Seattle Yogini

Comments - Sensitivity

Greetings from the "Money Pit".  This morning's news:  upstairs bathtub drain backs up, small leak in basement pipe continues (both are unrelated to the Kitchen Project).  After a visit from the very nice J, of Fox Plumbing, who explained the eminent need for new pipes upstairs (they're currently stainless steel, which does not age well) AND downstairs (previous residents installed copper for the washing machine set-up, which is good, but the installer didn't wipe the flux [an acidic compound] off of the joins, which is BAD).  Upstairs will wait, downstairs will not - seeing as the leak we have right now is downstairs.  Sigh.

On to comments.  Thank you so much to those of you who comment on my postings.  A couple of recent comments inspired more writing from me, so I thought I'd include the whole thing in a post, one comment at a time.  Here goes...

Becky commented on "A Simplet Thanks" (April 24) and I wanted to expand on a couple of her points:

1) She noted that she has been called "oversensitive" to violence on T.V.  I notice that people who have not cultivated sensitivity often downplay or even disregard its importance, considering it a weakness.  In our culture, we are inundated with stimuli on all levels, and in a play to remain sane, many people disengage from their senses, rather than disengaging from the stimuli (which, admittedly, is hard to escape).  This leads to desentitization, which essentially means that one cannot perceive a certain stimulus.

As a long-time yoga practitioner, I have nurtured my sensitivity, and am very perceptive to people's "energy"; I easily pick up on personality traits, moods, quirks and other intimate information that people may not intend to broadcast.  This is very helpful in my work, and in my life, as my antennae are very well-tuned and the information I gather helps me stay away from trouble.  That being said, because I pick up on more information than the average person, I owe it to myself to filter a lot of it.  Just because I can read someone easily, doesn't mean that I should do so at every opportunity.  It just gets to be too much.  I don't necessarily want to know a lot about someone I just met, so I have developed tools that help me disregard the information that is not pertinent, without having to turn off my antennae, so to speak.  This sensitivy, however, is not a weakness, but a strength!  It is a tool that helps me navigate the modern world, and by nurturing it and developing it further, it has become a very valuable asset.

Now, if I were taking on the weight of the world, with all of its violence, etc., and feeling it as my own, this would be a problem.  This is where sensitivity becomes sympathy, which means to feel another's feelings as if they were your own.  Sympathy to the point of actually feeling another's pain is not productive, and it can create confusion regarding which feelings belong to whom.  In yoga, much of our work [toward enlightenment] centers around the study of ourselves.  This practice, called svadhyaya, teaches us who and what we are, where our weakneses and strengths lie, and ultimately the direction of our lives.  As we become more tuned-in to our own inner workings, we become more sensitive to the goings on around us.  In my experience, sensitivity is healthy if it helps you on your path, whether it's a path of political activisim, motherhood, healing professions, or poetry.  If, however, you find that you are sensitive to the point where you can't function in the world without feeling everybody else's "yuck", then it's time to develop some protective and proactive tools.

2) Becky also observed that the bar of acceptable levels of violence on T.V. has changed.  I wholeheartedly agree.  There was an interesting talk on KUOW's "The Conversation" about this on Tuesday.  For some, television violence is a great example of the chicken and the egg dilemma:  have we become overly complacent with our standards and T.V. is reflecting that OR have we become desensitized to violence because of what we watch on T.V.?  To me, the more pertinent question is, why would you want to watch violence?  Why do people get excited about it?  Why is violent content considered "entertainment"?  Many people express concern over children's exposure to violence, but I would argue that it is just as important that adults limit their exposure to violent media.  After all, it is adults who commit most violent crimes, not children.

Violence is damaging to all of us, it dehumanizes the victim and is a blatant expression of our most basic (primal, "animal") behaviors.  Whether it is a fictitious depiction or news coverage of real-life events, the more we see it, the more we consider it commonplace and therefore unavoidable.  This attitude leads to the more dangerous perspective that "there's nothing I can do about it anyway..."  And that, dear readers, is the crux of the issue:  if people (in this case the television watching public) think that X, Y, or Z problem is "unavoidable and that there's nothing they can do about it anyway so why bother"...then they become complacent.  When the general public is complacent, it does not stand up for justice, truth, human rights, or anything else that's actually worth protecting.  Instead, the public become more and more desensitized, watching more and more horrific things on T.V. in order to just feel something.

