What's the buzz...

Tell me what's a happenin' ....
I went to Catholic school for most of my life. I'm not sure why, but in 7th grade we watched Jesus Christ Super Star the movie in one of my classes. I only saw it that once but the "What's the buzz" song has remained with me all these years. I remember thinking it was a strange idea to make the life of Jesus a musical. I also remember thinking that it was strange that the only black apostle was Judas, the traitor. Anyhoo, this morning the buzz was bees. Ian is taking a bee-keeping class and we had to stop by and take some measurements on our way in. It was a little too cold for them to be out and about so we just said hi through the little plastic window.

Ian measures the size of the ball o' bees (technical term).

None of your beeswax.

Bees comin' to the surface.

Donegal Tweed

I started my first sweater just the other day. I am making Boatneck Bluebell from Fitted Knits. It seems like it will be pretty easy so far. I am using some Donegal tweed yarn I picked up in Ireland. It is really pretty and I am excited to make my own Irish sweater. I wonder if I will get to wear it this year....

Skinny girl in the sweater.

On the needles in not so natural light.

Finding Time

I have been looking everywhere for more time. I tried peering in at myself sleeping at night to see if I could steal a little from there. I've tried prying myself from the nice warm snuggle between husband and cat a little earlier in the morning. I've tried not taking any breaks from being "productive" from the time I rise until the time I sleep. But, alas none of it seems to work. Perhaps some people just aren't made for the overly productive life. If I don't make the time to sit down and relax and read or watch a movie my tightly raveled world quickly becomes a big knotted mess that I can't seem to undo. I have been spending quite a bit of time in the darkroom recently which has been fun. I need some darkroom time to play around with some new ideas instead of just trying to create finished pieces. I also joined a photo club which will help set some goals and deadlines for me, and will likely get me into the darkroom and behind the camera more often. My Watercolor a Day series has been suffering, but I have some thoughts for reviving it as a year long project. When I find the time to make some headway I'll share some pictures.

Sake, soup and saga

Ian and I received some cool handmade bamboo sake cups and a tasty bottle of sake from Jessica for Christmas. Friday we went all out Japanese. I recently came up with a miso soup recipe that I love, so when we got home we made the soup and chilled the sake. We then settled in to watch Rashomon, an Akira Kurosawa film. It was a fascinating movie exploring the nature of truth. It is timeless with beautiful cinematography and symbolism. The film stimulated interesting discussions and left us feeling inspired. So inspired in fact, that afterward Ian went on to knit and I to paint even though we should have been tired from a long week. Ian was working on a scarf made of Noro wool, in keeping with the Japanese theme. I however couldn't get the image of the (yet another) burning single wide we saw on our drive home. Not really Japanese, but somehow the strength of the imagery seemed to fit the evening.

Ian's scarf

Burning Single Wide

Snow Day!

Well, not officially. Tech didn't cancel classes and I probably should have gone to work, but after beginning the drive to town, we decided a snow day was in our best interest and safety. These parts don't really know how to handle snow. It actually took us close to an hour to drive 4 miles. Much of the delay was trying to get back up the hill to our house. We tried once and didn't even come close, so Ian put the snow chains on the tires. Meanwhile we watched several trucks and jeeps make the attempt. One succeeded and I see him zoom by my window every so often...he is having fun with his big toy. We tried the same hill with chains and didn't make it, so we tried the next hill over. Finally we arrived back home. It is supposed to ice later on today which would have made getting back home after work and school even worse. So, we'll do a little work from home and maybe head out for some snow walking and snow ball fights later on. Its like being a kid again!

A Lauren-Shaped Hole in the Universe

It has been a while since I have found or made the time to sit down, think and write. We had a nice time over the holidays visiting family and seeing friends. It was a bit hectic with lots of driving and some frantic last minute knitting. I am happy to be home in the calm of our cluttered house. I was in desperate need of a recharge by the end, as all that was left of me was a Lauren-shaped hole in the universe. But, there is something I enjoy about the ebbs and flows of travel and stasis. I saw so many people and so many exciting things while we were gone that it will take me weeks to really process it all. Today I remembered the William Kentridge exhibit I saw at the Philadelphia Art Museum with new eyes and a different perspective. Who knows what I will remember tomorrow....