Eve RIP

I am such the fake academic these days, but I can't help but bear witness to the passing of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. She was the advisor to one of my advisors (the one who hates me right now). In academic terms, that makes her my granny. I'm not worthy, but I'm gonna claim her anyway. Her work has always moved me (the theoretical basis of my dissertation kinda hinges on her), but never more than when I heard her speak on the weather in Proust a few years ago. Hearing her speak was part performance art, part summer sun shower; I left in a groggy haze of lucidity. I wish I could get my hands on that paper but I don't think it's published yet. Or maybe I need to break down and read Proust - a friend told me at age thirty that the time had come, but a decade later I haven't made it far into the first volume. Maybe it holds clues to reliving and writing my own temps perdue (like the weather!)

Eve, we need you now more than ever.

ah! at last

I am so freaking happy - did not even let myself stop and think about it, but registered for Camp Pluckyfluff! I almost did once before, but it was in a most-hated city and I was not ready to indulge, whereas I am now and this is a place with old friends and memories of cold shopping, opera glasses and green beer. But right now I am thinking more of the new yarn, the huge thick multicolored crazy yarns and yarnies and Lexi Boeger in all her amazing California fiber Goddessness. There will be no better way to celebrate getting through the fellowship, and the cherry on top is that I can see Mad and the kids on the same trip.

"Rabbits are the epitome of whorishness"

happy, happy easter all

Went antiquing today, one of my very favorite things, and scored hugely in vintage lace, beads and thread. I realized I couldn't very well make the art yarn I'm envisioning without some supplies. Also had to have tiny chicken pom-pom figures and some vintage Easter postcards too.

Sweet Lucy Pearl

Pink Moon

,

We had a small disaster today while I was cleaning the rabbit cages. I was pulling the drop trays out, hosing them down, scrubbing the pvc-coated wire bottoms of the cages, and replacing the pine pellets. In the midst of all this, I noticed that there was fresh, bright red blood all over the bottom of Butch's cage! I must have caught the little dude's nail in the wire when I pulled out the pan. We cleaned it up and it stopped bleeding quickly, and I felt terrible. There's a lot of on-the-job learning with this rabbit adventure. For the moment, everyone is fully brushed out and matt-free which is such a relief. I've been hurriedly tilling and planting now that last night's frost has passed, as I'm about to be away for a few days.

Spring cereal bars-in-process, recipe courtesy of Insubordiknit (tweaked sugar-free).

Evidence at the scene of a chicken altercation. Hounds are likely suspects. All chickens present and accounted for.

is it just me?

Or does the Twilight ad, from a distance, look like a rabbit's head?

We had a fun day, did well with our new cooking goals and carded and spun lots of wool. Also knitting an easy little kerchief out of alpaca since I always wear hats and need some variety.

I've been bummed lately at always wearing farm-gear. While I was teaching and working I dressed casually, but still I love clothes and expressing myself that way. These days, while I'm supposed to be writing but actually spend my time brushing bunnies, doing yard work, spinning, and maybe on a good day running to the feed store or the LYS, I don't tend to wear my coveted Anthropologie pieces. I've had enough clothes "altered" with bleach and mud stains that I end up running around in tattered jeans or sweats - actually I'll call them yoga pants since that sounds more self-respecting. This causes me great shame as I am borne of a glamorous woman. My mother is never without makeup, jewelry, and sophisticated black clothes. She is a city girl who dreamed of living in a hotel, and her daughter's dream of the country life gives her nightmares. I accept that I am not her and all that, but still her image and expectations are part of me, impossible to shrug off entirely.

I've also found that getting dressed in something cute helps with this depression I've been fighting. Today, to mix it up, I wore an apron all day. Is there another alternative for farmwear that I'm not thinking of? Too, too bad that I'm not like Ms. Prissy with that gorgeous coat to wear all the time (one that comes with a full-time caregiver).

Yarn-a-day, day one for me (three for them).

Might be mites

I think we've identified Junior's problem: fur mites (thanks Annette!) His coat is strange, and he has little flakes of skin on his neck. I picked up the Ivomec and some 3cc syringes, the smallest they had at the feed store, and tried measuring out the .12 cc dose for the little man, only to realize it's about a drop, and I could not tell if it ended up in his mouth or not. Before I dose the other rabbits, I need to track down some tiny 1cc syringes, or maybe just add water.

I'm wondering now if everything is crawling with mites, and whether I need to get rid of the fur I harvested from Junior. I've been using the same grooming tools on all the rabbits, so I'm also wondering if I need to disinfect everything, and how to go about that. Anyone have experience combating dreaded mites?

The mites aren't slowing Junior down: I got him a rolly ball at PetSmart and he loves flinging it around. Right now it sounds like he's having a throw-down in the laundry room. The other toys I've tried are not nearly so much-loved, so next time I'm out I will have to get balls for all.

btw, I also joined the yarn-a-day challenge posed by Blonde Chicken. It's a little ambitious, and I am late to the draw, but tonight I spun up the entirety of Butch's coat. It's silky white and smokey, heaven on a bobbin - hopefully sans mites since it will become a hat for my head - pics to come.

dunny

Gauntlets of Power

I am thrilled with these Doppio Gauntlets (pattern by Larissa Brown from Knitalong), so named for hanging out in a coffeehouse with your double espresso. They are so cosy and the yarn is just yummy - kettle-dyed Malabrigo merino with trim of merino/angora, handspun by yours truly. I'm also very proud because it's my first time doing cables, or anything with much of a pattern.

the most awful thing

I was on the message board for the local spinning guild this afternoon and I saw some posts from the woman I got my bunnies from. Her husband died just a few days ago. He hung himself from a tree on their property. She was asking for prayers and help with her animals.

I've considered taking down this post. I am not sharing this to be lurid. Even though I barely know her, we are connected to her - my bunnies were hers, our histories involve her. It also reminds me that everyone has their own hidden emotional world full of challenges, and to be kind instead of judgmental.