the seven year itch?

For the last many weeks (months?) I've been spending quite a bit of thinking time pondering this blog and blogging in general.  It seems like many people are a little less committed to updating their blogs lately - at least a lot of the blogs that I seek out.  I've been stuck in a bit of rut of my own lately and feeling unsure about how to get out - and where to go from here.  A wise friend said that I should just share where I am at, here on the blog, and explain a bit how I am feeling.  Basically stop ignoring it and hoping that it goes away.....LOL!

Over the past 7+ years that I have been blogging, the blog has undergone many transformations... changes in themes, purposes, and intentions.  I've been very happy to have it as an online presence....and it's been a great way for me to share information, ideas, and current projects. 
I've also found it to be highly motivating - encouraging me to create, make and share.  In spite of all of the good,  there seems to have been a bit of a shortage of energy here lately for me.  Stupidly Naively, I tend to operate on the assumption that I know everyone who is reading my blog - because, when I am writing, I am writing it directly to people I actually know are reading (friends, family, former students, etc.), and as a result, maybe sometimes I am a little more familiar or open than I should be in the sharing. 

Just in case I missed the fact that I don't know people in all of the 47 different countries listed on my Google Analytics page – or even people in 47 countries, for that matter....ha ha! – recent events have proved that there are many 'strangers' lurking in my midst, and visiting my blog.  I'm not going to really get into what has transpired, but suffice is to say that it's left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and zapped my blogging mojo.

Despite all of this, I still want to be here in this space.  I want to make it work.  For me.   I haven't got a firm plan yet, but I have decided a few things.  Baby steps.  So here is the plan, for now....

1.  Bye Bye Comments
I've come to the conclusion that the Comment feature was/is just dragging me down.  Too much spam.  Too few comments.  Bothersome snarky comments.  Too much guilt about reciprocating and feeling obligated to reply.  And, really, why does any of it matter, anyway?  I don't want to care about the comments or have to worry about them any more.

So this morning I changed my settings and turned off/hid all of the comments.  You can always contact me via email (fisheyerugs AT hotmail DOT com) if you want to share your thoughts or have questions.  I welcome real comments from real people, at all times - and I promise that if you email me, I will email you back....just maybe not for a day or two... ;-)

2.  More pictures, less text?
Writing blog posts takes a lot of time - at least for me it does!  I probably spend an hour writing a typical post.  And well it might be time well spent, it also pulls time away from all of the other things I have going on.   I have the same 24 hours in a day as everyone else, and I am finding it's just not enough to do everything I should be doing - not to mention everything I want to be doing.  So blogging has become an easy sacrifice.  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, maybe I should spend just a little more time on taking pictures - instead of the explanatory text?  Plus, it will be more practice for my new camera.  Win-win. 

3.  No commitment to post
I'm tired of feeling guilty about not posting regularly.  Tired of feeling behind in sharing projects or ideas.  From now on, I am going to try to give myself the gift of freedom to post only what - and when - I want to share.  Whether this translates into posts on back-to-back days or weeks apart, that remains to be seen....but I am really intrigued by the whole idea of "slow blogging".  So setting up feed reader (to alert you to new posts) might be a good idea, if you want to avoid the frustration of returning here to no new content....

Apart from the comments that I have hidden (this is the only way I could find to permanently turn them off - any other ideas?), all of the old content and pictures will remain here indefinitely for now. 

So this is where I am at.... ;-)
See you when I see you, and hope you are well.
xxoo

Some Guatemala Links....

I cannot say enough about the wonderful and amazing trip I took to Guatemala in February.  I hope the photos and text I've been sharing along the way have helped to convey this....but really, it's just but a small glimpse into the trip, and a somewhat superficial one, at that. 

If you are intrigued, want to learn more, and maybe even thinking about going on the trip yourself, I would have no problem talking one-on-one about my own experiences, and no hesitation at all in recommending it to those who have a sense of adventure, compassion and love of textiles. 

There are some great places online where you can see some photos and learn more about some of various programs and groups at work in the country.....

 Oxlajuj B'atz' - Thirteen Threads
(pronouced Osh-la-who-bats)....organized the tour, but that is but a small part of what they do.  With projects in health, artisan and product development, small business, democracy and team building, the focus is on empowerment by increasing knowledge and skills.  "The mission of Oxlajuj B’atz’ is to facilitate processes for Maya women artisans to bring about change, through their own efforts, that will alleviate the adverse effects of poverty and improve their quality of life. Our mission is guided by the principles of harmony, democracy, and sustainability."
 
