Captain's Log #27 - To have a heart that beats and allows you to observe the Universe...

5/19/18

The world is a better place since two young people got married on a sunny May day in England and, as far as I know, have committed themselves to a lifetime of charitable work; and two billion people around the world got to hear a very long sermon about the importance and Power of Love. The pastor said “God is Love,” how cool is that? I burst out with John Lennon’s “All you need is love.” A bi-racial bride and many people of color among the guests and performers. It’s a new day. (What would mom say?) Franz Schubert's “Ave Maria,” with the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and small orchestra, was the most beautiful piece of music – ever; transformative, from the heavens. Loved the hats! You know the bride’s huge 16-foot veil and train was held on her head only by her tiara? With all that fabric dragging on the ground, that tiara must have been attached to her head with rivets. At one point I thought she would yank it off and toss it aside. Everyone was on their best behavior and the wedding came off with much grace and civility. Thank you, England. Today I am a Member of the Commonwealth.

From the sublime to the profane, sort of. I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame. I appeared in a photo in the local newspaper and was identified as the Organizer of a protest against a pot dispensary in our neighborhood. While the demonstration was my idea in order to get an article, and I did arrange for the journalist, my neighbors actually showed up  - and brought their kids and signs! It was like a block party! And we got an enormous article in the paper. From my point of view, the purpose is to let people know that we are serious about our opposition. Inevitably, there was some blow-back. Hey, man, you want to have a dispensary? Put it in your neighborhood. Our next big event is this coming Wednesday speaking before the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission. There are 3 other pot issues on the agenda and we are item #6. I’ll bring my knitting. Here’s a link to the demonstration story: http://www.sonomanews.com/news/8330485-181/dispensary-proposed-for-glen-ellen?artslide=0

The job thing

I’m still applying for State jobs (which is challenging because they are required to hire people who are already working for the State before anyone else) I have branched out to register with local temp agencies, for example, I’ve applied to check IDs at a two-day country music festival; that sounds like fun. And have emailed some applications for a couple of administrative positions. We’ll see. I went into one agency last week, you know, to see if I could fog a mirror. I enjoyed it, it’s fun getting out of the house and talking with real people. I have another appointment Monday, if I don’t get called in for Jury Duty.

An obsession cured

Last week I went to a 3-day workshop on Classing Wool to learn how to evaluate the quality of the fiber and fleece of sheep, and a great deal more. Three days, 8-5, it was a cram course in wool production and industry issues. Suffice to say that buyers for warehouses aren’t paying an incentive price for producers to create premium fleeces and are pocketing the proceeds. Sheep producers make their money on lamb, shearing is just a maintenance chore that barely pays for itself, at least from an industry point of view. The instructors said they only see the variety of breeds, the ones that hand-spinners use, when they come to California. We had two afternoons in the sheep barn where students were learning how to shear, 60% of that class were women. I love fleece but I’m not too happy about shearing, far too many nicks and cuts to the sheep. Sign me up to the local chapter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). I wrote a scathing email to the University of California Extension farm manager and all but told him he should retire. I used to say, “You’ve got a fleece? How much?” while flinging down 20 dollar bills. Now? Not so much. I still have 3 washed fleeces I need to spin up.

Suffolk Rules!

I mentioned the Suffolk fleece that I was given last year. Suffolk is widely known as a meat sheep but has wonderful, springy fiber. I’ve received permission to name the grower on my Sonoma County Fair entries and have mapped out a strategy to enter as many classes as I can with the Suffolk. Ha! That will show those snooty yak and alpaca spinners! Tomorrow I’m with my girlfriends at the Jack London State Park for Plow Days, a day of draft horses, horse shoeing, hay cutting, plowing, sheep shearing and hand spinning. Spinning, like golf, an excuse to be outside and do nothing on a beautiful day.

Patrick Melrose?

Anyone watching Patrick Melrose on Showtime? (available from Amazon Prime) I am a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch; this is the Role of a Lifetime for him and he is acting circles around it. It may not be for everyone but I am interested in how he/the writer deals with the enormity of Space-Time (they don’t put it quite like that) and the banality of sobriety. Yeah, but to have a heart that beats and allows you to observe the Universe… well, it doesn’t last forever. It’s a gift.

So, from one beating heart to another: happy day!

Many blessings,

Karla, mom & k.j.

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