’ Day. Remember, unless you’re the one running the company, you’re a worker and the people at the top are profiting from your labor. (And if you are running the company, I hope your workers unionize.) Just remember: there are more of us than there are bosses.
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One Day At A Time
Toby’s had a few Good Poop Days (TM) in a row and seems like his happy self in general…but I can’t focus on sewing much. (Saturday I just sat next to him on the couch and read.)
I have some nice shirting to sew up and some robes to make for friends if we go on a hot springs trip. I’m sure I’ll get to them and Toby will help me with every step:
This Feels Appropriate
My dad sent me this brilliant version of “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life” last week but the original feels equally appropriate, given the season…and what’s going on at work…and what’s going on with Toby (he’s had digestive issues on and off for a week; the mobile vet is coming Wednesday; he’s had a couple good days now but I’m still a mess).
Clearly I just need to do this!
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing
This Kid Is All Of Us
Spring Things
Eight Years!
It’s anniversary number eight for us (“the ocho“) and it really doesn’t feel like that long of a span…until I look at pictures from seven or eight years ago:We were mere children! Untouched by time and unburdened by cares.
But there is no one else on earth I’d rather have faced the last eight years with. Not only has he been a support through all of it, he’s been an example of how to be kind and open and generous, even in the darkest times. It is an ongoing joy and privilege to have him in my life.
Happy anniversary, honey! I love you.
Changing The Inputs
Anne Helen Petersen’s newsletter linked to this one from Delia Cai, who talked about a friend’s ways to keep her ideas/worldview fresh:
A friend in my graduate program told me very simply that you need to input to output. So when I’m feeling depleted, I have a process I follow. I write down the things I’ve been watching and reading, and any events I’ve been to in the past few months. Pretty much 100% of the time I see that I’ve been staying in, working, rewatching things I’ve already seen, and reading comfort books (to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with any of those things!).
Then I make an active plan to input. I have a list of “hard” books (nonfiction topics I don’t know much about, older books like “Catch-22” I never read in school, things that are challenging) that I choose a title from, I watch older movies I’ve somehow never seen…and I try to go see theater or comedy shows outside my normal sphere. I meet people for coffee to hear about their work…
After a few weeks of that, I start to have ideas again. I incubate them, start writing, stop taking in as much as I’m outputting, and then keep doing that until the cycle repeats itself. My life got a lot better a few years ago when I recognized this is as a cycle rather than feeling like I would never have ideas again and it was absolutely out of my control to ever coax them back. It also helps me take pressure off myself during times of ill physical or mental or emotional health to know that it’s just part of the cycle and I can let up for a bit and just input for a while without feeling guilty.
I think this is fantastic advice for anyone who works in their head a lot, or who creates either for fun or for money. I’ve been feeling burnt out and like everything is the same and…yeah, I’ve been sewing the same pattern for three months, I haven’t seen my friends in about that long because of Omicron, I don’t even try to watch new things. I’ll be trying this out.
Recommendation: Reading Glasses
While I was sewing the latest round of fleeces I realized I could only see the black stitches on black fabric in the brightest daylight… and that everything on my computer screen seemed really small…and that I just kept upping the font size on my Kindle. It was time.
These are from here, at 1.25 magnification, and oh my god the difference they make, especially when I’m tired. If you’re over 40, this is an enthusiastic recommendation.
Ash Wednesday
I’m not Christian but this day always gives me an excuse to post the T.S. Eliot poem. While “Although I do not hope to turn again/ Although I do not hope/ Although I do not hope to turn” does sum up a mood, this year I think this tweet is even more appropriate:
for lent i am simply giving up
— Zenaida Huerta (@zxnaida) March 1, 2022
We All Have Thoughts
I would LOVE to participate in this workshop of the current season of life in America:
I have some notes on the writing for this season of America pic.twitter.com/VRNhPVwtFA
— Ryan Ken (they/them) (@Ryan_Ken_Acts) January 28, 2022