Cultural Cloth
Is Mary Anne and Jody's business, based in Wisconsin, that collaborates with artisans around the world to promote women's economic empowerment and environmentally sustainable practices.  You can purchase Guatemalan rugs directly from them.

Robert Egg's Photos
Robert own Casa Kachiquel, home to Oxlajuj Batz in Panajachel.  He took quite a few photos over the course of the week, especially during our farewell gathering.

Rachel's Photos
Rachel is an American who is presently volunteering with Thirteen Threads.  It was delightful to meet her.  She took some fabulous video (and, unlike me, has figured out how to share it online....), including this one....you can see more on the Oxlajuj B'atz' Google + page.



After being home for seven weeks now, I think I am slowly starting to get a bit of a handle on the impact this trip has had on me, personally.  It's going to take a little more time, though.

Some Chichicastenango Market snaps....

Have I told you lately how many pictures I took on my trip?  Well, it was over 2,000.  Yes.  Many. Many.  Photos.   Here are just a few of the dozens I took on market day – eye candy everywhere you look...

 (Interesting procession.....)

 I love belts!  ;-)

 (weaving and loom parts and tools)

(patterns for huipiles, etc.)

 shanks of coloured threads for embroidery and weaving....

Asociación Maya de Desarrollo

On our way back from Chichicastenago (day 8), we stopped in Solola at a women's weaving co-op.  Luckily we arrived right in time to be able to watch part of the dyeing process.  Here are some of the snaps I took....

You can find out more information about the project here and it looks like you might (soon?) be able to purchase items here.  Plus, I was happy to discover this wonderful video today by accident that shows the whole process - from start to finish.  It's great!

Guatemala Day 10 - Panajachel + Antigua

My apologies for the delay in getting back to the Guatemala posts....I really didn't anticipate that it would take me this long.  Enjoy!

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Saturday morning was our last full day, and the final day for spending time with our buddies.  Everyone took full advantage in the morning, working hard together with their buddy to plan the remainder of their rug.  I really wanted my project to reflect Zoila, so we dumped out the whole garbage bag of used clothing (that we purchased earlier in the week at the Pacas), and started picking and choosing.  Along the way, we added some details to the design, incorporating some repeating motifs and also mixed up the colour placement a bit to balance the colours (mostly having opposite corners matching) over the rug, but still allowing more variety.  

One benefit of using inexpensive materials like the tshirts (cost in US$ ended up being less than a quarter per item), is that you can feel a bit more care-free and cut odd shapes to 'test' your plan prior to hooking.  Knowing that it was impossible for me to hook all of our ideas, we cut out shapes of the various colours to make a mock-up.....

Knowing that I didn't want to fill precious luggage space with all of the old clothes....I cut strips of all of the various colours for the motifs.  Hopefully I made good guesses about how much I will end up needing,  but only time will tell.  I did not bring anything home for the background....but I am sure I will be able to find something suitable and similar here. 

 In the late morning, we did a final show and tell....

...and everyone packed up their stuff to head home.....

And after lunch, it was time to 'hit the road'.  I was pretty photoed out.....and only took a handful of snaps on the drive back to Antigua.   This is one of them....still shocking to see after a week of similar sights.....

Although we didn't leave until the next day, fittingly this next snap ended up being the last photo I took with my camera....

(Elaine and I had both just woken up right before I took the snap - we were all down for the count.... ;-) )


It is hard to believe that I have been back now for seven weeks already.   Everything is still so fresh in my mind, it could easily have been just last week that I came home.   It was truly an amazing, life-changing experience....and I sincerely hope that the changes I have noticed that it has made in me last indefinitely. 

Spring?

Apparently today is the first day of Spring. At least that is what I have been hearing on the radio all day. But as with every March 20th for the last decade or so, I always do a little double-take. You see, my birthday is March 21st (yeah, big four-oh tomorrow...ugh), and growing up, I was always told that my birthday was on the First Day of Spring. Now I am not sure if was a perpetuated little white lie, along the same lines as the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and jolly old Santa, or if the global universe actually decided to change the day sometime in the last 20 years....but apparently my birthday is no longer on the First Day of Spring. Go figure.

With Winter still very much on display (I snapped these photos on my way to work this morning, just using the camera on my iPad), it is hard to feel much Spring in the air here. More snow fell again last night...and I can't help but wonder if maybe Mother Nature is having a little intervention solely for my benefit? Along with the much needed Spring Cleaning that can start happening any day now... I am also desperately in need of a little snow cleaning for a couple of my hand hooked rugs. Especially the one that lives in front of my kitchen sink. It is bordering on nasty. I've been meaning to do it for some time now....well, practically since January. But I only seem to think of it at a time when it's not possible to do it right away, so this little reprieve of more snow is welcome.

