And it's time to make room for Jell-O, because no, there isn't always room. So I am committed to the archives, with my lofty plan for writing some booklets, display boards, or whatever develops as I go. I still have some boxes to sort. I'm committed...but there are distractions.
Victoria has been rerunning, and I enjoy it. It doesn't take my full attention so I can read at the same time, and I've been enjoying some new books, like Dutch House (in the middle now), Olive Again, and The Water Dancer. I will read anything by some authors and I've been going through oldish New Yorkers too. Fascinating to read profiles of people who mattered in the moment (like Claire McCaskill) and previous political analyses. I've tried hard to stay off Facebook as much as I can and am not really talking. I hope my voice still works, as meetings are starting up again tomorrow.
My neighbors are still not getting how our block works but I'm less worried about it. I do object to them putting out their recycling this week as it is unsorted garbage, so it will ruin the entire load but I tried to give a heads up to SaniPac since the neighbors were not responsive. Another neighbor complained to the city and I am sure they will think it is me so I am trying to hold back. I still have to live next door to them. It's mostly little things, I tell myself. They park across the sidewalk instead of on the street, which is just rude but like the garbage, I am thinking it is the first time they have lived in a real neighborhood (they are young men) and they probably just don't know better. We'll see. I will try to take it slow as they learn.
I treated myself to some nice Christmas gifts which made me happy though I ate way too many truffles and am already tubby and out of shape. It is pruning season though so I've been outside on these sunny days we get now and then. The amaryllis bloomed and is blooming again soon, so that was a precious find at HM. I am not missing Market! Probably due to my view and the meetings coming up, because Market doesn't really stop for me, just shifts into having Saturdays off. Thr Board meets this week and OCF Board meets tonight so I will watch that meeting. I got most of my leftover volunteer work done before the year turned over, and finished some more today, so this is my reward, some easy writing.
I added up my sales and analyzed what sold, since it wasn't what I expected. My HM sales were at an all-time high but Park Blocks were down from previous years, which means something I have no idea about. Possibly I am not focusing on my customers as much as I should with all the PB hooraw, and I was able to stay focused at HM. I appreciate that people are asking me for updates on thre PB as it is hard to hold the facts in our minds, but read those emails, as I have kept people in the loop. I guess we will know by March what to expect for 2020.
I know I will have to take a week off in April to go visit my Mom. I was going to go this month but she broke her pelvis so doesn't need visitors right now. She is doing really well, is already walking a little without the walker and is determined and positive, which for turning 94 in two weeks is astonishing and heart-warming. She is such a good role model.
When we talked this week she said she is done with Johanna and might get to writing some other things, more stories from her own life I guess. So we might put together another book! Not for awhile though. All of the family is so pleased with her book, and she is very happy with that. She's sold over a hundred of them, so thanks to those of you who bought one from me or went online. I told her to give some away and she did, so that was nice for her during the holidays when she was still in the infirmary. She's back in her apartment so I sent her some more. One of my cousins called and she will take books to the reunion in July to sell (I can't go, as it is right before OCF.) I will send some of those cards I made from the illustrations, because I don't really want to sell cards, or the books in fact, but I will probably get them screened by Standards for future publications. I am committing to more writing, as much as I can. I still have several books to write.
Another cousin, Karina, has been messaging me from Obrowiec, Poland, asking questions. She has to translate the book through Google to read it, and she does it in German, Polish, and English until she gets it all as Mom wrote it. My cousin Bobbi (Miss Congenealogy) looked things up until she found the Hytrek homeplace and some actual relatives there, much to everyone's surprise. She is a thorough researcher and we used a lot of what she has published about the family. There are even photos and Karina sent me some today. The Easter eggs shown here were just done with a scratching tool, not the elaborate wax method, so that was fun to know. I feel like I could manage that. Might even be a Jell-O Art idea. The local designs speak to me in ancestral ways, and so do the colors, which are often done with natural dyes from beets and onions.
The Show will be March 28th, praise be to the jiggle gods, so I don't have to miss Opening Day of the Market. I have a good idea for a theme and format but we'll see how that goes. I don't think any of my early ideas from last year survived the process of getting consensus on the script and music. I'll keep you posted and might even write in that other blog, Gelatinaceae, which gets so sadly neglected. I never even wrote my post-show essay and I guess this year I may be trying to do a hands-on workshop a week or so before the show. I already feel overwhelmed but that's typical of my January mood. So much time it seems, and then it evaporates.
And you know, I had to polish my boots, because there might have to be some serious marching. It's so hard to believe we are where we are politically, so impossible. My brother lives in Sydney, and if there is anyone not on board with the climate emergency, get with it! We have to do everything we can, because so many are not even aware yet. Everything I see on TV, like Times Square NYE, and the Golden Globes, is just so incredibly wasteful and so designed to manufacture desire and denial. It's so dire, I can't handle thinking about it but it isn't leaving my thoughts. There must be more I can do. I bought a lot of dry beans at the farmers' and am trying to keep really low on the food chain and the consumption chain. It's such a challenge. It's quite likely we will see fires here too, which could derail any number of plans happily being made.
My son is turning 30! I found some old journals from when he was born, and little, and am quite nostalgic for those days while also being very happy he is having such a good life. It's wonderful to see him apply skills and knowledge and make his own way. I did a lot of amazing things in my thirties, but in May I will turn 70, so it will be fun to see what amazing things I can do in my seventies. Not old yet!
I know many of you are not well, but I hope you are strong. It's important to remember we will survive trauma of all sorts if we stay grounded and keep thinking of what might work better than what we're doing now. Activism helps. Do whatever you can. Take the long view and keep working!