This week is "T.V. Turn-off Week".  Even if you're starting late, I urge you to try a media-free week.  See how you (and your kids, if you have them) feel, behave, play and rest when there's no television watching going on at home.  Notice how quiet your home is, and how much time is freed up.  Let go of the need to stay caught up on your favorite show, and get caught up on your life.  Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!

Tomorrow:  response to Jen's comment on the "Detail Oriented" posting.
Saturday:  I got tagged!  The Duchess of Yarnnation counted Seattle Yogini as one of the five blogs she reads that makes her think!  I am honored, your highness.  :-)  I'll fulfill my "I'm it" duties this weekend.  Stay tuned...

A Simple Thanks

We rented two movies on Friday, one of which we watched last night.  The film is entitled "Children of Men", and came very highly recommended.  The premise was interesting, but it was terribly violent - to the point that on two occasions your's truly had to cover her eyes.  We watched it all the way through (more out of sheer stubborness than anything else), then had to sit quietly for an hour and a half before either one of us could go to bed.

Ever since we unplugged from cable TV four or five years ago, Rob and I have gradually but steadily become re-sensitized to violence.  I say "re" sensitized because it is my belief that most modern Americans are very desensitized to violence.  Getting back to a state (physical, emotoinal, psychological, etc.) in which there is an actual uncomfortable response to violent stimulus is a very interesting process, and one that should not be undertaken lightly.  Violence is almost everywhere in our culture, at least if you watch or listen to movies, TV, videos or nightly news coverage.  It can be hard to avoid exposure to it.  Just think of how many restaurants/pubs have televisions in every corner, or how often CNN or FOX news is on at the airport, various waiting rooms, or elsewhere.

The point of avoiding violent shows is not to pretend that violence does not exist, but rather to reconnect with the ability to have an actual reaction to violence (something more heartfelt than "wow, that had to hurt").  Rob and I have definitely reached that point, which makes it pretty difficult for us to rent movies these days.  So, we should have known that this movie would be uncomfortable for us to watch, but we hoped that there would be some kind of positive message at the end - something that would make us think or perhaps urge us into action.  Unfortunately, that invovled watching through to the end (only to be disappointed, I might add).  Again, it was an interesting movie, but when I chose to keep watching - just to satisfy my curiosity about the ending - even after it was clear the whole move would have disturbing imagery,..I chose poorly.

I should clarify here that I enjoy science-fiction, historical fiction and martial arts movies, all of which often portray violent people and circumstances.  The difference, for me at least, is that the movies I watch from those genres generally do not tell realistic stories set in modern (or recent past/near future) times, and the violence is not graphic.  The plots don't seem grabbed from the headlines, so it's much easier to separate reality from fiction.  In "Children of Men", even though it's set twnety years from now, much of the setting looked like current footage out of Baghdad.

We decided to disconnect our cable shortly after returning from our respective stints in the war (Rob in Turkey, me in Saudi Arabia).  We were still in the Air Force, with just under a year of service commitment left.  We'd both served during the air campaign, which involves "breaking things and killing people", as the drill sergeants consistently reminded us during training.  We saw lots of awful stuff - different than what more recently retuned veterans have seen, but awful just the same.  Once home, we were so sick of the awfulness, and sick of seeing it played over and over again on TV, that we decided enough was enough!

This brings me to the point of this posting:  I returned the videos this morning, and the gal who recommended it was working.  She asked what we thought.  I told her that while I thought the story was interesting, it was very violent, much too violent for our tastes.  We chatted a bit about the plot, etc., and about future recommendations.  I told her that we don't have TV, we don't even watch the news, "after coming back from the war, we just couldn't take anymore".  She said "You were in the war?  I didn't know that" and then she looked at me very earnestly and said "Thanks.  And thanks for coming back."  I, teary-eyed, said "You're welcome.  We're glad to be here."

As a veteran who has worked hard to re-assimilate into regular, work-a-day civilian life, my months in the desert no longer come to mind with great frequency.  I have dealt with - and accept that it may be a lifelong "dealing with" - grief, anguish, outrage, feelings of betrayal, depression, sleeplessness and more - resulting from what constitutes a really very short period of my life.  I did not support the war, and I do not support the occupation, (but of course the situation is much more complex than "support/don't support" implies).  I cannot tell you how very much a simple thanks means.  It expresses kind gratitude, without forcing me to re-hash things I'd rather forget (such as "You were in the war?  Wow.  How was that?"  does).  Her simple, heartfelt thanks, devoid of personal curiosity or political innuendo, was an example of the simplest and most touching gift this veteran can receive.  Boy, am I glad to be here!

