Friday Letters

I think I've finally gathered enough topics to write a few Friday letters. So without further ado, let's open the mail. 

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Dear Justin,

Never fear, I was not having a stroke when I sent you this text the other morning. I have these stupid sloth gifs preloaded in my messaging app and when my fat fingers accidentally hit one, it sends immediately. I think the fish tire leak was autocorrected, or it may have been a case of fat fingers once again. There were no fish tire leaks. Sorry!

Love, 

Mom

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Dear Walmart,

I would have won the bet with myself when I went into the store on August 25 that you would have Halloween candy out, more than two months ahead of the actual holiday. You didn't disappoint me! I do think that your people in charge of what you display on shelves and when should learn the cardinal rule of Halloween candy: You do not buy it more than a week ahead of time. You will hide it and then forget where your hiding place is, or more likely, you will eat it all and have to repeat the Halloween candy cycle all over again. I am afraid that you might have Valentine's Day decor out the week before Halloween, but I'm still refusing to buy Halloween candy in August.

Sincerely,

Disgruntled Shopper

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Dear People That Make and Sell Slime,

No, simply no. This goo looks awful and I'm confused about this printed on the Unicorn Slime: "Squeeze and strain measured amounts of lemon and lime juice. Can also be used in a standard manner." My standard manner of using slime is to not use it. My sons made enough of a mess without me buying stuff for them to grind into the carpets or furniture. I'd love to see your sales figures for this stuff!

Signed,

Wondering

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Dear SkinTē,

This stuff really had me wondering. First of all, this is a terrible product name. It conjures up a repulsive mental image for me. Secondly, this is tea with collagen in it? I don't remember much from biochemistry (and I did get a C) but I do recall that collagen is a huge molecule. I don't think drinking it (yuck!) will send it directly to my skin and make me look younger. Your website does tell me that this is "the first-ever collagen sparkling tea that benefits skin, hair, nails, gut, and mood." I could use all those benefits but I fear that I won't get them from your tea. I searched for the scientific evidence for this claim on your website, but it was surprisingly absent. The Cleveland Clinic says that "Collagen can’t be absorbed by your body in its whole form. Your body breaks down the collagen proteins you eat into amino acids. So eating collagen-rich foods doesn’t directly result in higher collagen levels in your body." So thanks but no thanks. Good luck to you (and the Slime people) selling this stuff!

Sincerely,

A person who will never willingly drink SkinTē

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I hope that you enjoy a lovely weekend without SkinTē, Slime, or fish tire leaks. (Feel free to enjoy some Halloween candy if that's how you roll.)

Unraveled Wednesday: 8/24/22

I'm happily joining Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday,

now that I'm once again knitting a Hitchhiker. I wanted to start a new one but decided that I should really finish this one that was about 30% done. I'm at 36 teeth and I've got another small ball of yarn to go before I call this one done. I already have a similar one, so I think this might be a Christmas present. 

It seems like I'm always dreaming of my next Hitchhiker while I'm knitting the current one, and this is no different. I really enjoyed the gradient ones that I've knit, so if I can get to NJ Sheep and Wool in two and a half weeks, I may look for some gradient yarn that says it wants to come home with me. I'd also welcome the chance to meet up with Dee and Vera, so fingers crossed I can make it happen. 

I'm suffering from a bit of a book hangover after finishing Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, so I'm listening to Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting. It's enjoyable so far, but it's not what I would classify as an epic read. I have some exciting books on hold, so I'm sure another one will come along (soon, I hope)!

What are you making and reading this week?

Summer Book Report

I usually talk about books that I've read on Wednesdays when I link up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday. Last week I was so thrilled to finally finish the BSJ that I didn't even mention any books, but there have been some good ones so I want to get caught up. 

First, there were a couple of average books. 

