Femminista della casa

Change a Life

2007-07-06T15:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't been up to blogging recently--I received creepy anonymous comments that just put me off the whole thing--and now I have so many things I could post about I am totally overwhelmed.

And I don't want to get into the cycle of the blog running me rather than me running the blog. So if it doesn't feel fun, I ain't gonna do it.

But I just found out about http://www.kiva.org/ - and it is AMAZING. You microlend to deserving entrepreneurs--you help fund them now and they pay you back so that you can refund another. Minimum loan amount is $25.

I just sent $50 to help build a $450 loan for Patience Erhunmwense, a 36-year-old mother of two and a client of Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) . She sells ice cream in Benin City, Nigeria and wants to buy a freezer and develop more ice cream flavours.

Q Tonic

2007-06-14T17:50:00.000-06:00

A follow-up on G&Ts and the ultimate tonic water:

This may be the most exciting thing to happen as a direct result of this blog: free stuff sent to me to try out and report on. How cool is that?

Jordan Silbert, founder of Q Tonic was as good as his word: he sent me two bottles to taste, and Alan and I have just finished our tasting, having sat outside under the shade and languidly sipped our gin and tonics.

Sigh.

My review: attractively packaged in a small bottle that will make exactly two short G&Ts. Not too sweet and with only about 7g of carbs per bottle--which is only about 3.5 g of carbs per short G&T (!). No high fructose corn syrup. Organic ingredients. Hand-picked Peruvian quinine (*not* synthetic).

What's not to like?

This is what: at the moment it is available only in New York City at the following four places:

Milk and Honey
Little Branch
Gramercy Tavern
Blue Hill at Stone Barns

BUT Jordan says it will be available soon at gourmet groceries around the country. If you want to stock it, you can contact Q Tonic here to discuss possibilities.

This was really fun. I can't wait to be able to buy this regionally. I am sure it won't be sold locally, but I'm hoping some Santa Fe store will stock it. And I will stock up.

If anyone else is out there needs to test out a product--imported dark chocolate? vintage ports? artisan cheeses?--please do let me know. I'm game.

Blogging Hiatus

2007-06-05T19:21:00.000-06:00

Golly. I haven’t blogged for two weeks.

Since January, I'd been blogging very regularly—except for the odd week of Work Hell that prevented me from getting to it.

But, forcing myself to examine why I haven’t blogged lately, I see several factors:

One, of course, is the glorious summer weather. I want to be outside—camping, cooking, eating, drinking, walking my dog, gardening—and patently *not* inside at a computer. Life is meant to be lived, not just blogged about, and I’ve been doing a whole lot of living. And it’s been great.

And then there is the slightly shameful reason I haven’t blogged.

About three weeks ago, an anonymous print publication was circulated at work, and in it, I was roasted for my blog. Actually, the blog was not mentioned, but very silly pictures (taken from here and here) were lifted out of context, and I was lifted up to ridicule for all colleagues to see.

Not very nice. Still makes me shudder. And get a bit weepy.

I know I should have thicker skin, but it made me think I should drop the blog altogether. The experience was so embarrassing and mean-spirited. (I should mention that I work at a high school, and this text was, I think, student-produced. Thus, I was outed and ridiculed by the very students I serve.)

No matter how long you work for them and what you give, some teenagers just don’t ever seem to appreciate it, whether it be creating challenging and important classroom lessons or helping raise scholarship money so that they can attend the amazing school in the first place.

It makes my heart ache.

And then there were major work demands: another Board meeting, the end of our fiscal year, a graduation to help organize.

And then there was Memorial Day weekend, during which we looked at more houses to buy.

And there is, of course, the ongoing puppy experience.

And the first tent-camping trip with the puppy (which was glorious).

So now I’m back, but I am not sure how regularly. My need for blogging seems to coincide with cold weather and need for challenge. And I feel I've had more than enough challenge in the last few weeks.

