Divinely Crafty

I got the job! THE job I have been wanting here for months. Children’s Book Buyer at the bookstore! Hooray!!!!!

I am not going to get rich – retail is retail. But it will bring in some sweet moolah and not completely rob me of my soul. Books…I get to work with books. Children’s books.

I will also have predictable enough hours that I can schedule my classes. And will have enough time to get in creative work. And be a mom. And… Cleary not going to be sitting on my ass too much. But I think I will be sure and do just exactly that on a regular basis as well. Never give up the ass sitting, I always say.

I can hardly believe what has come across our path. It is waaaaaay too soon to begin thinking that it is by any means a done deal, but OMG….

The past couple weeks there has been a guest student in Axel’s classes. (Biodynamic Agriculture http://www.emerson.org.uk/ ) He has a vineyard and a full farm in Northern Italy, and wanted to come and learn a bit more about BD with an eye on doing the whole program in a few years. Axel’s (and mine) dream is to have a BD vineyard, so needless to say we were thrilled with the opportunity to meet him and establish a relationship. He invited us to come to his land anytime we want to go camping. They have a huge property – over 25 hectares (roughly 70 acres) in Northern Italy with a vineyard, animals, forest, pond… it sounds like a slice of heaven. I can hardly wait for summer to arrive so we can go and camp there.

Well, if the invite to come visit anytime we wanted wasn’t enough – Axel and I were at the pub with him last night and more or less joking (in that serious kind of way) he says to the guy “so- you need someone to manage your vineyard in a couple years?” And with a total straight face, and as discussion that followed confirmed his response, he says “That would be perfect!” They spent quite a long time then talking about families (he is a couple years younger than Axel and has 3 young children) and travels and this and that. When it came time for us to go home he says to us that he is looking forward to us visiting and looking to the future when we could come and work/live at the vineyard!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, the pragmatist in me knows that there is a lifetime and a million details between a conversation at a pub and sealing the deal. But wow – just knowing that this sort of thing can literally cross your path at any moment is exhilarating. A few weeks ago we could never have guessed that this connection would be made. But there it is. Who knows what will happen with it? That is not what is important. Just being reminded that you literally never know what lies around the next corner is wonderful enough. Life is amazing!

I have spent the better part of this morning lamenting how I have no time to sew, knit, felt and do all the creative things I used to be able to do when I was staying at home. I have had my supplies here for more than a month, unpacked for roughly a month and still not made much of anything. It was really bumming me out. But then it hit me – um hello, it isn’t like I haven’t made anything. I have. Why am I not giving myself credit for what I have done, rather than just looking at everything I haven’t? Silly me.

So it ain’t much, but it is more than nothing…

I made Anja a lunch bag. The ones at the store all had Bratz dolls on them. No thank you. It is insulated and lined with PUL so if she spills something inside it won’t leak out. For such a simple project it was a real pain in the ass. She chose a knit for a pattern meant for woven – first hurdle solved by using fusable fleece for the insulation which stabilized the fabric. Second hurdle was sewing with PUL. The stuff is hell. I had never sewn with it, and unless I am truly inspired, I will never sew with it again. yuck.

But it looks great after all of the grief it gave me. Anja loves it but she wants a handle, which I have promised I will get to. (meaning sometime in the next month, knowing me).

I also finished my first pair of knitted socks. They were supposed to be a christmas present for Axel, but I only had one done on the big day. Finally this week I finished the other one, which all things considered is pretty good. I had expected it would take me to spring to finish at my usual rate.

They are extra thick and wooly. Made from worsted weight wool yard instead of sock yarn so they will be super warm and snuggly in his wellies. His poor feet get so cold working on the farm all day. I tested them out myself yesterday when I was working on the farm (He so generously insisted I use them first since he was not outside yesterday.) and am happy to report that they are wonderful. And they stay up very nicely, which is a bonus since all my other socks fall down and end up bunched at my toes inside my wellies. I may have to make myself a pair of these!

Sorry for the blurry picture, I am too lazy to take a good one today.

I am now working on a pair of knit and felted slippers for Anja. I tried the pattern once before and screwed it up massively. I ended up ripping it out and not trying again until now. Wish me luck. Surviving socks (and actually really loving making them) has me feeling confident!

I have been back working on the farm last week and this week. Last week I helped to finish up the planting of the new apple orchard. 10,000 trees in 3 weeks. Of course I didn’t do nearly as much as those who had been there the whole time, but still – I am proud of the accomplishment. The last week was by reports the hardest because the ground was wet, muddy, and H.E.A.V.Y. Great for the ass shaping, bad for the aching muscles. Between riding my bike to the farm (3 miles) and then busting my behind working I was exhausted at the end of each day. I survived, but my fibromylagia is flaring up (too strenous activity can cause it to flare)and am extremely happy that this week I am working scraping canker (a fungal infection) from the trees in the old orchard. Its a longer bike ride to the old field, but the work is no where near as strenous as the digging and planting. And much less muddy. Today it was just me, my ipod, my tools, and the trees. I sang out loud and it felt great.

Speaking of feeling great, I have been seeing an acupuncturist for my moods and for my fibromyalgia and various other bodily disfunctions. So far, so good. I am feeling different – better different. My mood is definately lighter. Even Dylan noticed it and commented on it. Part of it is because of the work I am doing with Byron Katie’s Loving What Is and part is from the acupuncture and nasty horrible tasting herbs they give me. Either way, it is a good thing and I am going to stick with it.