Turns out they're for protecting the horse's back from the saddle and they make a lot of difference. They're also decorative and people buy them for the back of the sofa. And this presenter was terrific.
Here she is, spins and natural-dyes her yarns, from churro sheep fleece, classic Western yarn used by indigenous people for generations. She grows and forages her dye material from plants and insects, as in cochineal.
It ended up being one of the most interesting episodes to date.
In other news, I skipped the knitters group because Handsome Son was visiting. He gave the chocolate pancakes a so-so rating, agreeing they'd be better breakfast food because they're not sweet.
And the stair lift people came to measure.
Starting, as you see, at the wrong house, but I caught them before they left again and all was well. Mistake back at HQ, they called and got it corrected.
Then they measured everything including noting my height and weight! They think on account of my small size they can install the chair and preserve the banister and the grab bars on the opposite wall.
Evidently the size, maybe height, of the user governs the installation space needed. My stairway is a bit narrow for bars on both sides, but they're important for safety. They'll be back to install Friday, and we'll see then.
Before I get to Misfits, I have a question. I was involved recently in a discussion about living solo and getting out of the house.
The received wisdom is that unless you force yourself out and about, we're talking older people not going to a workplace, your world will shrink. And that's bad.
But nobody can tell me why it's bad to be home occupying yourself happily with whatever you like doing. So if you have any insight, please share. Why is it not good to have a small life? I wonder if this is another extrovert expectation, or FOMO, or what.
And on the subject of food the local food pantry is getting a windfall on account of the grifter in the White House trying to buy my vote, too late anyway, by depositing $90 in my bank account.
He must think my vote is cheap, when in fact it's priceless. Anyway I'll round it up and send it to the food pantry to use for people whose need is definitely greater than mine.
To underline my privilege, Ron arrived to deliver another box of great food, driving a pink van evidently in the middle of a repaint job.
The makings of three bean salad, now made, black beans, cannellini on my shelf, green beans, scallions.
I made my dressing of the garlic ginger soy mix I made a while back, malt vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil and sugar. Now resting in the fridge.
Yogurt, different, because my regular isn't available, but this is good. A spoonful of Meghan's raspberry spread with yogurt is a wonderful dessert.
Potatoes now parboiled and ready to roast, to serve with burgers of plant "beef" actually mushrooms and other plants.
Look at those beautiful eggs! I never get over how lovely they are. And they have sturdy shells which take a good thump on the counter to crack them.
Loads of spinach for future quiche and maybe soup with potatoes and veg stock on the shelf. Bananas for breakfast on toast. Apples for midmorning. Small chicken on the freezer for whenever I feel like eating chicken again.
Beautiful happy day, and I sat on the deck in the sunshine, drinking tea, watching butterflies and feeling very good with my life. I hope yours has days like this, many of them.
As I understand it, getting out and socializing is important to staying healthy mentally and physically. I don’t know how much is required. Supposedly, it helps lower blood pressure (which may not be a good thing if one has low blood pressure in the first place), reduced anxiety and stress levels (unless you really hate some people and they only stress you out). I do remember reading that people with active social lives live longer, healthier lives. But I think in this day and age, there are many ways to exercise your creativity and mind without always going out with people.
ReplyDeleteI've heard these arguments but I've yet to see any evidence. I agree there are many ways to have dealings with people without going out. I suspect the people who benefit from going out, getting involved, etc, are extroverts. For a person like me, going out among people creates significant stress!
DeleteThis reminds me of the chasm between the people who thrived in lockdown and those who nearly cracked up.
Thanks so much for taking on the question.
Those blankets are very cool but the garments? Be still my heart.
ReplyDeleteAs you can imagine, I spend a lot of time pondering the question of whether getting out of the house frequently is a necessity? You DO get out of the house. It's not like you're a total recluse. And I do too, mostly to do things with my kids and grandkids or husband. Jessie forcing me to go to pottery has been very good for me. I know that. And I am grateful for her nudges. Okay, for signing me up and telling me I was coming. And of course my grocery shopping.
I used to joke that no, I'm not agoraphobic, I just really like my house. And there is a lot of truth to this. I was thinking about it today as a matter of fact. Perhaps some people just aren't as happy and content at home as others of us are. And some people have way less tolerance for a lot of stimulation that comes with a lot of people. We have our limits, in other words and we pay attention to them for our mental health.
I can see you in that orange tunic thing. A little bit spendy!
DeleteI'm glad you gave some thought to the question. But I still see a question: what's wrong with being a recluse? And is there evidence? Hermits and anchorites are revered.
I think your point about tolerance for stimulation is huge. And when we exceed that tolerance, we need to recover. Thanks for taking the time to address this.
What IS wrong with being a recluse? Although I didn't address that directly, I was sort of implying it in the my words about some of us loving being in our homes. Why would being an active goer-outer be seen as "the right way" to be?
DeleteYou are so right about hermits and anchorites. Wasn't there some Buddhist nun who became famous for spending years in a cave?
