Underfoot rug, gloves, and nostalgia, retirement

 Here's my childhood view, a walk from where I lived as a young kid

Captain Cook was  a local, from Great Ayton, before he went to Whitby, to sign on as a cabin boy, at age nine. 

 The underfoot rug warps are now woven in, my least favorite task, and it needs to be washed and dried and backed. I found the backing I'm using, nonskid shelf lining.

Cosy winter setup, with the English paper piecing pillows, say that fast.

And I'm happy to get to some long neglected knitting, a sock and a glove both started. Knitting is harder than anything on my neck, so I needed to retire it while I wove. But I'm back. The Sock 'n Glove Ministry returns.

And the stitching continues, now into the second column of blocks. Two more didn't fit into the picture at the top.

I can't do any of this during my evening Suits viewing, because I need the captions. Those guys rap out brilliantly funny lines at warp (!) speed. I can't listen that fast.

The comment about owning your time, from Fresh water for Flowers, which is a wise and well written book, seems to have struck a chord. Retirement, for people who've been employed by other people, does seem to present issues beyond not having to set an alarm. As a person who's been self directed for most of my working life, in my own enterprises, this is mainly a matter of observing others rather than my own experience.

One of my neighbors postponed retirement year after year on the grounds that she couldn't afford it. Last year she admitted that she could easily afford it, great pension plan etc., but the fear was what to do with her time. 

This summer she retired, and her time has been totally occupied by the furnace breaking down in a heatwave, replacement needed, large patio door delivery postponed over and over, one of her cats chronically ill, it's been all go. Not the fun she'd hoped for, yet. 

I wonder what the winter will bring, since she doesn't make projects, no hobbies, doesn't travel. Her job consumed all her energy. I think it will be a journey. She might surprise us with new interests.

That's one thing that serves people well, having lifelong interests that they now have more time for, rather than waiting to retire to try their hand. It's really hard to acknowledge being a total beginner in a project, after decades of being an expert at work. 

I've seen it over and over in art. People expect to have great facility as beginners and are dismayed at the reality, also at the focus and persistence required. More than one student has said, but when I watched you, it looked easy!  They do eventually find their feet, but it takes a while.

Happy day, everyone, enjoy whatever's on for today, and be glad you're not running for office. In the UK, they talk about standing for office, in the US about running for it. Illuminating!

Textiles and Tea, peaches, rug in progress, stitching in progress

Yesterday's Textiles and Tea featured a cheerful, all the textile people are so happy, multi textile person who describes herself as a dabbler. More like a dazzler, with great output from dyeing to spinning,  award winning weaving, sashiko embroidery, knitting,  enameling, to a serious original study of the fiber from the American bison. Take a look

She's a popular teacher of weaving and spinning, too. 

Meanwhile back home, the rug is cut off the warping peg, one end now woven in while I watched Textiles and Tea.

And later I worked on the current stitching block

 While the cleaners were here yesterday, I read in the library, and went around the square to admire the new fountain, a circular garden with water. It's imaginative.

Then on the way home, I stopped by the farm, and bought plum tomatoes and peaches, wildly expensive hence the small haul.

 I had a great cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch, and the rest of the tomatoes will go to sauce.

I have a policy about fresh picked farm fruit -- if it's really good to eat, it's best just eaten. If not,  okay to cook it. I tried one peach, okay, sweet, but not memorable. I'll use the rest to make Mary Moon's Peach Thing.

I picked up my new reading glasses this morning, so that should help with the stitching. I forgot to put them on to write this, though.. new habit to get into.

Here's a quotation from Fresh Water for Flowers

Happy day, everyone! Hope you can see clearly today, in every sense.