Thread Drift

[Catrin]

You can always go back to knitting, or something else I've been focusing on not spending so much time on the internet these days, and I've found I really enjoy audio books - both from the local library and from Audible (Amazon). I enjoy listening when knitting or driving. Sometimes I watch something on tv, but really I just turn on Netflix - and I'm listening more than watching anyway.

I find it interesting that the news reporters and some larger stores are starting to complain about the smaller size of the Black Friday crowds

[Crankin]

I hardly ever watch TV or movies. I find that I just can't sit to do so, or if we are with friends, I would rather talk. Plus, I tend to go to bed early, which cuts into TV/movie time. Have a couple of network TV shows I like, but if I miss them, I don't care. I am terrible at any handwork, so that has always been out for me. I can sit and read for hours. Feel a little guilty now that I read exclusively on my Kindle (except for work stuff). It costs a bundle, compared to the library, but I am not stopping reading. The library has books to download, but not the ones I want, and there's always a wait. Well, there could be worse things to spend money on!
Magazines are a guilty pleasure for me. I've always subscribed to several, and I read them right away. I hate reading magazines digitally, too. I subscribe to Momentum and Peloton, which are definitely bike porn for me; Momentum just went to only digital, which has killed it for me, but I had just renewed my subscription. Peloton has always been just digital, and consequently, I hardly ever actually read it on the I Pad. I do read Time and the New Yorker weekly, and a few others on a monthly basis. Yeah, I spend time on line, but not tot he detriment of interacting with others.

[Pax]

We like to settle in in the evenings and watch dvds (movies or old TV shows), we prefer to read but my honey can't read too much in the evenings as her eyes are wrecked from staring at spreadsheets all day. I do go to the library often to get movies and the occasional book, that really helps the budget.

So, pulled the trigger on a gym membership for both of us, money was an issue but the gym owner is a retired firefighter and gives a "hero" discount to any firefighter/medic/cop/nurse/teacher who sign up. Not thrilled with the use of the word hero, but I still took the discount. It's much smaller than I'm used to at the University, but the equipment is top notch, very well maintained, and the place is spotlessly clean.

[emily_in_nc]

Gym sounds nice, Pax, and I wouldn't be too upset to be considered a hero. :-)

I do a lot of reading. I have so many books on my wish list that I am always able to find something (e-book) I want to read for free through the library. So even though I do have the Kindle app on my tablet, I think I've only bought one book that way. We also have book exchanges here, so I get a lot of paperbacks that way. And a library in a nearby town recently had a paperback sale which we went down for -- got a huge bag of books for a $10 donation...whatta deal.

So I am not online all the time, but a lot. I used to watch a lot more TV in the US, but our Mexican cable has only a few English shows. I watch a very few things online, but not much. Audio books aren't a bad idea, Catrin, but since we've been living in a hot climate for the most part, having any hot wool on my lap doesn't appeal. Maybe someday when we're in a different climate, but not now. :-)

[Catrin]

Sounds good Pax, and congrats on the gym membership, sounds nice!. I need to return to one, waiting to see what the full service YMCA will look like that is opening next to where I work. I get a significant discount from work there, with no initiation fee. I need to make certain that they have more I can actually do than my favorite gym (we get a discount there as well). I will have a better understanding which will work best for me when the specialist tells me on Friday what I need to focus on for my gait.

Emily - what about some yummy lace or fingering weight merino-silk blend? Too light to be hot and it can be nice on a cool evening out

[ny biker]

I have decided that I want to learn to crochet. Maybe work up to making blankets and throws -- flat things, which I assume are easier.

My grandmother used to crochet. She used thin yarns and liked to add decorative borders to things like pillow cases and towels. I would actually like to do this too. I know it's not particularly stylish but it would be sort of nostalgic.

Having said all this, now I have to figure out how to get started.

[ny biker]

We like to settle in in the evenings and watch dvds (movies or old TV shows), we prefer to read but my honey can't read too much in the evenings as her eyes are wrecked from staring at spreadsheets all day. I do go to the library often to get movies and the occasional book, that really helps the budget.

So, pulled the trigger on a gym membership for both of us, money was an issue but the gym owner is a retired firefighter and gives a "hero" discount to any firefighter/medic/cop/nurse/teacher who sign up. Not thrilled with the use of the word hero, but I still took the discount. It's much smaller than I'm used to at the University, but the equipment is top notch, very well maintained, and the place is spotlessly clean.

Sounds like a good gym to me. I hope you both like working out there.

[shootingstar]

I told myself to save money, so I'll justify today' book purchase as a something I'll give away to a family member. Am starting a light Canadian non-fiction book by writer, Zarqua Nawaz who lives in prairie province of Saskatchewan, "Laughing All the Way to the Mosque". She wrote also story series for the CBC national tv gentle comedy "Little Mosque on the Prairies". It ran for 6 seasons. Featured a family that intermarried where hubby was Muslim but wife wasn't. Had their mixed daughter. http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/

With the terrible crap in the international press and fear, I just wanted to read a book where really Muslims (these were Punjabis from India) led such ordinary, basically boring ordinary lives. To them, it's boring but not to us, if we only a little about Islam. With some humorous takes...about daily life. (Author wears a hijab, cloth on her head but she writes well for a broad audience.)

