It is time for the annual making of the bookmarks for my youngest’s teachers. We do this every year and they are always well received. This year was a snow theme and she wanted a snowflake as the “tassel”. To attach the two laminated pieces of paper I punched a small hole and did a few half square knots to make a small section of twisted macrame.
I like the way the half square knots twist. To finish it off, I put a dab of white glue, then trimmed the ends close to the work.
Our chorus was taking a private paper vote and we have a member who reads braille. Making the ballots inclusive was important to me and appreciated by her, and it only took a 15 minutes. I found a braille slate on Amazon, which is a small frame and stylus that makes it easy to get the right spacing for the braille dots. The frame is inexpensive, so I didn’t need to invest in a Braille Writer, which would be good for larger projects. The trickiest part is forming the letters, called cells, backwards. I printed the ballots on card stock because the thicker paper holds the embossed braille better, then used the braille slate to mark “yes” and “no” on each ballot so they were all the same. The ballot was read out loud to all members, then we all marked our ballots with pencil.
My message here is that often small changes in the way we do things can make big differences in creating inclusive environments. Could she have orally given her vote? Yes, but it wouldn’t have the same feeling of privacy the other members have. Another option to a paper vote would be that we all could have sent in our votes electronically before the meeting instead. There are many different approaches to solving problems, and it usually only takes a little thought and consideration to make processes accessible and inclusive.
My eldest ordered a size large costume online; when it arrived it was a YOUTH large. Oops. There wasn’t time to return and reorder, and all the critical identifying marks were on the jacket, so we ripped some seams and turned the buttoned jacket into a vest.
We obtained a black shirt and black pants to go under the vest, and I rather like the crop vest with the long shirt. It is a subtle stylized version of the character.
Turkish drop spindles are very clever, they go together in pieces, spin well, and come apart without disturbing the cop of yarn built up around the arms, but with a Turkish spindle, this bundle of spun yarn is called a turtle. I have seen pictures of some exquisitely wrapped turtles that are art forms in and of themselves. Mine looks more like a nest. I have goals.
I had trouble deciding the title for this post, so I combined all the words for maximum misdirection.
I have a hen, Seashell, sleeping in the nest box at night. Historically when this happens I take the hen off the nest and put her back on the roost with her sisters, which helps break the broody cycle, but this hen isn’t broody. There are no eggs in the nest, and haven’t been since September. They won’t start laying again until February, if they follow the same pattern as the previous three years. She started this behavior after we lost the last chicken, so I’m wondering if the hen that passed was her buddy and she would rather sleep alone than with the flock. Or the other hen offered her protection that is absent with the rest. The flock is quite clicky.
I have another hen sleeping off the roost, but that is Magic, who has periodic leg issues that impede her jumping up to the roost. She sleeps on her pedestal of pine in the left corner of the coop.
Critters and Craft 