Here are some links to music I'm listening to these days. I'm learning to play the rudiments with the hopes of being good some day:

A celloist and a fiddler contemplate musical genre-hopping.

Marla Fibish and Jimmy Crowly playing a set of reels, of which the first, the Humors of Bandon, is my favorite.

O'Carolan's Welcome, by Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan, performed by the Waterboys.

Canzone Danza, by Alexander Wandrowsky, played on ukulele and guitar. It sounds pretty on mandolin, too.

Add a Comment

These days, the majority of my sewing projects are custom orders on and off Etsy. I enjoy creating dolls I've dreamed up, and then offering them in the shop, but it's come to the point where I need to be able to justify financially the time spent sewing. I use reading glasses when I sew, and need bright, direct light so that I neither pierce myself nor give a doll purple hair instead of brown.

Sometimes the purple hair is intentional, though.

 A month ago, I was tickled to get a custom order for a musician doll. The customer bought a rainbow queen, and sent some photos of her electric guitar playing fiance so that I could make a doll representing him on a wedding cake for a September wedding. This is the first time (that I know of) that my dolls have graced a cake top. Here are the bride and groom:
The groom is wearing a cabby hat and is playing a green Gretsch guitar. As a surprise for the bride, I stitched a little pocket on the inside of the groom's cape and tucked in a red felt heart. My next musical custom order is for a choir singer. Once I figure out how to convey the choir book in felt so that it looks like more than a black and white rectangle, I'll add that photo as a shop option. I'm planning on giving my shamrock fellow (stitched last March) a tenor banjo, too. Who doesn't need a tenor banjo?!

Add a Comment

I am enjoying this 1998 video recording of the Waterboys' Killing My Heart, an alternate version of When Ye Go Away, especially Anto Thistletwaite's slide mandolin work. I have a mandolin, and I have a slide, but am not yet ready to combine the two! Thanks to the Waterboys Appreciation Society tumblr for the link.

Add a Comment

Big Muddy M-2 factory 2nd mandolin

I turned 42 yesterday, which as Douglas Adams fans know, is the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. The day was mellow and rainy, in which I met a friend for lunch and then took Lucia out to dinner. With my blessing, Bede went to Emerald City ComicCon to sell his art. There was a year in which I had two storytelling gigs on our wedding anniversary, as we decided that we had to go with the opportunities when they presented themselves.

The night before, Bede took me to Dusty Strings to buy a solid-wood mandolin for my birthday. I had thought that a mandolin of my own was many months away, as it is much more challenging to find a decently-good mando than a decently-good guitar an affordable price. This "entry-level" Collings MT A style mandolin, for example, retails at $2700 USD. I had on my wishlist a factory-2nd Big Muddy mandolin that had a few surface blemishes on the back of the neck (which lowered the price significantly), but was structurally sound, beautiful to hear, and accessible to play. Edited to add: I got the Big Muddy mandolin on my wishlist.

One of the highlights of that evening was when the man who helped me choose the new love of my life* demonstrated one of his new favorite mandolins. The other mandolins on the wall reverberated in response. I was reminded of what one of my teachers at guitar camp last summer said: the audience is important because every human is a resonator. "You might get a recording that's almost as good as a live performance if you have particularly good acoustics, but there is no comparison to the sound you get with a live audience."

I will wait to post a recording until I become decent enough to listen to. (Ukulele is relatively easy with the "decent enough to listen to"learning curve. Mando is harder!) I'm working on a simple version of an Irish reel called The Musical Priest, and plan to learn Eel in the Sink, too, just so I can say, "Hey, let's play Eel in the Sink" as casually as someone might suggest You Ain't Goin' Nowhere. I dream on....


 *I love all my instruments. Gentle suggestions to let some of them go are met with puzzled frowns until someone politely changes the subject.

Add a Comment

A couple of months ago,  I brought home a friend's electric-acoustic mandolin on long-term loan, cleaned it up, and then brought it to the local music shop to have the bridge lowered and the strings restrung. Not long after, my friend Dymphna said, "I must admit, I feel like you've got a new boyfriend who seems nice, but I just don't get."

"What's not to get?" I asked. "I know it's difficult, I know that some of my chords sound like cows in pain, but listen to this pretty D chord!" I played it. She shook her head.

