"Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet.
Do your work with mastery.
Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds!
Shine."
Shine."
~The Buddha
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Answer: Dogs and Knitting and Laundry
Question: What have I been doing lately?
And sometimes these things are combined.
Like when I sort the laundry and the dog decides to stay asleep in the basket:
Or when I knit a sweater for a dog:
The winters where my mum lives can be very cold, especially for a little dog who gets clipped monthly, and due to a recent winter 'growth spread' he didn't fit in any of the other sweaters I made for him in the past. So I whipped up this custom designed sweater, complete with monogram - F for Finnegan!
The back is made with 2 strands of Aran Fisherman's Wool for warmth and watershedding and the tummy is made with acrylic so it can be spot cleaned easier, is more resistant to staining and shouldn't bind up in his little arm pits. The collar and ribbing is made with single strand wool so it's nice and loose ans stretchy. The sides have snap closures so we can make it bigger or smaller for him.
Keep in mind this is for a Schnauzer who is way smaller than my Labrador Retriever so it's hard to estimate his size, and I haven't seen him since September 2009. Apparently it fits him well, and I'm hoping my mum or brother will send me a photo with him wearing it. (hint hint)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Noticing
Sometimes I think that humans are losing the ability to notice things around them. Why with all the things coming at us, surely the vast majority is suffering from information overload. As well, I wonder if perhaps since so many resources are telling us things, we're just so busy processing all the inputs that we can't see things ourselves.
When I was a kid, my brothers and I liked car rides and liked to look out the windows and see what was going on (makes it sound like we were a bunch of dogs doesn't it?) Of course even though it's not that long ago, it was a different time. Today, all three of us have excellent skills for getting around our city, and even new cities we just land in. I don't know how many times I'd get off a plane, pick up a rental car, hop on the freeway and just start driving and make it just fine to my destination - and that's in the days without TomToms and GPS. You know, sometimes I wonder if the navigation systems are making it harder for people. Why just the other day someone was coming to visit us and asked us for our address so she could input it in her GPS. We've lived here over 11 years and she's been here multiple times! Goodness! As I am driving I am constantly assessing the road and the route and often change the streets I'm going to take - and I can do it because I know our city so very well. And if I've been somewhere once, I don't need directions again - unless it's been years and years and years but even then that's pretty rare.
Which brings me back to my initial thought - on January 19th, 2010 I had my hair cut short. Almost all my hair was about 1cm long - that was the last haircut I had (except my bangs which I cut myself) - one full year ago. My hair is now down to my shoulders and can be put in a ponytail holder if I want. But you you know what? Not one single person has noticed or commented. And some people only see me every couple of months. So either they haven't noticed that it's slowly been getting longer or they just don't see the need to comment, or maybe it looks bad.... (maybe they practice "if you can't say anything nice" ). I have no idea.
Now friends, please don't feel bad, no hard feelings, I'm sure I've missed things in your lives too. I'm not trying to be superior or 'call anyone out'. I'm just asking a question. Maybe humans just aren't as good at observing as they think they are - multiple times I've heard police agencies comment that eye witness aren't as accurate as they once thought. Have you walked down a street and found a sign that has been there for years that you haven't noticed? Or seen something, shook your head and realized you though it looked different or was a different colour? I guess the old adage to 'stop and smell the roses' is more important than ever before. Please, tell me what you think.
When I was a kid, my brothers and I liked car rides and liked to look out the windows and see what was going on (makes it sound like we were a bunch of dogs doesn't it?) Of course even though it's not that long ago, it was a different time. Today, all three of us have excellent skills for getting around our city, and even new cities we just land in. I don't know how many times I'd get off a plane, pick up a rental car, hop on the freeway and just start driving and make it just fine to my destination - and that's in the days without TomToms and GPS. You know, sometimes I wonder if the navigation systems are making it harder for people. Why just the other day someone was coming to visit us and asked us for our address so she could input it in her GPS. We've lived here over 11 years and she's been here multiple times! Goodness! As I am driving I am constantly assessing the road and the route and often change the streets I'm going to take - and I can do it because I know our city so very well. And if I've been somewhere once, I don't need directions again - unless it's been years and years and years but even then that's pretty rare.
Which brings me back to my initial thought - on January 19th, 2010 I had my hair cut short. Almost all my hair was about 1cm long - that was the last haircut I had (except my bangs which I cut myself) - one full year ago. My hair is now down to my shoulders and can be put in a ponytail holder if I want. But you you know what? Not one single person has noticed or commented. And some people only see me every couple of months. So either they haven't noticed that it's slowly been getting longer or they just don't see the need to comment, or maybe it looks bad.... (maybe they practice "if you can't say anything nice" ). I have no idea.
Now friends, please don't feel bad, no hard feelings, I'm sure I've missed things in your lives too. I'm not trying to be superior or 'call anyone out'. I'm just asking a question. Maybe humans just aren't as good at observing as they think they are - multiple times I've heard police agencies comment that eye witness aren't as accurate as they once thought. Have you walked down a street and found a sign that has been there for years that you haven't noticed? Or seen something, shook your head and realized you though it looked different or was a different colour? I guess the old adage to 'stop and smell the roses' is more important than ever before. Please, tell me what you think.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Last Week's Snow
Just to be different, I decided to post a photo of last week's snow, today. Here is Eco playing in the snow, after she dug out her soccer ball.
