Friday, February 15, 2013

Friday fragments


Seemed like today was the first day of spring... the sun was shining on the yard, shining with all it's might, or at least as much might as a February day could muster. So there was nothing to it then but to hang the first load of laundry outside for the year. 'Tis a small but certain pleasure, the scent of sun-dried sheets, and one that requires only some modest effort (and the good fortune to have sheets, a washer, and a yard to hang them in) to indulge myself.
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Not only was it the first outdoor laundry dry day, but it was also the first bicycle errand day. For some reason I have yet to feel tired of heading out to do local errands on two wheels, even if it is only taking the recycling away, and picking up a few groceries. While my cranky feet, while improved, are still not where I would wish them to be, and they remind me so most loudly when I must climb up or down stairs, like the steep one up to the paper recycling bin, the rotary motion of cycling, combined with it being a transport that takes most of the weight off my feet, means that it is much less painful than shanks-mare.
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Yesterday was the holiday that once again is for "other people". Most surprisingly though, while walking down the street, a young woman handed me a folded piece of paper and wished me a Happy Valentines Day. Though I suspected it to merely contain a bit of advertisement, the pink crayon heart on the outside led me to open it, where I found a few lines of Walt Whitman poetry, including the words "...but now i think there is no unreturned love, the pay is certain one way or another, (i loved a certain person ardently and my love was not returned, yet out of that i have written these songs.)" The world is always sending messages of importance; I need to remember always that the equation always balances. Always. Whether or not I know how it does, and whether or not it does so in the way I would desire. Simple physics, the law of conservation of energy...
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Making progress on my black overall pinafore, and had the semi-brilliant idea that adding some teeny rivets would be a nice detail, to reinforce some of the pocketing. Despite wearing dresses most all the time, our plucky heroine is still the little girl that wore coveralls as a child; while I doubt very much that Carhartts makes shop pinafores, my aesthetic leans more towards downhome than downtown, and that is the effect I am going for. Oregon Leather had some small silvery rivets in packets of a dozen, and that will be plenty for this particular project, though knowing they are available, I may go back for more in the future. Mayhap the brown twill pinafore would look well trimmed with black rivets?

8 comments:

  1. I had time to follow your lead with hanging out the wash and didn't,now I have line dried laundry envy.

    Random acts of kindness are little blessings that take us all by surprise.

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    1. I am tempted to change my sheets, even though I just did, just to have that wonderful scent....

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  2. What a sweet message the universe sent you! I'm going to remember that.

    Valentine's Day is the most annoying so-called "holiday" on the calendar in my opinion. A much more deserving event to observe is National Pickle Month (July).

    Today I am packing to return to Seattle and my sister. But I am taking three big suitcases and a dog and my Featherweight and my hammers and pliers. This is the first step in the real move north.

    I think your idea about rivets is brilliant. Who can resist rivets? Not me.

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    1. one of these days once you are up in the NW, we should get together...

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  3. What a wonderful idea to give out random Valentines! One of the students at our school, not one of mine, handed me one in the hall. What a poignant message you received. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I pretty much don't receive "valentines" and haven't since my parents stopped sending them to me back in high school. Last year was the first and only year I had ever had a sweetheart in the springtime, and he left me that summer after we had been together for 18 months. The message from the universe that love is never wasted was a good thing for me to be reminded of...

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  4. What a delightful gift to receive - love it! :) (remind me to remember this next year.....although really, it's something that can be done anytime, isn't it?)

    And yes, it feels like spring here too - I'll love stringing up the clothesline again :)

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    1. It was indeed such a surprise, and exactly what I needed right then. Brought tears to my eyes, but a lot of things do that nowadays, I just let them come and let them go, the sunshine comes back again...

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