A Little Clarification and a Whole Lotta Yarn

Remember this photo from a couple of weeks ago?
Well, a few people have (gently) inquired as to the nature of the colorful object in the upper left corner.  Guesses tended toward undergarments, which I found amusing.  I will knit many things, and love to try new techniques, yarns, etc. but I cannot imagine any circumstances which would motivate me to knit myself a bikini bottom or a thong.  No, dear readers, that scrap of lovely color was the beginning of my Clapotis, which now (one skein in) looks like this:

Yay!  The yarn is a dream to work with, and it's a great "feel good" knit - in more ways than one.

Today I went yarn shopping.  As a general rule I do not enjoy shopping, but yarn shopping represents much, much more than capitalism and the acquisition of goods.  Each ball of yarn is the seed of a project and the fertilizer, if you will, of my own creativity.  Yarn has the potential to become something much, much bigger than itself.  Held together by its relationship to itself and its neighbors, it will clothe (yarn for sweater? check), warm (yarn for hat? check), clean (yarn for washcloth? check) and welcome (yarn for baby gifts? check) someone...maybe even me!

If you don't already know, The Fiber Gallery is having its third anniversary sale all weekend.  The clearance section was mighty, and included some great bamboo, Cascade 220 Superwash, and much, MUCH more (I think it was all 60% off).  Then, most (if not all) other yarns in the store were 20% off!

I like to plan and organize things, so most of my knitting books look like this:
The idea is that when there's a big sale at one my local yarn stores, I can turn to a book, look for a tabbed page, and quickly discern whether it's a project I want to buy the yarn for this time around.  That was what I did today, toting Amy Singer's No Sheep for You around with me.  It is well tabbed, let me tell ya!  She uses a lot of silks, which can really bust the yarn budget, so I figured this sale would be a good opportunity to stock up for a couple of the sweater projects.  In one case I decided on a clearanced bamboo yarn instead of one of the 100% silks called for, and I'll share those details once the project gets going.  For now, I need to Ziploc the new yarn along with a notecard so that I know which project each group of yarn is for, and stash them away till I'm ready to start something new.

I also had a 20% coupon for Hilltop Yarn which is only good this weekend, so Rob and I went on a Queen Anne outing.  We got some lunch, did a couple of other errands, and went to arguably my favorite yarn store in the city.  I enjoy everything about this store:  the ladies who work there, the fact that it's an old house and they've kept the kitchen cupboards and built-in bookshelves for yarn storage, the fun location and, well, the yarn is beyond lovely.  Sure, it's a bit more "high-end" when it comes to what they stock (which means it's "spendy" in Seattle terminology), but there are some projects for which high-end is my-end, so Hilltop's where I go.

While there, Rob brought up his desire for a hand-made sweater.  Ever since I finished Barney, he's been interested in a man's version for himself.  So, while I chose colors of Rowan Summer Tweed for a cardigan (yep, from Amy's book, only I chose different colors), I sent him on a treasure hunt for sweater yarn.  He went up to one of the Hilltop Ladies and said "I want some manly yarn".  She, being a patient and kind woman, said "well, let's see what we can find for you", and off they went.  This is another reason why I love Hilltop!  He found yarn he likes:  Rowan CashSoft, which we've used for a hat so we know it isn't itchy for him.  Then it was time to figure out how (very) much yarn we would need.  My husband has (he estimates) a 44" chest.  That, according to the fold-out cheat sheet thingie, will require approximately 1600 yards of yarn (at the gauge we were figuring).  Our goal is to have a sweater for him by fall.  I may need your support to get me through that much stockinette stitch...

For now, I'll swatch, read EZ's Knitting Without Tears and take some more measurements of Rob so that we can order enough yarn to cover his big, manly shoulders (he's the one on the right).

After a Tragedy...

I have felt the need to write something about the tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings earlier this week.  It should be known that as a general rule I no longer read the news.  We don't have TV so I don't watch the news, either.  Having had a job that required me to be "up" on world events in the most stressful way (when I was in the Air Force), one of my big changes since becoming a civilian was to relieve myself of that duty, so to speak.

