đŠ© Everyday Adventures
Facebook Antagonists
Since the beginning of the military action (and now genocide) against Gaza, there are a handful of my Facebook connections who comment on the posts I make about it in an attempt to discredit what Iâm saying.
With great humor, I will tell you all that I do not go on their Facebook pages to give them shit on their posts about it (many of which are blatantly false). I think they're all good people, and when I do comment on a post of theirs (never one about Israel), itâs generally to leave a "love" response or a positive comment.
I am not a chaos agent, nor am I trying to argue with people. I'm simply sharing information to help people understand complex and troubling issues. I've always been the kind to educate myself and then educate others. ("Each one teach one." ~African American proverb) I try to say things in a way that is kind, even when responding to someone who's rude or condescending. Because being rude back doesn't accomplish anything. When they're too rude or using arguments that don't stand up, I usually choose not to respond instead of getting into a petty argument.
After Holiday Letdown
I made an extra effort this holiday season to make it festive for myself, and now I'm feeling the come down from it.
No more decorations. No more holiday music. No more advent calendar.
Back to plain old life.
I did finally get my brain back into work at the end of last week and am now enjoying the challenge of building a new home page for the site I was hired to redesign before the holidays. I'm happy with the progress despite one glitch with the theme that I'm sure the developer will assist me with.
Cross-stitch Purists
Since getting back into cross-stitch, Iâve joined several Facebook groups dedicated to mutual support and showing off your work. Iâve learned a lot of things about how the âprosâ do cross-stitch.
For example, some of them make sure every stitch is crossed in the same direction for a more uniform look. That means they would go through a whole section doing half stitches and then go back through to finish the stitches. Personally, I need the instant gratification of finishing a whole stitch. Iâd have a panic attack if I saw a row of unfinished stitches that could be finished. I donât think a piece looks much different if all the stitches are not in the same direction, so Iâll keep doing it my way.
Another thing they do, apparently, in order to make the threads appear âfluffierâ is to separate all six strands of DMC floss and then put back together the number of strands they need to work on their project. People do this! This seems like a frustrating extra step to me. I will pass on that.
Additionally, people wash their projects after they finish. I have a nightmare about doing this and all my ends coming loose and unraveling the project! Iâm sure they gently wash by hand, but Iâm not brave enough to do this yet. One of the reasons to wash it is, again, to fluff up the threads so less of the fabric shows through the stitches.
Having said all that, the folks in the groups are usually like, âJust do it whatever way you want because itâs your project.â I like that attitude.
No Buy January
Because last year was slow for my business, and I did go on a little tea shopping spree at the end of the year, I'm trying to limit my spending this month to only groceries or necessary expenses (doctor appointments, etc).
Of course, things immediately came up that I wanted, like a new smaller measuring cup like the one my friend Lisa has.
Then, I realized my beloved hat was missing. I'm so incredibly bummed and can't imagine where I left it. It is stiff and has a tie under the chin, so it won't fly off my head when I'm bicycling. I wear it a lot. But I decided to wait until next month to buy another. A friend suggested putting my phone number in the next one. I just never considered that because I honestly only rarely lose anything.
Lastly, I need to take the cross-stitch for my sister to the framers. I bought a frame at Michael's that is a crazy good match, but it's not deep enough to put the back on because the fabric is wrapped around a solid mat to keep it flat. I'm going to send my sister another small gift I bought her, and she may have to get the cross-stitch in February.
So far, I've been really good about not buying anything. A few things arrived that I'd ordered last month, so that was nice.
đ Project Updates
Cross Stitch
I started and finished this small, cute piece for my 30-ish-year-old nephew, who is expecting his first child.
I bought a hoop to frame it in, and I'll just add a string to hang it. It needs ironing first, and of course, I don't own an iron.
After No Buy January, I might need to get one if I intend to keep doing cross-stitch with any regularity. They may not need washing, but they all need ironing because of the patterns the hoops make.
â°ïž Currently
đ” Enjoying all the teas and tea accessories I bought or was given.
đŽââïž Trying to get more exercise to work off all the December calories that seemed to all attach themselves to my body last weekend.
đ Making some slow progress on my book.
Monday is the new Sunday, Elsie. And with the holiday, I donât really know what day it is.
I appreciate you discussing the war on Gaza in a reasonable and compassionate way. To me itâs simple: if bombs are being dropped on a defenseless and cordoned off civilian population, thatâs wrong. I would say it was wrong if it was happening to the Israelis, or any nation state or occupied territory.
October 7 does not justify this. There have now been upwards of 30,000 casualties in Gaza. Not armed combatant casualties but civilians, women and children. I donât think itâs possible to even fathom the degree of suffering there, with the food shortages and starvation, lack of water, hospitals and infrastructure in ruins.
Israel has one of the most technologically advanced militaries in the world. The US has made sure of that. It is our foothold in the region. The most unbearable part of it to me is that our military industrial complex is profiting from this, and our tax dollars are paying for it.