The Block Studies Collective has just entered month #6. Here are my month #5 squares laid out in a pattern of sorts that will likely get shifted as I make more of them. But, for now, I have put this block on hold as I get ready for the last month of the class and a new block. The fabrics have been washed and I am examining them closely to see what colors I like together.
Tara Faughnan, who is teaching this class, has exceeded my expectations. I will post more about that later.
I am almost done with sock #2 - I took this photo a few days ago but I have rounded the heel, picked up the gusset stitches, and am streaming down the length of the foot to the toe.
I do not know what people who don't have some sort of creative outlet are doing to get through these days. Last Friday's performance in the Oval Office by Donald Trump and JD Vance was especially reprehensible. I told Chris tonight I really wanted to talk to dad, or Chas (his dad), or great Aunt Alice. Someone who would have the perspective of the things they lived through and their service in the military to lend some history and wisdom to these times.
A card from my pen pal, flowers, and the photo below of said pen pal on the beach with her friends also made me smile.
A recipe for granola in the NYT cooking section caught my eye a while back and I decided some baking would ease my troubled mind as well. I generally use a nut butter and honey to coat my seeds, nuts, fruit, and oats when I make granola. This recipe was totally different and completely delicious.
It was lighter and crisper without the nut butter, there was also an addictive hint of salt and the coconut flakes added a new dimension. This will be made again. For sure.
Happily there have also been some sunny days with temps in the upper 50's. Ahhhhh. Just what we need, a trip outside to "blow the stink off" as Eleanor (Chris's mom) used to say.
This week I am graduating from writing e-mails to making phone calls to all my representatives in Congress. This past weekend I asked them to tell my how they felt watching the spectacle unfold on 2/28 in the Oval Office. I fully expect them not to reply. This week, my calls will focus on cuts to medicaid and medicare. Unless you work in a healthcare setting, it could be hard to put a face to the folks we take care of every single day that rely on this for their medical care. Everyday ordinary citizens who have worked their whole lives, just getting by, only to be hit by a catastrophic illness that leaves them unable to care for themselves and without family to care for them.
OK - time to close my mind down on that front for the night. I want to dream about fabrics, yarn, making, walking, flowers, and granola :-)
Helpful links:
I was going to put up a link to the NYT cooking for the granola recipe, but realized if you don't subscribe you may not be able to access it... here is second best.
Onward friends. I hope all the people of Ukraine know that some (I think I can even say MOST) Americans are standing strong with them and will continue to speak out against the things we see that are wrong.