Walkin' in new shoes...

Icelandic shoe liners

Inauguration day approaches, and I do not intend to add to the litany of opinions and fear generated thus far about our President-elect. Instead, I want to express my appreciation for the Obamas and their courteous/thoughtful/socially-aware representation of our country worldwide.

Never before has the role of President been so publicly scrutinized throughout the media, both increasing public access and disseminating information about the inner workings of our government. Hopefully, this awareness will endure, keeping us vigilant of our rights in these changing times. As I look forward to these next four years, I want to remain a good steward of the gains our society has made, make thoughtful contributions to my community and continue to vote in good conscience. While this new administration may not have been my ideal choice, it has been democratically elected, and I wholly believe in the goodness of people, the power of a free citizenry and the wisdom of the Constitution.

Climate change?!

Emma & Trixie sporting fur

Missouri is known for changeable weather, but I think we have hit a new extreme today. It was 5F/-15C a few days ago, with an arctic wind and a crispy dusting of snow. Today, the high temperature was 71F/21C! An unsettled environment that seems to add to my general anxiety related to the changing political situation.

I suppose this heatwave gave us all a welcome break from winter though, and that itself was a bright point. Yeah, it felt like spring, birds singing and mud... It is a lovely change to wear a tee shirt and sandals outside in early January. I took the coats off the dogs, turned off the heat and opened the back door to get some fresh air in the house. I will be sad if all my daffodil and tulip bulbs start to pop...

Of course, the weather will change again by tomorrow night, there is a winter storm watch posted for snow, freezing rain and twenty degree temps. Our local power company must be worried, because their contracted arborists were in our neighborhood today; they trimmed my massive silver maple and it is across the street from the power lines!

2017 Begins

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL

Wishing all a Happy New Year!  New Year's Eve was quiet here until midnight when the neighborhood erupted with fireworks. My son & I ate BLT sandwiches, sipped sparkling wine, and watched the first Independence Day movie on DVD. Hard to believe that movie is twenty years old. Years seem to be zipping by...

Are New Year's resolutions still a thing? I've never been a fan of resolutions, and I usually do not make them, but this year I signed up for an aerobics step class starting next week. I suppose this commitment to attend an exercise class twice weekly, is my resolution. All part of my 2017 plan to expand my thinking and get out of the ordinary... okay, get out of the "stay in one place" rut I have been since ankle surgery in mid 2015.

I have been reluctant to take risks for the last eighteen months, and stayed close to home. Now I am BORED, and want to have an adventure. It has taken a full year and a half to get back to walking real mileage, negotiating stairs, improving my balance, realigning my hips and strengthening my lower back. 

So, this is the year to celebrate my personal jubilee, and I am going to do some traveling. I will head to Florida soon, to visit with my aunts and soak up some sunny warmth. I am also touring Scotland later in the Spring, hence the need to take the aerobic step class. I have written previously (see mid post here: http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2013/11/working-out.html ) about my trip to Paris in 2012; learning then, that we "lazy" Americans, lacking stairs and frequent neighborhood walks need to physically train to fully enjoy a European tour. I am preparing for Scotland with four months of step aerobics to beef up my ambulatory skills. So, besides my resolution to take an exercise class, I seem to be resolving to travel as well.  

Christmas Day "God Jul"

Our Yule log ablaze 2016

I am hoping everyone's Christmas holiday was comfortable and filled with the joys of the season. As I have mentioned previously, I tend to have a different holiday celebration every year depending upon the pressures that daily life imposes. This was the first year my daughters were elsewhere for Christmas eve, celebrating with the families of their partners, so I had a quiet evening of knitting and movies. My son & I shared a homemade gourmet pizza and some wine on this rainy/foggy night.

Our family celebration started as a Christmas day "hobbit" brunch. My son prepares a maple sausage based dish containing potatoes, onions, spinach, mushrooms and peppers all cooked together after the sausage is browned. Yummy topped with an egg or solo on the plate. I made some cranberry-oatmeal muffins and we sipped mimosas. Later, when everyone arrived we added another course we call a  "groaning" cheese board of brie, havarti with dill, a leek & morel jack and a smoky gouda. Finally, there was the yule log cake, a bûche de noël, made in our neighborhood grocer's bakery. I hadn't been able to find a yule cake previously, so I wasn't aware that it is essentially a jelly roll with log imitating frosting. Our charming cake was topped with frosting pine cones and had red velvet cake with a spiral of vanilla frosting inside. I had always thought these cakes were a German tradition, but upon researching Wikipedia found they are also popular in France and Great Britain.

This got me thinking about the Yule Log tradition overall, and here in the U.S. I distinctly remember the televised burning yule log that played all day at my grandmother's Connecticut home Christmas day. See here, an article about the start of that tradition on the East Coast http://www.ibtimes.com/yule-log-live-stream-2016-tv-info-netflix-online-options-holiday-tradition-2464912  It was a visual, as well as audio representation of a blazing hearth, sometimes accompanied by holiday music, for those of us without a actual fireplace. I found it very comforting, and still have a YouTube video bookmarked on my lap top when I need to enjoy a crackling fireplace.

