Tfg indicted and other good things

 Finally an indictment, probably the first and least, with the Georgia AG and Jack Smith probably bringing more and bigger.

So

And so say all of us.

The loom has half dozen possible takers and will probably be gone by end of day.* It was never my choice, pushed on me, and I tried it. So the loom itself is no great loss. It never was my style, but I think you should try even counterintuitive forms.

*Update. Picked up shortly after 9 am. Swift action 

It's also not the best design out there. I notice that all the tutorial videos I've found are using different, better designed and user-friendlier looms. 

The Beka videos are about assembling it, and there's one, not very helpfully done one, on threading. Most of the action shows the back of the operator, his hands covering what he's doing, etc.  Anyway, I think I gave it many chances, so I'll weave other ways, on my other looms,  as I usually have. Another weaver can enjoy it.

However, I'm coming to terms with the current situation, regardless of the  equipment design,  and hopeful that this is only a small part of life going forward. This is a very small loss.  There's such a lot to enjoy.

This afternoon is the knitting group, so I'll be looking for great work there, also baby pictures from a member who recently went to see her baby granddaughter. 

Happy day everyone!  Warm Puppy to you.

Photo AC 

Hard realization, decision and Misfits

Two more unsuccessful attempts to thread the loom and wind on the warp have made me realize I simply don't have the cognition for this task. 

It's frightening but I suspect true. Something I managed fine a few years ago is evidently now beyond me. I simply can't consistently repeat the movements correctly despite all the counting and the reminders I've put in place. The last attempt was better, but not usable. 

I wonder if it's the same thing that stopped my Arabic study after that virus.  I couldn't retain the learning as I went well enough to progress.

I suspect now there was some left brain cognitive loss, though it didn't seem like a serious virus at the time. And there's a chance it will lift. 

Meanwhile I decided today's winnowing is -- a loom! I expect someone will like it and get pleasure from it.  There's no point in keeping it lying unused. I can do other forms of weaving, and probably will.

Here it is on Freecycle.

I had a lovely day otherwise, making Shakshuka, from the Meghan's Together cookbook.

As you see

 

You poach the eggs on top

Till they're done however you like them.

I didn't have green peppers the recipe used, but I used onions, garlic, scallions and leeks, which worked out very well. Served with flatbread, and they also suggest yogurt but I didn't have any left today. The flat bread is to mop up the sauce, vital.

This is supposed to be a breakfast dish, but I think it's a great lunch. Could be brunch, too.

And the Misfits box came

The fettuccine will go great with some of the extra Shakshuka, instead of flatbread. I have other plans for the sausage, probably relating to soup since we continue to have soup weather.

So this is where we are. Beautiful sunshine but cold, in 40s with a wind, so I'm back to a warm coat, scarf and hat for walking today.

I'll mention the cognition thoughts next time I see my doctor, just to alert her.

Meanwhile how about a puzzle?

This will probably leap out at you. Or not!

Happy day everyone,   Struggle on!

Weaving journey Day Two, and other issues

I just thought I'd do a few establishing rows of weaving this morning before anything else. Famous last words.

It's now several hours and learnings later, and I had this attempt

Which was very awkward to manage, couldn't seem to set up the loom resting against the table and manage the raising and lowering of the heddle at the same time.

Then I ran into warp tension problems, probably because of my cockamamie, I mean unconventional, way of winding it. 

So after much unavailing effort to fix a couple of warps which were determined to be loose, and the discovery that I'd threaded the heddle upside down.. I'd forgotten there was an up and a down.. I decided to consider this an excellent learning experience and cut off the work from the loom, to start better tomorrow.

Of all the videos about this loom I've watched, not a single one mentioned that there's an up and a down, nor that it's vital to thread the heddie right way up so that the ears on the top can rest on the blocks at the side, to create the up position.  

That's why I couldn't get going, too difficult to change the shed without a proper resting heddle position, and get an open clean shed to slide the shuttle through without fouling the warps.

So here's not just a pathetic little chunk of weaving

It's a user manual for me. It reminds me about warping better, not improvising so much, about threading the right way, and that I didn't much like this yarn combo. The grey is sticky, catches everywhere, so I'll try a different warp idea when I continue tomorrow.

This didn't yield much product, but I'm a whole lot more knowledgeable now, ready to do better tomorrow. I also learned to stay calm and unhurried throughout a tricky process, a good thing in itself. Pema Chodron must have left her mark!

No Textiles and Tea this afternoon, because it's a guest who weaves coffins from willow, a marvelous green and respectful part of death, but, after the last couple of days, I think I'm not quite up for studying the art of casket weaving.

Meanwhile, winnowing has taken a related but different turn. Yesterday I upcycled a couple of things and I'm rediscovering items I haven't used.

The loom was one rediscovered thing, yesterday, and last evening and today here's this

Here's the warping peg for tomorrow's fresh onslaught. I realized that though my c- clamps have vanished, my pasta maker has a handy clamp. That, a sturdy wooden knitting needle, and a roll of masking tape, make a diy warping peg. And afterwards they can return to their regular programming.

And here's today's refind

My old radio, since my favorite radio station keeps annoyingly dropping its online signal, unearthed and in use again. The sound beats the tinny version on my phone and tablet, too. 

So, though nothing left the house, nothing came in either, to supply the listening and weaving needs. You might call it prewinnowing.

In the middle of all this, the morning email meditation from Richard Rohr, and a couple of other sources, was about giving up the illusion of control. This caused me to give a bitter, hollow laugh,  considering the context in which it landed.

Happy day everyone, we're not in any danger of imagining we're on top of things, last time I looked!

But then there's this 

Remember last fall when this was planted across the street and Steve identified it as a flowering prunus?  Yesterday it burst out in pink blossom. Ta-daaa!