When I went up the cash register in bookstore to buy it, a hijab covered store clerk, kept looking at the back of the book, to skim what I had bought. I wondered if she had even heard of this Canadian show which stopped running about 2-3 yrs. ago.

[smilingcat]

Little Mosque on the Prairies isn't available on Netflix. At least in DVD format it's not available. Keeps pulling up Little House... instead. I for one just can't sit still and watch most all movies and TV shows. Music, I could listen for hours. And books, I have to be in a mood for it. Mood for reading last for several months and it goes away without warning for several months at a time.

I don't think a woman wearing hijab in US will be safe. So many loonies around.

[Catrin]

I have decided that I want to learn to crochet. Maybe work up to making blankets and throws -- flat things, which I assume are easier.

My grandmother used to crochet. She used thin yarns and liked to add decorative borders to things like pillow cases and towels. I would actually like to do this too. I know it's not particularly stylish but it would be sort of nostalgic.

Having said all this, now I have to figure out how to get started.

Sounds like a good way to honor your grandmother with something you would like to do. Who says it isn't stylish? The desire is enough and it is yours. Have you done any crochet at all, at any age? If you did as a child you will find that it comes back amazingly quickly. I did crochet as a child, but my hands won't allow me to crochet anymore - thankfully the finger/hand positions are quite different in knitting than crochet.

If you've not crocheted at all Craftsy has a free crochet beginner's online class here. They have other classes as well, some free, some not. Well done classes and you have permanent access to them and most have a specific forum for questions and interaction. Personally I prefer one-on-one instruction - or at least a local group but I use Craftsy as well when necessary.

About.com also has what appears a decent introduction to crochet, here.

Have fun! I love working with fiber, from embroidery floss to large gauge wool.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily - what about some yummy lace or fingering weight merino-silk blend? Too light to be hot and it can be nice on a cool evening out

Sounds lovely, but try finding that stuff here! Perhaps in a later year...I can see that it could possibly be a nice hobby if we do decide to buy an RV and travel around. Mobile internet can get expensive, so I might have more down time in that kind of lifestyle. I do recall from my past crafting, though, that anything thin and silky can be harder to work with and require a bit more skill. Bulky yarns are so much more forgiving! I did crochet some snowflakes out of thin white cotton twine, though, and those were kinda fun. You soak them in a water/cornstarch solution when you're done, then let them dry, so they get stiff and make lovely Christmas ornaments.

[shootingstar]

Little Mosque on the Prairies isn't available on Netflix. At least in DVD format it's not available. Keeps pulling up Little House... instead. I for one just can't sit still and watch most all movies and TV shows. Music, I could listen for hours. And books, I have to be in a mood for it. Mood for reading last for several months and it goes away without warning for several months at a time.

I don't think a woman wearing hijab in US will be safe. So many loonies around.

Would agree and not when the gun laws in U.S. are different (though I realize there are variations across states) compared to Canada. Because they are.

Little Mosque on the Prairie gentle comedy series, is now syndicated in several different countries. The federal Canadian govn't has committed to screen and accept up to 25,000 Syrian refugees over the next few months. About several hundred just arrived at our city. Canada accepted 60,000 Vietnamese (boat) refugees in 1979. I was a university student in my 2nd year in a German-Mennonite based city (of Kitchener-Waterloo).

The rest is history, where now many are working, having careers, etc. There problems of adjustment where some fall into crime, mental illness. Just like the rest of us here where our families have been in North America for generations.

Guess what I was thinking at that time of international crisis was: How can people distinguish between those of Chinese, Japanese, Korean descent from other East Asians? The height of fear was great at that time in the press combined with those who wanted to help.

[rebeccaC]

I don't think a woman wearing hijab in US will be safe. So many loonies around.

The height of fear was great at that time in the press......

we had a good discussion last night about the mentality of fear/hate being used at the moment and being accepted by some of the American people….and about those who try to find ways to profit in cultivating it. Since it’s use has been politically and profitablly successful so many times before, it’s not unexpected.

We have a large Muslim population in the L.A. area......and an inspiring women only Mosque, also open to interfaith women from all religious backgrounds, whose organization is spreading that across the country.

“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit……refuse to hate”….M.L.K. Jr.

[Crankin]

You know, this sort of racism against refugees has played itself out against various groups time and time again in US history. Other places, too. I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people are just extremely afraid of anything or anyone that is different from what their "normal" is.
My son worked for 2 years to get his translator and family out of Afghanistan. It got so bad that they were in hiding and still, his visa was going nowhere. Finally, it took my son going to his congressperson and one of the CA senators to get them out of Afghanistan. And, this is someone who worked for the US government, protecting and helping people like my son.

[Pax]

Growing up all over the world as a military kid, I wasn't raised with a lot of "ism". I was mostly taught America was the best country on earth and we were supposed to help others. Moving back to the states as a teenager and seeing huge racial issues (even in my school) just blew me away, it created a lot of dissonance for me, I couldn't (and still really don't) understand it.

The old Rodney King quote "People, I just want to say, can we all get along? Can we get along?" resonates with me.