I think I would have enjoyed Bomb Shelter much more if I had read it 20 years ago. While many of Philpott's essays were humorous, reading about all of her anxieties got to be a bit much after a while. I found the essay about meditation especially tedious. She shares her worries and crippling anxiety, and while every mother (and really every human being has something), many of her concerns seem to be about her children leaving. Her son's pediatrician provides her with a brochure, “Getting Your Baby Ready to Leave Home,” and she sees this as an “attack upon my soul”. There may be some hyperbole there, but much of motherhood involves teaching your children to be strong, independent, and think for themselves. It's often hard to let them do it but you cannot "swallow them whole". "Sometimes when I thought about the children leaving, I had a primal urge to swallow them whole, just absorb them back into my body and keep them with me forever."

I rarely read publishers' blurbs anymore because they are too often way off the mark. I definitely should have looked at the one for 100 Poems to Break Your Heart more closely though. I was expecting a compilation of poetry for times of grief or sadness, and while it is that, it is also quite dense and full of analysis. Edward Hirsch has chosen 100 poems and arranged them chronologically, from 1815 to 2018, with poems from many diverse sources. There were several that really spoke to me, such as Sharon Olds' "The Race", Kate Daniels' "The Addict's Mother", and Patricia Smith's "Ethel's Sestina". The last one is about Hurricane Katrina, and begins "Ethel Freeman's body sat for days in her wheelchair outside the New Orleans Convention Center." It is indeed heartbreaking.

I would have preferred more modern poems with less analysis that would have allowed me to develop my own thoughts about the poems, but this is a good volume to choose if you are looking for plenty of grief ("We are not so much diminished as enlarged by grief") and analysis to go along with it.

Then I read two really good books. 

I really enjoyed Kevin Wilson's previous unique and quirky novel, Nothing to See Here, so I was quick to request Now Is Not the Time to Panic when it was available on NetGalley. This story about two 16-year-olds who don't quite fit in, the art that they make one hot summer, and what spins out from there is just as interesting and original as Nothing to See Here. Frankie and Zeke are both just muddling along in Coalfield, Tennessee when they meet, create an arresting and enigmatic phrase (“The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us.”) and artwork to go along with it. They make copies, post them anonymously all over town, and then things begin to spiral out of their control. The glimpse into Frankie's and Zeke's lives 20 years later, who they have become, and the tale they tell and why added a welcome element to the novel beyond the usual coming-of-age story. There are several other characters, Frankie's mother and her next-door neighbor, that provide more elements of surprise. This is a story about not fitting in, identity, who owns art, the power of art, and secrets, all wrapped up in a captivating novel.

The only thing missing from my ARC was a page with the poster, but I don't know if that is something that will be included in the final edition. If not, the reader's imagination may serve just as well. Something that I especially liked was Kevin Wilson's "On Writing Now Is Not the Time to Panic" at the beginning of the book. He explains how and why he came to write this book and what it means to him. It was so personal and good that I felt primed to like this book before I even started the first chapter. This book will be published on Nov. 8.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is quite simply, an epic book. I was not a big fan of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and found it a sappy fairy tale, and I'm also not much of a gamer, but this coming-of-age story about Sam Masur and Sadie Green was one that I was happy to immerse myself in. From Sam and Sadie's reconnection in a Cambridge train station after an initial meeting in a hospital game room where they met as children and bonded over Super Mario Bros., Zevin tells their story over 30 years through the video games that they design together. From their first success with Ichigo, through other successes and failures with games like Both Sides, Our Infinite Days, and Pioneers, there is intense collaboration, heartbreak, shared passion, and creativity. Sam's roommate, Marx, is the third person in the triangle, adding to this long-term relationship's messy dynamics.

Zevin shows us that games are just another way of telling stories, ones we can immerse ourselves in for escape and art. She does this incredibly well in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and I highly recommend you consider reading it, gamer or not.

"What is a game?" Marx said. "It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever."

There are still a couple of weeks left to fit in some summer reading. What books have you read this summer that you would recommend? 