So if you, like me, have been procrastinating, accidentally forgot, or have just been too busy to get around to it.....it's not too late for many of us in northern North America to snow clean our rugs. I picked up a brand spanking new corn broom....and will start sweeping away the dirt and grime tomorrow morning before work, when it's a little cooler and the snow is a little more crisp.

If you have never tried cleaning your rugs in fresh snow, I really encourage you do to so. Our foremothers did it with their rugs and the process couldn't be easier. Basically just lay your rug on top of freshly fallen snow, and repeatedly sweep loose snow over top, flip and repeat until you rug looks fresh and clean. If the rug is particularly dirty, I will try to scrub or grind the snow into the loops a bit more (in the past I have even used the plain, flat surface of a Swiffer to help with this). As long as it is cold outside and the snow is not wet, the snow doesn't melt or make your rug wet. Depending on the temperature and type of snow (dry, loose snow is sheet IMHO), it might get a wee bit damp, but not really enough to get concerned about. It will burn off in an hour or two once it is back inside the house. Shake off the last bit of snow and any remaining loose dirt and dust...and put it back on the floor.

 

Upcoming Hook In in St. Louis, MO

This is too far away for me to be able to get to, but Maria, Nina and Donna asked me to share this with you.  If you live near St. Louis, you might want to click on the image to find out more about an event coming up on April 27th.....

P.S. More Guatemala posts coming this week - it's been a total zoo since I got home....but there are still lots of wonderful memories and photos to share.... ;-)

Guatemala Day 9 - Panajachel

Today was our last full day of hooking (we go back tomorrow for a half day). In the afternoon, we had a lovely celebration ceremony, complete with singing and dancing, sharing mutual admiration and gratitude, and exchanging some small gifts. I took pictures of each of the participants with their buddies - and their rugs - and Jody ran and got them printed and framed for us to share. One thing that we all noticed is that the Guatemalan women had very few photos or even access to cameras, etc., so this was a great idea (kudos Jody!) that will provide them with a lasting memento. The only tricky part was trying to get them to SMILE! They are so stoic.

So without further ado...and in no particular order (other than the order the photos were taken), here are the 2013 Tour participants and their buddies....

Marcella and Elaine

Yolanda and Kristen

Zoila and me

Carmen and Sandra

Maria and Sue

Ramona and Linda

Cindy and Lori

Marta and Donna

Paula and Jody

Glendy and Sally Ann

Rosmery and Mary Ellen

Yessica and Cathie

Now if you are paying attention, you might notice that I am wearing Traje (pronounced traw-hey). Zoila so sweetly brought me a complete set to wear "for one day only". It consists of a huipil (wee-peel = blouse), corta (court-ah = skirt), faja (fa-ha = belt). It was lots of fun to play dress-up!

We had an amazing dinner at a lovely bed and breakfast, with beautiful gardens and wonderfully smelling evening jasmine perfuming the air once it got dark. A very magical place that I would love to visit in the daytime - and better yet stay there.

Again, the days are starting to feel very long and we are eager to get to bed at night. 9pm feels like 11!

Guatemala Day 8 - Quejel + Chichicastenago

Today was an awesome day! We boarded two vans at 8am and hit the road to go and visit the home of Yolanda, in Quejel (key-hell). I snapped a ton of photos along the route....still fascinated by the scenery, especially the agricultural areas and the Solola men in traditional dress.

The other ladies in Yolanda's group were gathered at her place, and after a short walk in, past houses, animals and fields and climbing along dirt path ways...we arrived to a carpet of pine needles and a scene set for celebration.

Various ladies gave short presentations, talking about the activities of their group and the impact that sales of their products have made on their lives. It was very moving, even with the need for translation from Spanish to English, and sometimes the Chichi language to Spanish to English and vice versa, using multiple translators. They sang and danced and involved us in a group dance. It was lots of fun and it's pretty safe to say that everyone was touched by our time there.

3 sisters and their mother...and Nester - Zoila's cutie pie.

In this final photo you can see one of the faucets that Yolanda purchased with her rug money. she invested in 6 faucets for people in her community. What a generous soul.

After we said goodbye to all of our friends, we boarded the vans again, en route to the big market day at. Chichicastenango. Now that was a read experience, and total visual overload. I took lots (and lots and lots!) of photos. So many that I will try to take the best of them and make a separate post. Needless to say, we all shopped until we dropped - and several ran out of money! (Including me....but I did lend 100Q ~ $12.50US to Elaine... ;-) ).