A View from Sierra County

G is for Going Gray

Image is a powerful thing here in the United States, and my issues of 'self-image' have been manipulated by the media for as long as I can remember.  Back when I was in late elementary school, I didn't want to admit that my eyesight wasn't as good as it should be, because wearing glasses was 'geeky' and uncool.... I spent 5th and 6th grade sitting in the front of the class so that I could see the board rather than acknowledging there was a problem and finally broke down and told my Mom I needed eyeglasses when I started 7th grade, but only because one of the coolest girls needed them in class.

In high school I began to worry about my weight, and though I never became anorexic, I have dealt with concerns about not being skinny enough ever since.  Much of the time, it was more in my mind that in reality, though middle age has led me to appreciate the body I used to have a lot more.

Middle age has also led me to confront another image issue... why Americans don't want to look old.  Everywhere you turn, there are ads promoting anti-aging foods, cosmetics and other products.  Diet and exercise along with modern medicine, have created the potential to live far longer than our grandparents did.  However, it is the young look that is revered in our culture.  Love of youthfulness is now competing with a longer lifespan, to the further detriment of having a healthy self-image. 

While I was pondering how to keep a healthy body the past few years, and noticing that I had to exercise more simply to lose less ground, while not really getting 'better' (meaning trimmer, firmer, stronger, etc.), I didn't notice that those highlights my hairstylist had started putting in my hair when I thought it would be fun to change my look in my late 30s, were now being used to cover a steadily increasing amount of gray.
I have been very faithful about keeping my hair well styled for the past two decades, and my hair was never, ever growing out, so it wasn't until I read Going Gray last fall that I watched more closely the next time I had my hair painted.... oblivion can be such a comfortable place to hang out in!

This photo was taken in the summer of 2004, at the height of my 'blondie' period, and even my stylist and I could agree that it was 'over the top'... to artificially blond for me to be comfortable wearing.

I realized that I had been eating up all those compliments I had received for the past five years about how young I looked to have grown children, etc.  What I knew that others didn't was that was just genetics, which is pretty much the same as saying I was just lucky.  Over the course of 2007, as I was turning from 52 to 53 in years, I was also watching a streak of white grow in over my left temple, which my stylist was highlighting a blondy-white to blend with the rest of my fakey-colored hair.  Here's a nice, but grainy photo of me from last September...

a more natural look, and those good genes sure don't hurt in promoting the myth that I might be much younger than that number on my driver's license, but, hey, I'm all about authentic living and integrity in the other areas of my life, and I suddenly didn't want to be lying, covering up gray hair, trying to appear younger.  I am proud of much of the experiences of my 53 years, and humbled by the rest of them.  I also don't work in any of those youth-driven industries, and didn't need to think about going out and finding a job, so I decided back in November to give up coloring my hair and 'go gray'.

I was worried about having roots that looked awful.  I was anxious about my stylist and if she would 'fire' me as a customer and be unwilling to go through this journey with me... she might not want people to know I was a customer if I went around looking bad.  So, partway through the past several months, I decided to have her cut my hair shoulder length, so that it would look even more well-groomed each and every day.

By the time I modeled my turquoise Ballet T shirt in late March, my hair was tidy, but growing more gray.  It was interesting to learn that the top of my head has the most in the way of light gray hair, while the undersides and back were more darkish.  My haircolor in childhood varied from the bleached dishwater blonde of summer to the chestnut reddish-brown mix of hippie longhair in college.

The line between colored hair and new growth was becoming more pronounced.  My hairstylist had suggested a few months back that if I allowed my hair to dry naturally rather than blow-drying it straight, the line would be less pronounced due to the unevenness curliness produces, so I tried that and was reminded once again how lucky I am to have the possibility of wild, curly hair.  So, about a month ago I took the radical step of cutting my hair shorter still, to reach the length of maximum curliness....

This photo taken on Mother's Day, with oldest son Cody, in the light blue cap, and youngest, Jesse, on my other side shows me as I am today, with shorter, curlier hair, a middle-aged woman with grown children.  I miss having long hair a bit, and once I have shed much of my color-damaged hair, will probably let it grown longer once again.