What This Blog Needs

As I was mulling over the possibilities of things to write about, I thought, "You know what this blog needs? More poetry!" That may not be the most popular answer, but since I haven't posted a poem all summer (not since June 2), it's long past time for one. Here's one that I think works well for a Monday morning, and I think it's better than telling you about my boring weekend (laundry, vacuuming, accompanying John to pick up more free furniture, but that's a story for another day).

Monday 
by Alex Dimitrov

I was just beginning
to wonder about my own life
and now I have to return to it
regardless of the weather
or how close I am to love.
Doesn’t it bother you sometimes
what living is, what the day has turned into?
So many screens and meetings
and things to be late for.
Everyone truly deserves
a flute of champagne
for having made it this far!
Though it’s such a disaster
to drink on a Monday.
To imagine who you would be
if you hadn’t crossed the street
or married, if you hadn’t
agreed to the job or the money
or how time just keeps going—
whoever agreed to that
has clearly not seen
the beginning of summer
or been to a party
or let themselves float
in the middle of a book
where for however briefly
it’s possible to stay longer than
you should. Unfortunately
for me and you, we have
the rest of it to get to.
We must pretend
there’s a blue painting
at the end of this poem.
And every time we look at it
we forget about ourselves.
And every time it looks at us
it forgives us for pain.

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Dimitrov, Alex. "Monday." August 30, 2021, The New Yorker. 

You can read more about the poet here. 

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And, just in case you'd prefer, here's a blue painting at the end of this poem so you don't have to pretend.

I hope your week is off to a good start!

Up On the Roof

I called five roofing guys, two called back, and one showed up. That's about par for the course, especially because we have box or Yankee gutters on the house and there seem to be about three guys in the state that will work on them. 

That ugly area in the middle at the top has been leaking. The three-foot icicle that we noticed last winter as we were leaving for MD was our first clue. 

Here's the guy yelling down to John that the ugly area is really just peeling paint and doesn't seem to be rotting wood. That was good news, but the estimate that we got today wasn't quite as pleasant. It includes labor of $130/hour and a 10-hour minimum, using materials that are currently running $550 for a 5-gallon can of the sealant goop. There is no estimate of how long the job might take, or how much of this stuff and other materials might be needed. I've never seen an estimate quite like this and will continue to seek out others while I lament that old all houses are not cheap to own.

I hope your Friday has better news than mine and your weekend is a good one!

There Was This Comment ...

... that quite frankly, pissed me off on my post on Tuesday. 

AnonymousAugust 16, 2022 at 9:03 AM

I'm sorry but I thought this was a knitting blog, not a political blog. However, I realize you crazy dems can get away with anything. Fun's over in November dear knitter!

ReplyDelete

Replies

1. 
   BonnyAugust 16, 2022 at 11:09 AM

   I was initially tempted to delete this comment but have decided to leave it. Thank you for the blog fodder, Anonymous. I'll be responding in a post I'm writing for Thursday since I have no other way to enter into a reasonable discussion with you due to your anonymity.

I reply to almost every comment on my blog, directly by email if I can, or in the body of the comments if I'm not able to respond by email. I have enjoyed many direct discussions this way, and not surprisingly, sometimes people have even expressed opinions that differ from mine. I respect differing opinions and have often learned something from them. I have Comcast to thank for not immediately deleting the comment since we didn't have internet for a few hours on Tuesday morning. That gave me some time to think about a reasonable way to respond. (I am Highly Reasonable after all!) Since I can't reply to Anonymous by email, and I have too much to say to do it in a comment, I thought I'd express my feelings here in a post.

Nine years ago, I did start this mainly as a knitting blog, but as possibly one of the slowest knitters around, anyone that has read my ramblings for even a few days knows that there is not enough knitting going on here to support a whole blog only about knitting. So I certainly do write about other things - books, the garden, recipes, not winning the lottery, the drought in NJ, cutting cable, life in general, and sometimes even politics. Knitters are complex and multifaceted people, able to hold more than one thought in their heads at a time so they think and do many, many different things. 

