slowly she turned

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.
Education

December 15, 2015

Yesterday I applied for the Visions program, which is UNCG’s program to allow people with BA degrees to take college classes without being admitted into a graduate program. I’m planning to take a MLIS course (Masters of Library and Information Studies) to see if it is something I would like to pursue. The program has classes online and in the evenings. It would keep my brain occupied on things other than politics.

Maybe if I had more IT skills and a MLIS degree I can get a job in instructional technology at a college or university if we decide to leave the state. Or hell, even if we don’t. Maybe we’ll head up into the hollers of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I’ll work from home through a satellite dish.

Library studies is all about technology and online media these days, but I’ve always considered going in that direction because of my love of books. Maybe I could take some of my electives at the Rare Book School in Charlottesville, Virginia, and try to get into archives and conservation.

Anyway, just another idea percolating in my head. I don’t seem to be able to stay out of school for long.
Today

December 14, 2015

Today, I got through the day after a serious prolonged anxiety episode during errand running after the guild party yesterday. The party was fun, the food at Printworks was delicious, and some of us exchanged handmade “mug rugs,” so I was surprised by the panic attack. It’s been so long since I’ve had a major one that I forgot that they usually do come on at the most puzzling times. So, YAY, I got through Monday! One day at a time, ya know.

I did manage to go to a Hanukkah party last night, and I’m glad that I pushed through it, but I pretty much collapsed before I even got to the car. One thing I did learn over the years was that panic disorder developed into agoraphobia when I did not push through it, and I certainly don’t want to retreat to that.

The menorah was beautiful. I love what Susanne has done with her studio, spreading it over two rooms on the first floor of her house. I hope to do some papermaking again soon over there.

Today we resolved one of the work issues, but I think that we’ve done all we can and won’t be able to resolve the others. Too bad. God knows we tried. Now I’m letting it go, evicting the cats from the bedroom, and heading to dreamland. Hopefully I will be blogging about art instead of mental health issues very soon.
Sunday morning coffee pot post

December 13, 2015

I’m getting started a little later than usual because the evil kittehs woke me up by scampering across my face late last night, and even though that got them evicted from the bedroom, it was a long time before I could go back to sleep. Lately I’ve been going to the Church of the Covenant when in town, and I especially wanted to go today because it is Mark Sandlin’s first official day as interim minister and I want them to make it permanent very badly.

But instead I needed to stitch up two of my little cloth weavings into a “mug rug” (coaster) because I left my holiday themed one in the office with the very mistaken idea that it would be slow and I’d get a chance to finish stitching it up between emails and waiting for the phone to ring. I did a lot of waiting for the phone to ring, because people I needed to talk to wouldn’t return my calls, but the amount of email was staggering.

Three years ago I don’t remember exactly what was happening at my job, but I said this on Facebook and it applies this year more than ever: “My job is setting up lines of dominoes, pretty much.” I suppose it was scheduling issues then, too, although I don’t remember being undermined and sabotaged from within.

Yesterday I felt great, though! I spend most of the day cleaning up my back yard and my UNCG community garden plot, although the back forty will take a lot more time to clean up after a couple of years of grief and depression and health problems. The high is in the mid-70s this weekend and the soil smelled rich and it was full of fat earthworms and pillbugs. In other words, very healthy! The compost at the bottom of the barrel was just right and I started shoveling it into the beds. I'm moving my ongoing pile to a sunnier spot because it has gotten so shady in the back that it is no longer decomposing properly.

When I went to my community plot my plan was to clean it all out and email the leaders that I was giving it up. However, when I got there I had a nice patch of rouge d'hiver lettuce. I didn't expect that because two months ago I gave up on the lettuce and peas when some critter was obviously chowing down on them, but I did get a lot of butterbeans from a very few bush plants (Henderson bush was the variety). That cheered me up and I picked what green cotton was there, transplanted some of the lettuce plants to a barrel at home, and picked some nice clean chickweed to go with the lettuce for a tender fresh salad.

So I think that I'm going to continue with this plot next year, but I'm going to try to be smart about it and keep it simple and mulched heavily. Maybe do the entire thing in Roma tomatoes so I can make tomato sauce and can plenty of it in my new-to-me big pressure canner that I inherited from Mama.

Now I'm heading to the guild Christmas party at Printworks where the mug rug goes into a guild exchange. I made mine Jude Hill style.

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