The Broken Rock...

I may have mentioned that we're looking for a new vicar at our church. It's been a long process and we've had a couple of people interested. 

In the meantime, we have a substitute vicar who's covering services through Easter. There's this sermon, and it's been sticking in my head for a few weeks now. Believe me, that's a record... 

And it's all about a rock. 

It's Lent. I grew up Catholic and about 7 years ago, went to the Episcopal Church. That in itself is another whole blog entry, so we won't digress now. We looked around, we found the church we now attend, and we're very involved. 

So, much like the Catholic Church, Lent is still 40 days. Still solemn. And still, people "give up" something. 

Rev. Shawn brought in this basket of river rocks. Some oblong, some round, some polished brightly, some matte. She passed it around and said, "Pick a rock." 

The premise of this sermon is that we have to use Lent as a time to go inward and decide: Are we living the life God (however you perceive God to be) wants you to live? 

Sure, you can give up cussing, or coffee, or chocolate. But you also need to think about it: Scripture has it that Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days (Lent = 40 days, get it?). Maybe our own "wilderness" has less to do with "giving up" than "going inside." Go inside and make some discoveries of your own. 

So why the rock? Well. The rock is a symbol. Hold it, let your body heat warm it. Then put your wishes on it. Or put your troubles on it. Then, wash the rock. Wash away the troubles. Send the wishes out to the Universe. 

That's the essence of the sermon. And what I like is that my rock is broken. Because as a human being, I'm in some ways broken. As are we all. The broken bits make us who we are. As my friend Tom said, as we were talking today, each of us is entitled to keep our broken bits to ourselves. But sometimes, those broken bits need to be let go of. 

So wash away what you don't need. See if that helps you go through life a little bit lighter. 

Mother Nature's Show...

The other night, after Yin class, I saw this... This sunset is one of the more spectacular ones, and we've had a few lately. This is one benefit of living in the semi-boonies. We're far enough out in the "country" so as to get lots of sky, but unfortunately, we still have lots of street lights, which give far too much light pollution for a good old star-gazing.

Last night, coming in from class, I happened to look up and saw a perfectly black sky, the half moon, and a bunch of stars. We love our sunsets, but we also love our moon and stars, too. I reminded myself of the necessity of a simple thing: look up. 

Seriously, I'm not one of those tied to looking down on her phone, but with my schedule, I'm often running here or there. And my head is often down, either to watch where I'm walking or in thought. Thinking about travel time, getting where I need to be, etc. 

I need to look up. There's beauty there. 

Speaking of Mother Nature's ability to put on a show, the ground hadn't even thawed, and she gave us ... RAIN. Lots of rain. INCHES of rain. Which, because of the ground being frozen about 3" down, had nowhere to go. So it did the only thing it could, and flooded the crap out of many of our roads, parks, yards... The rivers were impressive. And the viaducts were dangerous. 

Yes, a few people were crazy enough to try to drive under the viaducts with all the water there. And yes, a few people were stranded and had to abandon their vehicles. Y'all were warned... The various cities and townships closed down roads as appropriate. The shot above is outside the dog park. As you click on it, you can see how high the river is running under that bridge. 

I was coming toward the studio and stopped at the cemetery - well, there are 2 cemeteries, but one is where my great-grandma is buried. The other, right across the street, is the cemetery for Stateville Penitentiary. It's not used anymore, but there are still graves there, and they're still maintained. Once in a while you'll see someone in there visiting. The space is half empty, actually. I have to go back in the spring or summer, and take some pictures. You're allowed to do that, but they will stop you if you try to go onto the farms or on other penitentiary property. As you can see, part of the area is pretty low-lying. Nobody's crypt has come to the surface. But you have to wonder when the ground will actually thaw enough to let the water absorb. 

Now for Knitting... 

It's been a while. It's been about 10 days since I actually picked up needles. I did a few rows on the "traveling sock" at work Monday during my lunch hour. I'm actually looking forward to knitting outside soon, and having a quiet space for lunch. My favorite park is only a few blocks from the office. 

So I got squishy mail... The pink is for a very special rendition of the "Close to You" shawl. I have to start that one soon. The recipient will, I hope, not only love it but wear it. 

