Mena is a 23 year old mother of four who recently fled her home with her family in Afghanistan to resettle in Charlottesville. I was introduced to her by my friend Cathy, who had been paired with the family by International Neighbors (IN). Their family has been in this country only a few short months, having arrived here in Charlottesville thanks to the assistance of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Unfamiliar to our country, our culture, our language, Mena and her husband are also unaccustomed to running their own household, as they lived in a home with their extended family in their native land. While the IRC got them out of their native country alive, IN works to ensure they thrive in their new home. As a volunteer in the Family Friends program, Cathy was paired with the family to help in that adjustment. Continue reading
When home becomes a hashtag.
I have an article due last week – a feel good story on a piece of Charlottesville history – that I can’t quite seem to focus on. After having such violent images of my town broadcast all over the globe, seeing armed nazis in my neighborhood, having my neighbors feel threatened in the safety of their own home, I’m having a hard time focusing on anything but my anger and frustration with our elected officials who allowed this to happen. The warnings of how ugly this was going to be had been there for months and somehow, our civic leaders failed to protect us. It would appear there is no safety net anymore. Continue reading
Away, again.
Pat and I packed up the dog and headed for the hills last week. Continue reading
Summer evenings in the neighborhood.
Our neighborhood is located in a small hollow. It’s rare that we get sunsets – when we do see color in the evening sky, we know it must be absolutely spectacular to the rest of the world. Continue reading
At the lake, again.
And we’re back from another trip to the lake with Will and the kids. Because it’s July and it’s hot and the best solution to all that is to just head to the lake. Continue reading
Federal Judiciary Minty Peach Salad.
On the Lake, for the Fourth.
We headed down to the lake with Will and the kids for the Fourth of July. The celebration (meaning the fireworks) was held on Sunday, the 2nd, which turned out to be wise, as the evening of the Fourth was wet and not at all conducive to fireworks. Continue reading
And so it goes.
We moved into this house 18 years ago last month. To celebrate, our gas range, the one that came with the house, decided to go out with a bit of a bang. Continue reading
A flowery skirt.
Having successfully made myself a few A-line winter skirts with a pattern I’d drafted myself, I decided to pull out said pattern to use in in my efforts to refresh my summer wardrobe. I must have put the pattern in a very safe place though, because I couldn’t locate it. I spent two days going through all the piles and bins in my sewing nook to no avail. Realizing I was losing focus, I sucked it up and drafted a new one. Thankfully I found the notes I had made when making the first pattern, so I had those to go by.
Pattern drafted, I quickly got the skirt cut out and sewn together. I was a little too generous with wiggle room in the waist as well as the curve of the hips, as I’ve already had to take the skirt in once and mean to do so again. I need to go back and adjust the pattern as well, which has already been labeled and placed in drawer where I keep all patterns for safe keeping.
The fabric came from a long ago tag sale – it still had the original stickers from the manufacturer. It’s completely synthetic, but lightweight – it feels like parachute silk to the hand. It has this interesting texture to it as well – I tried to capture it in a photo – be sure to click on the close up of the fabric to see it.
Now that I’ve gotten the hang of zippers (it only took close to 30 years of sewing!), I’ve started utilizing them more in things like skirts for a more tailored look. I’ve also realized how much quicker it is to whip up a skirt with a zipper and not elastic or a drawstring. I was in such a rush to finish this skirt that when I couldn’t find my interfacing to do the waistband lining, I texted a neighbor that sews. Thankfully while waiting for her reply, I found just enough to finish the skirt, as the idea of heading out to Joann’s at 4:30 on a weekday was just too much to bear.
The end result still needs a bit of adjusting on the fit, but it’s sort of the perfect Becky skirt – a little wild but incredibly comfortable. It’s already become a go-to for throwing on in the morning with a T for early morning walks with the dog.
Efribbits.
My friend Steve called me up a few weeks ago and asked if he could stay with us while in town for his upcoming college reunion. But of course! Could he bring his college roommates too? It wasn’t the first time he’d brought total strangers to stay at our house, but giving me a heads up was thoughtful – and how could I say no? Continue reading
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 