That being said, I have heard quite a bit about the developing story on NPR throughout the week.  Numbers, names, disturbing histories.  Experts weighing in on whether someone could/should have intervened with this clearly troubled young man.  International papers making a big to-do about him being South Korean (though from what I understand he'd lived in the U.S. for more years than he lived in S. Korea).  Rise in racist remarks on campus, etc., etc.

As a yoga practitioner I look at world events as great big mirrors, offering me a look at parts of myself (and my society) that I may not have previously acknowledged.  On a day-to-day scale, this means that when I have, for example, a frustrated reaction to someone, I stop and feel it out, asking myself what it is about that person that frustrates me, and where is that same thing in myself?  Perhaps it's that the person doesn't seem like she's actually paying attention to what I'm saying.  Then I have to take a good, hard look at myself and honestly see if I am a good listener, or not.  If the answer is no, not always, then the person who frustrated me has just given me a wonderful lesson, and one that I can use to create change in my life - choosing, in this example, to become a better listener.

When I first learned of the shootings, I had to really dig deep to grasp what (for me, at least) this incident is revealing on a deeper level.  These things are rarely obvious, so it was fairly simple to rule out sociopathology or murderous tendencies.  After hearing a snippet from the shooter's video-taped diatribe, in which he blamed his actions on everyone else, saying that they had had many opportunities "to avoid this", I concluded that his steadfast insistence that he was not responsible (for the actions he'd already planned to take) was the answer.  This young man, troubled though he was, created a very tragic demonstration of the "It's not my fault, it's yours" phenomenon.  Remember, I am looking at this from a yogic perspective, not as a mental health professional or a sociologist.  Of course, it appears that he was mentally ill, and that could have - quite literally - prevented him from connecting his actions with responsibility, but that's for someone else to explore.

I wrote a little bit about phenomenon this in the chain of samskaras postings.  The "parker" incident was a small-scale demonstration of this particular struggle, but had the potential to mess up someone's afternoon, none the less.  On a large scale, this attitude destroys many lives.

So, what if we were each to sit down and take a good, hard look into ourselves and ask "What is this showing me?  Is there a part of me that refuses to accept responsibility for my actions?  What effect is that having on my relationships, circumstances and happiness?"  It isn't a comfortable exercise, but I believe it is necessary if we are to grow into more enlightened, self-realized people.  Honestly answering the hard questions, and making the necessary changes (personally AND culturally) is, as far as I can see, the only way to pull ourselves out of this muck we've created.

I'm Still Standin'

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

So...this week has been much more discombobulating than I imagined.  Work, family, health, knitting, everything but my house is fine and dandy.  The kitchen demo has gone quickly (they're done!), which is good because that means that they'll actually be able to do the new wiring and plumbing next week, as scheduled.

I can see that this project is offering me an opportunity to put my practice where my mouth is, as it were.  I mean, let's be real - it's one thing to be peaceful, serene, and patient when things are going smoothly.  Generally speaking, my life is very smooth.  I have made a lot of intentional changes to create more space, serenity, and comfort in my life over the last few years.  It's important - now more than ever - to put the lessons I have learned to use in order to smooth out the rough edges over the next couple of months.

With arguably the most important room in my home completely gutted, I'm a bit discombobulated.  Nothing in our living area remains in an orderly fashion:  the fridge is parked in the living room, along with the toaster oven and its cart.  The dishwasher is parked behind the sofa, until we can find someone willing to cart away a low-efficiency, rollie washer.   We're washing dishes in the bathroom, and trying to keep ourselves fed on more than PB&J.  Anything related to food (ours or the dog's) takes at least fifteen more minutes than usual, so we're adjusting the schedule a bit.  We plan on eating out quite a bit, but that can cause digestive discomfort if we do it too often (we LOVE to eat, it's just that restaurant food is often a bit rich for us).

While I work out the technicalities of this (albeit temporary) adjustment to my life, some things have been moved to the virtual back burner.  For you regular readers, know that the most reliable days for new postings will now be Thursday through Sunday, and hopefully Monday.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be touch and go.  My busy days, work-wise, are Monday through Thursday.  With the above mentioned schedule adjustments, and if this week is any indication, I won't be writing during the middle of the week. 

I'm excited to have received some great comments in the last two weeks, but I have yet to respond.  I haven't forgotten, I just haven't gotten to it yet.  Hopefully this weekend...

