"That's not writing - that's typing." --Truman Capote
Over on Ravelry, some of our local entrepreneurs organized a Maryland “yarn party” – a mini-festival to give local dyers an opportunity to sell to local crafters. Super idea. So super, in fact, that the room rented for the inaugural event was too small for the hordes of people who showed up. Despite being early, Marietta and I got sensory overload/claustrophobia and I left the event with only two skeins of alpaca laceweight (I have a scarf design knocking around in the back of my skull, asking to be let out in an increasingly less polite and more insistent manner. This should appease it):
It’s a lovely blend of what Marietta and I agreed were pure “Jill” colors (why bother fighting it?). Appropriately (for me, at least), the colorway is called “Special,” and it’s from Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I would love to get more of this colorway in different yarns, as I saw at least one skein of superwash merino sock yarn in the same colorway that was much darker (silk or silk blend would be particularly interesting. Mmmm.)
Since Mar and I were going a bit loopy in a crowded room of fiberholics and I needed to get home, we spent some time outside with her son Max so I could use my camera to document his antics. He’s walking now. Walking. Geez.
He’s also still amazingly gregarious and friendly. And now with four whole teeth!
He’s also got his parents’ smart-ass genes in full measure:
Give ’em hell, kid. Auntie Jill approves.
Robynn has promised some 4theanimals dosh, so here’s my first YouTube effort to say “thanks!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZYpWq9M6USpring is truly upon us here. We may get a few weather surprises in the next few weeks, but the trees are budding, pansies are blooming, and bulbs are forcing their way toward the sun. Landscape crews have been out in force for the last couple of weeks, prepping gardens and medians for the floral explosion that is not far away.
Our old friends the Carolina Wrens have resumed their annual twiggy assault on the canoe. We pulled out the detritus of avian house-building the other day, but I would bet they already have a cozy little base-camp reestablished by now.
Last night, we got out to the aforementioned Folger Theatre production of Macbeth. It’s the second time I’ve seen the play – the first time was in London, in 1990, and that production was pretty crap. The script is so much larger than life, contains so many famous lines that have morphed into cliche, the themes and ideas are so huge – one man’s descent into inhumanity and madness infecting an entire country – I suppose it takes some really extraordinary acting to keep the whole thing from lurching into absurdity and pantomime.
This production had that extraordinary acting. It also had really scary witches, stage magic that was seamlessly and beautifully integrated into the action, buckets of fake blood, and lots of heads in bags. The Folger itself is a beautiful, tiny theatre, very Tudor, making you feel like you’ve entered a little bubble of time and space in downtown DC.
There was a light, misty rain as we walked back to the Metro, and the moisture brought on springtime scents of mulch and ozone. Murder, mayhem, and flowers – ah, spring.
1. Thank you, Marilee, for being the first contributor to the Poplar Springs 5k fund! Her donation coincided with a particularly fortuitous afternoon’s snaps of the Smith household animals, so here’s a photographic “thank you” from those worthies:
2. Thanks to: a.) the fact that my husband actually reads the Birchmere‘s occasional missives, b.) my friend Melanie’s quick response to a call to arms, and c.) my credit card, I can report that Mel, her sister and I are actually going to get to see Eddie Izzard. (John’s not interested, but thanks for noticing he’s not included). As my mom is fond of saying in reference to hot flashes, “Faint, but don’t fan: it’s a dead giveaway.”
3. In other theatrical news, we’re going to see Teller’s Macbeth this weekend at the Folger Theatre. I feel a bit ashamed to say that I have lived in the DC area for a total of over nine years and have never been to the Folger. Cultural cretin – that’s me.
4. Who thought of this daylight savings time palaver, anyway? And who thinks it’s a good idea to extend it? Clearly someone who doesn’t work for a living. Feh.
So the running thing is going pretty well. I’m as surprised as anyone. Probably more surprised, to own the truth. With that, I decided to seek out a little 5K “fun run” and found one that is perfect for me – the Poplar Springs “Run for the Animals,” in support of a local sanctuary for wildlife and abused or neglected farm animals. It’s on May 18, so I even have some time to train properly.
The pledge system is woefully lo-tech, without the bells and whistles of the big AIDS Walk I did last year. However, if anyone wants to sponsor me, I’ve added an e-mail to my PayPal account especially for this event (I know – not everyone loves the PayPal, but it is easy). If you trust me and want to support the animal sanctuary, go over to PayPal and deposit the donation under the e-mail 4theanimals ~at~ writingortyping dot-com. I will probably get all sappy and want to thank people publicly, so if you prefer your donation be anonymous, just let me know.
If you prefer lo-tech or don’t trust me not to pocket the cash and make off for Bora-Bora and want to mail a check made out directly to the sanctuary but don’t know my address, drop me an e-mail at the same address I’ve noted above and I’ll ping you back with the requisite info.
Milo offers all the usual incentives for those who donate. He may even add a few, since he highly approves of the whole animal sanctuary concept.