Then there was Simon Stylites who spent years on top of a pole or something.
DeleteI suspect the insistence on joining, participating etc. is extroversion at work, since our world largely signs on to the extrovert way. Despite all the inventions, discoveries, art, music, coming from people with great inner resources who had plenty of stimulation from their own brain without looking for more.
This has been an interesting discussion. But considering that introverts love blogging, a bit foregone!
Glad they corrected it. As for enjoying being home to me, I love it and don't see a problem however, when I get out with hubby to Barnes or head out with a girlfriend on a photo walk, it is refreshing and fun to laugh and be silly. It's good to be comfortable with ourselves at home but I also find it's good to get out and about to share a cuppa, laugh, walk and/or all of those things.
ReplyDeleteTrue. However the question was about living solo. I hear your situation and how you keep a good balance though.
DeleteYeah, living solo is something I did before I was married. I loved it. But.... I think it IS important to see others and have a good laugh. It helps the brain and the heart. I find.
DeleteI had to go to a laundromat once during a stay in a small prairie city. The laundromat was near the fairgrounds where a big summer agricultural fair is held every year. Large handwritten signs were posted all over the laundromat -- "NO HORSE BLANKETS IN THE MACHINES!" Hahahahahaha
ReplyDeleteI'm also an introvert, so I don't need the constant stimulation of having other people around. I got through the pandemic just fine, LOL, with only the Rare One as my "circle of contacts" (Man, did we play a ton of cards!). But I do make an effort in retirement to get out of the house most days for a brief time, even if it's just to run an errand, go to an appointment, take a class, have coffee with a friend, etc. The change of scenery and interaction with people keeps me stimulated and prevents descent into moody overthinking/brooding/what have you. My other reason for doing so is the realization that the day will come when it will be difficult for me to get out of the house and do other stuff, so I'd better take advantage of my mobility and energy while I can.
That's a thoughtful answer, thank you. Particularly since it's coming from a person who does live solo. I'm interested that you're thinking ahead about future you and her abilities. Do you think living in an apartment contributes to needing to get out? I seem to have a number of views all around without leaving the house. I do like to get out walking to observe plants and animals.
DeleteBoud, I think you've summed it up in that last sentence; liking to get out and see plants and and animals. I live with my husband; he's 77 and I'm a month shy of 70, but I have a lung disease which is slowly but relentlessly closing down my ability to get out and about. So I'm actively planning to meet thatvtime; that's what the house extension is about, so I will be able to get out, or at least See the garden. Meanwhile we can still get out quite a bit, lugging oxygen bottles and planning carefully! I need to breathe Fresh Air outside, even if only from the front door step, every day.
DeleteThe living solo question, I think it depends on the person. If it works for you, then you do you. I like to get out of the house everyday to see other people. My best friend loves staying home alone (she's a very happy widow). We're all different, all have different needs and wants. I like quiet time but I also need to talk to other people too and sometimes I get too much or too little of both. I'm an introvert who likes to talk sometimes:)
ReplyDeleteThose horse blankets are beautiful, as are the garments that she weaves. Wow!
She makes lovely weavings, doesn't she?
DeleteI think I'd go mad seeing other people every day! It takes me time to recover. A little peopling goes a long way.
For me it is good to go out every day, but I do understand the attraction of home, increasingly so as I age.
ReplyDeleteI think age is a big point. You have to budget energy as you age and decide if going out is worth the expenditure of strength. It takes time to recover from each sortie.
DeleteI have twice, possibly thrice, been sent vote-buying checks from conservative governments, but they have been put to good use elsewhere and not to contaminating my paltry bank account.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way. Better turn it quickly to better use.
DeleteI always like seeing your misfits goodies. My world has shrunk since I retired and I am okay with that. I was never a social butterfly anyway, much preferring to stay home and read a good book and now I have the internet as well. I honestly don't know how I managed a supermarket checkout AND talking to the customers for 12 years.
ReplyDeleteThe horse blankets are lovely, I always thought of them as factory mass-produced, never thought any single person would be weaving such lovely things.
Yes, that relief at being free of constant interaction is familiar. A small world can be very good for some people.
DeleteNot knowing anything about horse blankets, I see them as artworks. Hers certainly are.
Interesting post. As an introvert, the idea of forcing people to "get out," (i.e. socialize) is distasteful to me, as I find socializing quite exhausting. If one has interesting hobbies and activities, and enjoys pursuing a variety of topics, one's world is as large as one wants it. But "getting out" and being socially active is seen as some sort of requisite to normalcy in modern thinking. And why is it always pushed on older people? Anyway, with communications technology nowadays, one can have a large circle of busy acquaintances to participate in.
ReplyDeleteI will have to find that episode of T&T. When I lived in horse country in Florida, I considered weaving horse blankets to sell. Life went in another direction, but I think it would have been fantastically fun.
I think the push to socialize in person is a bit outdated now, with tech available. But people do push!