Which brings me to this important announcement:  The Fiber Gallery is having its third anniversary sale on Saturday and Sunday.  If you live in the Seattle area and love fiber, go check it out!

Great Googley Moogley!

Here's my kitchen as of Day 2 of Kitchen Project...

I'll post tomorrow about non-kitchen things.

Barney + Me = BFF

Yes, the equation in the title does, in fact, mean that Barney is [finally] completed!  Behold:

This is my Success! pose.  I look forward to putting this sweater to good use.  By Seattle standards, it'll be a bit dressy if properly paired.  On the other hand, it feels really good with my old, soft corduroys.  :-)

Full length view...I blocked the sleeves a bit too long, but I like the extra coverage for my wrists.  When it needs washing again, I may shorten them up a bit.  Usually I don't like sweaters that come down to my mid-pelvis, but in this case Barney has a couple of things going for it:
    1) Its hourglass shape means that it goes in where I do, which is flattering
    2) The yarn is light (but warm!), so it isn't bulky and
    3) the portrait neckline and raglan shaping create more visual width and interest at the top than the hem does at the bottom, so it draws the eye upward

Here's me asking myself if I'd do it again...the answer is yes, but with a few changes!

Project Specs:
Pattern:  Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn:  Noro Cash Iroha - I don't remember how many balls
Investment:  I started this on retreat in Hawaii (early February), and just finished it last week (so, early April).  Barney and I took quite a few "breaks", because I started to dream in purple...
Mods:  Since I am petite, and have an [apparently] odd ribcage-to-bust ratio, I combined aspects of the medium (width) with the small (length).  This created some exciting moments in math, as I figured out sleeve decreases, etc.  I wasn't crazy about the very wide portrait neckline (though generally portrait lines are my favorite), but when I added a couple more rows, it looked weird.  Just...off somehow.  So I ripped back and stuck with the pattern.
Comments:  I really liked the finishing and was surprised by how quickly the hem-sewing went.  I don't enjoy sewing seams, so the raglan shaping was great.  I was a bit concerned about going from the bottom up, but was able to get a good sense of the sizing by trying it on just before the sleeves went on (at least I knew that point should be at my armpits).
Next time:  If I do it again, I may just go with the size small.  I'm not sure how much ease there is, which is why I chose to work the medium width.  I'd probably make the sleeves a little shorter and the neck a little higher in the back, and generally narrower (just a bit, though).  I'd like to be able to wear a little t-shirt underneath, without it sticking out oddly at the neckline.  I may just have to go shopping (gasp!  oh, the horror!) for a shirt with a VERY wide neckline.

Since When?

Lately I've been toting Anouk around town with me.  It's an easy knit (once I figured out the...eccentricities, if you will, of the writing), and relatively small, so it travels well.  Plus, having recently seen more photos of the baby whose wee body it will soon cover, I've finally committed to finishing it soon.  I'm going with a color scheme comparable to that in the knitty photo, though the brand of yarn I'm using is different.  We'll cover those details when I finish and post photos.  In the meantime, here's the front, and below is a close-up of my even stitches.

Anyway, I had it with me at work the other day, and one of my friends started oohing and aahing over it.  Then, something interesting came out of her mouth:  "It's so fabulous.  Kelly, you're so good...it looks machine-made".  This friend is not a knitter, but she loves to see the knitted things I make - no matter the stage of completion.   She meant her comment as a true compliment (I think she was admiring the eveness of the stitches at the time), but it really made me think.

Since when did hand-made come to mean sloppy?  Hand-tooled leather is highly sought-after.  Hand-made watches are much more expensive than factory-made.  Don't even get me started on hand-made furniture (or kitchen cabinets, for that matter)!  And what about a hand-made suit?!?  The practice of committing one's attention, energy and discipline to the creation of a single product has long been a revered and respected act.  AND YET...we've become a culture of "perfection seekers" who equate machine-made with durable, reliable, quality controlled, etc.  We (or some of us, at least) want the identikit version of things, we want to know that the one we buy is EXACTLY the same as the one we saw on so-and-so.

As a knitter, plugged into the knitting community, I'm quite sure that I'm not the only rebellious soul who seeks colorful ways to express my individuality.  I see a pattern and use it as a guide, making changes to suit my needs and taste (whether in sizing, gauge, color, fibre, or even shaping).  As a yogini, plugged into the yoga community, I'm quite sure that I'm not the only one who consciously chooses to remove myself from mass culture's definition of "good" or "pretty" or "valuable".  I'm not interested in who wore what to the Emmy's, or what the latest fashion is.  I go with what feels good on, and what I feel good wearing. 

