March 25, 2005
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Here is the start of Hopkins’s first sleeve, with the colorwork completed. It is asymmetrical, vaguely triangular, and subtle, as intended, but I am now wondering whether maybe a vertical band all the way up the sleeve might be better. I draped the body over a chair and set the sleeve on it. I’m squinting at it across the room (Hopkins looks better at a distance) trying to imagine it both ways in order to decide. Hmm.
The Maundy Thursday service was fun. The director asked #2 daughter to do a solo on Sunday. While we are a little alarmed that there was room for a solo on Easter Sunday with three days’ notice (usually, choirs begin the Easter music right after Christmas), I’m sure she will do a good job. The director claimed that I had bragged about her, but you know that I would never brag about my kid
Otherwise, we are definitely in Spring Break territory. We went to the gym yesterday and worked out for about 18 minutes (“We’ll get the rest of our cardio walking around the shops,” I said inaccurately), then got the nice guy at the desk to show us how to use all the machines. Hitherto, we have only been using the ones we could guess how to use — half a dozen. Most of the others look to me like farm equipment. We watched admiringly as the nice guy twisted himself into intimate contact with the various machines. Mostly, the way they work is pretty counter-intuitive. We would never have guessed them. There were a couple he told us were just for men. We did not ask further. He also gave us some good hints for how to determine how much weight to use and things like that. So we spent the normal amount of time at the gym – we just spent it standing around.
Then we went shopping. I hate shopping. We had intended to visit three shopping centers,but only managed one. However, I went into three stores and conducted three transactions, so I feel reasonably proud of myself. #2 daughter actually likes shopping. I bought her a couple of little things that she admired. Today I must go clothes shopping with the boys. Into every life a little rain must come. We sat down to dinner together, enjoying chicken parmesan with whole-grain pasta and steamed carrots and multi-grain bread, plus #2 son’s requested possum pie. Then all the kids played video games — Final Fantasy 10 and NBA Street 3. And I read a bunch of knitting blogs. So our day — apart from the music — was a perfect example of modern American life: watch other people be active, buy things, eat things, and look at screens.
Today is Good Friday. I am up making Hot Cross Buns. If you click on the words, you will find a good traditional recipe. I use whole grains, but my recipe is otherwise very similar. If you are having a misty morning, as we are, then spending a couple of hours making Hot Cross Buns will be a nice, cozy way to start the day. When they are hot out of the oven, I will try to roust everyone out of bed with the smell of fresh bread, and get them to come to the gym and actually use all those machines. Tonight we are riding up to the next county for the Tennebrae service, again with the kind and funny ladies. In between, I hope to persuade the family to go to the International Festival being held in the next town, but I have after all promised to go to the mall with them, so I guess we’ll find out just how persuasive I am.
Comments (6)
Wow, your household sounds awesome. I like how active and full of life it seems. At my house, soon as we wake up, everyone’s gone. The house remains empty for most of the day and when there are people in it, they’re usually off doing their own thing in their own corner of the house. (This is, of course, with the exception of holidays when lots of family and friends come over.) It definitely gives me plenty of privacy though. And maybe a bit of a feeling of isolation. But that has fostered plenty of thinking, at least. Keep it copasetic. Peace.
enjoy those buns…hope you get to see the festival…
Intriguing pattern on Hopkin’s sleeve – and I don’t believe Hopkins looks better from a distance. Instead of misty rain we have steady rain (like all day for 2 days so far) while in the North Island they had tornadoes and forked lightning. NZ seems to have acquired a few tornado callers in the last few months.
I still think it looks vaguely like an owl. Also I would like to point out that I rarely sit looking at screens. It is Spring Break and I will not look at books.
/nod
actually, i am planning another trip to the buffalo river in the summer. However, this one is with family and we are a little harder to scare off. Probably too hard to scare off when it comes to weather and danger…
we’re that ridiculus thrill-seeking type.
Also, I was tempted to call you all, but decided you had much better things to do than have me over in the middle of the night when I had a ride back to KC…would’ve been fun though.
Very cleverly done . Stealing another’s blog identity
It’s funny, I always used to associate tornadoes with Kansas, Dorothy, and Toto until we started getting hit with them this year. NZ is going through one very weird weather cycle.
Sorry you’re having to reply to comments on an old blog entry but my brain has more or less shutdown as far as creative writing is concerned at the moment. Must be too much programming – I’m thinking in straight lines rather than in curves and swirls. I’ll blog surf and enjoy others literary masterpieces but will have to wait until brain starts working again before I can contribute my own.