after all this time…

i’m starting over with blogging…

with a new title (that i quite like)

you may now find me here, at wool and the bear…

it’s still in the works… but, i’ve already got a small post up and one in the works (with photos!)

goodness me…

it’s been a long long time since this blog has seen the likes of me…

i’ve no excuses (well… i do… but it’s never necessary to spout off a slew of excuses… right?)…  although… i will tell you… my computer is broken… so, for now… i will be using clayton’s computer and (most likely, like i am today) stealing his photos!  (thank you!)

here’s what we’ve been up to over the past few weeks…

and, recently, i…

read a good book…

baked some oh so delicious cookies (my versions included orange spice chocolate with sea salt and ginger walnut… both were equally tasty!)…

saw a good movie for the first time… and was reminded of how much i love this one…

presented an anti- racist education workshop to my co- workers…

explored the sol lewitt retrospective at mass moca…

think listening to this album goes along perfectly with reading this book…

think this dress would be cute and lovely to wear for my sister’s wedding…

like this song…

fell in love (again) with this show…  (love this!)

have a good week all… (hopefully, i’ll be back sooner than later!)

We cannot walk alone… And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead… We cannot turn back…

we celebrate the life and death of a great man who died too soon for us…

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day – this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

**

we’ve come a long way… but, we’re not there… let’s keep marching ahead… always…

i lost my wallet yesterday… and the car is having some electrical issues (like every time i hit the brakes the dashboard lights go on)… so, naturally, i’m totally bummed and a little bit down on 2010…

in 2010 i will…

- drink more water…

- know where the meat i eat comes from…

- eat more leafy greens…

- become okay with being lactose intolerant…

- finishing knitting the sweater that’s been sitting in my basket for months and months…

- knit this sweater with martha…

- drink more orange juice…

- see my family more than just once or twice a year…

- travel to the southwest… and to other places i’ve never been

- go to the movie theatre…

- buy a new computer…

- read (at least) one book a month!

- eat more breakfast…

- attend my sister’s wedding!!  (in vermont… august 28th)

- turn 29 years old…

- go to nyc…

- write letters…

- lead an anti- racism workshop at my school…

- not get vertigo again! (i hope…)

- blog more…

- go on an adventure filled with surprises…

how about you?  what will you do in 2010?

on the last day of the year… looking towards the new decade…

remember this?  i wrote it around this time of year… and what better way to ring in a new decade than to check in… re- organize… and start anew?

last year… my year long goals were to:

1. read (at least) one book a month… check!

i was keeping track of the books i read here… but, haven’t updated the list over the last two months.  i started reading “thriller” and crime type novels this year, which i never read in the past.  they are a quick (sometimes scary) read!  i’ve also been reading more books for work about education and racism.  do i have a favorite book from this year?  hmmm… i do… well, i have two… the first being a wild sheep chase by haruki murakami.  i always enjoy reading his books… but, there was something about a wild sheep chase that i liked more than his others… (even norwegian wood, which is/ was my favorite murakami) maybe it’s because i read this book during the cold month of january… and where i live slightly resembles the book’s setting… i don’t know… regardless… if you haven’t read this murakmi book… it comes very very highly recommended from me!  the other book i really enjoyed this year was roddy doyle‘s collection of short stories titled the deportees and other stories.  again, he’s an author i’ve always enjoyed reading… and, the setting… reading on a train down to new york and on the subway seemed kind of fitting… only enhancing the lovely stories!

and, of course… you all know i feel about these two books…

what books did you love reading this year?

2. organize my studio and keep it clean…

well… this goal is/ was not an easy one… i’ve changed studios three times since last january… and well, you know how it goes… you start sewing… a tornado occurs… and afterwards… it’s really difficult getting the oomph to clean it up!

but, i will happily say that… today, as i write… (in my studio) that it is, for the most part, quite clean and i can, for once (since the summertime) find the things i need!  sewing is slow going though… and, i just found of bunch of pieces i had been working on prior to the move that would love some attention from my sewing machine…

3. go on a trip this year… check!

we took a road trip this year… to philadelphia, pa… columbus, oh…  brown county, indiana… rochester, ny… syracuse, ny… and back here… only to have to go to a wedding the very same day of our arrival!  whew!

