Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Keep calm and carry on

I had a lot to post about yesterday, but I couldn't resist sharing that tax-day Zelda Wisdom. So I saved most of the following photos and 'news' to share today; posting more than once per day might tax the attention of my readers. ;-)

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The only time I hear about what's going on in the world is if I am in the car (which is always turned to public radio) and at night when I often, but not always, tune in to the local TV news station. Yesterday someone made a comment about praying for Boston on my blog; I had no idea to what she was referring. Later I called to check on my folks, and they asked, "Are you watching TV?" Then they told me about Boston....

Horrible. Horror-filled.

So what should be our response? My response? Some bloggers have pulled their usual posts, feeling it would be selfish to continue with business as usual. I look at things differently, I guess. The goal of terrorists (those who commit heinous acts to cause terror, whoever they are) is to destroy normalcy, to make us hole up in fear. I refuse. Life – for most – goes on. Those who are killed or injured are not dishonored by us carrying on, but I do think the terrorist(s) are defied by our doing so. Once I learned of the events of the day, sitting glued to the images on the screen did NOTHING to help the victims; I'm afraid it only fed the ego(s) of whoever is responsible, knowing he/she/they got the attention of the whole world.

Anyway, that's this country girl's position on things; I don't mean to offend anyone with it and apologize if I do.


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Sunday was cold, windy and damp. Rick and Brian were troopers, splitting and stacking firewood out in it most of the day. One of the major items on my to-do list was 'skirt fleeces,' but I only managed to get Annabelle's done; my hands just got too cold. (As in many other places, our winter/spring weather is all wonky!)
Annabelle produces such lovely crimp in both her own and her offspring's fleece. (The same person has purchased Annabelle's fleece all three years I've owned her; the woman blends it with angora and alpaca.) Oh, how I hope to get at least one ewe lamb from Annabelle next spring!

Monday continued much the same as Sunday weather-wise, with some dramatic cloudscapes.
Puffy white blossoms below dwarfed by BIG white cloud above!
Inside, I did some Kool-Aid dyeing in preparation for my Textiles class while homeschooling Brian. We'll do another 'colorway' in class Wednesday while the students learn to spindle using white roving first.

My own spindle project continues; I'll take it to class Wednesday to demonstrate for the students.
If my Textiles class goes anything like the one I taught last year, I will be doing a LOT of spindling before it's over. The kids just don't have the time and proficiency to produce enough yardage with which to weave their final projects, so between classes I use each of their spindles to create more yarn.

Today we are scrambling to make accommodations for six new residents:

We weren't looking to add more chickens; our flock of nine hens is just about perfect for the set-up we have and they are getting along great. But a friend from church emailed us Saturday night to say his wife walked out on him, divorce is around the corner, their house is going on the market this week, and he needs to find a home for his Golden Sex Link pullets ASAP. In email exchanges over the next couple days, we tried to decline his offer and pointed out he could sell them easily, but he begged us to take them. Well, I may not be able to do anything for the victims in Boston, but I can help a friend going through a personal crisis. So, welcome to Boulderneigh, girls. We'll try to do our best by you!

That's it for the last three days at . . .

11 comments:

Sharrie said...

I said the same thing tonight about the tragedy in Boston. All the coverage only serves to feed the egos of perpetrators of this crime. Ditto with the car radio station.

Tombstone Livestock said...

Did you send me your wonky weather, been nice sunny and warm last few days, today big puffy white clouds, wind, dark ugly clouds, windy thin grey clouds now .............. and it is cold out there.

Nice fleece, I hope you get twin ewe lambs from Annabelle next year.

Suzan said...

I totally agree with you Michelle. Terrible things are happening all over the world, but we can't stop living because of these heinous crimes. We can pray for the victims and be more aware of our surroundings and give our service to others who have been directly touched.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

I adore Zelda. Life does go on and a sense of normalcy is, sometimes, the only thing that gets me through the day. That and knowing nothing happens God doesn't allow for His purposes. His ways are not our ways...

Theresa said...

Michelle - I agree with you. Pray, and then carry on with no fear.

thecrazysheeplady said...

I agree with all of this and especially the helping the one friend in a crisis of his own. If everyone helped one person and that person helped one person...

Moldy Old Crone said...

I also agree wholeheartedly. The terrorists' goal is to disrupt the life of America. Keeping calm and carrying on is the only way to give them "the finger." We must all mourn the dead and support the injured. Of course. But on a personal level, all you can do is commit random acts of kindness in your own world, and pray that they create ripples.

Susan said...

I will just add my support of and agreement with your views, Michelle. Fear empowers those who want to threaten and harm us. Small acts of kindness are good under any circumstances. That fleece is beautiful! I was just looking at my crunchy pair this morning and thinking I may be pulling VM out of those fleeces for weeks!

C-ingspots said...

Michelle, I am in complete agreement with you regarding the terrorism (or whatever it truly was) acts. It is horrendous, but we who are left, must carry on and not give one bit of attention or credence to those who commit evil acts of violence. All we can do for the victims is pray and let God handle everything. And, oh my...Annabelle's fleece is outstanding! Beautiful creamy color and what crimp!! Lovely.

Retired Knitter said...

I so agree with your comments about carrying on. And I find myself doing so with a heavy heart. We see too much of this now in our culture. I am reading a book called Amish Peace. One chapter was about The Comfort Quilt - that was created by a group of school children for another group of children in the 9-11 area. Since then that quilt has been transferred around the country to various places where mass killings have happened. It was a reminder of just how many of these we have had. I wasn't blogging when Boston happened, but I am going to back blog using this Comfort Quilt chapter as a reminder - we need to carry on but we need to also always remember.

I, too, rarely watch the news or the weather. I am a happier person not knowing.

Christine said...

I wholeheartedly agree!