"As a violin player, I feel like it's missing a bow."

I replied, "The mandolin thinks your violin's bow is superfluous."

I started to play ukulele as "cross-training" for guitar. Guitar was my first, best love, but ukulele was cute, accessible, and portable. Songs I composed on the ukulele sounded merry, while songs I composed on guitar sounded like dirges. I've not mastered either instrument and I don't have any unusual musical talents (enthusiasm and desire are my strengths). However, when I started to learn mandolin from the excellent Bruce Emery via his Mandolin From Scratch book, I remembered that, in addition to guitar, mandolin was an instrument my teenage self wanted to learn, but thought was out of reach. I am a long way from playing Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore (my favorite song off of their fourth album), but I can play the New Britain version of "Amazing Grace" in G and D without too many gaps between the barred chords. Eventually, if I am diligent and practice regularly, I will get to melody lines. Someday, perhaps, I can work up to affording a relatively low-priced Big Muddy mandolin. 

In the meantime, I've got the "Octo-Lin," as I've nicknamed this Fender instrument. I bought a gig-bag and ironed on an octopus patch (Eight legs, eight strings!). Bede's banjo playing has progressed, and he is not used to being more skilled on an instrument than me, so now he gets to practice slowing waaaay down for me. We've been working on Jesse James and Gordon Bok's Dillan Bay, and are trying to make White Stripes' Hotel Yorba work, too. Others have already done it, as YouTube videos reveal.

I will end with a little octopus song I made up for a friend who would prefer spiders stay far away from her, and who wishes the children's song about an intrepid wee arachnid were less ubiquitous:

The teeny tiny octopus climbed up the sailboat mast
Down came the storm, but the octopus held fast.
Out came the sun and dried the ocean spray
Then, the teeny tiny octopus jumped down and swam away.

Sometimes, a cephalopod craves adventure.

Add a Comment

At a recent weekly jam night with friends, I brought the four chord I Love the Mountains song with all the verses as sung by Houaida Goulli. It's got the same chord progression as the ubiquitous two part-piano favorite "Heart and Soul" by Hoagy Carmichael, and is good practice for chord changes. With guitars and banjo, we played it with the C/Am/Dm/G chord progression, but G/Em/Am/D works fine too.

Someone brought up the Discovery Channel's "I Love the Whole World" song to the same tune. Of course, I've had to play it a number of times since then. My favorite couplet: I love tornados, I love arach-anids, I love hot magma, I love the giant squids.... 

It's quite possible that these lyrics were inspiration for a song I'm working on with my friend Dymphna, called "All the Baby Creatures Need Love." We were kvelling over baby animals that don't traditionally show up on calendars. I mentioned baby squids. She nixed baby squid as looking like "jellied lucifers." That does it, I said, I'm writing a song with baby squid (called larvae, I found out) as well as many of the other baby animals that need care and attention. I acknowledge the faint possibility of anthropomorphization, but hey,there is a precedent.

The lyrics are basically done, and Dymphna is working on the music. A few insects were deliberately excluded, such as lice and mosquitoes (clearly, I've got a ways to go), but Crocodylia, Cephalopoda, and armored/spiked mammals are well represented.

Add a Comment

I have been having a great time at weekly music jam and board gaming sessions hosted by a good friend of mine. We started out playing ukuleles together, but now, she has the itch to play guitar, and is loving her lessons. (Her eight year old daughter recently brought out her own pink uke and asked, somewhat wistfully, "When will we play ukuleles again?") Meanwhile, Bede revealed at the New Year's music camp we all attended that he'd always wanted to play banjo. After getting a couple of demonstrations from some clawhammer-style banjo players at camp, Bede rented a 5-string banjo, and has been plucking out "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Jesse James." He sounds good, and I suspect that his four months of playing ukulele was key to awakening his inner musician.

Tidbit 1:
Eric Herman has his first new video in three years! The song is How Big, and has a lovely outro that makes me a little sniffly. Lucia and I helped with that outro, which was fun to do. We did not travel to Eric's recording studio, but made as clean a recording as we could with our video camera.