it was fun… i met up with some awesomely lovely folks (congrats leya and dustin!)… caught up with some old friends from my philly days… had a blast on some farmland… battled the heat… drove through torrential down pour… saw old salem family films… hung out with the family… and fell even more in love with our car (the hulk, as we like to call her)…

4. write (at least) two letters a month…

hmmm… i was really good at this during the first half of the year… and not so great (at all) more recently… maybe two, as sad as it seems, two letters is a little too much… so, for the coming year… just one letter… or, maybe one letter and a card…

5. knit myself a pair of socks… nope… not yet.  and, in fact, i’ve lost interest in this… so, i’m changing the goal to… finish that sweater that’s been on the needles for the last four months!

6. continue to bake bread (just about) every weekend… check?  this did happen last winter… and, it was great.  there’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven… well, except maybe for the taste!  i love baking bread… so, i will, again, try to do this more often in our new home!

7. post on this blog once a week… hmmm… how’d i do? not so great sometimes… but, i will try again!  and, if i’m not posting over here… then i may be at the new blog…

8. sew thing for myself…

i did… a few times… so, i guess that counts…

9. shop locally… check!

it’s remarkably easy to do around here… in fact, it’s easier than going to the big box stores. (i admit, i broke down a few times… but, not as much as i thought i would… at all…)

10. have another successful year of gardening… not so much…

with all of the rain we had this year… and our going on a trip and moving… it didn’t really happen.  argh!

11. yoga on the weekends… hmmm… sometimes… but, not nearly as much as i should have…

12. to figure out what to do with the back room… check!

we no longer have that back room as we moved… so, no more worries about the back room!

13.  relax with the fella… check!

i think we’re getting better and better at this every day… especially since clayton got his promotion at work and now, his schedule is a little more similar to mine!

14. figure out where i’d like to do my montessori teacher training… umm… check…

but, that’s a sore topic with me as of late… which i’d rather not write about… but… i do know which training i’d like to go too… but, that’s not the issue now… ugh!

15. to not work so much this summer… check!

i didn’t… i only work four weeks during the whole summer and it was great.  i worked with some lovely folks and got to make art with kids… win and win!

16. make date pudding… check!

and, reading this goal i’m reminded that it’s damn good and i want to make more!

17. fold the laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer… check… ?!

sometimes i do this… and, sometimes i don’t… but, i do, always, prefer to have folded laundry than laundry that’s been sitting in the basket waiting to be folded!  who doesn’t?

18. get some new glasses with a new prescription… ummm… 2010 will be the year to do this!  yikes!

19. go to the movie theatre more than once this year… check!

we saw some good movies in the theatre this year… doubt… district 9… and fantastic mr. fox are the ones that stood out to me and i really enjoyed!  which movies did you love this year?

20. go on more dates with the fella… check?!

21. try to learn some french… nah… that never happened… darn.

22. reorganize my email... hmmm… well, i tried… but, then it just got all messy again… ugh!

23. spend less time online… check!

as the year progressed i was able to spend less and less time online!  yay me!

24. go to a music concert this year…

i don’t think i did… and, well, if i did… it wasn’t so memorable.  ah well… i’m okay with this.  right now… as i write this… i’m remembering back to the days when i loved going to hardcore shows and dancing in the back of the basement… i can’t really picture myself doing that now…

25.continue to enjoy my students… check!

really, there isn’t a day that goes by in the classroom where i don’t smile and laugh with a student or two (or all of them)!  heck!  it’s my students (and my awesome co- teacher) that keep me coming back for more!

26. drink three cups of tea a day… check…

when it’s necessary i do… but, i’m trying to drink more water these days…

27. feel less rushed in my weekday mornings… check!

now that i have a car to drive… i’m not having to get up so early.  it’s good.  and, i’ve even been known to eat a little breakfast or, do all of my grocery shopping before i get to work!