Enough excuses. I have missed you all, and I'm sorry I've been out of touch.

Doggy Pi

2007-06-10T11:49:00.000-06:00

Just finished a stash-busting project: a felted dog bed made from leftover Lopi.

I adapted the pattern from Wendy's felted kitty bed, which is based on the increases used in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi Shawl (hence Wendy's name of "Kitty Pi").

To make a circle grow, Zimmermann used the knowledge that a circle's circumference doubles as the radius doubles, which my math-teacher husband tells me has nothing to do with pi, but that's what EZ called her application of this fact and thus it shall ever be known in knitting circles...)

I followed Wendy's instructions exactly except that I made it much larger by doubling stitches an additional time at 24 rows--288 stitches--and I used size 13 needles. It was a super-quick knit-up--chunky yarn, huge needles, knit in the round (which is much quicker for me than straight knitting). I knit in the car during the last two camping trips, and it rolled off the needles lickety-split.

From her pattern, it looked like Wendy was counting on 40% shrinkage, which seems high, but I used that in my own adapted pattern and did indeed get the size I was after (about three feet in diameter). It will suit James for a while, since he typically curls up when he sleeps.

I didn't block mine as severely as Wendy did--in fact, I couldn't stop James from playing with it while it was still wet!

My knitting friends asked me about being worried if he will chew it. I'm not really. The felted knitting is super thick (like carpet), and James has a soft bite. Also, if he does a chew hole in it, it can't really unravel (thanks to the felting), and I can just throw it into the washing machine for re-felting to mend the hole!

Seven Things, Week 15

2007-06-09T20:41:00.000-06:00

Alan cleaned out our camping closet and found the following things that have become Week 15 of the project:

ONE blue tarp-bag (which held we know not what)

FOUR carabiners (which we have never used for anything)

ONE plastic flask (which is not as nice as the fancy leather-sided, stainless-steel bourbon flask we already own)

ONE water-bottle holder that says "For women who thirst for knowledge: Women's Colleges 2003"--given to me by a colleague because I attended Smith College (a women's college in Massachusetts)

TWO enamelware camping mugs that are oversized (which Alan deems too large to be decent)

ONE opened packet of unused rubber tie-downs

ONE hand-operated air-pump

Salvation Army Thrift Store gets the lot.

In addition I released TWO books that I had read and am unattached to into the wild: The Guide: A Novel and Telling Tales

Total for this week: 13
Total so far: 123

A Two-Day Camping Adventure

2007-06-09T19:37:00.000-06:00

Just got back from a semi-aborted camping trip. I thought we would be gone four nights--we were gone only two. Came back to a hail storm, so it was a good call to return early.

We left on Thursday afternoon in order to secure a goods site at Sugarite Canyon State Park. I'd read a great write-up in Christina Frain's New Mexico Campgrounds: The Statewide Guide. I'd never been to Sugarite, but Frain said it was one of the prettiest state parks of New Mexico, so we had to go.

It is indeed one of the prettiest. Breath-taking views, great trails, forest, water, mountains, even a ghost town.

As soon as we got there I realized that the camera needed new batteries. Drat! No cool picutres from our trip to share with you.

The best I can do is resort to Google. Here is one from explorenm.com. It is a wide-shot of Soda Pocket Campground, where we camped. It doesn't really convey the majesty of the canyon views, but there are copyrighted photos on the site where I got this un-copyrighted pic, so have a look if you are curious to see what the camping looks like close up.

I also realized that we needn't have worried about securing a good camping spot--this was one of the three "crowded" weeks of the park due to the annual Fishing Derby, and there were still many empty sites.

We hiked three trails while we were there, but it was windy and pretty cold the whole time--heavy frost/ice on our tent when we woke up on Friday morning. It had gotten down to 20-something degrees in the night and didn't reach 65 in the daytime, and the cold wind just blew and blew, making reading, cooking, even sitting difficult. So although we had paid for two nights, we packed up on the afternoon of the second day and headed south toward home.