Tidbit 2:
A friend of mine was intrigued by a writing journal called Just Between Us: A No-Stress, No-Rules Journal for Girls and Their Moms, and posted a link on Facebook. Lucia and I were both interested in trying it out, and so I ordered a copy. Since we started writing in it, we have learned things about each other and seem to have developed new listening skills with each other. When we write out something out that has been on our mind, the clutter of the obligations of the day (homework, tidying up, etc.) momentarily ceases. We still have our parent-daughter pulls-and-tugs, but we're talking and listening to each other, and are enjoying each other's company. I hope we can continue this kind of communication through the teen years. We Shall See.

Tidbit 3:
I have a but few dolls in the shop as of late, but they are all new for 2014 (though the salamander doll was previously a Halloween-themed witch). I decided to start with smaller dolls like the heart cradle babies for Valentine's Day. Speaking of Valentine's Day, my weekly music jam friend and I are working on co-hosting a "Take Back Valentine's Day" party. Really, it's just going to be our weekly music and board game gathering, but we're planning to pin felt hearts on our sleeves and openly declare that we are celebrating platonic friendship.

Heart Babies

Add a Comment

For those of you who have a copy of The Daily Ukulele, and wish the book had a list of the two and three chord songs, I have compiled such a list for you. Please let me know if you find any errors.

Add a Comment

Many thanks to all of you who shared your December holiday memories on this blog for the recent giveaway called A Simple Gift. I entered all of your names (including one who emailed me off-blog because Blogger Ate Her Comment) in a hat, and chose two people to receive the little cradle babies I made. I wish I could send a cradle baby to all of you. I do plan to make more cradle babies in the future, and perhaps feature them as Christmas tree ornaments for 2014.

The first recipient is Patty in Texas, who wrote,
A wonderful give away and I would give it to my eldest daughter who is expecting her first baby. What a sweet memory it would hold for her for years and years. My sweetest memory of Christmas has been each and every Christmas of my 59 years. Each year there has been a memory to treasure. The joy and love of family is a treasure, especially as we gather together at Christmas. 

The second recipient is SadieBess in Colorado, who wrote,
This is just lovely, as are all of your dolls! I would give it to my 5 year old daughter. She has one of your little purple angels that guards her closet door at night and helps her have sweet dreams. It's hard to single out one holiday memory, but what stands out most to me is coming home from midnight mass and goofing around with my siblings until we finally got sleepy enough to go to bed. Everyone was together, and feeling lighthearted. It isn't one particular toy or other gift that I remember, but being together and having a good time. As I remember those times, I am inspired to make a vow to turn off my computer on Christmas Eve and leave if off the whole next day so that my daughter gets my undivided attention. 

 Patty and SadieBess, I hope your daughters enjoy their presents!

Add a Comment

I didn't think I would have time to do any giveaways this season. But then, I made a little baby in a cradle for my daughter in anticipation of St. Nicholas' Day (this Friday, December 6), and decided that I would somehow make the time. This season, the presents I give will, as much as possible, be hand-crafted or composed by me. Chances are, I will sew a lot of these gifts, but I may come up with little songs, bake savory treats, or find something else that may be humble in terms of monetary cost, but convey love and thought.

With that in mind, I am hosting a small giveaway here on my quiet blog. I will make for you or your gift recipient a little cradle baby in the same vein as the one I made for my daughter.The color choices will be up to me, and will be a surprise for you. In the comments section, please leave a message letting me know for whom the cradle baby will be (an aunt, a nephew, yourself). For added interest, please share a December holiday memory that holds some significance for you. Your comment should either be linked to a profile that has a valid email address, or email me off-blog with your email contact information. (My email: saintsandspinners AT gmail DOT com)

The giveway runs from now until midnight (PST) of Friday, December 6. I will choose two recipients at random and contact you to find out your snail mail addresses. This will need to be quick in terms of turnaround time-- if I don't hear from you by Monday, December 9 (10am PST), I will choose another recipient.

This giveway is open to residents of Earth (sorry, Mars colonists!). If you are a recipient who lives outside of the USA, please know that I have to disclose the full value of the doll, and that there may be customs charges which will be your responsibility.

Updated: I realized I should have shared a December holiday, memory, too. I am going to cheat a little and refer you to a blog post from 2005. Thank you much for sharing your memories. I won't comment as I usually do, but I can tell you that it is truly lovely to read them. Just so you know, if you have a memory that is harrowing or sobering, that's okay to share too!