I am lucky not to need to go out into the bigger world and try to convince someone I am 20 years away from retirement and will work myself into the ground for them.  I am luckier to have the love of family and friends helping me to live my authentic self.

Happy Mother's Day to All

I hope all of my dear readers are celebrating a wonderful Mother's Day with family and friends!  I am off soon to have brunch with my three adult children, though DH is off to his first day of the season as High Country Ranger for our local forest service district.... we are both disappointed that it had to fall on this day, but you can't miss your start-up date or call in sick, so off he went.

In honor of our Mother, the Earth, Fibers (the LYS where I work on Saturdays) has offered our friends and customers a special Mother's Day gift. Here is the link to the patterns that owner Allison wrote up for Mother Earth Market Bags.... I am making mine from this colorful yarn from Mango Moon:

The yarn is Bali Sky, made from viscose recycled saris, and has a stiff hand, just the thing needed for stretchy mesh bags.  Allison's pattern is written to make the bags flat and seam the sides, so that there is additional structural stability for a very stretchy product.  Right now, we have the largest one, made with a stockinette back and a mesh front, on display in the store window holding 'go to the river' supplies, such as mat, towel and sunscreen.

An all mesh model is displayed holding groceries, and a third, larger mesh one holding your knitting goodies....

They are very cute, and would make good gifts!

My Mother's Day gift to myself was yet another fine Nana Sadie Rose knitting item... the new Glady case for interchangeable needles that Sallee has dreamed up.

The fabric is the same one Sallee made up her darling little backpack, the Grace, for me awhile back, and the inside shows my Harmony needle tips peeking out... and there is plenty of room left to tuck in other essentials, such as a cable needle or crochet hook!

I am delighted with this new piece of organization in my life... not my strongest feature.

I am off to enjoy the springtime and hope you have been too!

Saturday Sky

Today's photo was taken of the sky in early evening at Stephanie's on Thursday as I arrived for Knit Night... the evening is lasting so much longer and the light so soft, that I can finally, truly believe summer is almost here.  Her view stretches out east into the Sierras and is framed with towering oaks... very peaceful and inspiring.

I hope you are happily busy with a weekend full of spring activities, including outings, gardening, and of course, celebrating Mother's Day!

Catching Up

Here's my poor, neglected little blog, wondering where I have been for the past two weeks... I have definitely become a backwater in KnitBlogLand, maybe even a stagnant pool.  Since my last post, I ended up sick, yet again, with my recurring respiratory/sinus problems, the day after marching on the Capitol.  I attributed it to the breezes and the spring pollen, but also couldn't stop coughing incessantly, and ended up cleansing, taking all kinds of remedies, and agreeing to a course of antibiotics for what appeared to be a low-grade sinus infection that kept re-infecting me.  I have been slowly, but steadily improving, and those in my daily sphere who also got this last bout of crud have also had hard-to-shake coughs and the feeling of being in a time warp.  All of a sudden, its early May, which means warm to hot weather, and the beginning of the dry season (which actually started back in March here in California; looks to go down on record as a near-drought year even after all that snow in January).  I have missed the lively interaction with my virtual community this long, sickly winter, and hope that my health improving will help my interactions with others to blossom along with the summer season.

While I was sick, I discovered that somehow there were beads in my knitting.  I managed to dazedly and doggedly pursue knitting beads in using the skinny crochet hook method and make it all the way through Chart B of the Spring Things shawl!  I am working along through Chart C now, and hoping to get this wonderful, scrummy shawl done by the end of May and have it as my evening wrap through summer.... the yarn is Wooly Wonka's angora/cormo in Salt Marsh colorway and I love everything about it, especially the fact that the project is out of hibernation and well on its way to becoming a FO.

Then, I also managed to muster up energy the last weekend in April to make the mandatory appearance at my art class final, the Day of the Young Child Festival, where we helped children do easel painting on a warm, spring afternoon.  I have a general policy not to publish photos of children who aren't related to me on the Internet, so I have nothing to show you, but take my word for it... the kids had a blast, from the youngest one year old to the teens painting a la Jackson Pollack.

