Was This My Idea?

Sometimes I am forced to come face to face with my own inconsistencies and admit the truth that I am sometimes a bit hypocritical. Wishy washy. Do as I say, not as I do. Hoisted by my own petard.

I talk a lot about slowing down, inhabiting the moment, savoring experiences, and generally resisting the cultural imperative to rush, achieve, perfect, and accomplish. I even manage to do it once in a while.

Here’s what I noticed this week: I like it best when it’s my own idea, not when it’s imposed on me by some outside force. Like weather.

When subzero wind chills and snow accumulation keep me from being able to do and accomplish things, do I respond with contented joy and think, “Ah! An opportunity to nestle in and simply be! I shall savor this precious time of stillness and consider it a unexpected gift!”?

No. No, I do not.

I prefer being the master of my own schedule and choosing when and where I’m going to slow down and savor. Someone might identify this as “an area of opportunity for growth.”

In other areas of growth, we had a wee surprise this week:

According to all the math, gestation calculators, counting of days, and carrying of all the nines, there should not have been any lambs from the Valais ewes and Mr. Darcy until after February 4.

The picture above was taken January 28. Surprise!

We’ve been making plans to go up and gather the rest of the flock. Greg’s been busy constructing accommodations for the rams to keep them happy and humans safe. I’ve been reading up on quarantine protocols and making myself better acquainted with the business end of a shovel while prepping a quarantine stall.

We thought we’d be able to squeak up there and back before the party started, but it was not to be. Now we need to wait a few days (imposed stillness again!) while mom and ewe get everything sorted out between them before yanking them into a new environment. And actually, we need to wait a bit longer than that, because I’m told another ewe looks like she’s about ready to drop a lamb any day now.

I’m told this by my son and daughter-in-law who were also juggling the imminent arrival of babies from two of their own animals. One calf arrived safely the morning I wrote this, thankfully (I witnessed it on FaceTime! So amazing!!!), so they’re down to one more cow and one more sheep and then they might be able to sleep for more than an hour at a time.

I should probably stuff any whinging about my weather-enforced stillness, hmm?

I started knitting on a sweet little sweater by TinCanKnits called Flax Worsted (Ravelry link).

I’ve admired this sweater for a long time. I like the lines on it, the simplicity of it, and the generosity of the designer in offering it for free. I’m also fascinated by any pattern that promises to produce a garment suitable to be worn for all sizes, from 0-6 months to 6XL. There are some good suggestions for shaping for the adult sizes that I think would be fun to try later. I’m making one to fit an 18-month-old, so shaping is not my biggest concern.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to wrap up some enforced stillness to give to the mother of the baby who will receive this sweater? Or for the stockmen and women on baby watch?

Greg’s Got Questions

Thank you to those of you who participated in the poll last week!

The winning question was: What has surprised you the most since you’ve started leaning into curiosity more (even when it gives your introverted self a bad case of mental hives)?

I am surprised by the “hidden” pockets of knowledge and experience I discover in people well after the initial “get to know you” conversations, or in folks I’ve known for a long time. Like learning that someone took flying lessons at one point in their life or once rewired an entire house.

I think I like those discoveries best when they uncover abilities and experiences that are completely different than my own. “What?! You know how to raise chickens? You’ve been to Iceland? You were a travelling nurse? You ate WHAT? Tell me more!”

The world is too full of wonder for us to ever be able to take it all in within the span of one lifetime. I have very much enjoyed being surprised by the variety of what my friends and relatives have experienced within theirs.

Greg’s Questions for This Week:

Here are the questions up for the vote this week. I’ll answer the winner in the next newsletter. (As a matter of procedure, the poll function takes you to another page to submit your vote, so if that happens to you, you’re on the right track!)

Question 1: What is the name of that wee surprise? And what Jane Austen book I still haven’t yet read inspired it?

Question 2: “Hoisted by my own petard”? What exactly does that mean? You’ve got to remember that I grew up reading a lot more Popular Mechanics than Shakespeare. Which explains why I’m building the ram pens and you’re naming the sheep.

Question 3: How does a knitting pattern designer go about creating a pattern that covers such a wide range of sizes? And what makes that difficult?

Happy knitting,

Kiersten J