update-ish

i had a fun week. very unexpected. while the first week of my vacation was painfully boring and slow, the second week was equally fast and enjoyable. some mini-excursions with a surprise guest, including wine and fun food.

i also completed two more items on my "things to do on vacation" list...sort shoes and donate items. it wound up also allowing me to clean up my closet, which was juuuuust super. so, i had all these shoe boxes filled with...shoes. many of them i had not seen in ten years. really. the receipt was in the box with a date of 8/13/98. i remember my mom and i searched and searched for the perfect shoes to wear with a super cute dress for my friend's husband's commissioning in the marine corps. i have not worn the shoes since, i have not worn the dress since, and the couple divorced about 6 years ago. in total, i donated to goodwill...

* 11 pairs of shoes (yes, 11. includes a pair of sneakers in quite good condition)
* 1 pair boots (at least i THINK they were the ones i wanted to give away)
* 5 handbags (i used to like to go through the sale stuff at old navy)
* 1 pair rollerblades with wrist guards (i haven't used them since fall '99...i remember it well)
* 3 t-shirt dresses that just look weird on me now. haven't worn any of them in at least two years.

none of these items were helping me exist. in fact, they were taking up precious closet and karmic space. if you recall, i've spent the better part of the last, oh, 12 to 18 months or so getting rid of things through donation, freecycle, craigslist and such. i've been able to curb my spending and really reform my list of needs. just because the item is there in front of me does not mean i need it!

today (friday) was my last weekday day of vacation. baby nora and i went to the natural history museum and saw "dinosaurs 3d." nora and dolley also met on the floor.


here is nora again.


aw!

one more thing

happy heads, dc is going to get a boost this coming winter so get out your knitting needles!

plus, i was asked to be on the board of directors of a new/consolidated knit/crochet group! more on this as it develops.

i'm still around

so i'm still alive. i'm taking my first graduate class and i have about 7,000,000 hours of reading each week. i got an "A" on my first paper, so i'm feeling pretty good about that. i have another one due on monday, so i hope to return to civilization shortly after that.

i've been off of flickr and blogger for so long both asked me to log in again and i forgot my passwords. that was annoying.

here is a very quick update.
madison wears her new hat...(recap...i made it in august and her mom gave me this pic weeks and weeks ago)

also, though i'm trying to do the freegan thing (slowly) i did buy a new dresser to replace my old one. that kind of defeats the idea, i know, but here's my logic...this new dresser is smaller and therefore i am forced to go through my clothes again and dispose of stuff i won't wear anymore. plus, it's shorter than the old one so i can hang things over it and get some closet space back, meaning my clothes aren't squished anymore and i can again go through and get rid of stuff. i did both of these purgings on monday night and i feel pretty good about it. i have two bags of donations, and i might have some more by next week. here it is...it's a malm by ikea.
or maybe it's a bluurg or a vyorn or heefen or whatever.

i put the other dresser on freecycle and i have found a new home for it already. there's the freegan sprirt!

another sweater update, bunny galore, reduction of stuff

first things first...

sleeve #1 is complete! after this i just cast off and put it in the pile with the other pieces. i'm about 3" into the second one and hope to have it done some time next week. then all i have to do is the collar and sew everything up.


rabbit enjoys eating lots of things.
spring lettuce mix...

strawberries (though she didn't eat them...i just gave her my plate and she enjoyed licking it. i thought she'd lick a hole through the glass.)

argh. she's so pretty.

here's my next felting project...this will be a large trivet and a set of coasters. be on the lookout for my etsy store coming soon! i'll post about it when it happens some time next week. :)


i've been making an effort to reduce the amount of stuff i have. crafters tend to accumulate stuff associated with their various interests. it would be one problem if i just had a lot of stuff. in addition to stuff, i have more craft stuff. fortunately for me, i have only a one bedroom apartment, so hoarding stuff is limited to the space i have. i need less stuff. i came to this conclusion several years ago, but i only started to do something about it in the last year or so. i've been reorganizing my craft stores:

