summer gifts

There are some who might get upset, say, if their air conditioning broke on a Friday afternoon. I might have been one of those people, but somehow, I was so lucky. We had a cold front come through last week, and for the last few days, the temperatures have been, well, temperate. Lows in the upper 50's (Fahrenheit) and highs in the 80's. Almost like summertime in upstate New York instead of Kentucky. So, once it was determined that we couldn't fix things on our own, I opened some windows.

An old house with good cross ventilation is a joy. We lack screens for some of the windows, and some don't easily open--the weight system in the window frame broke, or it was painted shut long ago. No matter. I set up some fans. Within hours, things were deliciously cool, even upstairs.

It's hard to catch the pleasure of sunny, low humidity summer days, so these photos will have to do. Imagine the cool breezes, please...and contrast this with the heat and humidity indexes of 97-102 (40 Celsius) we had last week. Ahhh. The relief.

Today, the problem with the fan motor was fixed by some wonderful repair folk. These are my favorite repairmen. They come early, they work until the problem is fixed, the bills are reasonable and they're kind. We tested the fan and air conditioning--but in the end, I left the windows open. You have to catch these amazing days while you can.

To pass along some treats to you, no matter what your weather:
Have you seen this article about Prince Charles and his gift for Camilla's birthday?
I've linked to this sheepy photo for a hint:

While spinning and knitting, I've been listening to a free audio book from Librivox. It's a British mystery called "Whose Body?" and it's by Dorothy Sayers. You can download it here for a little summer time entertainment.

I'm waiting in line for my chance to read the latest Harry Potter...the professor has first dibs. I'm struck by something--there were lots of complaints about reviews and spoilers, yet every review I've heard or read has been so careful to keep from spoiling all the surprises for millions of excited readers. So, instead of focusing on who DID leak the book early, I'd like to turn that notion on its head. Think about how many people, in media, in your houses, or on the street, are carefully keeping Harry Potter's secrets for the rest of us. Thanks for helping us preserve our innocence for just a little while longer, until we've all had a chance to read and it enjoy it for ourselves.

gifts

Sometimes we forget that what's just "every day" to us is special to someone else. Recently, my friend and I had an email correspondence about lemons...Meyer Lemons, in particular, which have a floral scent that is just unmistakable. Lovely like the best kind of perfume, and I'd never known it until I bought an expensive splurge in Nashville, two of these rare lemons. Bits of this chatter may have appeared in blog comments, you might have heard about it. My friend is Alison; she lives in California. She'd emailed me that I should expect something in the mail when I got home. When the mail arrived, it included 10 Meyer Lemons. Two had gone off (no surprise, given the heat and delay I'd forced upon them) but 8 were popped into the refrigerator.
This is what I wrote her on Friday--the lamb roast was for the professor's b-day..:
Hi Alison:
Day #1 with lemons...fresh lemonade and a little squirt on those canned grapeleaves..
Day #2 with lemons...homemade pasta noodles dressed with garlic from our garden and lemon zest sauted in olive oil, bits of smoked salmon and meyer lemon juice. Topped with a bit of grated parmesan cheese. Mmmmh. Good.
Day#3 with lemons.(tonight) roasted locally raised lamb, marinated with lemons, onions, rosemary and garlic. Eggplant salad with banana peppers, seasoned with garlic, lemon, red wine vinegar, pepper and salt.
We are thanking you every night over here! :)

Day #4 was fabulous leftover lamb sandwiches for dinner, with leftover eggplant salad and fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market, so we saved a few lemons for the next couple of days...good thing, too.
Today the professor dug up our radishes and harvested all the radish seed pods. We plan to saute those tonight with a bit of garlic, sesame oil, and ---maybe some lemon? Nothing brightens up summer food the way a little lemon might. I have my big bottle of lemon juice at hand, but it in no way compares to a real lemon!

Last fall, I had a last minute idea. We'd had such a bad drought that practically nothing remained in our garden. However, I bought some seed garlic and get started on another crop. (Garlic needs to overwinter in Kentucky's climate) Today, we pulled this out of the ground. After a few days of drying out this treasure, we'll look forward to many nights of garlic bread, garlicky tomatoes, or pesto filled adventures. Yum. An ordinary thing, garlic...but still it's a wonder to pull your own out of the ground!

