Sometimes I wake up early. These days it’s chilly in the morning. I get up, feed the cats, brew some tea and curl up with a good book and a quilt.
I finished My Friends and was not disappointed! Fabulous story. I also finished listening to The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans. Big thanks to blog reader Juliann for the recommendation. My book group’s next book is Fresh Water for Flowers, by Valérie Perrin.
This morning, I made a list of the lovely things I want to share with you. If you have some time, make space for a virtual visit to my comfy couch, and we can renew our hope together.
“To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing” -Raymond Williams
Our Gretta sent this beautiful postcard to me, from Heartell Press. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of it on my “Persephone” quilt, tucked up next to a napping Corazón. There are so many small businesses, trying to good in the world with their products.
I am careful about which newsletters I sign up for, trying to keep distractions to a manageable amount. And gosh, I think the quality of writing has jumped up a notch. More and more makers are speaking up about the context of their process and work. They are making things in spite of the squelching of freedoms and growing darkness in this nation.
I read Hannah Nunn’s blogpost titled “Peaceful Poppies”. I loved the story of her struggle to find meaning in these crazy times, and how she worked to find her way into doing something that resonated for her. I ordered a poppy right away, and it’s a good thing, too. Hannah, along with many other overseas artisans have stopped shipping to the USA. Their beautiful work, their careful business plans, their worldwide audience has been sabotaged by he who shall not be named.
I found a new-to-me local business called BirdieBlue, I hope it manages to weather the storms of our economic climate. Woman led, BirdieBlue is working hard to keep old winter gear out of landfills, in a most creative way! Check out their website here.
I took this book out of the library, mostly for its gorgeous photos. I doubt I will ever make a utensil by hand, but the book had a great recipe for beeswax salve to treat wooden things with. Heirloom Wood, a modern guide to carving spoons, bowls, boards and other homeware can lower your blood pressure just by turning the pages. :-)
Since joining our library board I’ve had a goal of visiting more libraries in Vermont. Ours is a small state, so getting around is easier than it might be in other parts of the country. On Friday, Batman and I drove over to Vergennes to poke around the small city and explore the Bixby Memorial Free Library. What a gem! You can read about it here.
I’m convinced more than ever that public libraries are one of the cornerstones of a strong and vibrant democracy. I love the learning I’m doing with our small band of trustees.
And I love the many ways our public libraries are signaling their all inclusive welcome!
I promised you photos of the capes when they got to Detroit. And now there’s one on its way to Freya, too. To see the one I made for Maggie when she was a little girl, look here. Quick stitching can be such fun, and another way to connect to far away grandchildren.
The frosting on the cake of this bog post is a magical home in Sweden, as shown in this post by My Scandinavian Home. Maybe next time we can meet there!
Cultivate hope, dearest readers, act with courage, shine your light.
Love, KLR
p.s. I’ve finally commented on your comments. I’m so forgetful about this detail. :-(