We stopped by the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge--there is primitive camping allowed there, but again the gale was blowing by the lake, and although we would have seen some great waterfowl, it just wasn't going to be fun to sit unprotected in cold wind. We did see some beautiful deer on the drive in and a very nice assortment of ducks on the lake.

As a last resort before returning home, we drove to Cimarron (home of the haunted St. James Hotel and the Philmont Scout Ranch) and then into the protected Canyon to see if we could snag a spot in Cimarron Canyon State Park. It was late afternoon of a Friday, so we were doubtful.

Jackpot! An amazing site at the Maverick Campground--on the river, with trees and shade and view of high cliffs--and both drinking and toilets just across from our site. No wind, mid-70s--the warmest we'd been in 24 hours.

Again, my camera wasn't working, but this picture I found when I Googled gives a sense of the canyon. Thank you, edboyden.org.

The dog was in high heaven--lots of mud and water and wonderful places to dig.

However, we were pretty dirty at this point--having been frozen, having moved camp, having slept with a muddy dog, having failed to wash/shower for two nights and almost three days. The clouds were getting up and it looked like an afternoon thunderstorm was in the works, so we packed up after lunch and headed home via the scenic route--through Eagle Nest and Angel Fire and Guadalupita. It rained and rainbowed--and hailed soon after we unloaded the car.

So we're home tonight a bit earlier than anticipated.

I managed to send two books into the wild as part of the trip, one at each campground.

Victoria's Dirty Secret

2007-06-06T21:20:00.000-06:00

I have always disliked Victoria's Secret--overpriced lingerie, objectified female form, bombardment of unwanted catalogs and, like nearly every other bra vendor in the USA, they don't even sell my bra size.

(To get a good fit, I have to get my bras imported from Europe. I can mail order all my other clothes and they fit well, so I am a pretty standard size--but I can't buy a US bra off a rack. Given this weird state of affairs, I suspect many, many women in the US are wearing poorly fitting bras, and I have actually surveyed fit instructions online and have found most of them incorrect. But that's another blog topic to be covered in future....)

Today on Bioneers, I heard about the campaign against Victoria's Secret, who had been making its catalogs out of wood pulp taken the Boreal forest.

Victoria's Secret mails ONE MILLION catalogs a day. That's a lot of wood.

After two years of campaigning, Victoria’s Secret reached an agreement with ForestEthics and signed a new paper contract.

Which makes it sound reformed.

But no.

Consider the recent email I received from GreenDimes:

We contact thousands of catalog companies and mailers on our member's behalf every month. Each of these is cooperative and provides an easy way for us to take customers off of mailing list... all but ONE. Victoria's Secret. They require us to call them each and every time we take a customer off of their lists - which can mean hold times of 30 minutes! Odd given that people can request to RECEIVE and REDUCE catalog mailings on-line. I guess this is why they keep sending 350 Million catalogs every year.

GreenDimes stats as of May 2007 were 514,000 pounds of junk mail stopped, over 174,000 trees planted and over 1,313,000 gallons of water saved.

Not bad for a company that started just last autumn.

Good company = GreenDimes
Bad company = Victoria's Secret

Travels with James

2007-06-06T07:18:00.000-06:00

We took the puppy tent-camping last weekend.

It was an experiment. Would we get any sleep? Would the puppy behave bizarrely? Would we be slung out of the campground?

We decided to go for just one night in a state park close to home in case the whole venture was a total disaster. We went on a Sunday night, when we knew the campground would not be full. We camped high on a hill, away from other campers.

It was glorious.

We had a view of cliffs and mesas (which I failed to photograph). The park offers rock and adobe shelters. You can see our rock shelter here. So we had shade, view, walks along the Pecos River, and a dog who could not have been happier.