I have written about politics on quite a few occasions before, and I'm pretty sure I will continue to do so after the November 2022 elections (even if the "fun's over", whatever that means). Just because I am a registered Democrat doesn't mean that I'm having fun now in this political climate, and I don't agree with every Democratic idea that comes down the pike. 

Back in January of 2020, this "crazy Dem" even got away with combining politics and knitting! I don't feel the need to apologize for it, will most likely write about politics in the future, and may even break that mug out again if it's needed.

What I hope I don't ever do is call people names, belittle their ideas, and offer vague threats about the fun being over in November. I am inviting people into my "virtual living room" here to read my thoughts and express their own. Just like I wouldn't invite an unknown stranger into my real living room to insult me, that shouldn't be happening here. People are free to offer their thoughts, ideas, and opinions about my knitting, book reviews, or any other thing I've written about, and I welcome the idea of carrying on a reasonable and civil discussion. I'm sorry you didn't give me the ability to discuss this with you directly, Anonymous. While I doubt that either one of us would have changed our minds, we both could have learned something from it, even if it was simply respect for another human being. 

So I've changed my comment settings to no longer allow anonymous comments. It pains me to do this because I haven't had a problem in nine years, but it was probably just a matter of time. If this becomes cumbersome or unworkable for my regular and much-appreciated commenters, I may change my mind and go back to allowing anonymous comments, or I might have to moderate comments. We'll see. 

This comment was left later in the day, and I'm assuming that it was from the same person, now with a Google account:

lwillAugust 16, 2022 at 2:10 PM

My main purpose for even responding to your comments regarding Cheney and Trump was to remind you that this is not the proper place for a political discussion.

I respect your right to hold this opinion, Iwill, but I happen to think this is a fine place for a political discussion. If you disagree, you are free to not read and participate in that discussion, just as I am free to determine my own blog content and whether it is proper or not. 

Now that I've had my say, I do hope that other readers will feel free to keep commenting and offering their opinions. Republican, Democrat, Independent, or no political affiliation at all - I don't care one single bit about someone's political registration and leaning; I care about whether they do the right thing and are kind to others.

Unraveled Wednesday: 8/17/22

The BSJ is finally done so I'm joining Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday to celebrate!

I completely appreciate Elizabeth Zimmerman's creativity and ability to look at garments in different ways and translate her ideas into knits, purls, increases, and decreases, and I'm glad I finally knit a BSJ. I was explaining the iconic nature of the pattern to Ryan and he asked if it was some sort of knitting milestone, like socks. Maybe it is, but now that I've made one, I don't think it's the kind of knitting I enjoy. I don't enjoy counting every other row despite using markers so I could make sure that my increases and decreases lined up correctly. I really dislike not knowing what part of the garment I'm working on. The pattern is written to make buttonholes on both sides and then sew up the holes you don't use. I wanted to make buttonholes on the left because we know the baby is a boy, but I ended up not making buttonholes at all because I wasn't sure which side was the left. I opted to use one button and a loop instead. I crocheted around the neck opening with my almost non-existent crochet skills because the neck edge looked a little raw to me.

The sweater seems to be a bit oddly shaped with three-quarter-length sleeves. There are plenty of people who have added ribbing to the cuffs, but I chose not to. I don't have an actual baby to try it on, but if it fits the baby it was knit for this fall and winter that may be the best I can hope for. He won't even be able to say that his wrists are cold because his sleeves are too short! There will be another baby in the family in February of 2023, and I might try another baby sweater for comparison. (Or I might just knit booties and call it good.)

When we re-did our kitchen after we moved in, John got frustrated because I couldn't translate his carefully-drawn plans into how the kitchen would look in real life. This struck me as much the same. I may be a bit spatially challenged but this is not my type of knitting. I knit for relaxation, comfort, and pleasure, and I just didn't like thinking this much while I knit! So I'm back to knitting on a Hitchhiker, and much happier for it.

What are you making and reading this week?