The ruminations of an artist on art & life...art quilts, beading, knitting, drawing, painting, printmaking, bookmaking are all my passions, I love to explore creating....
It is now official--I am a
RAGING GRANNY! Yup --the Seattle
Raging Grannies held a bake sale......
We made about $80 for the Friends of the Library.....and reminded folks passing by that we are in a senseless and wasteful war.....and that this coming year Seattle taxpayers will pay $370 million for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan about 100 times what we would need to avoid next year's cuts to Seattle's libraries.
If you want to know more about the
Raging Grannies....check out their website:
http://raginggrannies.org/
They are out in the streets promoting peace, justice, social and economic equality through song and humour.
I am proud to be a
Raging Granny!
Here is the website for the Seattle Raging Grannies :
http://www.seattleraginggrannies.com/
Today is St. Brigid's Day in Ireland. As she is the patroness of cattle, dairy work, and ale, her day is also New Year's Day for Farmers and the first day of Spring or Imbolc, a pagan celebration associated with fertility and weather divination.
The word,
Imbolc [the season of light] is Gaelic, the language of the Celts. There is a strong association between Imbolc and Brigid, a Celtic fertility goddess also associated with fire, healing, and holy wells. When the pagan holidays were transformed into Christian equivalents,
February 1st became St. Brigid's Day in honor of the Irish saint (named after the Celtic goddess) who was a contemporary of Saint Patrick's.
I plan to make some oatcakes to celebrate Imbolic....in honor of the Celtic Goddess Brigid....and the coming of spring...
Scottish Oat Cakes (Gluten Free)- 8 oz. rolled oats, plus extra for dusting
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tblsp butter
- 5 oz. water
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Put the oatmeal, soda and salt into a bowl and mix well. Heat the butter 5 oz water in a small pan until the butter melts.
- Make a well in the centre of the oatmeal mix, pour in the liquid and use a rubber spatula to mix everything together. The mixture will initially seem a bit wet, but the oatmeal will gradually absorb all the liquid to give a soft dough.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with oatmeal. Tip out the dough, then roll out to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Use a small round cutter to stamp out the oatcakes or use your favorite shapes. Re-roll any trimmings and continue to cut out the "biscuits". (Cut art cakes can be frozen uncooked, for up to a month. Freeze flat before packing into bags or boxes.)
- Brush off any excess oatmeal, then space the oatcakes over 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes, carefully turning the oatcakes every 5 minutes or so to stop them from steaming and going stodgy. When cooked they should be crisp and lightly golden. Lift onto a wire rack and leave to cool. (Will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.)
yummy with apple butter or homemade jam---or with a nice goat cheese...and fruit.
Most of you blog readers know I'm from Alaska--in fact--I am a third generation Alaskan --my grandfather was a gold miner, my mother was born in Juneau, Alaska in 1922. Sarah Palin's family moved to Alaska when she was an infant--she is a first generation Alaskan--if even that, since she was not born there.
After watching Palin debate (if you could call it that) Senator Biden, I just had to post this link to the SARAH PALIN DEBATE FLOW CHART---such a wonderfull, humorous illustration of the debate ....seems to sum up what happened just fine...do check it out ;-)
There is a reason my name is Aurora--it keeps me grounded in the best part of Alaska. I lived for over 20 years in a small town in Alaska--and even served on the city council there--heck, we all did that--we all ended up sooner or later taking out turn on the city council---did that qualify us to be Vice Pres of the US? It takes a tremendous ego to even consider that position when all the experience you have is governor of the state with the smallest population percapita.
I know many women like her in Alaska--self-rightous that their beliefs are the only way the world should be run, who see Alaska as only a place to be exploited and consumed--not as the tremendous wild treasure it is. I know many Alaskan women who say they are feminists---but a real Alaskan feminist Palin is not: she does not support a women's right to choose whether to have an abortion or not; she says you should teach only abstinence--but has a pregnant teenager; she is a women who believes the answer to our "energy crisis" is to drill for more oil in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge (she doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the word "refuge"); and worst of all ---she is a women who refuses to believe that Global Warming is caused by humans--despite the scientific evidence! Despite what Sarah Palin says, and her deliberately folksy attitude, she is not a "real" Alaskan women--she is a caricature of the worst kind of Alaskan.
May we all have compassion for her wounded soul, and work to keep her from being elected.
I spent yesterday at the big Blogher Conference in San Francisco---such great female energy and enthusiasm! 1000 women bloggers all in one place. I met many interesting women bloggers ( and I just spent a nice quiet Sunday afternoon checking out their blogs and websites--about 40 of them!), ate some good food, learned some new techie terms, and mostly enjoyed the whole day. The conference was the 3 or 4 person panel discussion format--but the panelists all answered many questions from the audience, and the spirit of passionate women bloggers certainly made for some interesting and lively discussions. I say women on the Net are a force to be reckoned with!
By the afternoon (why do conferences always start at 9 am?) I found myself wandering around forlornly thinking "where are the craft bloggers?" (Yeah--where were you?) I met about five bloggers who said they blogged about crafts--but that was it--and the Craft Blogger Meet Up had about 12 women and was moderated by a DIY blogger who did not write about crafts---so hey! us crafty women bloggers were seriously under represented ---WHY?