He barked only to welcome me back from the longdrop. We put him on a 30-foot cord, and he ambled around the campsite, somehow completely missing a snake we encountered while on a walk and and a fox that came to visit as we sat around the campfire.

That night, we had to coax him into the tent. He refuses anything unfamiliar, but once I lifted him bodily into our low-slung, three-person tent, he began to investigate. It took a little while to settle him down, but he spent most of the night curled up at our feet, dozing and enjoying the den experience with his pack (i.e., us).

The yucca and prickly pear were in bloom:

It amazes me how therapeutic just one night spent camping is. I was cheered and relaxed.

We're off again this weekend, this time to a park a bit further afield and for several nights.

Seven Things, Weeks 13 & 14

2007-06-05T19:49:00.005-06:00

Catching up from my hiatus, I didn’t take pictures for the project, but I did offload the following:

TWO bags of grout powder (a kind of mortar) that have been in our utility closet since we moved into the house ten years ago. Also, TWO other mysterious bags related to grout and tile that we also inherited when we moved in. I returned them to the workers who had used them in the first place (ten years ago), thus freeing up space for dog food and rawhide chews.

I forgot to count the ONE bag of pig-skin twisties that I had bought for our puppy and that he wouldn’t touch and that I gave to my friend Anne several weeks ago. Anne has two exquisitely behaved Blue Healers who also seem to quite like the twisties.

The other dog-related purchase which was a mistake was ONE bag of puppy training pads. The Dog Bible had them on the list of things to buy in preparation for one’s puppy, so I dutifully did—and never used them once. We’ve crate-trained our puppy and have never used the pads. So they will be put out in the break room at work with a sign that they’re free to a good home.

Also to put in the break room is ONE can of lighter fluid for barbecues. I hate this chemical stuff and have used either Chimney Starter to make fire or paraffin fire-starters (which are also fairly toxic, but for some reason they frighten me less than lighter fluid.) Don’t know why we even have a bottle of lighter fluid. Someone must have left some at our house…?

So that’s seven for May 26.

And then there’s last weekend, June 2: I do not think this can count toward any total number of things offloaded, but I did gather all the books that wonderful friends had lent us in the last month and returned them. As you can see from the picture, it was a rather huge pile, and rounding them up and sending them back to owners actually managed to de-clutter our home quite significantly!

Total for these weeks: 7

Total so far: 110

Seven Things, Week 12

2007-05-22T18:58:00.000-06:00

Yikes.

This is for last Saturday's contribution to the project.

No pictures, I'm afraid. The batteries in the camera went. But I do have seven things to report!

TWO things to throw out:

a pair of Al’s stained and ripped jeans
a pair of worn-out shoes with actual holes in them (lovely Sesto Meucci loafers purchased new from eBay only last summer but worn rather incessantly since then

Next, TWO sets of coasters from Japan, one set depicting the Tales of Genji and the other of Sumo wrestlers, go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. We've had them around the house for ten years, but now that I'm making the cd coasters, so we no longer need a pile of cardboard coasters. Alan always hated the Sumo guys....

Finally, THREE beautiful, almost-new books to be released into "the Wild" tomorrow (a la BookCrossing.com):

Life of Pi (Martel)
Founding Brothers (Ellis)
Second Honeymoon (Trollope)

(Feel like hunting a book? Click here to hunt for books in over 95 countries!)

Total this week: 7

Total so far: 103

How do you say "thank you" in dog?

2007-05-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Slurp?

Having a new puppy gives me a (very faint) taste of what it must be like to have a new human arrival—a drastic change in one’s routine, some sleep deprivation (very mild, I’m sure, compared to newborn humans!), new anxieties, and tender love.

And presents.

I had no idea.

Starting with the gift of a fabulous book and loans of other books and DVDs, we have now received cards, emails and even beautifully wrapped presents from many very, very nice people.

