White rabbits, Edith holden, Misfits and great fits

 White Rabbits! And Edith Holden's take on September

And an entire habitat built since yesterday. I disturbed the little spider when I moved things, so evidently she got right back to work undaunted.

I hate to remove it again.

And here's the underfoot rug, backing in progress and in action.

The nonskid backing works fine, you'll be glad to know. This is shelf lining, which I cut and pieced to cover the back, easily stitched on. I'm happy with it, very cosy, and this morning was in the low 60s, so it's timely. Next week heat returns, the last blast, as always, after kids are back in school.

Misfits yesterday brought good and bad food

As you see. There's a chicken in there somewhere, too. I've fallen into the habit of having a glass of parsley or cilantro or both, in water in the fridge. Here's parsley.

They keep fresh for ages and get into all kinds of  sandwiches and other meals. Likewise a box of baby spinach, stays good and gets into meals easily, so I don't puzzle about  greens in my diet. Making it easy is good. It's like leaving your music stand set up so you're more likely to play.

Speaking of which, my whistling is coming along. My tunes are almost recognizable now.

I don't think I'll save the world today, unless something urgent crops up. More like deciding how to use my Suits time while I wait for the new DVD player. That's how the rug got finished. And I think knitting a bit is good. Maybe that second glove.

I'm also waiting for the player to watch the DVD of 56Up, the next to last of the 7Up  series. It was a reality tv kind of experiment, where children aged seven were interviewed about their lives and thoughts, then the same people were revisited every seven years, wherever they were at that time..  63Up was the last before the death of its creator, Michael Apted. 

It's interesting and poignant to see the group aging and how their plans as kids worked out or didn't, or even changed for the better. It's marred by some prejudice and silliness by the interviewer Apted-- asking a bright, clearly enterprising young boy from the East end of London if he expected to end up in jail, or asking kids they had a boyfriend or girlfriend.  They were not in touch as a group after the initial meeting to establish the series, just getting on with their lives.

The Londoner tackled Apted in 63 Up about that jail question, and forced an admission that it was prejudiced and really inappropriate to put to a little boy of seven. 

I noticed that at 14,  when the youngster became an apprentice jockey, a great opportunity, Apted asked so what will you do if you don't make it? In fact he had a racing career, then went in to found and own businesses.  But what a blunder to ask that, almost the definition of trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. He evidently seemed to assume a working class kid couldn't succeed. No negative questions to the privileged kids, I observed.

My hero was the sturdy little Yorkshire boy who, asked if he had a girlfriend,  said I don't answer that sort of question! Aged seven and knew his own mind. He went on to a distinguished scientific career, but sadly died in his 50s. He emigrated to Madison Wisconsin, and became a full professor. The scenes of his interviews there are familiar to me, since I lived there for a couple of years. 

It's a social picture, largely of how lives are permanently affected in that society by the accident of birth. I wish the interviewer had been more astute, and in later times he did realize how he'd fallen into stereotyped thinking.

Some of the great passages are kids talking about their theories of religion and God, some fantasy in there at younger ages, but very thoughtful. I wondered if people in their everyday lives didn't ask their opinions, and if this was a novel experience.

Did any of you see any of the series, and come away with an impression? 

Happy day, everyone, cool and sunny here, and I wish you good weather, too. Soon, anyway.