T: Trying. I'm Trying to get back into knitting again this weekend. I haven't knit a stitch since my horrendous fall and subsequent injuries back in November. All of you knitter bloggers have gotten to me. Knitting has always felt very therapeutic and relaxing to me, too, so I've decided to grab up some yarn and needles and see how I feel. After all, I gave Reading another chance, and I've been so happy with that result.
G: Garden. We have such a teensy tiny backyard that long ago, we simply tore out the grass and had the whole thing landscaped into a garden area with ornamental shrubs, plants, rocks, and a small, natural-looking pond. Rick built a swing on a trestle, which is in a corner. Last fall I planted a whole bunch of daffodils and tulips, and they all came up. They were beautiful...until the chipmunks began to--one by one--chomp the tulips off at the base of the flower and leave them lying on the ground. What will this mean for next year? Will I get any more tulips? Will this be a hundred years' war? If only I had known, I'd have planted daffodils exclusively.
I: Impossible. I almost feel as if I'm in shock when I watch the news. How is it possible that this is my country, my government, my citizenry? There is so much open bigotry, ignorance, and hatred. I've heard it said that it was always there; it's just that it feels safe now to come out of the shadows. I get that, but there are no curbs or checks on this indecency. And it started well before this impostor took the reins. It began when Bush 43 crowed about his own mediocrity and sanctioned torture. And the architect of that administration is now working to get this one another four years.
F: Food. I'm so disinterested in food these days. Rick is, too. On the weekends we eat boards of cheese, braunschweiger, grapes, crackers, summer sausage, apple, crackers, and mini naans with our wine. Or we make huge salads and slice in chicken breast, a grilled steak, or some ham. And wine. As of this moment, I have zero idea about dinner tonight. Sigh.
I look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy your weekend and take care of yourself.
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I hope that things get better in this country. I wish that there was an easy solution. Good luck with knitting- it is one way to take solace from the world's madness.
ReplyDeleteMinerva--I want so much better for this country. The easiest solution can be to vote for change in November, but it will take much more hard work on every level than just that.
DeleteThank you for your encouragement. That's a big reason why I've decided to take up my needles again.
I love reading your thoughts. Sometimes I wonder what would interest someone about my little old life. But inevitably, we all strike the chord with the most ordinary things. I have next to no interest in cooking. Fireman and I had a lengthy talk about this today .....we didn't really go out to dinner a ton, but I sure miss it now. Just the thought of cooking constantly is not a happy one for me. I so want a different direction for this country
ReplyDeletekathy b--Thank you. It's true, as Ken Burns says, that "there are no ordinary lives." We all have something to offer, even if it's just camaraderie and support during tough times or our journey in life.
DeleteRick and I didn't go out a lot, either, especially since I can cook well. Why go pay for something that I can make better? But pulling away from all social situations, not being able to feel safe out browsing stores, etc., has limited our activities. Being under constant stress, whether we are feeling it or not, takes its toll. The simple fact of all the uncertainty surrounding covid-19 puts us under an undercurrent of stress. It takes its toll, and our appetite, sleep, and overall mood will react.
Let's hope enough of us want a different direction for this country and vote that way in November.
I planted 200 tulip bulbs one fall and in the spring they fell victim of my healthy crop of chipmunks. Mine tulips petered out to nothing coming up again by year three.
ReplyDeleteWill Smith was quoted as saying that racism has always been there, it's just being filmed now. Cell phones changed white awareness so it can't be denied anymore.
Jean--Oh, hell. This is not what I wanted to hear, but is exactly what I feared. Damn it. Well, if that's what happens, I'll plant daffs where the tulips were. Solved!
DeleteThat quote from Wil Smith is stunningly true; however, facts are often not enough to change the hearts and minds of Some People, as we know.
We have no tulips growing in our yard. We have chipmunks and deer who devour those bulbs so we have daffodils instead. I like tulips, but I cannot wage the war necessary to have them in our yard.