So, along with thank-you notes that I am trying to catch up with, here's a public thank you to Anne and Judy and Janet and Stephanie and Winston and Nina and Larry and Debbie and Beth and Melissa and Tim and Rex and Rory and Harriet and Sue and DJ and Tyler and Andrew and Grant and Matt and Liberty.

Mwah!

Walking

2007-05-21T18:43:00.000-06:00

Or, as some puppy owners call it, "walkies."

My Vein of Gold work--sadly neglected since James arrived--has had one boost: the prescribed daily walk of 20 minutes or so happens regularly, and not just once a day but always twice and sometimes three times.

Before James, I walked only on special days--on holidays, on especially beautiful weekend mornings, and when we had company.

Now it is an integrated part of my life.

This morning, I finally remembered to take the camera on our regular morning (6:30 am) walk.

Unfortunately, it was overcast this morning--unusual for New Mexico--and so isn't as pretty as most days.

We start from our driveway and go up a wooded mountain path.

This is high desert, so the conifer woods are also prickly-pear woods and yucca woods.

We encounter rocks to climb, then a logging road and The View.

This ugly metal barn-like thing is what's behind me as I look at The View. (Not so lovely.)

Then back down the hill to home. About a 25-minute walk.

Lloyd Alexander

2007-05-19T19:10:00.000-06:00

Until this evening, I hadn't thought of Lloyd Alexander in YEARS.

He transformed my tenth summer--I read all the Chronicles of Prydain that summer and wept when they ended, all too soon.

I remember learning the word "bauble" from the first book.

I just heard on NPR that he's passed away.

He was the creator of some magical children's stories. I so wish I could make such magic.

Were you a friend of Taran the Pig Keeper and Eilonwy?

I wanted to BE Eilonwy.

(BTW, I sort of think he looks like Al, but Al says he looks like a skeleton with a nose. Hmmm....)

Busty Trinkets

2007-02-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was just on the Breast Cancer Site, clicking "Fund Free Mammograms" for women in need, and I saw this gorgeous Sterling & Crystal Pink Ribbon Toe Ring in the follow-up ads.

I know that some of you click on the Breast Cancer Site daily (because I see your traffic to the Ouch posting), and I applaud you for your diligence. I'm resolved to do so, too.

Maybe a toe ring would remind me?

Positive Action for a Better World

2007-04-17T19:02:00.000-06:00

When facing sadness and devastation, I just want to ACT. Do something meaningful in the face of what seems, at times, such a senseless world.

An email today from Beth in NYC provided an opportunity.

Both of our moms got breast cancer at the same time, and Beth's mom very sadly passed away after a hard fight. My mom was very lucky to have responded well to treatment. My mom's mom died of breast cancer at age 53.

I have less than 20 years to contribute in some way to finding a cure before it's my turn.

Beth is contributing to finding a cure by committing to spending a weekend next October walking, along with thousands of other people, in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. She'll walk the distance of a marathon and a half - a total of 39 miles.

I am contributing by helping to sponsor Beth.

The money raised goes to the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, a 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to provide access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. They provide funding to organizations all over the country for medical research, education and early detection programs, and clinical care and support services, all with a focus on the medically underserved.

Beth needs to raise at least $1,800 to participate in the walk, but she's set her goal even higher--she's going to raise as much money as she can.

If you want to support Beth or check her progress in funds raised, click here to view her Personal Page.

According to Beth's email, every three minutes, another woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. This is unacceptable.

Avon also has a global effort (39 countries across six continents) for those of you outside New York that might want to take action: a Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer.

More Positive Action for a Better World

2007-04-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

Just heard that my sister-in-law Sue has also signed up to walk for Breast Cancer with her sister, Beth, whom I blogged about below.

Confused?

Beth is my sister-in-law's sister. And she blogs.

Sue is my sister-in-law. I've blogged about her here. She lives with my blog-reading-never-commenting brother and their seriously cute four boys.

The image is Sue at age eight, running a race with her mom (also Beth's mom).

