Pages

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Snip, snip, snippet

 I wonder if I will live long enough to see life again. Please do not think I have imminent thoughts of death. I simply have no life. Like all of us, my chief excitement is gathering up and hugging all our little snippets. Except those west coasts, who complain I'm not wafting cold and rain over the Rockies. Weather moves from west to east, you guys. I put a fan on the picture of towels on the side.

Too Much, Never Enough is not intended to expose Trump for a fraud. Mary Trump always knew something was wrong, and acquired the education to diagnose the man. It is a witty and occasionally funny story of a her own lifetime circulating in a dysfunctional family. 

It is saddest to read incidents I knew existed, among acquaintances or people I knew of. Trump and I are of the same generation. I knew men who avoided the draft. I knew of men who beat the SAT exams. I knew people who were the adjectives we ascribe to the Trump. I just never knew a person who was all the adjectives, a man who could not pass a fifth grade entrance exam, who was coddled into that state by father, family, and then everyone who had invested and could not lose. 

We did not elect him, and I grow more confident we can dismiss him. Lots of work left to do.

Laura sent me a picture this week:


That is an inkle loom, one step up from the most rudimentary form of weaving.


If you look closely at the first picture, she also has filthy fingernails. She has a business, weeding gardens. She starts her route at six in the morning, lunch at noon, and then a little more, depending on weather. Last spring she asked me for pictures of her in the little garden, to pick one for a business card.

School will begin in October.

Cathy and I are going for lunch. Late lunch. She is a certified caregiver, and is on her Monday/Wednesday job with a darling little boy. Someday I'll tell. The parents are "real millenials", she says. They just called her and asked if they can be an hour late. As usual. Late lunch for us.

After we sashay through the deli, another excursion into the big world. We're going for flu shots.


46 comments:

  1. When you say, "I wonder if I will live long enough to see life again" are you referring to COVID and the impact it has had upon our lives? It is as if normality remains in suspension. I watched Jill Biden speaking for the Democratic National Convention from her old classroom in Wilmington and admired the fact that she didn't refer to the current occupant of The White House by name. I also grinned at Mr Clinton's description of Trump as a guy who is always watching TV and checking out his social media channels...“If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he’s your man.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the photos of the ankle loom. I do still want to learn. Must give my local friend a call...after the pandemic, of course!

    ReplyDelete
  3. p.s. I now receive three of your posts. Dare I go in and try to delete a couple of subscriptions?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love how Laura has her own separate life but still connects with you on a lot of levels. I am sure that throughout her life she is going to remember and be grateful for the skills you have passed on to her.
    I know what you mean about wondering if we'll ever see "life" again. I think that you probably do more than you think but what do I know? I know it's all different. I know we long for a sort of normalcy. I know this is so very strange.
    I HOPE that at least we will have a different president soon. With all of my hope-dashed heart.
    Hang in there, woman. You still do great work.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I feel that about seeing life again. The number of deaths are dropping here in the UK but somehow my passion for life outside the home has died. It doesn't feel safe out there anymore, or fun.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good to see Laura using the wonderful tools you have given her for life.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow time for flu shots already! Where has this year gone? Good for Laura with her business! Creative indeed!

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful to hear such positive news about Laura. My worry-wart self has been wondering.
    And yes, I find myself wondering about the life/existence conundrum too. I hope we both find the route to living again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So good to see Laura doing well. You were and are a positive force in her life.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Before I retired I had a long list of things I'd now have time for. Hah!
    I now have endless time..........

    ReplyDelete
  11. I understand you wondering if you will live long enough to see life again. I get it, that feeling. It's been six months and I think some things have changed that I did not expect. There's this feeling of the unknown that kind of seeps into your brain. I feel much less healthy than I did six months ago, and more tired and stressed.

    How wonderful to hear from Laura. I've never seen a loom like that one but it looks like fun to use. Laura sounds like a very industrious young lady. Just like someone else we know and love!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What keeps us going is walking and now cycling. Otherwise our lives have closed into a bubble which includes our daughter and the three kids. The new normal I fear!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good for Laura for having a business and for learning to weave. I've been wondering what she's doing.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  14. The loom will make fine guitar straps and belts, looks really cool, I think i might want one!
    I went to the doctor this morning, she recommended getting a flu shot in September or October, But for sure this year is the most important for getting it! I am not looking forward...at all, Summer was do-able with stay at home, everything closed as it still is. Schools are on and off again, pretty much a homeschoolers haven. Good job teaching the grand girl how to weave.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hari OM
    It's a strange existence now, no question. Does knowing the cause make the effect of Trump any easier to bear? ... and bravo Laura! YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. I don't know what life is supposed to be any more. So much that I used to enjoy feels risky at the moment, thus I'm having to find other ways to spend my time. I'm trying to look at it as growth, but it still makes me grumpy. Flu shots already? I usually get mine in September. Hopefully there won't be a shortage.

    ReplyDelete
  17. When I did a lot of eBaying, I never knew how filthy my fingernails were until I saw them in the photos. Nice to see Laura again.