Add a Comment

I rediscovered the music of the Waterboys (i.e. Mike Scott and whomever Mike Scott wants to perform with) at a time when I needed their music. I had the Fisherman's Blues album, and in September, learned the chords and lyrics to some of the songs (the title track, And a Bang on the Ear, When Ye Go Away).

When I wondered, "What has Mike Scott been up to lately?" I found that Scott had released a whole album of W.B. Yeats' poems set to music, called An Appointment With Mr. Yeats. I bought the album, but took awhile to get through it, as I would stop a track to learn the chords of a song that gripped me at a particular time. I've spent quite a bit of time on the bluesy Lake Isle of Innisfree.

Last Friday, a friend of mine and I went to see the Waterboys in concert at the Neptune Theatre. (The Seattle Times review is here. I think I must have been standing quite near the photographer, as I was standing in the third row near fiddler Steve Wickham, a.k.a. "The Fellow Who Fiddles.") The band opened with Strange Boat off of the Fisherman's Blues album. It's a relatively simple song in terms of chord progression, with lyrics that touch upon the spiritual without being religious. When I decided that I wanted to learn the song, potentially to share at a music jam, I was surprised to find on the internet how painfully wrong the chords on different websites seemed to be.

 I write the following knowing that there is a chance someone better-versed in music theory will arrive to say, "Actually, you're dead wrong on this." And you know what? That's fine. I'd rather have corrected chords than keep erroneous information. I listened to live performances, as well as watched carefully Mike Scott's hand positions on the fretboard, but still... let me know if you find something different from what I'm posting.

I'm sharing these chords for whomever comes looking for them. Welcome, kind strangers! The song is originally played in the key of A, and the first two verses have a simple I,IV,V chord progression (in this case, A, D, E). The bridge ("We're riding in a strange car/We're following a strange star...") brings in a partially-barred F# minor in lieu of an A. Scott then plays a B6, which is in the same fret neighborhood as the F# minor. I've got a virtual guitar chord-book linked on the right side of my blog, but you can go directly to that site right here.

Click on the jpeg graphic to enlarge it.

Add a Comment

This is the between-time of seasons. The summer farmer's markets end and the autumn rains begin. My daughter is in public school now, as our homeschool adventure was a short but enriching experience that was never meant to be more than a necessary stop-gap. I've had to let go of some friends who were dear to me, but I've also made new friends with whom I will travel as far as we are willing to go. There is heartbreak and beauty, painful growth and glorious song.

After many months of simply floating along, my Alkelda Dolls shop finally has offerings in the double-digits.In addition to listing some old favorites with new variations (Rainbow Queen, Lydia Purpuraria, Grey Knight), I have the red leaf, yellow leaf, and milkweed pod babies to share with you. One of my early childhood memories is of my mother breaking open a milkweed pod in late summer to show me the silky seeds inside. She often showed me things in the natural world that seemed wondrous. (And really, they were.)

Yellow Leaf, Milkweed Pod, Red Leaf Babies

I am attempting to bring some focus to the new wealth of music I've been exposed to this last month. I continue to work on improving my guitar skills as well as finding lovely melodies on the ukulele. I find that, when I play the uke, it is impossible for me to settle into a melancholy mood. The documentary The Mighty Uke is a delightful introduction to the history and resurgence of this instrument. While I wish I had indeed brought my ukulele to guitar camp, I am glad that my uncle got to be my first teacher.

Today, I am playing on the ukulele Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys. Here are the chords to the song: G, F, A minor, C. Repeat!

Display Comments Add a Comment

Happy summer! I had the honor and privilege of attending the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop a few weeks ago, and found rejuvenation and inspiration among the Douglas firs, amid which one could hear strains of strings and joyful voices during almost all day and evening hours. In addition to taking classes from the talented, humorous, and all-around Good People Joe Miller and Cara Luft, I was inspired by ukulele musician James Hill (from whom I did not take a class, nor did I participate in one of his jam circles) to pick up the much-neglected Flea my mom got for the family years ago when Dan Zanes recommended it to help jumpstart the ukulele revolution.

This is a B7 chord.

