slowly she turned

Living the Slow life in North Carolina

about

About Me

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2015

I’m just going to ramble on for a little while here.

I will finish weaving “Migraine Day” today, but I’ve decided to experiment with this piece and make it part of a bigger piece about perception with stitching. It will remain on the loom for a while because I’m going to use the other side to weave another small tapestry. But first I’m going to work on my larger tapestry, “Cathedral,” for a while.

Parsley for us, catnip for the boys. Santa visited last night and left new mousie toys for the boys, which was a big hit for Diego and Pablo. Theo enjoyed the catnip but ignored the toys. He’d rather be entertained by watching the younger toms.

The parsley went into a corn “chowder” – really a bisque because I didn’t thicken it with flour or cornstarch. Normally I put clams in it but the mister is suffering with gout this week so I made it special by using the frozen corn that I bought from Rudd Farm this summer.

Sandy is working today. He volunteered so that others could take the day off, since he knew that I was opting out of Christmas this year. Sort of. He is working on New Year’s Day also.

Opting out, sort of, has been a mixed bag of feelings. I feel a little guilty, although the rational side of my brain says, “NO NO NO NO NO, don’t feel guilty!” I didn’t send Christmas cards, although I’ve been backing off of that for years. I didn’t decorate AT ALL this year. Normally I at least put up some lights and a tabletop tree. I didn’t buy many presents. That, too, is normal for me now. Sandy and I are going to buy a fire pit for our Christmas present after Christmas. I’ve donated the money I would have spent to several different charities, including one to help refugees in the Middle East.

Still, that is definitely my mother I hear in my head. “Oh, LAAH-ree!” Heavy sigh. I can see her shaking her head in disbelief.

It is wet and warm today, so my original plan to spend a cozy day in the studio with the woodstove going and a teapot with cloves and cinnamon on top has changed. I’ll put the teapot on the stove in the kitchen and turn on the ceiling fan. Many folks around here have thrown open their windows. I might open the doors.

My heart goes out to my friends who have lost loved ones this holiday season, as well as those who lost their homes in the tornadoes yesterday.

We will probably go to a neighbor’s potluck Christmas dinner across the street tonight. I’ll make an asparagus casserole.

In the meantime, I’m back in the studio. And that’s a good thing.

Was just reminded of this song – I like this version by Jackson Browne with the lyrics.

And this album:
Reserved

December 24, 2015

The next eleven days are reserved for Ms. Laurie O’Neill.

Like much of the country, we are having usually high temperatures and lots of rain. These fog photos are from yesterday. The first one is probably as religious as I can get. I was definitely inspired by the symbolism when I took it.

I photograph these crabapple trees a lot, because I pass them twice a day and they are friends now.

Another old friend, the willow oak on the left. Perhaps the last of its age. There used to be several this age around campus and the neighborhood.
Happy Festivus!

December 23, 2015

Or, as I saw on an ad from Dharma Trading Co, PAINLESS FESTIVUS!!!

It’s a Festivus miracle!

Frank Costanza: Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.

Cosmo Kramer: What happened to the doll?

Frank Costanza: It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!

Kramer: That must have been some doll.

Frank Costanza: She was.
Those sorrows aren’t going to drown themselves…

December 22, 2015

As said by our merry bartender at Fishbones tonight after Sandy said that we were there to drown our sorrows, but we were drinking our first drink really slow…

Sandy, however, just realized that he is 3 years away from retirement age rather than 4, so he had something to celebrate. Kind of a bigger version of I thought it was Wednesday, but it is really Thursday. I, on the other hand, have 13+ years until I can get full retirement benefits, more if the tea party decides to increase my retirement age.

I got paid with a bonus (instead of a raise) this year, and we actually closed on the sale of my mother’s house yesterday, so the new year will begin with less debt for me.

Normally, I’m posting about how slow and quiet it is at work this time of year, but not so this month.

No problem. I will be taking a clean break from work from Dec. 24 through Jan. 3. I plan to spend each day with a little cleaning, a little cooking, a little yard work if it ever stops raining, a lot of art time, and always the option for a nap.
Happy Winter Solstice!

December 21, 2015
Rest in Peace, Miss Lucy Lou O’Neill

December 20, 2015

Miss Lucy Lou O’Neill
Summer 2003 – December 20, 2015

Wee Lucy, 2003

Miss Lucy, 2006

Miss Lucy loved her greens, the more bitter, the better, and if she could steal them from the sink, that made them extra good.

Lucy loved Squirt.

