The tough job market is hitting close to home all around these days. Several of my friends are out of work and now one of them is faced with the need to move herself and her son out west in order to be closer to family, but they need help! We are mobilizing in force in an effort to help them move and to help raise the necessary funds to make it happen.
I am not a person of means, but I am in a position to help in the following manner:
50% of all orders placed between now and Friday, Feb 5th will be donated to their moving fund. As my way of thanking you for your support all purchases will come with a coupon for $5 off your next order.
Plan ahead! Will you need a Valentine's Day gift? A Mother's Day gift? A birthday present or just a midwinter treat Please consider shopping early and help me help my friend.
I think we all hoped that the effects of the recession would have passed by now, but many of us are still experiencing them every day. It is only by pulling together on a community level that we can really change our experience of this situation.
I leave you with this picture and a song from one of my favorite community activists:
Saturday, January 1, 2011
It's always hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2010 was interesting and mostly productive for me, with a few major milestones. I don't think any year is free of stress, and 2010 marks a lot of changes for me with the deteriorating health of some family members and the loss of several others. However the time spent recalling the significance and impact of their lives has brought our family closer and served to remind us all that each day is precious and best spent to the fullest.
I spent much of this past year gathering resources and building forward. I started by finishing off one major project!
I graduated! Done and done!
Graduation granted me the time to really focus on business, and I feel that I made some significant steps forward last year. Jus and I moved a bit south, and I expanded my range out into New Jersey, Long Island and CT. Some of it was successful, some was not. One thing that is very cool is that my new van gave me the freedom to travel and avoid costly hotel stays. My dad and I build a very cool platform in the back, complete with a trapdoor, so that I am able to sleep on an air mattress during my shows. It's so liberating I can't even tell you!
We also built a new website (SoasaDesigns.com) and while it's not really finished it's still a vast improvement on the old one. Sometime this fall I also started selling through Artfire.com and I think that I will be happy with that change in my life.
On a more personal note, this year I grew my first solo vegetable garden! It was an INCREDIBLE experience. I don't know where I'll find land to plant one this year, but I will certainly be trying to find some! If anyone knows a place I could put in a small garden in the Goshen area, please tell me!
2010 was a good year. I have learned and grown more than I expected, and I think that I can make 2011 awesome with a little focus and determination.
It's been so long since I wrote a proper post that I think Blogger is mad at me. I wrote up a nice one for your guys, but then everything possible went wrong with formating and stuff just broke.
Here's the gist of it. I took a break, and then I had too much news to share, but none of it seemed worthy of a big "I'm back!" kind of post. So I didn't blog for about 8 months.
So here's a little photo representation of my life since January:
I graduated! (With highest honors. I am a nerd. Thanks for listening. I'm done bragging now.)
I started spinning again. Sort of.
I grew my first solo garden!
I processed a total of 7.5lbs of basil into pesto for my freezer.
I had a blast at Mountain Jam, Oldsongs, and GrassRoots music festivals!
I got a "new" van! A '93 Dodge Caravan! I pimped it out so that I can sleep in it when I have far away events. It is totally dope. That's a Buzz Lightyear air mattress, by the way.
Most of all, I've cooked and eaten lots of delicious food in my HUGE kitchen in my new apartment.
I also went to Cape Cod a couple times, I've been traveling all over the place selling jewelry, I'm working on a new website, I build an awesome hookah for a final project, I did some nice ceramics work, I've been hula hooping again, and I have some beautiful new designs up on Etsy!
Hi! If you made it to the end, thanks for looking! I promise that my upcoming posts won't be this nutty.
Last year I made it my mission to knit every gift I gave for Christmas, and I succeeded (baaaaaarely). The only exception was the goodybag you see above which I sewed for my Aunt and filled with a pattern she wanted, some gorgeous Jitterbug, and a set of batching stitch markers that I made. I would have knit her something too, but she loves to knit as much as I do (and we knitters always like knitting goodies*)! Having set the bar so high last year, I feel like there's no way I can back down from the challenge this year! My list has been made (and way overly ambitious) since January, but I haven't gotten much done in the way of knitting yet.
I know that the Yarn Harlot has her own special friend who makes her knitting schedule for her every holiday season. I think I'm going to try! I'm sure you all think I'm crazy for thinking about these things now, but just you wait! Of course I'm not going to tell you what I'm planning, both so that it'll be a surprise for the giftees and so that when I fail miserably there isn't any proof, but let me just say that it involves sweaters (yes! plural!) and vests (also plural!) and fairy wings..and on and on. I know I might sound like I'm complaining but I swear I'm not. I LOVE giving handmade gifts, in fact I'll go out of my way to come up with an excuse to gift. Onward with the knitting!
How soon do you start planning for Christmas? Do you like to make your own? Is anyone willing to talk me off the ledge when I'm about to commit Christmas Eve Knitter Harikari with my double pointed #5's?
I had my friend take this photo for me in Mendoza, Argentina while we were touring the vineyards. I couldn't believe it when I saw the John Deere! I had to give it a hug. It made me think of home and of you. I love you! Happy Father's Day!