So, when given a compliment such as the one my friend made, it surprises me that what many of people define as "beautiful" could be made by a machine...without the love, commitment, or dedication of another person's artistic expression.  How very...bland.  Or what about the back-handed compliment, "For hand-made, it looks really nice".  Gee, thanks.  Have you ever experienced this with any of your hand-made items?  What was your response?

Detail-oriented

When it comes to describing the benefits of a little-understood healing system, knowing how much to say - to whom - is part of the healer's art.  Healing systems that fall into this category include (but are not limited to):  yoga, acupuncture, acutonics, chiropractic, cranio-sacral therapy and reiki.  As a yoga teacher and yoga therapist, I often have to walk this fine line between vagueness and too-much-for-the-listener-to-understand.  Even if a student/client has some exposure to yoga, it doesn't mean that they grasp the subtle, yet powerful, aspects of the practice.

Rob and I were recently on the consumer's end of this situation.  His allergies are wretched right now, and our way to the grocery store we passed a sign that said something along the lines of:  "Allergies got you down?  Try acupuncture."  We'd discussed Traditional Chinese Medicine as a drug-free allergy treatment before, but the sign prompted us to check it out.  So we go inside, the receptionist calls a practitioner out to speak with us.  We have more exposure to TCM than the average person, so we understand the philosophy, approach, etc.  We wanted specifics - how much, how often, what kind of outcome we can expect, etc.  We got a bunch of vague answers.  This left us feeling unsatisfied.  I would rather have a detailed answer that I may not yet understand, than an answer that plays down the intricacy of that particular healing art.  It's centuries old!  There has to be more to it than, "It works to balance the body's systems"  We know that already, that's why we're here!

I asked a couple of my students about it this morning.  We all agreed that we, as potential students/clients, want an answer that leaves us feeling like 1) the practitioner is well-educated in the system and knows what they're talking about  2) even if I don't follow yet, it's likely that I will "get it" at some point and  3) gives details that, even if they're esoteric, let me know that there's much more to this than what the surface offers.

What's your take?  If you call a yoga studio, for example, and ask what yoga can do for you...do you want the details, even if you might not understand them?  OR  Do you think it would be intimidating to get so much detail about things that you don't yet understand?

Five, Four, Three...

Well, the official countdown has begun...on Monday, de-construction on our kitchen begins.  My feathers are a little ruffled, even though I very much look forward to getting the dirty part of this project underway.  I have this feeling that we're doomed to [relative] malnutrition for the next ??? weeks.  I refuse to subsist on PB&J, and am not thrilled at the prospect of a gerry-rigged kitchen in our living room.  We'll probably be eating out a lot, and maybe ordering Delicious Planet or something.  Since we don't own a microwave, our toaster oven will become even more valuable.  Sigh.  Mostly, I'm trying to figure out whether it's worth cleaning the kitchen today, since it's going to be *literally* gutted in a few short days...

In the meantime, I'm cleaning the rest of the house.  The usual:  laundry (lots of folding, seems like more folding than washing...), uncovering the dining room table (our unfortunate catch-all surface), gathering up odds and ends that are misplaced, etc.  There was talk about an article being done on our kitchen project, as we're going "green" in all aspects of the project.  We're happy to be part of something that can get the word out about how important green construction is, and it would be excellent publicity for our wonderful designers.  This brings me back to the cleaning the kitchen dilemma, though, because if they want "before" pictures, we're in trouble.

I'm leaving the dust puppies for Rob (click the photo to enlarge.  It's like "Where's Waldo").  He and Sirius can play their vacuuming game this afternoon...

My birthday is this weekend, and I certainly don't want to spend it cleaning or otherwise preparing for the kitchen to be destroyed.  So there's lots to be done in the next couple of days in order to have a peaceful weekend.  Fun things have been arriving in the mail - cards (which, even when they aren't the sappy kind, always make me teary) and a package (!).  I feel so loved, and am so grateful to have such caring and kind people in my life...

Tomorrow - pictures of Barney!  I washed it today, and laid it out to block.  Tried to take a picture, but the battery died.  A lot of purple came out in the water, I was a little worried.  It's still lovely, though, so I guess it just had some dye to spare!  Stay tuned...