The good, bad, and genuinely tragic (or where I've been for the past couple of weeks)
The last several weeks have been a mixture of good, bad (well, not so good, but otherwise it doesn’t pun on the old movie title), and the genuinely tragic.
I’m going to start with the last, and get it out of the way. At the beginning of last week (December 10), one of my colleagues was killed in a plane crash. He was a great guy, a down-to-earth physician who was invariably kind, thoughtful, and good-humored. Adding to the tragedy was the fact that he was a vibrant man, who seemed always hearty and full of life. All of us whose lives he touched (and we are many) have been just reeling from the loss.
Even recognizing that life goes on, it’s been a bit hard to get back into planning for the holiday season, even knowing that’s what he’d want for everyone.
Which brings me to the bad/not so good, which is how I’m feeling about the holidays so far. And I love Christmas, and don’t hate winter. I’m especially looking forward to the winter solstice (Dec 21), when days start getting longer….even if it is in increments.
I’m not even close to ready, though I’m pleased to say that I did get out a number of Christmas cards. And it’s before Christmas. Some people even have their cards now (they tell me), a full week before Christmas. Sure, sure, chuckle if you want, but I think that’s a record for me. To give you some perspective, last year I gave up completely and just sent New Year’s cards…the week of January 2nd.
And on to the good---I finally sent in my stuff for the breed swap I’m participating in. Considering the deadline was November 20, I was getting a bit nervous that the organizer would give up on me! Thank heavens 1) she’s patient, and 2) I’m not the only terribly late person!
The swap involved 32 of us each picking a different breed of sheep, researching it, and gathering physical materials for it. I did manage to e-mail the research in almost on time. The physical materials are 1) some washed locks, 2) 1 oz of roving, and 3) 1 yard of spun roving. The organizer will then sort it and compile binders with the research and packages of roving, locks, and yarn. Heaven bless her; although we each made a small financial contribution to defray her costs, we also keep telling her to let us know how much more it costs! I had a hard enough time just getting my own stuff together, let alone compiling for 32.
My breed is Coopworth, which I actually have no personal connection to. I just wanted to join, but decided kinda late. Coopworth was the first breed I encountered (when searching “sheep breeds”) that wasn’t on the list as already taken. But it seems a nice breed. The resulting yarn isn’t exactly next to the skin soft, but I enjoyed spinning it. I'll post pictures in a bit. Blogger is being difficult again.
I’m going to start with the last, and get it out of the way. At the beginning of last week (December 10), one of my colleagues was killed in a plane crash. He was a great guy, a down-to-earth physician who was invariably kind, thoughtful, and good-humored. Adding to the tragedy was the fact that he was a vibrant man, who seemed always hearty and full of life. All of us whose lives he touched (and we are many) have been just reeling from the loss.
Even recognizing that life goes on, it’s been a bit hard to get back into planning for the holiday season, even knowing that’s what he’d want for everyone.
Which brings me to the bad/not so good, which is how I’m feeling about the holidays so far. And I love Christmas, and don’t hate winter. I’m especially looking forward to the winter solstice (Dec 21), when days start getting longer….even if it is in increments.
I’m not even close to ready, though I’m pleased to say that I did get out a number of Christmas cards. And it’s before Christmas. Some people even have their cards now (they tell me), a full week before Christmas. Sure, sure, chuckle if you want, but I think that’s a record for me. To give you some perspective, last year I gave up completely and just sent New Year’s cards…the week of January 2nd.
And on to the good---I finally sent in my stuff for the breed swap I’m participating in. Considering the deadline was November 20, I was getting a bit nervous that the organizer would give up on me! Thank heavens 1) she’s patient, and 2) I’m not the only terribly late person!
The swap involved 32 of us each picking a different breed of sheep, researching it, and gathering physical materials for it. I did manage to e-mail the research in almost on time. The physical materials are 1) some washed locks, 2) 1 oz of roving, and 3) 1 yard of spun roving. The organizer will then sort it and compile binders with the research and packages of roving, locks, and yarn. Heaven bless her; although we each made a small financial contribution to defray her costs, we also keep telling her to let us know how much more it costs! I had a hard enough time just getting my own stuff together, let alone compiling for 32.
My breed is Coopworth, which I actually have no personal connection to. I just wanted to join, but decided kinda late. Coopworth was the first breed I encountered (when searching “sheep breeds”) that wasn’t on the list as already taken. But it seems a nice breed. The resulting yarn isn’t exactly next to the skin soft, but I enjoyed spinning it. I'll post pictures in a bit. Blogger is being difficult again.
posted by Kim in NJ @ 7:59 PM
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