This past weekend, I visited my aunt and uncle on Orcas Island, where there were a couple of ukes and guitars hanging out. My uncle brought up how great the uke was, and said, "You cross-train on days when you don't run, right? The uke is cross-training for your guitar, and you will learn things you don't learn on the guitar." I was convinced! We practiced for a couple of days and performed for the family "Wade in the Water," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Tiny Bubbles," and the Beatles' "I Feel Fine." (My uncle to the family: "Tight harmonies on the singing." Me to the family: "And if you can't do tight harmonies, sing with exuberance.")

I picked up a copy of the ukulele songbook my uncle had, called The Daily Ukulele.  This morning, I practiced the chords for The Sunny Side of the Street, a melody I've played for years as my joyful, get-up-and-go theme song. Out in the street, I could not help but sing it and dance-skip. My daughter called out, "Everybody, this is not my mother."

I'm an embarrassing parent who dances and sings in public. I couldn't be more proud. It's not about my daughter's mortification. It's about my liberty from the "sobriety of my youth."

Display Comments Add a Comment

This is a time where my tactile creative projects have stilled. In terms of the doll-shop, I have some custom orders in the works, but the time in which I sit down at the desk to sew is scattered. I currently have a completed Goth Queen, but the pattern pieces for a Snow-White inspired doll are waiting for me to bring them together. I enjoyed making a fireworks doll a few years ago, and want to make another one, as that doll sold quickly before most people had time to see her in the shop.

Therefore, I am gratified and honored that Jama Rattigan of Jama's Alphabet Soup featured my shop in her Indie Artist Spotlight series. Those of you who know Jama personally or through her blog are aware of how vibrant and passionate she is about books, food, textiles, films, authors, illustrators, and bloggers. I hope to meet her in person someday, and make both sweet and savory æbleskiver/ebelskiver, as promised.

In the meantime, here is the post:
Indie Artist Spotlight: Farida Dowler of Alkelda Dolls

Who knows what's in the bag?

Display Comments Add a Comment

Many of my days are spent homeschooling and training for Seattle's Rock and Roll half marathon/21k in June. The schedule will change in a few months, as Bede and I anticipate Lucia attending a new school this September. Part of me will be relieved to have my own thinking time again, but I will also miss the flow of the days. Bede and I know now that homeschooling can be an option again in the future. We have resources, and the unknown is a little less mysterious in that regard.

I found this partial blog post in draft form, written at the end of March.

Last Sunday, I ran my second 10k race in 60 minutes and 4/10 of a second. I've got a hilly first half marathon scheduled for the end of June, and am casually glancing at the relatively flat See Jane Run event three weeks later. However, I am cautious, not because of the distances, but because of the various injuries that have cropped up over the past year. They are minor but persistent, probably as a result of ambitious over-training. I joined a running training program in January, and am taking part in another one for the half marathon.

One thing I've learned this past year is that, when I train, I need to be patient. A constant, "Step it up! Push it!" approach leads to me injuring myself. Every time I've fallen was a direct result of pushing through fatigued muscles too quickly.

The fall I took two weeks ago was a reminder of my physical limitations. I loathe "You can do anything you want if you just set your mind to it" platitudes. It's one thing to start out with self-defeating "I can't do it" attitudes, and another to recognize that we all begin at different places, with different bodies and innate abilities. I appreciate my current fitness levels, and want to continue to improve to the best of my abilities. (But actually, I do want more.)

Not long after I wrote those paragraphs, I had a rough speed workout in which I was in so much pain that I probably should have taken a rest day instead of showing up for practice. My pace group mentor waited for me after everyone else in the pace group had headed back, and said encouraging things to assure me that we were all here to have fun and that speed didn't matter. Nonetheless, I worried.

Fortunately, a couple of days of self-care (foam-rolling, TriggerPoint Therapy, ice, ibuproferin, and AC/DC) were enough to bring me back to hope and strength. I have given myself permission to take naps when I can fit them in, rather than trying to squeeze in one more task.

Roz of Run Sister Run has a post that resonated with me: May you be accepting. It's a hard lesson, one which I have to learn again... and again.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Bede and I are homeschooling Lucia for a semester and into the summer. There is a good chance she will enter a local public school next autumn. For now, we are all taking this opportunity to focus on academics, life skills, and arts for which we previously didn't have time. Her style of note-taking thus far incorporates sketches with definitions and phrases jotted down.

 Here is Lucia's sketch for "Gravity is the force of attraction between any two objects that have mass." Click on the photo in order to enlarge it.

