the road ahead

i don't know if today's election results will enable anyone to bridge the gaps, but anyway i am breathing a sigh of relief today. i got up at 4:15 to watch the coverage. at 5:17 a.m. my time, CBS called the race for obama. CNN quickly followed. BBC seemed like they snapped out of a coma and called it a few minutes later. the new york times took nearly an hour. and despite the florida vote still not being in as i write this, obama was re-elected by a comfortable margin.

this whole race was ugly. and the aftermath, as it's played out on facebook at least, is even uglier. i saw some things written there today by bitter republicans that simply scare the hell out of me. the blatant racism and hatred in evidence is frightening. and the things with which they credit the president (the demise of their businesses, their cancer, their dog being hit by a car) are simply astonishing. i've been gone too long. i knew bush had destroyed my country and gave voice to all those extreme lunatics, but but i don't think i fully appreciated exactly how bad it was.

so despite being relieved that obama won, i wonder at what price?

waiting game

i was interviewed about the election live on the radio late this afternoon, during the afternoon drive shift. it was fun. i could get used to that. i have now announced to all of trekantsområde that i am considering seeking danish citizenship if romney wins.

we just had to turn off the television again and i had to close huff post, msnbc and nytimes. i can't take any more. i just want it to be over with. fittingly, i'm reading jon ronson's them - a book about extremists and conspiracy theorists.

however, i'm sure i'll turn it all back on in an hour or so. i am both repelled and attracted. hopeful and in despair. but mostly rather sick to my stomach. it's just a waiting game now.

holding my breath until wednesday

reflecting on the election tomorrow. i'll be glad when it's over and i haven't even "enjoyed" the brunt of it, being at the distance as i am. i just spent an hour looking at the requirements for danish citizenship, just in case. it's difficult, but would undoubtedly be worth it if the worst happens tomorrow.

and if you haven't already sussed out what i think the worst would be, i think the rude pundit has said it much better than i could. me, i'm just sitting around, sick to my stomach at the thought.

i have voted and sent it weeks ago. now all i can do is wait and hold my breath. and i hope i don't have to kiss my passport goodbye.

up close and personal with embroidery

it's very much unlike me to blog photos that i took ages ago, but i don't think i ever blogged these. they're macro shots of a beautiful embroidery that hangs on the wall at a good friend's house. 

if i remember correctly, it is a stitched piece made by her grandmother. (judith, you'll have to correct me if i remember that wrong - i am on my way to the nursing home soon at the rate my eyes and memory are failing).

i will say that i think it looks like this little boy might be having a wee. unless it's a girl, then i guess not.

the details are just incredible. such a variety of fabrics and notions and stitches. i can't imagine the time it took. it must represent months and months (perhaps years) of work.

the piece is very large, tho' i apparently only took close-up shots of it, so i don't have a shot of the whole thing. i think i was very fascinated by the details, so i concentrated my lens only on all those beautiful stitches.

a path or a stream or perhaps a tree trunk - it's hard to tell close-up, but either way, i love the variety of stitches and textures and the cheery little daisies on the lower right.

i'm fascinated by embroidery of late (you had probably gathered that). i think as winter approaches, i begin to think about snuggling up in a chair and working on something homey. and these stitches, in their variety and their use of bits and pieces of other fabrics are pulling me in.

this work has a more traditional feel than anne brodersen's work and the variety of the stitches is impressive. anne actually uses very simple stitches and not that many different ones. this piece is fascinating in a different way.

with such a big piece, i wonder how the process went - did she know what the picture was before she started or did she just stitch and let it develop as she went along?

i think i'll have to wander down for a visit and take a photo of this in its entirety. either that or just get on with some stitching already.

a whole lotta gratefulness going on

there's a lot of gratefulness going on in the blogosphere and on planet facebook, so i thought i'd jump on the bandwagon, just for today. grateful for:

kittens.

fresh eggs.

people (who aren't me) who really care about details and getting them right.

lunch with old friends.

opportunities on the horizon.

possibilities.

music.

and people who are good at playing it.

storytelling.

books.

different points of view.

that the end of this awful election is in sight.

sunshine.

the dishwasher.

fish soup.

bacon.

fresh bread.

and did i mention the kittens?

* * *

happy sunday, one and all.

roads taken and not

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

i know i've often protested that i'm not a poetry person, but as i contemplate roads, this speaks to me. sometimes you rejoin a road you took before and find it improved. at least that's what i'm hoping.

happy weekend.

magical places

i most definitely filled up my energy batteries today - i dressed up in my hugo boss suit, i wore fabulous heels, i had a great conversation with potential for the future and excellent results on a couple of tests in the morning, followed by a visit to a little second hand store where i found several treasures and then spent a couple of hours in one of my favorite places, that magical little museum in randbøldal, surrounded by creative people who were actively creating things.

artist anne brodersen was there, stitching on various fragments and talking about her work. i'm even more in love with it now. as anne explained the work with the greek bull from cyprus on it, i got goosebumps when she suggested that all of those cultures which are but artifacts to us live on somewhere in another dimension.

she explained some of her techniques, especially the way she uses photos and her transfer technique using a special kind of glue (which i ordered as soon as i got home). she also added texture to some of the pieces inspired by iceland in the form of different colors of soil that she collected on her visit to iceland. hmm, perhaps something can be done with all that sand i've collected from the world's beaches.

many of her works are a collection of various small fragments put together in creative and interesting ways. it was so inspiring. i find that i often have so many ideas swirling in my head and on my pinterest stitching board, that it stops me from getting started. but i think i can manage to get started if i just begin stitching various small pieces with the idea that they can be put together later. at times i'm so paralyzed by my own brain and probably also by my abundance of supplies.

we discussed the tension (insecurity?) that is in evidence in many embroidery artists around the interwebs about whether their work is art or handcraft. anne is, as i said previously, seemingly very secure in her work being art (which it very much is!). we talked about the resurgence in the popularity of such handcrafts today and she said she felt it was a product of these times. if you embroider, you are showing that you really have time to devote to such things, so you are showing what a surplus person you are. it's a status symbol today, in the midst of our busy lives. (i think this is equally true of gourmet cooking, crochet, sewing, etc.)

i talked with her about her courses in various techniques and i will definitely be taking both of the ones she offers. they're held over a weekend at her studio near the west coast of denmark. the courses are small - only 5 people. and i just can't wait! but it probably won't be 'til spring.

the museum in randbøldal has some kind of special energy. it's palpable in the air there and it gives me a sense of inner calm and peace like nowhere else does at the moment. it's a combination of atmosphere, looms, creativity and wonderful people. i think everyone needs a place like that, a place that gives you a calm and centered feeling when you didn't even know you needed it. magical.

now run along and find one for yourself!