I knit for only a few people, and I want them to use what I make. Don't wrap it in tissue paper and "save it for later." One thing I've learned: later never comes. Just wear it. That's what I made it for. 

The other one, I'm not really sure. It was on clearance, and I have to see what it looks like wound up. Honestly, it reminds me of a field of sunflowers, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I can't really wear any of the colors in this yarn close to my face. 

So, technically, I could make this into a pretty funky pair of socks and be happy with them. But I don't think a shawl is in the cards for the yellow-toned one. 

It goes into the bag and it'll sit there for a while till I get to it. I might try another go at Petty Harbour with this yarn just to see how it looks in a hand-dyed yarn. 

This little gem (the blue plastic thingie) is my Snark guitar tuner/metronome combo. The bag I was using (the one it came with) was falling apart, so presto-change-o, I whipped up yet ANOTHER crocheted bag. I was going to go for another button-down bag, but I ended up with a more tube-like contraption, with ribbon in some eyelets. We'll see how it works. If nothing else, I can make a crocheted chain and run that through the eyelets if the ribbon becomes annoying. I used a bit of the remaining Kiwi yarn - that merino + possum blend. I don't have enough left for a hat, but if I did want to get a white merino blend, I could use this teal as a cuff on the hat - I have enough in the ball left for that. The original hat I have done in this is quite warm, though I do wear earmuffs with it when it's really cold outside. I wear it much like a cloche - down to the top of my eyeglasses. 

Not necessarily fashionable, but this is one warm yarn! 

And for the socks... Petty Harbour is what I'm working on tonight. And I noticed something funny. Or at least funny to me. The Petty Harbour socks will match Raisa. Almost exactly. 

It took me a few minutes to get her to sit still - she didn't like needles that close to her neck, though. Her fur isn't that of a typical Husky - it's actually a very light coat. She has the undercoat, but it's not as thick as I've had before with prior huskies. So I get that she doesn't want 5 pointy things aiming at her neck!

Anyway, I got her to sit still for a nanosecond and snapped the shot. As you can see, the yarn pretty closely matches my dog... Not that it will matter. 

Because when I wear these, and when they get covered in dog hair, it'll be the white hair that sticks out on the socks. 

It always is. 

Be A Voter...

I don't know if you have primaries in your areas, but we have a big one coming up March 20. I've been writing postcards (to the point of hand cramps) - which is probably why knitting has come to a temporary standstill. I have campaign signs in my yard. I'm talking about local politics with local folks. I'm phone-banking. 

It's time to put my actions where my intentions have been. I've walked in two Women's Marches, and I held up a sign saying that it's time to get involved. 

In Illinois, we have closed primaries. You have to declare your party. I'm an election judge, and in order to continue to be a judge, I have to vote in primaries. It is what it is. People often ask why we do a primary, why can't we just get the whole ballot?

Well, that would be one huge general election, wouldn't it? Primaries are part of the process, and it narrows the field down so that we can hopefully vote the best person into the office. 

Though we have a problem in Will County...for our County Clerk, we have a woman running who's been charged with a felony, and for some odd reason, she's been endorsed by the county establishment. 

I'm voting for the other person. The one without a felony charge. It's kind of a no-brainer. 

Be that as it may...if you have a primary election coming up, in this time and place in our history, don't blow it off. Vote. It's a right people have died for. 

Random Picture...

So I'm still on that rant. I've contacted my legislators, and I've voiced my support for a gun dealer law that would put more rules on the dealers. They'll have to get over it. The law needs to be passed, and we have to have reasonable restrictions on who gets a gun. 

Arming teachers? No. Just no. Teachers teach. 

Teachers are not guards. 

Our schools are not prisons. 

The answer is a combination of social safety nets and consistent, sensible regulations. 

We just have to get to that point in the conversation. I'm not sure we're there yet. 

And yeah, I know. Technically, this is a xylophone, not a glockenspiel. Roll with it. 

I'm going to set this picture here and let you meditate on it. I've just been told I have to write a sermon for Sunday... This could be interesting...