Display Comments Add a Comment

My daughter's focus on all things Harry Potter and LEGO has not shifted so much as it has encompassed a new interest: The White Stripes. Tonight, she paid Jack and Meg White a high compliment by creating their likenesses in LEGO. Here they are, merrily playing "The Hardest Button to Button," when Voldemort comes along to try to spoil everyone's fun:

White Stripes vs Voldemort

Of course, even the dire machinations of He Who Must Not Be Named cannot thwart power guitar chords and ear-splitting solos:

Voldemort defeated by rock 'n' roll

By the way, my daughter has not read all of the books in the Harry Potter series. She says she hopes that Voldemort will not die, but will just turn good. Once, I heard my daughter playing with her LEGOs, where she had Voldemort say, "I'm not evil anymore, but I am still a bit mischievous."

Display Comments Add a Comment

Thanks to Bede, I have been able to arrive on time (yea, early) both to yesterday's and today's storytelling gigs. Seattle's "cold spell" would make parts of the country scoff at us for our relatively mild weather, but we don't plug in our cars to warm them up, nor do many of us have garages. Each morning, Bede has helped me scrape the windows and open the necessary when the locks were frozen. This morning, he showed me the effects of the water that had leaked into our trunk:

Fortunately, we didn't need our spare tire today.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Today, I share with you the Bunny in a Bowl video. All you will see is a sound-free clip of a bunny sitting in its bowl and eating its food. I am reminded of the miniature black rabbit my mom brought home when I was eight. I named him Shadrach, after the book of the same title by Miendert DeJong, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

After Shadrach came the teddy bear hamster Meshach, and the mouse Abednego (whom I picked out along with a mouse we named John). We had thought Abednego was male, but then Johnson and Hester came along. We separated the boys and the girls, but once again, we were wrong. Abednego had several litters of babies. Some of the babies went to the pet shop, but others escaped. When we moved from that house, I'm sure the renters after us were amused.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Lucia gave me permission to share her letter and picture that she made and wrote for the LEGO company. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books (1-3 thus far) and LEGO sets have been her twin passions for the past several months, and she was thrilled beyond measure when her grandfather gave her the last twenty dollars she needed to purchase the Hogwarts LEGO castle set for which she'd been saving. Even though Lucia has not yet read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she has been fixated upon the bright pink Dolores Umbridge mini-figure. The mini-figure is rare, and the House of Glee has deemed that the asking prices from the various online marketplaces are unreasonable.

Today, Bede suggested that Lucia write a letter to the LEGO company to request a reissue of the figure. At least, then, Lucia will have done something besides repeatedly bemoan the preposterous asking price for the mini-figure. (Bede and I wish that LEGO would say, "Hey, that's a great idea!" and the marketplace merchants will suddenly find that they have a lot of extra, hard-to-sell pink plastic on hand. Wishing is free, after all. )

Here is the letter that Lucia wrote to accompany the picture:

Dear LEGO group, 
I like Dolores Umbridge's minifigure. I wish you could reissue her. I also want you to make a new set called Dolores Umbridge's office. I drew it on another piece of paper. I really like the creativity you put into sets. Why is there a snake in Hogwarts 2011 and why is there a rat in the astronomy tower in Hogwarts 2010? Why was there a gold stud in Freeing Dobby? The owl droppings [in the Hogwarts castle] are really funny.

From,
Lucia of the House of Glee

Display Comments Add a Comment

Choir dress hemming season has started, so I'll be busy with that task over the next couple of weeks. I did manage to stitch a few festive December themed dolls before then: two Father Christmas figures (one in "historical" green, one in ultra-modern red), plus King Winter and a Snow Queen/Snow Child set. Nushkie Design needle-felted the little Christmas tree for me.

Today is the first time in a long, long while in which I've taken a sick day. It just so happens to coincide with my "rest" day (that is, the day after a long run in which I'm supposed to let my muscles recover). I am hoping that I will rally in time for the practice Girls on the Run 5k tomorrow, for which I'm a volunteer Running Buddy, and a storytelling gig on Friday. For some reason, I always seem to struggle with a cold right before a storytelling gig. I've had to sing in the lower register for the past three months.