If you have a craft blog I do urge you to check out Blogher--a website just for women bloggers to connect with each other...Blogher "The community for women who blog. You say it. We share it." I know there is power in networking and organizing and this conference just re-enforced that knowledge for me. Thanks Blogher!
I did meet the woman who has the wonderful craft blog Zakka Life....I have been reading her blog for awhile--and found her comments at the Craft Blog Meet Up to be right on. I have discovered I really enjoy meeting bloggers in person--especially after I have been reading their blog for awhile.
I also met two local (California) women food bloggers with great blogs : Foodista, and Food Gal. And I met a "Mommy Blogger" (a group who had a very large presence at this conference) from Alaska (for those of you who don't know--Alaska is my "real home"---I was born there, lived there exclusively until at 38 I decided to attend College--but I digress) anyhow-- she blogs from Anchorage, Alaska and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her blog: Scribbit, A Blog About Motherhood in Alaska.
At lunch I met a women who has a blog/website all about girlfriends---she was giving out postcards that said "Thanks Girlfriend" on them--- do check out Girlfriendology.com, her blog review of the conference is excellent.
I suppose in retrospect--the lack of crafty bloggers allowed me to meet some women blogging about subjects I rarely explore via blogs--so my internet horizons sure expanded from attending the conference.
I treasure these old Vintage Needle Cases..., some in the house when we moved in (my mother-in-law was a seamstress) and some flea market finds. They make me feel connected to all the women sewers and knitters who came before me...and they remind me of my grandmother and her sister--my Great Aunt Esther. My grandmother taught me to knit and make pie crust when I was about 8 or 9...and she always had home made cookies in her cookie jar on the kitchen counter (and you could always have one--even if it was right before dinner!).
Aunt Esther endeavored to teach me--the family "tomboy"---how to be a "little lady"---I'm afraid I flunked that lesson! ---and to stand up for what I believed was right. Aunt Esther always had the proper saying for the proper time or event---once she had me take off my torn jeans and while she mended them, she told me--"A stitch in time, saves nine." Another favorate saying she had--which I still say --was: "Don't borrow trouble."(---said if you expressed a worry about something that could possibly happen...) and if you were sarcastic or meanly criticized your baby sister--she would look at you and say, "You catch more flies with honey, than you do vinegar."
If they were alive today, they would happily attend my once a month Needlework Salon---Gram with her knitting, Aunt Esther with her mending.
My friend Ms. Godsey at Bibliophile Bullpen has another great blog --- Literary Stamps, which is part of the inspiration for this post.
Poet Edna St Vincent Millay was born in Rockland, Maine in 1892. Millay's life always fascinated me---since she was an early "Bohemian"---and a women not afraid to go against the norms of what was expected of women of her time.
Nancy Mitford has written an excellent biography of Millay titled Savage Beauty
which I read and enjoyed immensely. Mitford captured her life and spirit, as well as the times she lived in ....
Souvenir
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
(from The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems, 1923 edition)
Just a rainy day or two
In a windy tower,
That was all I had of you----
Saving half an hour
Marred by greeting passing groups
In a cinder walk,
Near some naked blackberry hoops
Dim with purple chalk.
I remember three or four
Things you said in spite,
And an ugly coat you wore,
Plaided black and white.
Just a rainy day or two
And a bitter word.
Why do I remember you
as a singing bird?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
on another note---WIP: I am currently knitting squares for a healing blanket or small afghan for a friend who is quite ill--something cuddly for him to wrap himself in when he is sitting, or when is he is cold....several knitting friends are also contributing to this project.
so far, I have five 8" x 8" squares done and another one on the needles--I am having fun trying out new stitches for some squares...this is turning out to be a nice way to swatch and experiment with new stitch ideas, plus use up some miscellaneous wools I have in my stash.
March 8th is INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, and March is WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, so I'm going to highlight a few women artists, writers and craftswomen whose works I like throughout this month. I think it is important for us to know our history---so we can change and grow as a culture---by learning from our past mistakes and injustices.
Who better to start with than journalist and American activist Dorothea Dix (1802-1887)?
And short history of INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY from Wikipedia: "The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Among other relevant historic events, it commemorates the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (New York, 1911), where over 140 women lost their lives. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.
More protests followed on 8 March in subsequent years, most notably in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1910 the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen. Furthermore, on the eve of World War I, women across Europe held peace rallies on 8 March 1913. In the West, International Women's Day was commemorated during the 1910s and 1920s, but dwindled. It was revived by the rise of feminism in the 1960s."
And because this is also a knitting/crafting blog, I would like to also highlight Elizabeth Zimmerman (1940-1999)---I knit my first sweater from one of her books in 1979! out of yarn I spun myself from sheep raised in the Alaska Aleutian Islands. I still have that book--the now famous KNITTING WITHOUT TEARS and I still refer to it, and use the patterns--of course!
"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either...." --Elizabeth Zimmerman
Elizabeth’s books have all remained in print continuously since publication. They are available at local book and yarn shops and through Schoolhouse Press.
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