One of the best parts of gardening is getting to "pass along" some of one's treasures...like the lemons were sent to me. Today the professor potted up bits of our enormous lemon balm (great for tea and getting rid of insects, it perfumes the air) and grabbed some onion bulbs from our Egyptian Walking Onion. He passed along these to a neighbor and friend. She owns a great neighborhood cafe, Bread and Bagel. In the back? She's starting an herb garden. She's working to produce her own veggies and herbs for the restaurant, and just as the lemons were passed to me, the onions and lemon balm were passed to her. She too will pass countless green gifts along.

Thank you, Alison, for starting this chain of gifts!

normal? spinning & audio books and life

I recently set myself a little challenge.  I would try out a new kind of wool--a sheep breed I'd never spun before- and spin it two ways.  Lumpy-ish worsted/aran singles, and a skinny little, relatively smooth two ply yarn. I set up my wheel over the long weekend.  (It was Louis Riel Day here)  We did go to Festival du Voyageur on Monday, but we also spent a lot of time playing inside.  This picture of the lumpy Clun Forest that I bought from Custom Woolen Mills in Alberta this past summer.

True confessions:  I haven't been spinning much these days.  Our house has been taken over by toys, art projects, and other busy things.  When I have a spare moment (hah!), I try to knit when I can.  It takes up less space...and we're always needing some new hand knits for winter here.

However, the other problem is that I'm still lacking stamina from having pneumonia.  It seems like I can do one thing a day, and after that?  I need to have a break.  Spinning was actually a sort of "active" thing for me, and I ended up very tired out.  I haven't plied the skinny smooth singles yet, nor have I washed the finished skein of lumpy yarn.  Both are destined to be mitts, I expect, as this wool doesn't felt easily, according to what I've heard.

I also discovered recently that my local library had changed its electronic subscriptions--and that I could no longer access audio books on Hoopla.  This was a big bummer.  They also have a limited subscription to Overdrive.  I only know this because I secretly cruise my parents' libraries in Northern Virginia, and they have much better subscription packages than Winnipeg's library...more access to audio books and ebooks for free.  I have even figured out, by the way, how to read an ebook on my iPad while I spin... (but only if it is a boring, skinny, plain vanilla kind of yarn.)

Where does this come from?  Well, in the old days, before twins, I used to listen to a lot of audio books while I sat spinning.  Now I listen to a lot of audio books while I do housework--and frankly, it helps me keep my sanity.  I can continue thinking about something (anything!) bigger than meal planning, cutting up vegetables or cleaning pots, etc.  In this case, multi-tasking may keep me from a sole minded focus on, say, salad, but then, who needs that amount of focus on cucumbers and carrots?  (Yeah, not me, sorry!)

To supplement what I could get from the library, which can be spotty, to say the least, I have treated myself to an Audible subscription.  The first year or two it was a birthday gift, for which I was grateful.  Then nobody wanted to give me gifts anymore--but I felt I could not give up this luxury.  I use coupons at the grocery store and cook more so we skip eating  meals out to read/listen to more books this way.

I found out recently that there is some sort of deal going on with Audible.  You can get two free audio books if you try a free Audible subscription.  That seemed like a gift I should pass along.  If you're in the US,Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks.

If you're in Canada, here is a link to the Audible membership thingee--I hope it works.  (As a dual citizen, my internet access sort of goes back and forth and I can see sales in one country but not the other, etc.  So, I hope this is the right link!)

I'm still not up to my normal pace of life and miss my walks with Sally the dog, but I'm working on it.  In the meanwhile, my brain can race with ideas while my body catches up.  I also found this gorgeous BBC clip about commuting-- ice skating to work in Sweden, and it almost made me feel like I was skating again.  (but I am definitely not well enough for that yet, either!)
(I had to edit this post to fix the Audible sale links, I hope they work now!)