**A wee voting rant**

U.S. residents are voting in today's general election. Washington State does absentee voter ballots, so I sent in my choices awhile ago. I was indignant that Bede got a postcard from a PAC in Washington, D.C. chiding him for voting in only two of the last five general elections. Bede became a naturalized U.S. citizen in May 2010, and was only eligible to vote in two of the last five general elections. Why should I be surprised, though? Bede also received a call to jury duty before he became a U.S. citizen, whereas I was called after I'd moved out of the state where I was supposed to report. Clearly, the system needs a little polish.

Display Comments Add a Comment

I was a little older than this when I started reading Dune.

Years ago, my mom asked her children, "What is the point of my having lived through and experienced hard things if you refuse to learn from them?" My mom was/is the sort of person who suffers on behalf of her children, and I've picked up the habit.

My nine-year-old thinks she knows better than me, just as many times, I thought I knew better than my mother. Sometimes my mom was right, and I benefited from her experience.* Other times, I went out of my way to prove that I knew myself better than she knew me. The summer I was eleven, I remember writing home with glee, "Dear Mom, you said that if I couldn't get through The Fellowship of the Ring, I would never get through Dune. Well, you're wrong."

My daughter has noise-canceling headphones to help her deal with over-stimulation at school. She wears them sometimes, but hasn't yet gotten into the habit of wearing them at the times she needs them most. Today, during pick-up I told her this story from my librarian days:

One afternoon, when I was working at the adult reference desk, a man approached me to say that he had tried to send a job inquiry through email, but when he hit "Send," he lost the email. He had had used up his allotted hour of internet time, too. He didn't even ask for help, just stood there and looked at me with shy helplessness. I grabbed a guest code to grant him another hour of computer usage. I said that this was not the usual protocol, but that I wanted him to be able to redo his job inquiry email.

I showed the man the Microsoft Word icon on the desktop of the computer and, "This time, open up a blank Word document, and type out your email there. Then, you can copy and paste it into your email. If your email doesn't send, and you lose that email draft, at least you have the typed-up Word document." I got him set up at the computer, and went to help other patrons.

 At the end of the hour, the man came up to me again. "I tried to send the email again and lost my email," he said.

"Oh, that's frustrating," I said. "Did you type up your email in Word first so that you have a copy?"

"No," he replied.

This interaction happened years ago, and I've forgotten the aftermath. (I suspect the man needed a few hours of computer instruction that was outside the scope of my library shift.) I have always remembered the lesson I learned, though: use the tools I have, and if I know I need help, use the tools others have given me. If I choose not to use the tools others give me, that's my decision, but I need to take responsibility for my choices, regardless.

I learn a lot from my daughter. It's my hope that she learns from me, too. When she makes choices that that goe against her best interests, though, there are times when I need to back off and let her deal with the consequences. 

 *Some adults were wrong so often that, by the time their advice could have mattered, they'd shot their credibility. When those people give me unsolicited advice today, my first reaction is to suspect the opposite is true. It's startling how often that turns out to be the case.

Display Comments Add a Comment

It's almost a month since my last post. I've dealt with some minor overuse injuries, and am trying to learn from them.

 In the meantime, my daughter's started third grade, and I am easing back into the school year storytelling/doll-making schedule. This autumn, instead of trying to get my training done before my daughter goes to school, I take care of the lunch-making duties for everyone while Bede draws at 6 am. (Just so you know, Bede has made breakfast for everyone almost every day for the past 10 years.)

After Bede brings the girl to school, I exercise, run errands, and then settle down to sew or work on stories. I try to get housework done, too. This is the pattern: when I am uninspired, the house is cleaner. When I am in the midst of a project, the dust-bunnies gather, the kitchen floor gets sticky, and people have hastily thrown together meals. I'm trying to work on balance, but so far, have only been able to find it in tree pose. (That's a little arch, but I couldn't resist.)

My newest dolls are two guitarists:



Lefty and righty

In other news, my inspiring friend of the week is The Jogging Clydesdale. You may read his 5k race report here, and his rant about the 5k haters here.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Yesterday, I ran the Lake Union 10k in 62 minutes and 12 seconds. On average, that's 10 minutes and 2 seconds per mile-- not bad for a person who said over a year ago to a friend, "I. Do. Not. Run." The smile you see on my face is the post-run elation of having trained for a challenge with focus and drive. Of course the endorphins came out to celebrate. In the back of my mind, I thought, "This is great! What's next?" Goals keep me going.

