SATURDAY JUMBLE....

INSPIRATION.

I'm not much of an artist by a LONG stretch.  To be more precise, I enjoy the incredible talents of artists and appreciate their work, their sense of place, color, light, design - you name it - despite a poor understanding of much of it.  One of my heroes is Sister Wendy, the hermit/nun with an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject who has increased my own knowledge a thousand fold (and that is not saying much, LOL!)  Despite my decided lack of talent in that department (never you mind, I have other gifts the good Lord has given me and I am happy to have them), I was inspired to create the above little collage on the second page of my planner.  

I read about Inez Milholland when John and I went to the Newseum a couple of weeks ago.  She was the (sort of) iconic woman on the white horse who led a women's march for suffrage in D.C. I say "sort of" because we never learned about people like Ms. Milholland in my childhood.  A dirty shame, because she is my hero. She attended Vassar college, then NYU law school and was admitted (I believe) to the bar in 1912. No easy task in 1950, let alone in 1912! She was a never-say-die kind of woman.  Initially rejected by Vassar because they did not accept her qualifications from an English boarding school (her American family lived in England during what we would call the high school years), she took additional classes and then sat for an entrance exam at Vassar and was accepted.  There, she was an excellent student, active in theater productions, and an athlete - and,  after working summers with the English suffragette movement a very active and vocal suffragette.  She brought news of the struggles in England to just beyond the Vassar campus.  Just beyond, because the President of Vassar forbade any discussion of the topic. So she organized a women's suffrage group in a cemetery just outside the boundaries of the college. She also was one of the organizers of the march on Washington for suffrage and it was there that she rode on her white horse.  She fought the fight for women's suffrage - and for the rights of the poor and disenfranchised until her untimely death at 30, hope for the right to vote still burning within her. Sadly, it wasn't to happen for another four years.

Whenever I think I am too old to begin again or to make change in this world, I think of her and all that she accomplished in her short tenure on this earth. We owe her so much.

CURRENTLY

Our son is currently between gigs, so we've had more time with him and that was nice. 

This past week was a short one with the holiday.  I'd love to say that I got a lot done, but it was one of those weeks when everything seemed to go out of whack - one of those things being the complete breakdown of my cellphone - an item upon which I have become incredibly dependent on the work front, if not everywhere else! This time I went back to team iPhone.  It's lovely having not having to recharge my phone every 2 hours! In any event, I got done what I needed to at work, so no complaints there.  Last night I got home, and with the help of John and our daughter S, got the drums into the car and into St. Peter's Church in Ellicott City.  Our little dixieland band is playing our one gig of the year: Mardi gras on Tuesday. It's my one time I get to play drums and we have a blast. Practice was this morning.  Hopefully I won't screw it up too badly, LOL:) Laissez les bontemps roulez!

Prayers needed!

On a much sadder note, my daughter, D, texted me in the very early hours this morning to say that her mother-in-law was unresponsive and in the hospital - they suspect a stroke.  I later learned that dear B was operated upon to remove a blood clot from her brain and that the last news this morning was she's still "deep in the woods." D's husband, (also D) is keeping a vigil in the hospital. We may have the grand girls over later if/when D joins him.  Prayers going up of course.:( If you are the praying type or just "keep good thoughts," we'll take what we can get - and a good doctor, too!

KNITTING PROGRESS

Oh dear, not much progress there, but my little corner of den is stocked with my "three" current projects and some wonderful reading material. 

I am determined to finish the Greenwood sweater by Ann-Marie Jackson. I. am. so. close. Though with the 75-degree F days we've had around here, I wonder if I'll have a chance to wear it before the real spring kicks in.

It doesn't look half bad, does it?

The little Flax sweater for my young friend is moving along.  Maybe I can finish both that and Greenwood sometime this week.

And of course, I have a basket of socks I'd like to work on in my "spare" time;)!

Among the knitting reading acquisitions in the past couple of months were subscriptions to Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and two books:  Martin Storey's  light-hearted Easy Fair Isle Knitting and Norah Gaughan's incredible Knitted Cable Sourcebook.   Martin Storey brings his wonderful expertise and color savvy to a book of beautiful, whimsical, yet classical fair isle designs.  I just know I'm going to knit at least one of those patterns.  As for Norah Gaughan's book: there are only two knitting books I have in physical and Kindle format: June Hemmons Hiatt's The Principles of Knitting and this beauty by Ms. Gaughan. It is a worthwhile sourcebook for your bookshelf and I firmly believe it will become a classic  - if it isn't already!


Well folks, in the past few days I have been developing some sort of cold or something.  And though I hate to be wimpy about such things, I am going to take the rest of this windy, stormy Saturday and immerse myself in some knitting and some lovely reading. The laundry is done, the house is quiet and it might be wise to enjoy the calm before the inevitable (human) storm.

Hope to see you soon. Be well and tell your dear ones you love them.  You never know how long you will have them with you.  Until next time,

God be with you 'til we meet again. +