I don't know why I bothered to put her toys up on a chair(out of the snow/rain/mud), because as soon as she got outside she ran around the yard and played Search and Rescue for all the ones that were left in the yard, buried under the snow. Next time we have snow in the forecast maybe I'll sneak outside and randomly scatter them so she can sniff them all out!
I don't know why I bothered to put her toys up on a chair(out of the snow/rain/mud), because as soon as she got outside she ran around the yard and played Search and Rescue for all the ones that were left in the yard, buried under the snow. Next time we have snow in the forecast maybe I'll sneak outside and randomly scatter them so she can sniff them all out!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Project Completed - Entrelac Scarf
I finished my entrelac scarf this weekend. If you've never done entrelac knitting, it's a very slow process of short rows and increasing or decreasing to knit sideways to get the look of woven knitting. If I had knit this scarf in straight stockinette (basic knitting stitch), it probably would have taken me 1/4 of the the time.
It is 72 inches long done in Noro Kuryeon wool:
It is 72 inches long done in Noro Kuryeon wool:
 |
| (Somebody's not to thrilled to be a model) |
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Dinner for Schmuck's - MICE!
Have you seen the movie Dinner for Schmuck's?
The part that made the movie, my favorite thing - was all the mice dioramas! More on the Chiodo Brothers here. And you can read some controversy here. (http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=6819)
The part that made the movie, my favorite thing - was all the mice dioramas! More on the Chiodo Brothers here. And you can read some controversy here. (http://youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com/blog3/?p=6819)
(Picture from "You Thought We Wouldn't Notice But We Did" website, linked above)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sledding Fail
Check out the path one kid's sled took - yup, directly towards the tree! I also only see one set of tracks heading back up the hill, so I"ll assume the kid learned after the first attempt!
 |
| Sledding FAIL! |
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Ever have one of these days?
I'm having one of those days.
It started when I just couldn't get out of bed this morning. I lay there with my brain telling my body to get up, but it didn't. It didn't refuse or try to argue. It just didn't do anything.
After the second alarm rang, I got up, but only because poor little Eco would need to go outside. I played with the dog, I shoveled the snow and then I went to work.
But now it's after lunch and I just don't feel like moving again. I have TONS of work to do but I just .... can't.
I think instead of fighting it, I'm going to lay down and maybe even take a nap. Some things just aren't worth fighting are they?
It started when I just couldn't get out of bed this morning. I lay there with my brain telling my body to get up, but it didn't. It didn't refuse or try to argue. It just didn't do anything.
After the second alarm rang, I got up, but only because poor little Eco would need to go outside. I played with the dog, I shoveled the snow and then I went to work.
But now it's after lunch and I just don't feel like moving again. I have TONS of work to do but I just .... can't.
I think instead of fighting it, I'm going to lay down and maybe even take a nap. Some things just aren't worth fighting are they?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
What's your Word?
Several years ago I was at my brother's house and I saw a post-it note stuck to his computer which had the word "Focus" written on it. I took that word home with me and set about creating some letters for him, each letter was about 1" thick and about 4" tall and was covered in a crackled, antiqued surface. I sent him the letters and he placed them on his desk where he could see them daily. Many times over the years he's commented on how meaningful those letters, and the word, are to him - one because I made it for him and two because the word, focus, is important to him. In the book Eat, Pray, Love when Liz is in Italy during a group dinner, the guests play a game thinking about their word, the word that best described them/best suited to them. Which brings me to the pendant you see at the top of this post - Jp gave it to me this Christmas and "begin' is a very good word to ponder. Begin. Begin your day, begin the year, begin a task, begin to complete the task, begin. What does the word mean to you? Do you have a 'word'?
~~~~~~~
Begin - to begin is half the work, let half still remain;
again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
So many fail because they don't get started - they don't go.
They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.
Ben Stein
They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.
Ben Stein
Saturday, January 01, 2011
New Years Day
Today is a nice and calm day, it's beautifully sunny and I'm heading out in a few minutes for a dog walk (it's still cold though, 1 degrees is cold for us West Coasters). We chilled out last night and ate some yummy food (wings and sliders and nuggets). I had a delicious bottle of sparkling Pinot Grigio that was just right for the night.
I don't really make resolutions this time of year, and like many other people my ongoing aim is to become better or more - clean more often, take more time for myself, become better at knowing what I want and to stop trying to figure people out (asking 'why did they..." is a clue), spend more time doing and studying yoga and more time practicing meditation. I do have other 'goals' but I'm not ready to share them yet.
And to start the New Year off more creatively, I decided to bling out my dayplanner:
It's hard to see in this photo - the planner is actually more burgundy than red as it appears here, the gems are pink and red, and the "Eco" dog sticker is velvety. What do you think?
Little Burgers are FUN!
I don't really make resolutions this time of year, and like many other people my ongoing aim is to become better or more - clean more often, take more time for myself, become better at knowing what I want and to stop trying to figure people out (asking 'why did they..." is a clue), spend more time doing and studying yoga and more time practicing meditation. I do have other 'goals' but I'm not ready to share them yet.
And to start the New Year off more creatively, I decided to bling out my dayplanner:
It's hard to see in this photo - the planner is actually more burgundy than red as it appears here, the gems are pink and red, and the "Eco" dog sticker is velvety. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)