Two weeks before the race, I had a minor overuse injury that sidelined me for five days. I walked during that time, but I also rested quite a bit-- more than I had in a long time. When I began to run again, I did "easy" 11 minute miles.

How did an eleven minute mile become easy? In college, I ran 20 times around the gym in fitness class, and it took me 24 minutes-- longer than it would have taken me to walk one mile.

Good shoes helped. Thanks go to Fleet Feet Sports in Seattle for taking the time to fit my wide feet with supportive shoes and inserts. (Minimalist shoes are for other folks!) For years, I struggled through gym classes where every running step sent little shocks up through my feet.

Perseverance helped. I thought that since running appeared to be easy for other people, it mustn't be my sport. I wish I had learned to be an advocate for my own fitness much earlier on. My motto is, "Still not the fastest." What of it? I'm not racing anyone but myself.

When I strained muscles, balm with cayenne-pepper oil helped. Ice-packs helped. Gentle yoga and a foam roller were essential for self-care. I was (and am) grateful for the emotional support of specific family and friends. Bede didn't grumble when my alarm went off 30 minutes before his own, and often, I returned from my training to find a poached egg on toast just about ready for my post-run protein boost.

Yesterday, after I passed the finish line, my daughter ran up to me and said, "Wow, Mommy! You weren't even the slowest runner!" No, I wasn't. I was in the middle of the pack. Someone had to be the slowest runner, though, and I am proud of that 1,058th person. That person showed up, ran 6.2 miles in over two hours, and finished the race.

Display Comments Add a Comment

In which a friend of mine displays a Pimm's Cup of my creation

Greetings! I write this as Seattle experiences one of its heat waves, i.e. temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s. Last week, I made the alcoholic summer fruit cup Pimm's Cups for friends. I first learned of Pimm's Cups through Tanita S. Davis' historical fiction book Mare's War. If not for Tanita, I would still be shaking Ramos Gin Fizzes (and shaking, and shaking....)

 People's preferences for what actually goes into a Pimm's Cup differ greatly, though there is a consensus that one starts with Pimm's No. 1. Some people like the fizzy soda used to be lemon-based, while others prefer a ginger counterpoint. I am a fan of ginger beer.

 I've experimented with a number of different recipes to come up with a concoction that has delighted my summer guests thus far. Please feel free to add, modify, refute, hotly contest, or otherwise enrich the discussion of How To Make a Proper [Fill in the Blank With the Recipe of Your Choice].

 To make one Pimm's Cup as seen in the photo, you will need the following:

 1.5 ounces of Pimms' No. 1
.5 ounces Hendrick's gin (though other gin will work, too)
 2 ounces ginger beer
2 strawberries
1 orange wedge
1 slice of cucumber
borage flowers (optional, for garnish)
1 orange twist for garnish
1 English cucumber circle (for garnish)
ice
salt
mint leaves

Regarding the mint, I meant to use mint for muddling and for garnish, but alas, I forgot to add it. I was showing off by assembling the drink from memory.

 Directions for assembly:

1. Cut a length of orange peel (2-3 inches) and curl it around a bar spoon or something else that will give it the cork-screw curl... or not. If you do, be sure to prepare the garnish over the glass so that the glass catches the All Important Citrus Oils.

 2. Muddle the fruit and cucumber slice (plus 2 leaves of mint, if you are using it) in the glass in which you will serve the drink.

 3. Shake the alcoholic spirits with ice in a shaker until the liquid is cold.

 4. Pour the alcohol through a strainer into the glass with the muddled fruit.

 5. Add 2 ounces of chilled ginger beer, and mix.

 6. Cut a notch in the the cucumber circle, roll the edge in salt of a fine grain, and affix the cucumber to the side of the glass.

7. Add a few optional borage flowers to the mixture as a perky reminder that the drink started out with the beautiful bright blue flower as the garnish of choice before the cucumber showed up. 8. If you remembered the mint, add a perky sprig to the fruit cup. If you can't find Pimm's, here is a link that has a recipe to a Pimm's "cheater." I haven't tried it, but if you do, let me know how you like it.

Display Comments Add a Comment