Modeling and Modeling...

Like 99.9999% of women, I hate having my own picture taken. I can find flaws which leap off the picture. I am envious of those who are comfortable in front of the camera.

And while I'll preach the Gospel of Body Acceptance in every yoga class I teach, and while I'm perfectly happy about how my body does what it does on a yoga mat, I'm not jazzed at my shape. Even though I know I'm more lucky than most. For the most part, my body works. With minor complaints, it does what I need it to do. I'm relatively healthy - and for my age, I'm not on a lot of prescription meds (actually, 3 to be exact -- I have friends who are on twice that, so I thank Heaven daily). Still, I kvetch. Human, I guess. 

So Hubby took pictures of me modeling the Shape-It Scarf, and while I'm not happy with the body upon which the scarf rests, I'm rather pleased at the scarf itself. I did some judicious cropping, which helps me... and I think shows off the stitching in the scarf. Maybe it could've been blocked differently, but this is my first attempt. And yeah, like Nora Ephron, I'm not fond of my neck... 

I kind of thought this would have more of a "halo" but it doesn't. Maybe upon wear, because right now, it's fresh off the blocking boards. It doesn't pop against the blue yoga shirt...but I figured I wasn't going to change. 

I'd totally make this again, in a different yarn - maybe sock-weight. Maybe that sock weight which I have where I absolutely can't bear it as a pair of socks that'll be shoved into clogs because it's so pretty. 

It was, after the triangle, a mindless knit, and even with a slightly heavier yarn, I could see either enlarging or shortening the triangle, and widening or lessening the "wings." Also, I'd make the wings a bit longer, so I have more to drape. 

Reading...

So Tippi and I do therapy work at the local university and we're stationed in the library. They graciously gave me a library card (to which I was entitled as an employee years ago, and as a multiple-degree alumna, but not so sure otherwise...) and I was able to take out this book.  If you love words, you need to read this. 

I'm a dunce at poetry. My clumsy attempts are met with kindly by Kid the Poet, who generously critiques my work and desperately wants me to understand the beauty of the metaphor and the poetic form. 

And I still resort to prose. I can sling a metaphor in a sentence like an old-time grill cook in a 50's diner slinging hash. But in poetry? I'm lost. I don't know how to read it, I don't know how to write it, and I'm uncomfortable with the structure. My few attempts at poetry in this blog are childish in their structure and clumsy in their phrasing. But if I want to call myself a writer, then maybe I need to do what I've told Kid the Poet:

"Put the crap on the page and then edit." 

Anyway, this is an excellent foil for a book our rector has us reading about conflict in congregations. Church politics (not Church Politics as an upper-level construct but "pew politics") are the worst politics. Congregations have conflict. Humans make up congregations, and humans involve themselves deeply in their religion, whether or not their butts are in the pews. Religion is a flash-point for a lot of things and people hold their religion deep in their hearts. 

So congregational conflict is kind of normal. Sometimes, though, when there's a Big Thing going on, the conflict can create anxiety and it's best to head it off at the pass. So we're reading a book about congregational leadership in times of conflict. It's very interesting and it dovetails nicely with the Norris book. 

I recommend the Norris book. You'll enjoy her prose and it's not "preachy." Unless you want to read into it that way. 

Gardening...

This is now the fountain I want. It's small, but not as stubby as the one my friend "A" bought. It's a nice bubbler, and I think it'll work well in the front yard. Now - convincing Hubby... 

As we work through some unexpected expenses (Quinn's surgery for 4 - yeah FOUR - nasty cysts and the fact that I'm going to need 4 new tires before winter), I know realistically that the fountain is a "want" -- very much a "want." So maybe not this year. But this is what I'm looking for: compact and able to host a wide variety of critters. The smaller birds can perch on that raised dragonfly (you can sort of see it at the upper left of the round surface on the fountain) and the bigger birds can perch on the rim. The water isn't deep at all, but it's enough for a drink and thankfully, the bubbler moves things around so that we don't have to worry about mosquitoes. It's maybe 3.5' tall. No lights that I can tell, but that's ok. 

I had several solar pumps for the various bird baths, but as the front maple grew to encompass just about the entire front yard, it's not totally shady - but enough that the "solar" part wasn't working well. I didn't want to stretch the cords across the lawn because that's a tripping and mowing hazard - but in order to get the light and energize the pumps, we'd had to have put them in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Not a good look. 

I'm going to re-pot an orchid when Tippi and I get back from our therapy gig. Then I'm going to assess how the front garden looks. We have work to do - but not sure how much we'll get to. 

Random Picture...

This was Wednesday - Tippi was out among the students at "Welcome Days" and we ended up back inside when she was totally disregarding her training and searching for "the wild hot dog" -- too much food and too many distractions. No, nobody fed her, but she was thinking about it! 

We're going back this afternoon for a few hours, so the kids can find us and we can remind them that "The Furry Flyer" is back in the house. 

One of the gals in this picture wondered if they could have Tippi come in to replace "Bed-Check Charlie" -- the university's mascot. She said "Charlie creeps me out, and I'd rather see Tippi!" What shall we call her? "Twilight Tippi" perhaps?