Make money: Invest in student research

Every so often, I write about a topic that is important to me--but nobody wants to buy it.  Maybe the draft wasn't good enough, or they have too many other pieces to run?  Maybe the publication thinks that the topic isn't important enough to their audience.  In other words, they don't think anyone cares enough to publish it.

This is hard because I've already invested the time in researching and writing it.  The hardest part though is when it's an important topic, but nobody has aired it sufficiently.  The Professor and I spent a lot of years as graduate students.  Since then, we've also mentored graduate students--in the classroom, the lab, or by feeding them on a holiday.  It was important to me to speak out about the poor levels of financial support grad students get in Manitoba.  Here's my piece on this issue.  It was just published in UM Today--despite the proximity to the end of the academic term, I hope folks read it!  I'm thrilled this piece found a home. I hope it might make a difference.

Op-Ed: Make more money: Invest in student research

Short version: Investing in undergrad and grad research offers huge positive outcomes from a financial perspective.  Personally?  It means grad students can afford to eat without using the food bank and avoid living in rooming houses while they continue their schooling.

In family news, we have continued our hibernation and making frenzy despite several viruses.  Here is a beet chocolate chocolate chip Bundt cake...Maybe the second or third time I have ever used this bundt pan we got for our wedding!  (we get a lot of beets in our farm share at this time of year.  It's a root veggie time of year..)

This year, my kids decided our gifts for teachers would be all handmade.  This morning we gave out four bags with homemade jam, pickles, handwoven and handknit items made by kids AND beautiful hand done colouring and cards from kids.  I was proud of my twins.

One of my guys is currently alternating between wearing only two handknit sweaters.  They are: Freestyle Super and Stripe Freestyle.  (The dude likes stripes.  A lot.)  We are now collaborating on yet another one, with hand-dyed yarns that both kids helped make last summer.  This sweater will be a mommy hand-knit, but I'm not going to write another pattern.  To my surprise, those patterns do not seem to be as popular with other kids as they are in my house.  Again, it's a mystery...but I'm glad the designs find a home on my kids' backs all winter.

Last but not least, one twin is exploring crochet.  This is his version of a lion, before he put on the mane.  Can you see it?  (This is an abstract thinker, I was  impressed.  Rorschach Tests are like this...)

Hope you are having a wonderful December, no matter what you make or celebrate! :)

A birthday... and more

My boys are four years old today.  Here they are, modelling my new hat design (pattern to be released soon!) and blowing funny kisses to the camera.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us make it to four years old!

I haven't blogged lately, in part because just keeping up with life seemed hard.  I had some weird snafus; things that got lost in cyberspace, didn't get published, stuff like that.  Nothing major, I let it go, but it meant some things I wrote, time and energy got lost along the wayside.

Recently, I've focused on my work efforts here.  Several readers have asked me to send links to my articles and this allows me to do it one place.  I've started publishing knitting patterns more regularly again after a long hiatus, and the blog allows me to announce them, too.

I'm excited about this focus on my work life, which I'm slowly regaining. On a good week, I get maybe 10-15 hours a week to work. The thing I can celebrate as the boys turn 4 is getting back a little of my professional freelance life back as well.  Twins are all consuming, and in a place where it is hard to access childcare and we have no nearby family, I sometimes spend weeks or months trying to manipulate all the household obligations so I can find time to write and design.  Preschool and summer camp (X two kids) become essential.

Regaining that chance to think, write and produce is crucial for me to be a financially contributing household member and a happier, self-actualized person.  I think this also probably makes me a better mom.  (Now, if only I could get everyone to sleep through the night.  I am bushed!)    

So here's to four!  Here's to new designs, articles, ideas, and creative outlets for all of us!  (The boys' favorite gifts this year included a lot of creative play toys: ukelele, a kid-sized banjo, lego train and rocket sets, balls, books, a play silk, and other wonderful surprises)

Recently published in the Winnipeg Jewish Post & News, on community belonging and ownership:
Building and revitalizing Winnipeg’s Jewish community

Recently published on the CBC Manitoba website--on enforcement (or not) of Winnipeg bylaws:
Navigating Winnipeg parking driving cycling bylaws a dizzying affair