*beading
*needleworks (yarn, patterns, needles/hooks)
*quilting (never really got that into it, but i still have a bunch of stuff)
*bath stuff. (tons of soap left over, still. good thing it won't rot.)
*slide transfers (less of the "craft" and more of the visual, but the same amount of stuff)
*other various projects.

with regards to the yarn...this past weekend i went to a knitting guild meeting in maryland where they had a yarn swap. i was very concerned about leaving yarn there but coming home with some as well. i brought a bunch of novelty yarn that i loved using a few years ago, but balls and balls of it have since found their way to the "some day i will use this" box. i left the yarn there and lo and behold, someone else wanted it! i got rid of about half of what i have, and i even got a few $$ for it. the only bad part is that it didn't take up much space in my bedroom. it was one large shoebox full, but that's still one shoebox less!

tonight i am also expecting my little kitchen table and chairs to be picked up by someone i connected with on freecycle. (great service, by the way. check it out if you haven't already.) it's a cute little table with two drop down leaves, so it was perfect for my first few apartments that had only small spaces for eating. i've had it for several years and i'm a little hesitant to give it up, but i'm not really using it and someone else wants it. everyone wins!

the whole key here is to not replace things as i use them up. even toiletries. i don't use hairspray, but for some reason i have, like, 3 bottles of it. gotta use that stuff up. clothing has been going to goodwill on a regular basis, too. i have so much stuff i haven't worn in a while, or that i know i'm not going to wear ever again, so why should i keep it around? i don't have a lot of space.

i feel kind of stupid because i've spent money on all of this stuff that i don't need to live, and i feel like i will be wasting it if i get rid of it in some manner, but aren't i wasting it if i don't use it, too? i'll just spend this summer giving things away, using things up, crafting with what i have and such. just have to move on from here and be wiser about my accumulation of stuff and things.

success on several levels!

allison, if you're reading this post...stop now because i talk about
you and the party you "don't know about."

seriously. stop it.

first and most importantly, the homeless man i see all the time finally got soup. we went to lunch at uno's to celebrate allison's last friday at work, and on our way out, i picked up some soup. we saw the dude on the walk back.

me - sir, would you like some soup?
dude - oh yes! (pause) what kind is it?
me - broccoli cheese.
dude - broccoli cheese. thank you, god bless you!
me - enjoy!

now, i wasn't after the thank you or anything, that defeats the purpose of giving the soup. he seemed happy.

next, we will be throwing a "super secret" going away party for allison on tuesday. uh...shhh. i was asked to make the cake. i'm going to do a bang-up decorating job, i tell you! this is what she knows so far...chocolate/yellow cake marbled together. two layers with cherry pie filling in the middle (her request) and some stuff on top. here's the secret part...she is moving south to a city mentioned in a will smith song. i bought some doll house plastic palm trees and shells to make a beach scene. i just need a doll for my main character, and i'm set. i'm going to go to toys-r-us later today to hunt for one. didn't see anything that fit my imagination while at the craft store this morning.

also, my brother wants me to make him a "blood puddle pillow" like these so i got the fabric and i'm going to work on it tonight. i have no idea about how to make it up, but it should be pretty easy. updates to follow. lots of pictures in the next two posts, i'm guessing.

my rabbit the great sphynx

here is my beautifulness...right before she had a manicure.
we are currently not on snuggling terms.


i just watched hours 5 and 6 of "roots." i've been watching it on TVONE since monday. i will add it on the right to movies when it's all finished. in case you're wondering, kizzy just decided not to get married, and george is setting out on the cock fighting circuit.

here is the front of luke's sweater. i should have this piece finished by this coming weekend. hopefully, he will fill the pockets with little boy things, like rocks, sticks and frogs. not cell phones and ben & jerry's coupons.