I also found a tiny bit of energy as I began to improve to spend some time making a huge mess in my studio.  I did a lot of sewing in April, and had both sewn and knitted items to display at last Saturday's annual community-wide Plant Sale and Flea Market.  I shared a booth with Wooly Daisy, and she reminded me we were merely 'advertising' our creativity to our community, as this was the place that people bought their plants for the season, and only thought about other purchases.  However, other people made a lot of money off of DH, who managed to find some great flea market finds!

I did get inspired to begin setting up my own Etsy shop, where you will find some knitted folk toys, mohair shawls, organic cotton washcloths, and several upcycled fashions.  My store name is More Grace, reflecting the passion I feel that keeping things out of the waste stream adds beauty to our world.  Repurposing means less waste with more grace!

My main knitting project so far in May has been to work on finishing up my example for the beginning lace knitting class I will be teaching at Fibers Grass Valley on June 11th, June 25th and July 9th.

I decided to make the classes two weeks apart instead of the more usual one week, since lace can seem very slow-going to newbies, and I want to cover most of the project from beginning to end, including an afterword on blocking and adding beads to your knitting on the third session.

Sivia Harding's Gothic Leaf Lace scarf has been growing steadily, and I love the subtle colors... it is also a project that is easy to learn, as well as rewarding when blocked - enough I hope to inspire a new set of lace knitters here in my area!!

There are a couple of newsworthy tidbits in the works here around Slate Range Camp, including an upcoming family reunion, DHs' brother's wedding reception this summer, and a vacation for the two of us in June... but if I told you everything at once, there would be no reason to hurry back!  I will casually toss out there that I am trying to bring a new (used) spinning wheel, my second, into my home... keep your fingers crossed for me!

Of Burros and Capelets

I thought you might like to see/read a bit of how things went at yesterday's protest to keep open the state historic parks slated for closure under the Governor's proposed budget. There was a moderate outpouring of support, which was very colorful, both in front of Sutter's Fort and at the State Capitol.  Sutter's Fort, Railtown, the Governor's Mansion, and Ide Adobe all had docent contingents, as did Malakoff Diggings, which also had a group of school children from their nearby elementary, Grizzly Hill (about 2 hours northeast of Sacramento). 

Both the school and the park are just up the long and winding road into the mountains from where my Headstart program is located in North San Juan, and I had linked up their Place-Based Coordinator, Diana Pasquini, with my friend, Dave Freeman, a docent at Ide Adobe, back when he got the idea to put together this protest.  He had no idea at the time that it would involve three separate permits, as well as promises to the Capitol personnel that no firearms or animals would step foot on the Capitol grounds.  He must have put in hundreds of hours of work, and luckily got the attention of the California State Parks Foundation early on, and they helped him connect with other affected parks.

There were two wagons from Top Hand Ranch and a stagecoach belonging to the Auburn chapter of the Native Sons of the Golden West, pulled by Jeff Shinn and his four matching Percherons...  Jeff has been on the Henness Pass Wagon Train the past two years, and also appears with this team at the Draft Horse Classic). 

Dave was riding Emma and leading three other burros - Ashley, Blare and Rocky; most of his string representing BLM adopted animals.  Glenn and I agreed to walk along with him to make sure  they would do well in the parade.

 

David Miller, another EARs club member in attendance, rode his BLM-adopted mustang, Chief to bring up the rear of the parade.

We made it to the capitol without incident, where gunny sacks filled with more than 35,000 letters and postcards petitioning the Governor to save the parks from closure were delivered (along with one huge, handpainted postcard depicting Malakoff Diggings, created by the Grizzly Hill students) to the Governor.

We were competing for budget dollars, media attention, and the ears of our legislators, with supporters rallying to defend the California Community colleges.... all across our state many programs are in grave danger cuts that would fundamentally alter life here. 

We might not have been as numerous, but were certainly more colorful, and walking down the city streets and watching toddlers and grown men stop in their tracks, in awe of seeing wagons and burros walking in their midst was enough to remind me that not everyone has the chance to live with animals as I do, and that interacting with our state's legacy, including wagons, pack strings and equines is an important aspect of the state park experience that would be lost if these parks are closed.