Holiday Improv

I have to admit I am not a traditionalist for the Christmas season. Having spent a decade and a half working for a national/international shipping company, the onslaught of packages and then the associated shopping and decorating does not fill me with a sense of joy. There are a lot of folks working very hard at this time of year and the added burden of traditions & family expectations create a season based more on endurance and stamina, than joy or magic. From all those years of working over 12 hrs. a day insuring gifts arrived on time for everyone else, I had to implement many short-cuts to my own holiday preparations simply to survive the season. Luckily, my kids were flexible and now that they are grown, we share many fond memories of some of those quirky holidays.

Here are a few hints that may help the harried pull off a satisfying holiday season. First, seriously consider what is important to you. I discovered I was doing Christmas chores that I thought I should be doing, but that my family really didn't feel were that important.

Consider the Christmas tree... I love the smell of a fresh fir tree, but I was the only person decorating, lighting and undecorating this tree. An intensive series of jobs, given that for many years I had collected European ornaments; combine the ornament  unwrapping and then the ritualized hanging of these lovely things, then re-wrapping and storing, and that adds up to a significant amount of time. While the kids liked a fully decorated tree, no one complained when we did a few years of the Paper Tree, see here: http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2015/12/lull-between-holidays.html and here http://dustoffurthinkin.blogspot.com/2014/12/oh-christmas-tree.html. So this year, I have simplified again, deciding the lovely twinkle lights are what I really enjoy about a holiday tree. We now have a shiny 7' aluminum pole with 150 lights, with a tip top star secured in a tree stand and wrapped in my mother's old tree skirt. I don't have to water it, I can recycle it if I don't want to use it again, storage is easy and I really think this is a more environmentally conscious choice than even a fake tree made of plastic from China.

I place a few of our favorite decorations around the living room and consider my holiday decorating done. With everyone having different obligations at Christmas, easy decorating relieves a little of the stress that can be felt during the season. Finally, I never cook a Christmas eve meal, we go out for Asian food or cook a frozen lasagna. We have a Christmas morning-to-afternoon brunch with hash & eggs, which has blossomed into a very generous meal of whatever brunch-y goodies friends & family bring to share.  Happy relaxed holidays to all!

Catchin' Up

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted, and so many things in the world have changed. I occupy such a tiny space in the global scheme, so I am trying to not worry excessively by revisiting the concept of "circle of influence and circle of control." Basically, I can influence my community and work within that realm to better the world, but truly the only circle I can control is myself and the events within my home. Simple. I did what I could to influence society outside my community by voting, but my candidate did not become the President-elect. Admittedly, I am concerned about the future, but there is little or nothing my influence will effect, so I am actively pursuing improvements to my tiny world.

I am substitute teaching per diem in my local school district. While I had hoped for a full-time job with benefits post college, none were offered. I was very discouraged for a time, but the upside of this position is that I can determine my own schedule, work at different schools and teach different grades. In retrospect, I am not certain an office job would have been a good fit for me anyway, since I enjoy variety, but oh, the health insurance would have been greatly appreciated.

A few days before Thanksgiving, I was looking out my kitchen window and saw a cluster of blooms on one of my lilac bushes! Remember, this is NOVEMBER, and we haven't even had a hard frost yet. Not that I doubt climate change, but the plants and environment are certainly demonstrating oddities that cannot be explained any other way. It was 80 for a few days a couple weeks ago, then rainy and 40's within 48 hours of the heat. This week's high was 65F/18C, but the temps have dropped to 45F/7C and there may be snow on Saturday. I continue to be concerned about the environment and have done many things garden-wise, and conservation-wise to lessen my family's impact: rain barrels, LED lightbulbs, insulation, recycling, composting & mulching, trying to purchase food and merchandise responsibly, and minimizing waste. Tiny steps yes, but within my circle of control.

Lacilee Possible Bags

The knitting retreat craft sale went well! We sold a bunch of bags and got some terrific exposure. I am the creative manufacturer and Val handles the social media/marketing. Sewing has been a wonderful stress buster and I am truly enjoying the progress my micro business has made. The Etsy site is up, see here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LacileePossibleBags?ref=hdr_shop_menu and the twitter feed has some pix of the last fabric purchase, see https://twitter.com/LacileeBags

The drawstring project bags are fun and versatile, perfect for a small to medium-size knitting project. I also have a zippered clutch for notions or whatever, and finally, a tote called the Lee Bag. In 1969 my mom, sewed this linen tote (rt.) and did all the beautiful crewel embroidery; I have inherited this gorgeous bag and made a simple pattern from it.

My totes are in cotton duck with muslin lining, there is also a 8"x6" pocket inside. The perfect knitting while walking bag! I try to find interesting or retro fabric and the finished bags have been popular. See my version below.
 




My job hunt may end up concluding with the couple of part-time substitute teaching jobs I have accepted. I would have never guessed that sewing would be a skill that would be my relaxation solution during this job search, and bonus, I am getting sales/marketing experience as well.While it seems employers want specialists with oodles of experience, my jack-of-all-trades versatility has served me well, even though it is apparently underappreciated in this job market. So, I am going to use my talents to stay interested and curious in my little slice of life. My ego is a little bruised, but as I see it, I have all the opportunity I want to create and learn. I'm sure this episode will be a blessing in disguise when my future is revealed. Life usually works out that way...