i tried to buy soup for the homeless guy without teeth again. we saw him on our way to lunch, and as usual, he wasn't there when we came back. i kept the soup for later and nuked it before we went home. passed his usual hang out, no dice. i decided i would give the warm soup to someone else i passed, but for some reason, there was no one there! no homeless people in the two blocks from my office to union station. how was that possible? i took the soup home and it's in my fridge now; i think i'll have it for lunch tomorrow.

i'm starting to feel guilty about my attempts to buy soup for this one particular man. partly because i keep missing him...i need to get him when he's around. i don't know what kind of appointments he has in the middle of the day, but it's always at the end of my lunch time, which i vary from day to day. i'm going to keep trying, though. maybe i'll get him oatmeal one morning. i always see him in the morning. i'm not going to give him money. i can't do that...it seems wrong to me when i can give some warm food, especially because it's still chilly out.

thoughts?

levels of tzedakah and why i'm a little annoyed now

Levels of Tzedakah
Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered more meritorious than others. The Talmud describes these different levels of tzedakah, and Maimonides organized them into a list. The levels of charity, from the least meritorious to the most meritorious, are:
Giving begrudgingly
Giving less than you should, but giving it cheerfully.
Giving after being asked
Giving before being asked
Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient does not know your identity
Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/tzedakah.htm

so remember a few weeks ago i wrote that my coworker and i bought soup for one of the homeless guys we see all the time outside union station, and that he wasn't there when we passed back? well, we tried again yesterday. of course, he wasn't there again when we went back to the office. (this time we had tomato basil soup...i had a cup, too. it was tasty.) another dude asked for money, so i offered him the soup.

dude - "got any money?"
me - "no, but do you want this soup?"
dude - "yeah i want some soup!"
me - "here you go, enjoy!"
dude - "thanks! (mumble mumble mumble) you know what the greatest story ever told is?"
us - "no, what?"
dude - "i have no idea (mumble mumble)"

we begin to walk away and the dude keeps talking to us, mostly incoherent something about home made american money? he asked for money, a dime or nickel. i replied that we only had the soup, so he asked my coworker, and she said sorry, just the soup. he sort of got a little mad at us then. hey, pal. i just gave you soup and a nice crusty piece of baguette and you're asking for a dime? i don't understand that, man. i felt good at first, then i got mad. is that wrong? how would some coins help you then?

i'll continue to try to buy soup for the original guy. he has no teeth, so i may rethink the crusty bread.

arms and body have joined together!

here we are...arms and body together at last! i'm almost done with the front shaping...it'll wind up being a "v" neck. then all i'll have to do is sew up 10 stitches under each arm! i hope to finish it during this three day weekend (yay for president's day!)


also, my coworker and i just came back from lunch. there was a homeless guy asking for money outside of cap city brewery next to union station. we passed him and she and i went to abp and got soup and bread for lunch. then we decided to get soup for the man, too. we got broccoli cheese soup, nice piece of multi grain bread, gave him napkins, spoon, salt, pepper in the bag...go out to give it to him, he wasn't there. we've seen him before so we're going to try again. we're not saying we're saints or anything, but it's cold outside and we enjoyed our soup and thought he would too.

Happy Heads DC!

last friday i purchased www.happyheads-dc.org as the homepage for Happy Heads DC!

um...but if you go there now you won't see anything 'cause it's not ready yet. but check back in a week and it'll be good to go with info!

hats get congressional attention!

really! if you want to participate, please let me know!!

here's a pic...

Dr. Abyssinia Washington, PsyD, MEd, Clinical Coordinator/Therapist, DC CAC, Rep. Bud Cramer (D-AL), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Marie Connolly, Owner, Stitch DC, me!

another pic...

me, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

here's the press release...
December 16, 2005

LOCAL KNITTERS SHARE TALENTS WITH ABUSED KIDS

Members of Congress Laud Charitable Efforts during Holiday Season; New
Initiative Asks Caring Knitters to Warm the Hearts and Ears of Abused
Children

Washington DC - This holiday season, the D.C. Children's Advocacy Center
(CAC) is launching a program to warm the hearts and ears of abused children.
The new initiative, which is being lauded by members of Congress, urges
local knitters at area yarn shops and bloggers to make winter hats for
children served by Safe Shores-The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center, a direct
service nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and working directly
with child victims of sexual and physical abuse in the District of Columbia.