The Grizzly Hill students on the capitol steps singing their version of "California, Here I Come" written in
honor of the state parks.

I was in costume, thoughnowhere near as authentically dressed as many, and the Vintage Capelet did get to make her debut in public.  The day was sunny but quite cool, and I was very glad to have her alpaca warmth draped over my shoulders!  This photo, at our arrival in front of the state capitol (well, actually, the west steps, as there are entrances on each of the four sides), doesn't do her much justice, but it was the best that DH got!!  The Capelet obviously deserves better.

California State Historic Parks Closure Protest

California has a long, rich history, even though it has only been slightly more than 150 years since it was granted statehood.  There was a plethora of native tribes here for centuries before the Spanish missionaries and their contingent arrived in the 17th century, and there has been a huge variety of cultures blending here ever since.

I have lived here almost all of my life, am a native, and as long as I can remember, California has celebrated its history through a network of state historic parks that preserve most of the Spanish missions, the Spanish colonial fort at Sonoma (site of the Bear Flag Revolt, declaring California independent of Spain), the fort on Captain John Sutter's land grant which later became the heart of Sacramento, as well as his mill site in Coloma where gold was first discovered, and a host of other significant and interesting places.  These sites serve as a window into former times, and how people lived here before us.  They also provide much-needed oases from the massive urbanization that has taken place here in California over the past century.

Now, many of these special places are threatened with closure under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2008-09 budget for the state (I guess they don't call him the Terminator for nothing).  While it is true that California, a state that was 'in the black' when he took office in a special election a few years back is now facing shortfalls projected to be in the billions because of the recession, the Gov's take was to axe 10% of every state-funded program, pitting one against the other and likely leading to the worst fight in our state's history to get a budget passed (though we are notorious about that).  That list includes such famous sites as Sutter's Fort and the old Governor's Mansion, as well as lesser known ones, including two near and dear to me, the Malakoff Diggings SHP up the road from where I work, and the Plumas-Eureka SP, adjacent to my favorite summer haunt, the Gold Lakes Basin.

Many long-time readers of mine know that DH and I are strong advocates for protecting and preserving history.... even though our projects don't involve state parks.  Therefore, I was delighted when our good friend and donkey-packing buddy, Dave Freeman, who is a docent at Ide Adobe SHP, decided when these budgetary cuts were announced back in January that he wasn't going to just sit by and watch it happen... he began contacting docent groups throughout the state, as well as his personal friends.  I was able to help him make contact with both Malakoff supporters and another friend, John Schwartzler, who set up the Henness Pass Wagon Train Association a couple of years back.

Dave's efforts set in motion a larger network which will gather together tomorrow in Sacramento, to march in historic costumes along with wagons and pack strings, from Sutters Fort to the State Capitol, a distance of about 1 1/2 miles, to deliver 35,000 petitions and postcards protesting closure of these state parks.  Glenn and I (in my Vintage Capelet, which will finally get a photo shoot!) will be among the marchers.  If you live near Sacramento, and can attend, there will be a rally with many speakers in support of the parks and our California heritage at the Capitol at 11:30 AM, followed by an old-time picnic on the grounds, and visits to legislators.  If you cannot attend, but have ever visited any of our California state parks, please consider going to the State Parks Foundation website and sending a letter to your legislator or the California Gov.  It would be a tragedy to lose so much..... thanks, all, and pictures will follow.

Signs of Spring

Spring comes in fits and spurts here in the Sierras.... it can be almost 80 one afternoon and then snowing the next.... however, daffodils, fruit trees and other light-sensitive plants bloom either way.  You can travel up and down the mountains to find the plants you want to view, even!

Right now, daffodils are in bloom at our Forest City house, but little else... however, around the old camp in Camptonville, lilacs are popping out... and unfortunately, so is scotch broom.
I know this stuff looks beautiful to those of you not from around these parts, but believe me, it is as invasive as kudzu or water hyacinth, and a scourge of the foothills partly for choking out other plants and partly because it is highly combustible, something definitely NOT desirable in the Sierras.  It also makes me sneeze and wheeze.

