Hague
please

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Pop is a Catahoula Staffy Pibble Chihuahua mutt of incredible stubbornness and humor

I was DOGEd almost a year ago. I picked up a short term gig but I haven't worked for a company since mid-November.

It takes a long time to recover from 15 years of personality-driven nonprofits and international development organizations.

I feel like a rescue dog in a new home.

My cynicism says it’s also because they’re aware of climate change and its effects on food stability. So they’re trying to “program” themselves to live without it.

And yeah, they’re also joyless assholes.

I'm at that stage of new-skill learning where I keep trying to pound the square peg of my assumptions into new, round holes.

I'd like to move on to the stage where I let go of what I think I know and start picking up new round pegs, please.
#tabletweaving

Wool bouclé, wool plain weave, linen.

I'm making my clothing for my first year as street cast at #ravenwoodfaire this fall. The year: 1316. The clothing: accurate but costume, so a little more fitted. I'm starting with a side-laced kirtle.

Cloak, overdress, kirtle, smock

Huzzah!

Move along, people. Nothing to see here. We are a mentally ill nation with no interest in treatment or healing.

A blue bucket with a mop handle sits on a brown front porch.

#USAID #unemployed day 44: deck swabbing edition.

Getting all that spring pollen off the porch. Power washer didn't cut it.

Murphy's Oil Soap to the rescue.

This morning's pages
#artistsway

Photo of a Washington Post on a counter. The headline reads, "Rampaging militants gain ground in West Africa."

.... When you misread the headline to say "West Virginia" and don't even question it for a couple of seconds.... #2025

It's a wonderful nib, custom ground for Esterbrook. I have the scribe, journaler, and extra-fine flex nibs.

A page from The Artist's Way, with this passage underlined: "It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action. The pages lead us out of despair and into undreamed-of solutions."

It's been a difficult couple of months since they destroyed USAID and I lost my job. I have to give a different purpose.

In the meantime, small wins. I walked into the DMV and out half an hour later with my temporary Real ID.

And read a little more of #theartistsway

Day 1, #artistsway
Estie Funky Lake, journaler nib, with Diamine Cosmic Glow

So freaking excited for you! Huzzah!

The front cover of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. This book sits on top of the corresponding work book, which sits on a light-colored wood table in sunshine.

I was one of the tens of thousands who lost their job after USAID was destroyed. I'm still mourning the loss of my ambitions for 2025.

I'm starting The Artist's Way. Finding my north star again.

I will! I plan to bury my nose in your book and The Folded Sky for the second half of June.

Pre-ordered.

Just enough time to reread the first two!

How much clearer does it need to be?

There's a reason why I take most of my history classes to the local 19th-20th century cemetery and start by asking them to figure out when all the family plots stop having little tiny gravestones with diminutive nicknames on them.

Trip packing with #wooland