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's important to stay alive if one hopes to have a life again....But I am always aware that I'm on what my husband called "the downhill slope". It's a different kind of life from the uphill slope part. I am glad you still have contact with Laura. And I am always impressed by how much you do...Trump is so depressing. I hope he is soundly defeated and leaves in a reasonable way. I wish all this racism in our country would fade away and all the harm he has done would be undone. Be well. Stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I earnestly hope that you can get rid of Trump in November. The whole world hopes so.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I remember teaching the use of the inkle loom to primary school kids when a friend was their teacher...back in the dark ages. Years later I met one of the pupils at an exhibition of her weaving...was I proud!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I’m very interested in the inkle loom, as I’d never heard of one before. It may be hard to find one in Perth and mail orders are becoming slower and slower because of the pandemic. It seems like the “new normal” will have to become “buy local”. No more Lands End clothing!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hang in there Joanne. It will take awhile, but science will get us there.

    ReplyDelete
  23. for all the bad blood when you and Laura parted, I see your work on her in her...a little loom and a business working in gardens. you not only instilled a work ethic in her you instilled several loves (weaving and gardening) and gave her the room to explore her creativeness. I'm so glad y'all are starting to reconnect some.

    Maybe next year about this time things will be more normalized and then transitioning back people will remark on how strange it is to socialize.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Obama just gave an ominous speech wherein he warned that our democracy will be over if Trump is re-elected. Chills! I know how you feel and I also wonder if I will be around when normalcy returns. If things don’t turn out well in November, nothing will ever be normal again, virus or not.

    Tomorrow I am going out to lunch for the first time since March. My son scouted it out first and thought we would feel safe. The tables are far apart in a parking lot and no one is within 12 ft. of each other. Since our risk level is about a 2, this is a very brave move for us.

    ReplyDelete
  25. At least there is a sensible attack on Trump, it is just relief making to hear people talking sense.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Laura has a strong work ethic which will do her well in years to come. I don't need to remind you to feel proud of the part you played in developing that. Lovely to see her weaving.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Good to see Laura following your skillpaths.
    Normal will not "return". It will just be different.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Sounds like Laura is following in your weaving footsteps! And good for her having her own weeding business -- shows good initiative!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I hear ya. I do too wonder, but hesitate to voice the wonder for fear of being thought morbid and doom-belling but hey, reality. How long more?

    Love Laura's loom work - apple not too far from the tree :D

    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm old and suspect this virus will be around for my remaining lifetime. So I'm working on what life I have, enjoying what I can. It's a struggle since I'm much more anxious than before. Even minor outings take a bit of courage.
    About inkle looms: they show up on our local freecycle now and then. I've been offered one by a friend which I declined, it not being a weaving form I like. You can build your own out of PVC pipe and connectors, if you can't find/afford one. I build a lot of art equipment that way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course. My sister and I built every jig and fixture we invented for our studio. I'll tell Margaret what she needs to do.

      Delete
    2. And PS--I believe I'm six months old than you.

      Delete
    3. I will be 82 in December. You're there already? Whoah!

      Delete
  31. You have many more snippets than I do. I am just not an industrious person.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Bravo to you. You are way ahead of us.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yup, I wonder if I'll out live the virus. If I get it, probably not. We probably have another six weeks of really hot weather and then we can go outside again, that will be good. I have some dead plants in my sight line outside, but it's too hot to replace them. Good on Laura for the weeding job and the loom.

    ReplyDelete
  34. What amazes me is that Trump is such a non-stop liar, yet either people believe he's telling the truth, or they know he's lying and they don't care, they like his truculent attitude.

    ReplyDelete
  35. People understand soiled fingernails, especially if you wear a sweating tee shirt with grass stains and lots of dirt on it.

    I read a headline that says something about the DNC spearkers seem to want to talk about Trump more than they do Biden. Taking the path or hatred will turn people away from voting. Why educated people focus on their hatred instead of talking about how they will make thing better, giving any time to trash another candidate, will always puzzle me. If Trump discovered a cure for Cornaviruses, people would still hate him, and turn his good deed into evil.
    Treating a sitting US President the way he is treated is disgusting. A person doesn't have to like him to show some measure of respect for the Office of the President of the United States! If he is reelected, then that will be on the Democrats failure stop giving time to talking about Trump!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I took a walk on the wild side yesterday and hugged my 10 year old grandson, who is going to be a big brother in early 2021, and my daughter who is pregnant. I hadn't hugged either of them since March, and I just couldn't stand it anymore.

    What a helluva thing when it feels scary to hug your daughter and grandson.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can feel so with you, Susie! Last time I hugged the triplets, my girl grandchildren who become 1 year in September, was in February. At least we are lucky that they are healthy.

      Delete
  37. It mmoves from South to North here.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Glad that Laura is well and has her hands full.

    Mary's book was illuminating. Poor Freddy. He seemed to care too much what his father thought of him. And I don't think any of their children fared well.

    ReplyDelete