Giddyfying!

When I march to the beat of my own accordion, this is pretty damn near to what it sounds like.

Springly Weather

a picture of a tree

At Fort Chaffee, where Elvis got his GI haircut.

Kid and friend gathered wild onions which I braided. Friend actually has both arms, tho it does not appear so in this pic.

Yep Yep

also the Internets haz a new thing, an emoticon of a tumbling tumbleweed. Not sure if intended to evoke western-showdown-scene music or express that whiny anthem of our generation, "I'm bored, entertain meee"; suspect the latter.

it's amazing how many languages
 you can learn from the internets

 also, "Hottentot apron" is a racially offensive name for a rather unique style of lady parts. The Wikipedia can tell you about it.

*I hereby affirm certify and swear that I am above the age of 18 and not offended by the sight of lady parts*

Moral Quandary

So my kid's school takes pictures twice a year. Fall ones are pretty typical; they send 2 proofs and an envelope with choice of packages, which they'll print up on demand & sell you.

Spring pictures are a whole different animal. They take the picture, even if the kid says, "I don't want my picture taken, my Mom doesn't want any" as mine did. Then they send you an 8x10, 3 - 5x7s, 10 wallet-sized, and a whole sheet of bookmarks, guitar pics and other assorted plastic punch-outs, cheerily printed with the school year and little cutesy backgrounds.

They send you all these photos, then they say pay $12 a sheet for the ones you want, and send the rest back.
AND SEND THE REST BACK.

Why, exactly? They've already printed them, it's not like they're gonna lick the ink off and reuse the paper. And though she's a pretty cute kid, i don't think they'll want to hang her picture in their homes...They've put the same investment into making them, whether I buy all of them or none of them. ($12 a sheet is ridiculous btw. Fundraiser pricing, the money goes to the school)

It's a ridiculous business model. I'm not going to pay outrageous prices for something I didn't want in the first place.

I was supposed to decide & return them last week, but haven't, cuz I'm slack like that. I'm tempted to call and say the cat ate them or the dog lost them, but I'd really like to help out, even though I'm not going to give them any money. I could offer them some of these OTHER pictures of my kid, would they like those? Not that I'd actually give them any. I'm not giving pics of my kid to somebody who's just going to run them through a shredder! That gives me the heebedy-jeebies just thinking about it.

Also, I'm a bit offended by the wastefulness of it. Photo chemicals ain't made of kitten giggles and rainwater, after all. Those unwanted pics have to go somewhere; all the energy used to produce them had to come from somewhere.
Is it my capitalistic duty to try to bankrupt these fools?
Is it my moral obligation to return their goods to them, though they hold absolutely no value?

Discuss.
I know I'm supposed to do the right thing, but remind me why, OK?



* I actually gave the kid a check to cover the page of bookmarks etc cuz they're cute and she likes to swap them with her friends, and sent the rest of it back. But I also took a decent close-up of the 8x10 with my camera ; )

Coiled Baskets

I learned these spiral forms when I was 10, at a summer program that I whined atrociously about having to attend. It seems to have stuck in the mind-crannies as a useful Skill.

There's a lovely how-to here



These baskets go well with mexican hot chocolate,
probably because chocolate and
making things are both good for the soul.



The link says cotton clothesline for a core, but fat macrame yarn works for a soft feel, or discarded phone line for a tough rigid form.

The stitch is a figure-eight around adjacent coils of core, with wraps between stiches to cover the core as it's added.

Big tapestry needle, legs crossed "indian style" as they used to say.

Aleph

The beginning part is always tricky. Expect some fumbles and swears.
The first attempt will likely be a bulging lopsided omphalos; that's OK, the first time's just for practice.
Any shape begins with a spiral.
The first thing I made was a mini fire hydrant. To my ten-year-old mind it looked just like one, though it probably wouldn't now ; )

Finish the end by tapering it & lashing it down. End it well.


A Sacred Vessel

A short fat Caldera, singing to the sky.

An empty vessel, to be filled with as much of Life as it may hold.

Aren't we all.

and also this.

My mind can form no proper adjective for Die Antwoord, but they are certainly very much so.