Our moms had breast cancer. Beth and Sue's mom very sadly passed away in 1999.

We are angry about this disease.

Both Beth and Sue need sponsors.

To donate to Beth, click HERE
To donate to Sue, click HERE

(Sue, I sort of shot my wad with my donation to Beth, so I may need to get you next month....)

One Goal Exceeded; One to Meet

2007-04-18T16:35:00.000-06:00

For the Walk for Breast Cancer, Beth has met and exceeded her goal already--in less than 24 hours. Wow.

Sue still needs sponsors. Please support her if you can.

Ouch

2007-01-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today was—get ready for it—Mammogram Day!

This one was rather thorough (nine images!), since it was a diagnostic rather than a screening. But I am healthy (if lumpy) and will probably be so until my late forties, the age when both my mother and maternal grandmother were diagnosed with breast cancer.

Girls, we DO need to be careful.

According to The Breast Cancer Site, one American woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. If detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 95%.

Be informed.

Over 20? Do your self-checks.

Over 40? Get your mammograms.

30-something with rotten family history? Ask a women's health professional for advice.

All of us should also get our annual check-ups (including the dreaded PAP). Women's clinics around the country can do this for a minimal fee.

Looking for an easy way to help others? Click daily on the "Fund Free Mammograms" button at the Breast Cancer Site to help fund free mammograms for low-income, inner-city and minority women, whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited.

G&T Forever

2007-05-19T15:26:00.000-06:00

I delight in making cocktails and dip into my very aesthetically pleasing American Bar: The Artistry of Mixing Drinks several times a week.

Sadly, I had to swear off my favorite summer cocktail when I realized that high fructose corn syrup—a ubiquitous ingredient in US tonic waters—was my nemesis. I have substituted Campari and sodas, Sazaracs and Mojitos, but the perfect summer evening does indeed call for a G&T (gin and tonic).

So I am thrilled to have just read June’s Gourmet magazine which reports on two new tonic waters available in the US which do NOT contain HFCS (!!): UK import Fever-Tree (sweetened with cane sugar) and US Q Tonic (sweetened with agave nectar).

I have to say that, in looking at both products' web sites, Q Tonic is more appealing, since they report that Q Tonic is made with

• Hand-picked quinine from the Peruvian Andes
• Organic agave as the sweetener
• 80% fewer calories than regular tonic water
• All natural ingredients
• No high fructose corn syrup
• 85% lower glycemic rating than other tonic waters

Designer, diet and politically correct! For food snobs everywhere!

Q Tonic also has the history of the G&T (and, indeed, tonic water) on its web site.

Now the hunt is on: where can I buy this stuff? Does anyone know?

Congratulations, Ceri!

2007-05-19T17:35:00.002-06:00

Reader and commenter Ceri Nuala is graduating today from Hampshire College.

She's an amazing photographer, feminist and activist.

She will do great things.

(The image is not Ceri, nor is it me. It is borrowed from funkysofa.com. It expresses my happy-dance joy on Her Day!)

A Tribute to a SAHM

2007-01-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

Could we please all applaud Stay-At-Home Moms--those hardworking women who are raising the next generation of our species to be smart and loving and engaged in things that matter?

I am not a SAHM (though I have been a SAHM wanna-be), but I am especially impressed by my kick-ass sister-in-law, who, while providing extraordinary mothering to my four (count 'em--FOUR) nephews, also SKY DIVES.

Wow.

A Femminista Tribute

2007-02-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Paraphrasing an article written by Jil Schult in my hometown newspaper. I will not link to the article itself because it relates WAY too many personal details, such as ages, last names, geographic locations, etc. (Sorry, Jil.)

When a local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) received a letter from someone who cited a local judge for making a big difference in their life, they knew they’d found their award recipient for this year’s Women Making History award.