That’s Theo, not Squirt. But they sorta loved each other too.

I did not expect her to go down so fast, but this morning she was ready. We were lucky to find a mobile vet who I knew through the weavers guild that was kind enough to come right out to our house when we called. She is now interred in our back yard. I’ll plant some flowers for her later.

She was in renal failure, among other medical issues. It was for the best.
Saturday coffee pot post

December 19, 2015

So let me get this off my chest before I finish the coffee pot and starting playing in my studio. Most of this is what I posted on Facebook and there is no reason to rewrite it…

I think that our Miss Lucy, head produce inspector at Jazzcat Productions, is going to leave us soon for happier mouse hunting grounds. She joined Jazzcat Productions as a wee tyke in 2003, interning under Sir Guido O’Neill, director of security. Although her mouse hunting skills were extraordinary, as she matured, she found that she preferred lettuce and broccoli leaves. We’ll see how she does over the next couple of days, but based on earlier health crises with her, we agreed to let her go as naturally as possible when she makes the decision. I’ll call the vet in on a house visit if she needs a little humane push.

She has been in declining health for a couple of years. She had stress-induced asthma attacks during the last vet visits and the last time I had to force feed her. She has no teeth left except her fangs and multiple incurable problems, and the boys drive her crazy. I thought about keeping her in one room with a litterbox and food, but she let me know that she didn’t like that. Her favorite spots are in the other parts of the house. She has stopped eating and drinking as far as I can tell – I haven’t seen her eat more than part of a broccoli leaf in days. I’m not home much, but I’m pretty sure of it.

Theo is definitely showing his advanced age these days, too. We adopted him in 2009 as an older but playful gentleman, and he still likes to play. We think that he is around 15-16 years old. He seems to be in good health, according to the vet, but he is losing weight and he has started yowling occasionally. Guido did the same thing when he started getting dementia. I think that Theo will be with us for a while longer, even though the boys annoy him. He doesn’t hide from them, sometimes he initiates play with them, and he seems to enjoy watching them play from a safe place. They do pick on him and Miss Lucy though, and that’s not a good thing. I have had to evict him from my bedroom for my own health reasons and he has gotten fairly used to it, although sometimes he cries outside my door. He gets plenty of attention, believe me!

There are many things to choose from to do today, as usual. I have no problem with boredom! I think that I’ll focus on finishing “Migraine Day” and stitching up the slits on the two small format tapestries I did earlier this year. That way one of my small looms will be ready for this:

American Tapestry Alliance “Tapestry Unlimited Blog Tour”

It’s free, so if you are interested, there are some excellent teachers represented here.
Let’s pretend I posted this yesterday

December 18, 2015

Blogging everyday over the winter break may be a challenge, since my laptop at home does not like me so much, and blogging on the Kindle is difficult as well. That is why I often compose the night before and upload the post later at a better computer with a better connection.

Anyway, I played with the filter on my phone yesterday for the first time, and I continue to be surprised at what my camera phone is capable of producing. I think that the last image would be a nice tapestry design.
Excitement, at last!

December 17, 2015

It’s a warm rainy day here in the southern state of North Carolina. They’re predicting a warm Christmas, too. I say, hallelujah, I can do some gardening and yard work over the winter break a week from now!

I am feeling rejuvenated by the idea of going back to school for the Masters in Library and Information Studies. I am going to take the core course on Monday evenings this spring if I can’t get into the distance course, and maybe even if I can. Even though I like the convenience of web courses, I think that they tend to be more difficult as far as class discussions and I don’t particularly care for video instruction. I registered for an online seminar on virtual communities for the second half of summer session. If I decide to apply for the program based on how I like the first two classes, I found out that I do not have to take the GRE or MAT because I already have a graduate degree. I can take three classes for credit through the Visions program, and by that time I should be able to make a good decision before jumping in. So far, it’s all good.

It will occupy my mind so that I don’t obsess as much about, um, ALL THE THINGS. It also will give me a little more confidence and hope about leaving this state and finding a job in higher education somewhere else.

It’s wonderful to be in a better mood. Please let it last! This weekend I SWEAR I’m going to get in the studio and weave!
Shadows

December 16, 2015

Yesterday, I looked for interesting shadows. You have to shift your way of seeing to see shadows and reflections, and then boom, they are everywhere on a sunny morning. It’s a fun exercise. I wish that I could have gotten a photo of one place where I cast a double shadow on opposite sides. I guess it had to do with all the glass in the building beside me.