Saturday, August 08, 2020

saving the day. saving myself.

I'm not normally prone to insomnia. Of course, my rhythms get thrown off when Charlie spends time here. Friday night was recovery night, but waking at 3:30am? I should have known better than to pick up my phone. If I'd turned the pillows over for a cool spot and nudged a cat away for room to stretch, I would have fallen back to sleep.

Instead, I opened an email and was ready to dress head to toe in black wrappings, find my rusty machete, and head out into the night looking for someone deserving to slay. Let's just say it's a long skulk to Washington. I'm beginning to understand the rash of seemingly unprovoked violence going around like a certain virus. People are stressed to the max and snapping.

Me? I was disproportionately enraged that a package sent out west and received at the post office was, without notice, sent back to me because the recipient hadn't picked it up. The rules say 30 days if you notify them of a hold being needed. This was barely two weeks. Hopefully, it will come back to my doorstep, but that will not be the end of the issue. Asses will fry.

My mother worked in a first-class post office for twenty-five years. I know how bullshit flows downstream onto the front line workers who are not to be blamed. This is another wave of Trumpfuckery that should really have people completely freaked out. Raise hell, people.

So, no, I did not get up from my nest and murder anyone. I got up in the dark burned a bagel and drank some lemonade. Went back to bed and slept until 9:30. Gave the day over to a short burst of housekeeping,  some hasty color, then a long swim.
There is still danger in the air.

Friday, August 07, 2020

Changes

 We moved to Georgia from New York in '94. The boys were in elementary and middle school. In all those years, I've never gotten used to the bizarre shift in the school calendar. School ends in May and reconvenes in August. What savages! 

This was Charlie's last week of vacation. Virtual school starts next wednesday. At first this county was going to start school like nothing had changed. As the COVID numbers climbed unchecked, they switched to virtual classes. Now, knuckling under to political pressure, in-person classes will start later this month.

 I'm about to find out what I am really made of.

Thursday, August 06, 2020

Saturday, August 01, 2020

frayed

Both cloth and personal sensibilities.
Rewatching "Hamilton" last night was probably not a good choice.
Eliza's final monologue turned me inside out. 



 Today, my copirate is six.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Harvest time

It's been a while since I was excited by first peeks at a thread batch. Over the past months, I've caught myself thinking "Overdye for this bunch" or "just because I don't love you...."  and hoping for the best.

This time, I'm thinking about dumping out my own stash so I can start fresh with 20 or 30 from this lot. But I won't. I have too much else to do now and soon, those responsibilities will double. 

Now comes the hard part. Cleanup and processing. When I call these Hand Dyed Threads I'm not kidding.  There is no part of this that can be automated. Each skein goes through about a dozen steps between the first measure&wind, to the final wind off. 

Then, since I'm selling most of these, there's photograpy, posting, and processing orders. Now, the added terrors of the post office. I'm still sad about the fact that International Shipping is so out of reach. 

I've washed and rinsed two groups, laid out on the deck rails here in hopes of some sun, but it's looking pretty shitty out.  

I've been thinking about writing a DIY book - "Doing the Dirty Thread Boogie". I can teach you the steps, but I cannot teach color sense which is the magic at the heart of this process. Something I can't even explain to myself.

What do you think?