ReplyDeleteWe've gone the opposite direction about food now that we are at home all. the. time. We're trying recipes on a whim, on purpose, just for something to do. I/we haven't cooked and baked this much in years. Don't know if I think this is good or bad, so I'll say it just is.
Ally Bean--I think having deer might be a nice tradeoff, but that's spoken by someone for whom deer are a novelty. I'm sure they'd get to be a big nuisance, too, like the chipmunks.
DeleteI used to be such an enthusiastic cook and baker! Now, I find it a chore. I do try out a few new recipes to get me out of this food funk, but honestly, food is not the pleasure it once was for me. Hopefully, that will change soon, like some other things have. Have fun trying out some good recipes, and share the really good ones.
Dee--I saw/heard that meme also. So true. I am just so disheartened to find so much of it in NEO, where I thought things were different my entire life. I guess I just naturally sought the company of like-minded people and, until fairly recently, the Others did not feel so emboldened.
ReplyDeleteI'm not interested in cooking or eating these days. Take out...meh. Yesterday, we almost ate ice cream for dinner! This is how low I've gotten.
Best of luck with your revisit to knitting; I've never had the patience.
ReplyDeleteYour garden sounds delightful...no wonder the chipmunks want to dine there. I think chipmunks are so cute, but then again, we don't have them and they don't dine in my garden.
Racism makes me extremely sad. We as a nation should be better, I wish people were better.
Wine and cheese? Sign me up.
Busy Bee Suz--I do have the patience for Knitting, believe it or not. I just don't do any project that drives me nuts. It's a therapy for me.
DeleteMy back garden is full of delights for me. The pond has an energetic little waterfall that sounds relaxing; I can hear it at night if the bedroom windows are open. Birds love to bathe in it and drink from it. The lilies in it are gorgeous.
Like you, I want Better from our countrymen. We have taken big steps backwards in so many things with the current administration. It is devastating.
Wow! I wish I would have no interest in eating or food in general. I had lost 10 lbs the other month and it is slowly creeping back. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI can't even discuss this country. I'm glad my parents are not alive to see what a mess this USA has become. They would be horrified! As I am.
Vera--I lost 10 pounds back in January when I was so ill. Those are back. I have no interest in food, but my wine interest is unabated. Also, my Peanut M&M interest, when it comes back, comes back strong. Sigh.
DeleteInterestingly, *45 is running a campaign ad here in bright red Ohio every hour during prime time television. His people must be sensing a Disturbance In The Force.
Let's hope so.
I have to tell you, I hope your knitting pleases you as much as your reading - I really enjoy having that variety.
ReplyDeleteOur garden is not that big, but Oh do I enjoy it!
Bridget--It has been slow going, honestly. It's almost as if I have to relearn everything! But I'm Travel Knitting: I don't have all my stuff, and I unwisely started something new rather than pick up something more familiar.
DeleteI love my teeny backyard, too. Any outdoor space that you've made your own and designed to be a retreat is a happy spot.
I hope you are able to get back to knitting just purely for its therapeutic value. I have had such a hard time settling down to create anything these past few months, it is just what I need to do but it is hard. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteMereknits--That is the plan. I think my scrappy, Cozy Memories blanket will do that for me. I'm going to get that out and add some squares.
DeleteSo many people I know and blogs I read agree with you (and me) about how horrible this current administration is. I can't believe there is anyone that would still want to vote for him. But, of course, I don't read blogs and follow people who are on "his" side. I hope he will not be elected in November and I hope a new administration and new members to Congress and the Senate can make the changes we need. Stay safe! Peace!
ReplyDeleteEllen D--I, too, tend to read and socialize with likeminded people. I do read, however, plenty of newspapers and online sources which interview others, and the reasons they give for supporting the current administration boggle my mind. It's painfully apparent that they either do not watch or read news, or that they get all their "news" from the Fox News channel. The stuff they say is shockingly ignorant and echoes slogans and talking points. I share your hope for November, and I'll do what I can to make it so.