I didn't become aware of these two until after Dave had passed away, and that saddens me deeply. I was thrilled when I came across this video of them performing live, because I had never seen him play before! Dave and Tracy are another way that I have kept myself close to home while traveling. Their music is so rich and emotional that it moves me to tears at times. When I need to feel close to my family, this is the music I turn to. My younger brother covers a good number of Dave and Tracy's songs, and we have a great time singing them together as a family. This year I'll miss Tracy's performance at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and I'm hoping that my family will sing extra loud for me!
If you would like to hear more from Tracy she has some really great songs up on her MySpace page! I urge you to support her. I can't think of an album of theirs (or her's alone) that I don't recommend!
I have to add a bonus, because I can't only share one song! This is another family favorite. I didn't make this video, it was made by another Dave and Tracy fan. I think it's great!
Usually Memorial Day is a family holiday, a day off, a day to spend with the people I love. This year it's different because I'm far away, in another country, and I've been thinking. I've gotten a range of reactions from people when I tell them that I'm from the US. Most of the positive ones are from people who think NYC is a magical place, and they imagine that I live there and ride around in a limo and drink champagne with supermodels. Not so. Most often I get sort of an awkward "ohhh". You really reflect on your own country when you leave it behind, even if it's temporary, because you have to learn to navigate in your new environment, with new cultural norms and new social laws.
I've been robbed twice now (as I've written about) and my initial reaction is rage. Rage at a government for not employing adequate security in a HUGE city, rage at an economic structure that causes so many people to exist with so little. After fuming and storming for a while I realized what I really feel is rage at this society in which so few people extend a hand, or a smile, much less any help. Two weeks ago I started buying cookies and juice for a family of children that sits at the corner near my Subte stop. I've made friends with the business owners on my street, the man in the hardware store, the guys in the produce market, the Chinese family that owns the supermarket, the woman from Peru who sells fruit in the market on Estado de Israel. Once a week or so I visit the used book vendors near my Subte stop at school to have a chat and see what they've got. To get robbed after making these connections, after finally building a little community for myself, was almost enough to make me pull back completely. It has occurred to me over the last few days that if I do that I'll only be perpetuating the problem here. I can't fix the economy, I can't make the city hire more police, but I can show people that I care, that I am interested in their stories. I can show them that I am human, and they are human, and we are all human together. We all have stories, in that we are all the same.
It was difficult to find a song that was appropriate for today because I wasn't sure how I was feeling about the day. I'm not a political blogger, and I'm grateful for that. I hesitate to share political views because so often they shut down opportunities for conversation, rather than opening them. I'm still an idealist. I support our troops as human beings, and because they protect the rights that I have as a citizen of the United States. I do not support the global social and political mindset in which guns and bombs are necessary to secure our beliefs. I do not support the decision to bowl through other countries on the basis that we know what is good for them, without allowing them to search for their own new way of life. I believe in human connections, regardless of how we name it in our churches and temples. I believe we should bring our troops home because if we really, truly respected them as human beings we would not ask them to die for us without first trying to resolve our problems in a human, non-violent way. We are distinct in the animal kingdom because we alone have the ability to chose how we arrive at our future. I believe we should exercise that ability and speak, in memory of all who have given their one, single, irreplaceable life.
You may or may not remember my Statement of Intent to keep track of what I was eating and when in order to figure out why my energy was so low. Turns out I was basically starving myself. Oops. Also, very unlike me! It's basically a result of my stomach (and I think maybe my heart)being homesick. Turns out I enjoy eating a lot less when I'm alone.
On Monday I set out intent on cooking some food that would be appealing to me and make me want to eat. Remember my new-found faith in the connectedness of all people? I stumbled across Farmgirl Fare a great blog about food, from a lady who lives on a farm:) Can't get much closer to home than that!
I went for two recipes: Use it or lose it lentil escarole soup and Slice of Toasted Heaven Lemon Coconut "Bread". I didn't follow either recipe very well, because I didn't have a measuring cup or spoon, so I did everything by ratios...sort of. I did the "bread" first, using a drinking glass (which I believe is closer to a cup and a half) as a measuring cup, and sort of eyeballed everything else. It came out pretty well but I'd use more coconut and vanilla extract and less lemon juice next time. It's delicious though, and I love it and recommend it. Toast it! She's not kidding. It reminds me of a blueberry lemon pound cake my mom makes. If I can find blueberries here I'm going to add them next time.
While that was baking (for 40 minutes instead of 60-70, because Ceci's gas oven is different that what we normally use) I started up the soup, again with no measuring cup. I also only had one tomato, and no escarole. I used two kinds of lentils, and a ton of carrots, and probably not enough liquid so it's pretty thick. I also added a little cayenne, and cooked up some hamburger in Penzey's Southwest Seasoning that Mom gave me! I threw that in after I blended everything. I don't want to brag, but lentil soup is one of my favorite things on the planet, and this may be some of the best lentil soup I've ever eaten. I am very proud of myself. It also keeps me going all day! I made enough that I can probably eat it for 10 meals, so I threw a bunch in the freezer for next time I'm craving it.
I was only on Farmgirl Fare for a short time, but I have about a dozen recipes I want to try. I can't recommend her more!