"Not only will these hats keep these deserving children warm this cold
winter, but it will also give them a little extra comfort," added
Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY 2nd). "I applaud all knitters who become
involved in this vital effort to help victims of sexual and physical abuse."


"When I was the District Attorney of Madison County, Alabama, I saw a need
for a new child friendly approach to the investigation, treatment, and
prosecution of child abuse cases," said Congressman Bud Cramer (D-AL-5th),
founder of the National Children's Advocacy Center in Huntsville. "Today,
there are over 600 children's centers across the country. I am proud to be a
part of the nationwide network of children's advocacy centers and to support
the thousands of dedicated professionals who work on the front lines to help
countless children each year. The D.C.'s Children's Advocacy Center's
Knitters' Project is a wonderful idea and something I hope will catch on
across the District."

"I am pleased to support the D.C. Children's Advocacy Center and the work
the Center is doing for abused children in the District of Columbia," noted
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large). "CAC's project with knitters
is a wonderful example of how volunteers can help professionals provide
basic necessities to kids who suffer from the scars of abuse. "

The project began when Emily Landsman, a former Safe Shores employee,
decided to approach a local yarn shop about pooling its clientele's talents
in order to make hats for the kids. Landsman began making hats for the Safe
Shores to give out during the 2003-2004-winter season. The Safe Shores
facility maintains a clothing closet for its clients and requires frequent
restocking.

"Many of the children who came through the CAC did not have proper winter
clothing, and I didn't like knowing that there were cold little ears out
there," noted Landsman, an avid crochet fan. "I know that most of the
winter clothing the CAC distributes comes from donations, so I thought I'd
use my skill to help out."

"People are putting a lot of care and attention into them, which is nice
because the kids who get them often don't get a lot of care and attention
from anyone," added Michele Booth Cole, executive director of the D.C. CAC.
"The tangible benefit is obvious in that it keeps the kids warm, but the
intangible benefit is that it is something that is new and just for them.
Those elements can, even in the most horrific situations, lift a child's
spirits. Very simple things have a big impact."

Stores and bloggers participating thus far include Stitch DC, Knit and
Stitch, Solitude Yarn, NOVA Knitting Group, and chrisabraham.com. Stores and
bloggers interested in joining the program are invited to contact Emily
Landsman at (202) XXX-XXXX.

Finished hats should be sent to:
Safe Shores, The DC CAC
Attn: Victim Services Coordinator/Knitted Hats
300 E St., NW
Washington, DC 20001

hats delivered!

today the hats generously crafted by knit happens customers made their way to the DC CAC! here, barbie and barney model some of the hats...


each child who receives one of these hats will know that it was made especially for them!

remember...more cute hats are needed every year. keep 'em coming!

hats for charity

ok, so i used to work for the DC CAC, right? in november i went to my local knit shop (knit happens in old town alexandria) and presented them with the idea of a charity hat drive with the "proceeds" going to the CAC...well, after an announcement at the store and on their blog, over 40 hats of all shapes and sizes and colors have been created! they will be delievered to the CAC this week.

i just joined a brand new knitting group here in arlington, and i will share this idea with them this week when we meet on thursday evening.

here's my idea...knit or crochet hats and hats and hats and donate them to your local shelter or community center! this should not be just a holiday project! in the middle of july when you feel the need to pick up those needles but can't stand the idea of a sweater in the summer, whip up a cutie pom-pom hat! make a collection over the year, then by the winter you'll help keep more little ears warm.