We traditionally do not plant much in our garden until Mother's Day, but DH has been busy getting ready, hauling around donkey manure and tilling.  This opens up a food festival for the birds (and the neighbor's semi-feral cats, unfortunately).  We have spied as many as two dozen Brewer's Blackbirds at the bird bath in our inner yard at once over the past several evenings....

I hope spring finds you with equally magical sights to add wonder to your days, and that you get to have a fun-filled spring weekend!

Find of the Week

I have been trying to squeeze in visits to the local thrift stores in order to gather materials for my repurposed fashions the past few weeks... of course there is always the unexpected treasure that turns up amongst the pure rubbish, making the search all that more intriguing.  This has to be the find of the year, really, not just the week....
This piece is knitted of the finest thread, probably cotton, as it has held up very well even though it could easily be fifty or sixty years old... the center is threaded onto a piece of string, ready to be sewn to a round of muslin or linen for a finished doily.  I was amazed to stumble upon this, and it was very inexpensive because of its unfinished state.  My hands gave a few twinges just thinking about the tiny wires posing as knitting needles that must have been required to knit this work of art.

I could attach it to fabric, but it would lose its historic integrity... I will probably just figure out how to frame it in a shadow box one day, and preserve some hard-working knitter's labor of love for the future.  When I found this lacework while pawing through a bin of hankies, it was as if a knitter from the past, without the benefit of the blog-Ravely-Yahoo list community we are blest with these days, reached out and touched me; I had to take her work home with me.

Learning to Love Lace

I have had a love affair with lace knitting for many years, and one of my hopes in going to work part-time for Fibers, my local Grass Valley yarn shop a year ago was that I would be able to get the chance to transmit that love to others.  I have had customers admire and ask about the lace pieces I wear to work (usually small shoulder shawls).  I have managed to convert my co-Yarnista Gail to an addicted lace knitter who is right now working on the Hanami stole; if you haven't seen this pattern, go and look at it right now.... it is dedicated to the Japanese word for cherry blossom bloom viewing activities and I especially love that it is asymmetrical!  However, until this week, our shop owner, Allison, and I had not managed to get a beginning lace class scheduled.... we sat down over coffee on Wednesday afternoon, and mapped out three course sessions, starting on June 11th.  Each class will be on a Wednesday evening for two and a half hours, and there will be a two week gap in between each of the three class meetings to give knitters a chance to see some progress in their work before meeting again.

I had thought a lot about what project to select for a knitter's first lace piece.  I also wanted to make sure that what I selected matched with what our shop could secure for the knitters.  I wanted to start lace knitters with fingering weight yarn, as I have noticed that most beginning to intermediate knitters mainly work with worsted or bulky weight yarns, so dropping in needle and yarn size to even sock yarns has been intimidating for many of them, though our sock-knitting instructor, Luci, has been able to convince a lot of people to love making socks (which also means we have a good selection of fingering yarns on hand, with Colinette Jitterbug being my current favorite).

When I posted photos of my Victorian Shoulderette last month, and got a comment from Sivia Harding (still flushing with pride over that!), I began corresponding back and forth and our shop ended up ordering a few of her designs from her distributor and she generously forwarded a wonderful teaching summary to me as well... so, my spring Sunday afternoon was spent starting my teaching model for the Gothic Leaf Lace scarf, based on her stole pattern, which will be my students' first lace project!

I had some Mega Boots yarn in my stash that seemed like a good possibility, and sat in the sun on my porch at the high country house working my way through the first two pattern repeats.... and came to two important conclusions.  The first was that this pattern would require a bit of concentration at first but that the novice lace knitter would soon be caught up in the excitement of the 20-row repeat.  The second was that the yarn had a lovely and subtle color shift that I really like!

While I was knitting, I was thinking of the tips I use to help myself keep track of my chart, 'read' my lace as I go along to detect any mistakes, whether I decide to use markers or a lifeline or not (I won't on this pattern, since it is only two repeats across, but will periodically county my stitches to make sure I am keeping on track), and how I decide if I have selected the right needle size for the yarn... in this example I am using a size four Takumi bamboo needle, which works well for me to make a scarf that will still be lightly blocked, but if I were using laceweight and making the larger stole version, I would probably use a size three and block more vigorously in order to get a more ethereal version.  I have a few of my own lace projects waiting in the wings, but since I want to teach, will be spending some time in the next month with Gothic Leaf.  I hope to have enough time to swatch a few repeats in heavier yarn, so that my students can examine the stitch definition, as well as start a version in laceweight, to show that there really isn't all that much difference (except knitting time).