DeleteI finally got my crojo back a few weeks ago. Last week I made FOUR squares for the blanket that I'm enlarging for my dad & his wife. Finished the last one yesterday & once I've joined these 12 new ones to the blanket I am DONE with that project. Which only leaves, oh, 5 or 6 WIPs in various bags around my chair. I find it alternatively relaxing & crazy-making - but it definitely helps focus my brain away from the insanity going on around me. I hope your knitting brings you the same level of comfort (minus the crazy-making part).
ReplyDeleteI'm so very sad, and frustrated, and want to throttle my aunts who will still vote for his abomination of a president because he PURPORTS to care about unborn babies. Red Heart Yarn, take me away!
Bug--Some people are Single Issue Voters. It confounds me (and you), but there it is. I have to wonder if they really are that committed to That One Thing, or they use it as a shield for other less noble ideas. (Not necessarily your aunts, but SIVs in general.)
DeleteI'm not entirely certain my knitting desire is back. I feel sort of Take It Or Leave It right now. I'll finish the wee doodad I'm making now because it's for someone, but after that...?
I wonder what happened to the comment I left yesterday? Anyway, just know that tulip bulbs can be toxic to dogs. Genevieve ate part of one once and almost died. Scary. So if you dig them up or something, keep track of them so your sons’ dog doesn’t get a hold of them.
ReplyDeleteWine and cheese...that would be my dinner every night, or at least 3 nights a week, if Ted didn’t have health issues that preclude it. Once in awhile I do anyway, and he has something else.
Hang in there. I guess that’s the best we can manage right now. <3
J@jj--I've looked in my mod folder and my spam folder, and there's no comment from you in either one. Perhaps you left the page before it saved.
DeleteThanks for the note about the bulbs being toxic. I did not know. I think I'm leaving them where they are and letting Nature take its course.
I am becoming such an Old Lady now that eating cheese as my dinner is not Gastrically Helpful. Rick would eat cheese continually, and could, with little to no side effect. He is such a dear to cook or not cook for. He never complains and likes to keep dinners simple.
Yes, we'll all hang in there; we're good at it. We've been doing it for over 1000 days now, each one coming with its fresh indignity, tragedy, and outrage. But this year is so far a horror.
Well, heck!!! No idea this was here because: it ended up in my spam filter again. Just when I thought I had solved the problem. :-(
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about your tulips!! I love tulips. This spring, literally a few days before we went on COVID lockdown, I went to the Dallas Arboretum with my SIL and it was Tulip Heaven— acres of them in every colour imaginable. (I deliberately spelled that 'colour' just for you, lol. I like that spelling of it better myself.)
Wine & Cheese: Been doin' that, too, lol. Also salads and, when I am feeling more energetic, I cook up some brown rice and sauté it with chopped up leftovers. Comfort food is needed like never before.
I am beyond shock when I watch the news. And we're barely halfway through 2020. I generally try to avoid political hype, but things are truly getting more and more fascist by the day. It's the only way DJT knows how to deal with crisis, and he's got a boatload of 'crisis' going on. He's finally having his wicked way— literally flaunting his power by rolling out the troops, tanks, tear gas... all the while holding up a Bible like he just won it as a carnival prize. *sigh* Can we really take much more?!!
COMIC RELIEF: On the lighter side, I don't know if you have seen any of Sarah Cooper's lip syncs of 45, but she is brilliant!! Here is a link to one of her lip syncs of Trump's responses in an interview a while back about his views on the Bible: https://tinyurl.com/ybcngwp9
Take care, and happy knitting, my dear. XXOO
Ortizzle--So sorry I'm just now seeing this, after you called my attention to it.
DeleteI think you might have hit on the answer to The Tulip Problem. I should let other people plant them and then go look at theirs.
My knitting...feh. It was not the Joy I had wanted it to be. I'm off it again. Not good news because I have a large amount of yarn. I'll try again later in cooler weather, perhaps.