That recipient would be MY MOM, who, apparently, won the award for many reasons:

“She is the first female district court judge and carries the honor of being the first female chief judge in the circuit court in the northern Lower Peninsula,” said someone whom I shall not name.

“She’s forged her way into the school system. She used to go into classrooms and teach children about court and even allows schools to come in the courtroom to see a true case,” X added.

Mom works primarily with young offenders, mostly aged 17 to 35. She rules by rehabilitation and believes punishment is not always the answer.

“It’s not all about punishing,” said Mom. “It’s about making people change behavior — taking responsibility for their actions.

“Something we always try is to make them get a job and finish their education,” she added.

Though Mom is truly honored to be the Women in History Award Recipient, she was a bit surprised.

“I thought I wasn’t old enough,” she said. "Women in History makes me think of someone who’s completed a career. I still have things I want to do.”

In her free time, one of the things Mom likes to do is quilting. She has been an active quilter for about 12 years.

“I’ve always loved fabric,” Mom explained. “I was convalescing from an illness and needed something to keep my hands busy.

Her first quilt was called courthouse steps. It was the hardest quilt she ever made.

“I called it capital punishment,” joked Mom.

Fantasizing about chickens

2007-01-23T03:41:00.000-07:00

It's 3:41 am, and I am having a little bout of insomnia.

And when this happens, my thoughts sometimes turn to chickens.

I want to go just a little bit further on that road to sustainability.

And I want really fresh eggs.

I know absolutely nothing about raising chickens, but my early-morning surfing has shown me that Amazon features at least six lists written by chicken owners and enthusiasts:

So you'd like to... Raise Chickens
Best books & magazines about raising chickens

Chicken raising books I want

Chickens: Backyard Enthusiasts

Practical Chicken Books

Top 10 - All about Chickens...

And I haven't even started on Google.

In Memory of Molly Ivins

2007-01-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

I just heard that Molly Ivins passed away today. Another victim of breast cancer.

I have been a fan ever since I heard her speak at Smith College in the 1990s. She was a funny, well-read proponent of liberalism, and she delivered her barbed messages with wonderful Texan flair. She was a tough voice for the minority. I felt that she was a voice for people like me.

In one of her last columns, she wrote,

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

You done good, Molly.

Knitting with Dog Hair

2007-03-15T20:41:00.000-06:00

Sigh. I've had a hell of a day. Adrenaline flowed freely at work today, and we all just sort of rolled along , bumped and bruised as we turned corners and confronted the next bugbear.

But I did take an hour off to go to my weekly Kaffee Klatsch, where we knit and craft and paint in a local coffee bar. I then went out to dinner with a colleague. And now I feel human again.

At the Kaffee Klatsch, I further investigated knitting with dog hair.

One of my fellow knitters in the Klatsch not only knits with dog hair but spins her own yarn from it. And she does this for others--dog owners who pay her to create something useful and beautiful from their dogs' shed fur.

After carding and spinning, she shampoos the yarn with deodorizing dog shampoo before she knits it up into scarves, hats or sweaters for the dog owners. I saw a selection of her work last week at a local fiber art show; on each knit item, she had a picture of the dog from which the yarn was spun, its breed, its name.

The yarn she was using today was snowy white and angora-like. She did not know the breed of this dog, as the hair had been mailed to her from a client. Very, very beautiful.

For those of you who are intrigued, there is actually a book published on just this subject (yes, that's the image above): Knitting With Dog Hair: Better A Sweater From A Dog You Know and Love Than From A Sheep You'll Never Meet

My boss, a fairly intense animal lover, might be interested in hiring my dog-hair knitting friend.

My boss is also a horse person, and I inquired about whether one could spin and knit horse hair trimmed from manes and tails.

Sadly, no. Horse hair doesn't spin (it's too coarse)--but, I was told, there is a whole industry of braiding horsehair and making jewelry from it. (Who knew?) Check out Suzanne Storms' fairly astonishing work.