I would love to hear any lace knitting tips you have picked up so that I can share them and inspire new lace knitters to share our addiction passion with us.

We are hosting our second yarn tasting the last Sunday of this month, and having fun thinking about future possibilities for this event.  I am also making terrific progress on my Summer Cardi, with only a few inches of the body to go, and then I can start on my sleeves, which will definitely be three quarter length.

I forgot to mention above, that while this past weekend was gloriously warm and sunny, there was also still a LOT of snow around our cabin, drifts as high as three feet in the shade interspersed with open spots and daffodils.  It truly will be spring here in the Sierras, though the rainfall is only 50% of normal for this time of year.  I am praying for snow... rain would be good too.

Reminiscing, In the Moment, Gazing into the Crystal Ball

Reminiscing

I finished one of my two night classes almost two weeks ago, and now I get to come home every night of the work week, which has been a nice change.  I was sick through my spring break vacation week, though, so I didn't get caught up on my other night class the way I had hoped.  I still have until mid-May and am finished with most of the assignments; I have had a lot of fun making art with other adults and it certainly has stimulated my creativity.

Work at the LYS continues regularly on Saturdays, with this last one being a good day overall... got to knit with our sock class instructor, Luci, and a regular customer, Vail, for awhile in the morning when things were slow, then help an experienced knitter pick out yarn for Mr. Green Jeans, a great everyday sweater pattern, coach a returning knitter through an unusual series of steps in her pattern, and help another regular find yarn for her next project and teach her how to increase.  I just love it when people are ready to move beyond straight up and down scarves!

In the Moment

My favorite project of the moment has been a lovely everyday sweater of my own...
I started the Summer Cardigan from Knitting Pure and Simple ten days ago, and have been enamored of the pattern ever since.  It is worked from the top down and I have just gotten past the point of setting aside my sleeve stitches and working the body.  The pattern is for a short sleeve cardi, to hit just above the elbow bend, but I am planning to make mine a tad bit longer, as I want it to come to just below the elbows, for the extra coziness on summer nights.  I am using Knit One Crochet Two's 2nd Time Cotton, which is made from mill ends respun into a 75% cotton/25% acrylic blend and is a very nice yarn. 

After my "F is for Frugal" post, I started thinking of this WIP as my Earth Day project, but I know it is just the kind of summer into fall garment I will get a lot of use out of!  Then, I might make my own Mr. Green Jeans for a winter everyday cardi!!

My favorite read at the moment is A Pig in Provence... I had the good fortune to catch an interview with author, Georgeanne Brennan, on my local public radio station and had to order the book right away.... it is an entertaining and enlightening food memoir about a young mother who settles in Provence back in the late 1960s to make goat cheese along with her husband.  The country life was still very, very rich with tradition and food lore at that point and her recipes are inspiring.

I am feeling much better, though I am tired of being ill so much this winter, and working hard on rebuilding my immune system!  The fruit trees are all blooming around here, which means my poor system is struggling against seasonal pollen allergies, but I have been able to return to yoga and walking the dogs, and rely on vitamins and Zyrtec to help me cope with the great outdoors.

Gazing into the Crystal Ball

I am hoping to get my cardi finished by the end of the month, even with all of the little crafty things I am working on for the Plant Sale... however, some of my time will undoubtedly be spent with Flutter...

This is such a sweet little pattern, and the colors of my wonderful hand-dyed silk yarn keep me so pleased, that I find myself saying "just one more repeat" even though it feels like I am knitting with sewing thread (well, ok, maybe just a bit thicker than that!).

Miriam Felton is one of my favorite lace designers, and I still have several of her other patterns listed in my Ravelry queue; I just got enough Berroco Touche at our shop that will be perfect for a Logan River wrap to wear as a meditation shawl and plan to start on that next month.