I am a terrible daughter! My mom and Paula (my dad's cousin) came to visit me during the last week of March, for 8 days! We had an absolute blast, and I've been promising (and failing) to post pictures for about three weeks now. Well, today's the day!! Here you go!
I've added all the photos I have to a folder on my Flickr Page so that you can see them!
I am WAY LATE making this post, but it's still January, so here goes!
I wanted to share a little bit of what took over my life for the last three months of 2008. Sometimes I go a little crazy with plans...this year it was Christmas knitting. I convinced myself I was planning so far ahead, starting in September, it would be no trouble getting through my list. Never mind that I was full on into sale season and driving every which way across the state in the middle of a hectic semester while still balancing a part time job. Never mind that I need to sleep at night. Or that I planned to knit my brother an entire sweater in the month of November, or that I decided to do it from calculations rather than a pattern. Never mind that finals were the week before Christmas, and I'm trying to get the paperwork done for a study abroad (more on that later.)
No, I was determined. What happens when I'm determined to get something done? I usually do, for better or worse. This year was no exception (well, except the two projects I didn't get done, but they were sort of "if I have time" projects anyway.)
Every morning my classmates and I recited this verse, all through middle school. Every once in a while it comes up, and each time I come across it I am struck by the sense of purpose and connectedness I feel. A childhood friend of mine just recently returned from Cambodia and he wrote a piece for my school's newsletter about finally feeling the full purpose of these words. Thus they come into my life again and I am filled with a lightness and bubbling excitement that comes from feeling that all things are possible.
I look into the world In which the sun is shining, In which the stars are sparkling, In which the stones repose. Where living plants are growing, Where sentient beasts are living, Where man, soul gifted, Gives the spirit a dwelling place .
I look into my soul That lives within my being. The world creator moves, In sunlight and in soul light, In wide world space without, In soul depths here within. To thee, creator spirit I will now turn my heart, To ask that strength and blessing, To learn and work may grow, Within my inmost being.
I always kind of had trouble with having people in my house. It felt invasive. But my goodness, when it's the right group and the right number it's wonderful. Tonight was fabulous. Everything fell together perfectly! I love to be a little hostess when everyone is laughing and eating and having a good time. It was girls' night, you see, and the girls, Amanda, Elizabeth, Sara and Joanna, were over, and I set up a little picnic-like area in the living room with our fabulously square coffee table, and served cheese fondue with fresh veggies and bread, and the most stellar chocolate fondue with fresh fruit! Despite New Paltz's supreme inability to sell Fondue forks anywhere it was delish, and we topped it all off with some yummy wine, fabulous conversation, and Casablanca.
This is to become a tradition, we have decided, and since I made such an excessive amount of chocolate fondue we'll be eating sundaes next time! Old movies and classic games, topped with good food. We'll be experimenting with different recipes and having a blast! If anyone has any recommendations we welcome them!
I could gush all night long about how happy I am to have really wonderful friends and such good company, but I have to get up hella early for a Habitat for Humanity build, so I'm signing off!
It's 95 degree and humid here, a rare, disgusting occasion, and I only lasted an hour and a half picking berries today!
I finally, finally finished the dreadlock sleeve I was making for a lovely guy named Jared. It turned out to be much more extravagant than planned, and the poor guy had to wait a while. He's been very sweet about it though, and I think the piece I sent will be well worth the time! Of course, in my excitement I mailed it out without taking a picture. I also mailed out a bunch of books for the BookSwap community I'm part of on Livejournal.com, and some little bundles of beads to my friend Amanda.
Speaking of Amanda, I have a plan. First, back story.
That would be Amanda in purple, laughing at me:)
So, this girl is absolutely the most wonderful young woman I have ever met. She's the best friend one could imagine. She tells you if your jeans make your butt look fat, and she's always up for a long, rambling conversation (which I love). Aside from that though, Amanda gives more of herself to the world that anyone I've ever met. She's an avid fighter for the rights of the homeless and she devotes much of her time to Habitat for Humanity. Despite it all she remains completely down to earth and welcoming, never looking down at those of us who (cough) don't spend our time as generously. Here's the thing. Amanda had plans for the summer, to work and save for school, mostly. However, upon arriving home from a Habitat build in Hungary, she found her grandfather was in a state of immobility, and unable to care for himself. Amanda has dropped everything to spend her summer secluded in the house in the mountains where her grandfather lives, without a car or Internet, and certainly no job.
Here's the thing. I want to give Amanda a weekend away, a chance to relax and have some fun this summer. We're young, after all, and summer is still important to us. My plan is to drive up and get her the third weekend in July, and bring her home to my house so we can go to Falcon Ridge Folk Fest. The problem is that tickets are expensive. So my plan is this. 50% of whatever I sell on Etsy in the next month will be going to the "Help Amanda Have Some Fun" fund, and I'm putting some of her jewelry in my booth at the next few farmer's markets!
There you have it folks! If you'd like to help this girly out check out my Etsy Shop. and see if anything catches your eye, or stop by (if you're local) the Hillsdale Farmers' Market on either July 7th or 21st!,
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