28. to figure out how i’m going to celebrate my golden birthday… check!  i’m 28!  geez!  it kind of sucked that i wasn’t with my twin on our golden birthday… but, it was fun nonetheless…

so… i have to say 2009 was a decent year.  i have no clue what 2010 will bring us… but, i’m hoping it’s filled with joy, laughter, peace, surprises (good ones, of course), health, love, and warmth…

(i’ll be back over the weekend with a list of things i’d like to do in 2010… have a fun and safe new year’s eve folks!)

oh… and, happy new year!

what are your plans for this evening?

extended weekend- ing…

i’m on vacation now… two weeks… it’s good.   usually i go a little bonkers during vacations… not having structure can do that to a person… you know?  i’ve got lots of plans for this vacation and have a feeling it’s going to fly by way too quickly…

today i worked on some knitting… and some christmas card making…

and i worked on my studio space.  i’ve been sitting on this space since we moved into our new home… for three months i just looked at a space filled with boxes and potential.  today, i, actually, did something about it… and well, i quite like it!

and right now… i’m listening to some bob marley and getting myself ready to wrap some christmas gifts.  i wasn’t so big on the gift making/ giving this year… so, there’s not much to wrap…

(i’m planning on having a low- key christmas filled with surprises… how about you?)

i’ll leave you with a photo of my boots on my feet… i totally love them!

(please excuse the not so great quality of the photos as i took them with my mobile phone… )

to covet no more…

i just bought the boots i’ve been coveting for about two years yesterday… and, well… let’s just say i’m a happy lady now!  and, since they’re waterproof and lined with polartec… they’ll be awesome (i.e. perfect) for tomorrow’s impending snow storm!

good luck eastern mass folks!  (i think you’re getting the worst of it… )

i’ll be spending the next few days knitting a few christmas hats… finishing up a totally rad pair of legwarmers for the best five year old ever… and wrapping a few christmas things…

(i’ll have photos soon… i’ve been having to use clayton’s camera ever since we moved here… my one just doesn’t seem up-to-par these days… ugh!!)

(shauna and stephen reminded me of how much i like listening to these two… )

happy snow all!

good king wenceslas

directed by julia pott

a little something on the side…

you can now find me here… (as well!)
i just started a new blog that will be more about teaching and my thoughts and rants and ideas and musing on being the only teacher of color in my school…

i’m pretty excited with this new venture… don’t worry, i’ll still be here… but, well… my profession is teaching… and, as i’ve heard… teaching is a lifestyle, not just a job… so…

head on over… (it’s a little bare… but, heck, i just started!)

snow day!

remember when you were a kid and how awesome snow days were then?  well… they’re even better when you’re all “grown- up”…

my computer has a logic board start- up problem… (something like that) so i’m using clayton’s computer, which is being all sassy on me too…

so, that explains my absence…

i hope you are all well…

and… for those who live in snowy cities and towns… happy snow!

i am somebody

i wonder if i was one of those kids… sitting in front of the tv… enthralled with jesse jackson… and repeating this awesome affirmation… and realizing that i am somebody…

 

found via… racialicious

it’s halloween… it’s halloween… it’s time for scares… it’s time for screams…

i’m not a big halloween person… but, i do enjoy listening to this song…

and watching the halloween episode of this show…

and this movie… (of course)

and taking spooky photos with my fella…

happy halloween y’all…

(and remember it’s daylight savings!  we get an extra hour… whoo hoo!)

which color leather?

i’m in the midst of thinking about and beginning to make my christmas gifts… and well, i’m just stuck on which color leather to choose…  i’d rather not say what the leather will be as several folks i know who are often recipients of gifts made by me read this blog… (okay… per request… and, so you may help me- thank you- what i’m making is a case/ bag type thing… i think that’s all i want to giveaway for now though)

so, please help!!

(dark brown, purple, teal, burgundy, or yellow?)

(grey, navy blue, or that other color which name i cannot remember…?)

(thank you!)

lately…

i’ve been enjoying…

cooking in our kitchen…

reading natalie and luke‘s blog and wishing we lived closer to eachother…

candle pin bowling downtown in our lovely little town…

knitting… knitting… and knitting!  (i’m working christmas gifts and a sweater…)

taking long hot baths in the best tub ever…

my new phone… it’s true… i really do love it!  (yikes!)

everything elly makes…

the wallpaper in our “blue room”…

these hats made by the lovely martha…

these holiday cards from natalie of owls go hoot…

being lactose free…

watching this movie…

being a little bit more “girly” these days…

autumn in new england… (with this song playing in my head all autumn long…)