New Web Address for Grits and Purls

We here at Grits and Purls have become a little more savvy with our web site URL. The new Grits and Purls site now exists at http://gritsandpurls.wordpress.com That site has all of our existing content and it is where you will find new and exciting things to read from Grits and Purls writers.

The Math of My Life and My Laundry

The Laundry Pile

Mathematics is the language of the universe, the foundation on which all things are built. If I had appreciated that in school, I might have paid more attention and worked harder to understand it. Lately I have been realizing that mathematical principles can apply even to the most mundane activities of everyday life.
Proportionality is the relationship of two variables whose ratio is constant. I have come to the realization that the level of stress in my life can be gauged by the size of my laundry pile. The physical mass of that pile is inversely proportional to the level of control I am experiencing over my life at any given moment. Today the pile is large. In fact it has been several weeks since I have seen the bottom of the laundry basket (I should have taken a photo to remember it by). People in our house are starting to wonder where their clothes have all gone.

My Writer’s Toolbox

Last month I attended a really great workshop led by Amy Lou Jenkins at UW-Madison’s Write by the Lake Retreat. One of the things we talked about was our “writer’s toolbox”, and Amy had us spend sometime writing down some of the things a person might find in our toolboxes.

Mine, as did most of the other writers attending, contained some expected items. I can write a grammatically correct, complete sentence. I love verbs and know how to use them. I understand parallel structure. I know when to use passive voice.

But Amy encouraged us to think beyond the expected to what we know about our weaknesses as writers as well. For instance, I possess a complete and total inability to proof my own work. I cannot spell without a dictionary, and for me, spell-check programs are dangerous things. Because I have over 15 years experience writing for scientists and clinicians I have developed a wonderful ability to tell the story, the whole complex story, in the first two sentences of what I write. That’s not a great skill if you are trying to suck your audience into a longer work, but it does keep you from being overly flowery with the adjectives.

Next Amy encouraged us to think about what our life experiences bring to our writer’s toolbox.

The Knitting Life

In October of last year, I sat down with two pointy sticks, a ball of yarn and experienced the terms knit and purl for the first time in my life. By Christmas I had managed to knit two hats for Christmas gifts, and now I’m hooked. Our house now contains a respectable knitting stash that would terrorize any feline. I’ve knitted back and forth, knitted in the round, and even knitted while pedaling a stationary bike in the gym.

I’ve begun to notice knitting in everything I do—from watching cartoons with my daughter to my own leisure reading. For instance there is an episode of the cartoon Little Bear that takes place on a rainy day. In it, Emily’s grandmother tells a story to entertain all of the friends while she knits a very long yellow and green scarf.

Knitting, has even made an appearance in the bedtime story routine at our house. In Good Night Moon, the “quiet old lady whispering hush”, also knits, and my daughter has pointed that out to me. “She knits like you, momma.”

Even if you grow up a little in your reading you will find knitting.

A Tale of Two Knits

A Lonely Grey Sock

Knitting is an enigma. It is simple, but can be complicated; it can involve no mental effort, or take intense concentration; it can be a soothing, but can also drive you to distraction. It can fill you with a sense of accomplishment, and also convince you of your complete uselessness; it can make you proud, and can be a source of deep humiliation. It’s a challenge. It’s a respite. There is a time to cast on, and a time to cast off. A time to knit, and a time to refrain from knitting.