It's Wednesday so it's Yarn Along with Ginny day! Feel free to link up and join.
There is not much new going on in the knitting front. I am still working on the stone chat bookmark from last week. It should have been done by now, but I have been doing other things. I meant to finish it up on the drive to and from the beach the other day, but I managed to lose one of my tiny needles somewhere in the car or in the sand. Oops. Luckily the needle company provides an extra needle in each package, but that extra needle was at home.
I am still looking at different knitting projects. I do love to peruse knitting books and patterns. I am pretty sure I will make a scarf or a cowl. It will be someone's Christmas present.
As for reading, I am still enjoying Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren. There have been reassuring passages about not "clinging" to our own views and biases about who our children are or who we think they should be, as they always change and if we look closely we can see all of their different facets. They will surprise us, no matter what label or diagnosis has been placed upon them.
Napthali also talks expertly about balance in our lifestyle being aware of how "grim-faced and driven" we mothers can be in our quest to get everything done, obsessing with our ginormous to-do lists. She writes about being so busy we don't make time to truly relax. "Seeing a friend in the distance feels like a threat; our time is too valuable to give away for a chat. . .We look at the sheer length of our 'to-do' list and feel we have no choice but to be rushed and driven."
This is a hard one for me and a lot of people since planning, driving, erranding, etc. can fall on the shoulders of mostly one person by circumstance or necessity. I am not sure the workload changes but I am working on my attitude towards it and the idea of free time. Napthali notes that many of us are "attached" to the idea of completing everything on our lists but we can never get it all done. If we do manage it one day, the victory will be short-lived simply because we have to feed our families. So I am working on giving up the idea that I can get everything done or under control. One way I can do this is to stop responding that I am "busy" each time someone asks what or how I am doing. I have already started and I must say it feels better.
The other books we are reading this week are Zen Shorts and Time of Wonder. Both books are slow and beautiful. They are just right for summer and an attitude adjustment.
What are your making and reading this week?