DeleteYou can probably find that episode on the HGA YouTube channel, and I think Facebook. She seems very happy with her business and the horse people she sells to. Also sofa people, who love the blankets and have no horse.
Even though I do not live alone and we live in an apartment now vs. a home, my husband and I can each be content doing our own things. While we have been enjoying our far flung adventures in recent years, staying home is also prized. I lived alone for years and never felt lonely as there is a difference between thise two words but some people do not understand.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's that confusion between alone and lonely that fuels the push to get out, enlarge your world, all that. And maybe people who can't tolerate being alone are anxious that nobody should be.
DeleteIn relation to your question about the importance of getting out of the house, I draw your attention to the quotation from "Hamlet" at the top of my blog - ""O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself a king of infinite space..." It suggests that it is possible to live fully and ambitiously in confinement. However, Shakespeare finished the line with "...were it not that I have bad dreams" - perhaps implying that within confined circumstances there will inevitably be restlessness, wondering "What if?"
ReplyDeleteI've usually interpreted that as the bad dreams interfering with his ability to live small. Hamlet his own worst enemy.
DeleteMy oldest son lives with me so I do not live alone. I think it's "different strokes for different folks" and there isn't a "one size fits all" philosophy to how a person should live their life. If a certain life style works for you, then why not?
ReplyDeleteThat sounds about right to me.
DeleteI love that -- your vote is not cheap, it's priceless. I've heard of others doing the same with their bribe. Well done. And glad to see project stair is moving along well. Those blankets are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI hope food banks get a surge in donations from this source, and other human care nonprofits too. The stair gang is here deafening me as I speak.
DeleteI read about all your activities and am amazed by all you do. You have a very active life doing what you want to do. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the validation. There's a lot of get out there input to combat.
DeleteI know those as saddle pads and I have a few! Reading this I realize I have never lived alone. I went from my parents house to marriage. I went from that marriage to living sort of alone with a two-year-old. Several years later I was married again. I am sort of reclusive but not alone. I do feel that I hermit more than is good but it is my current life. I do socialize here!
ReplyDeleteYes, online socializing is real, too. I think you're the most knowledgeable horse person reading in here. I've lived alone almost as much as with company, so I've seen plenty of both.
DeleteYour question about a "small life" is an interesting one, and one I'm struggling with as well. Now that I've retired my life is much smaller -- I can go all day barely speaking to anyone. I don't necessarily mind it, but I do worry if it will cause my brain to atrophy, for lack of a better word. (Thank goodness for books and blogging!)
ReplyDeleteI don't think your brain will atrophy any time soon. Not with all the walking and being hauled about by Bailey. Loads of oxygen getting in. But you might want to try a fiberart..
DeleteBeing happy at home, pursuing one's own interests is not a small life, in my book. Inner resources are wonderful and can transport one down many an interesting rabbit hole.
ReplyDeleteI do get a lot of exercise plunging down rabbit holes, that's true.
DeleteI could quite easily become a hermit, at least for the most part. I know the RC needs to get out for his sanity so we go out for coffee and sometimes for breakfast, just to give him a change of scenery. I'm happy spending my days in my sewing room. I don't know how I would deal with living alone though because I never have.
ReplyDeleteYou're nice to make sure Jack gets his social time. Particularly since he doesn't drive.
DeleteI can only echo jabblog. You have cultivated a very large world, with all your interests and activities. It doesn't need lots of people or going out and about. There are those, both living solo and otherwise, who have small mental lives, never having had (the opportunity, in some cases) to stretch their minds. Perhaps they're content too...but as a fellow introvert, I prefer your rich life on your own terms.
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
PS Chobani was started and is run by Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish Kurdish immigrant who provides a good living to his 1200 employees in Twin Falls, Idaho - many of whom are refugees. (He also has two plants in upstate NY).
That's encouraging, thank you. I think we're discussing what constitutes a small life, and concluding it's not related to numbers of friends and social occasions.
DeleteThat's interesting about Chobani. All the more reason to buy from him.
I can’t answer the question. I’m perfectly happy sitting at home. I think if your crafty or interested in something you can do on your own your happy. But if your one of those that never started a hobby and have always been out and about, well they might find it hard being alone at home.
ReplyDeleteThat would definitely affect their mental health . As we saw during the lockdowns.
I think you put your finger right on it, as you often do. I've realized the get out there and mingle people usually aren't makers. They do need company for their sanity. Ahhh, clearer now. Nothing wrong with the urge to mingle, as long as they don't try to enforce it on everyone as a sort of requirement.
DeleteI had a totally different idea about horse blankets. Over here they are the blanket/cover that goes over almost the entire horse to keep them clean and also warmer in winter, as they are generally not stabled. I would call what the weaver makes a saddle blanket or numnah.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to your question, I may have a partial answer. Retirement age is imminent for me, although I intend to continue working for another couple of years. I have started worrying about not having anyone to talk to or just “be” with other than my cats. Not a great deal of talking being done at work but it’s the interaction, I think, on any level. Like you, I have plenty of things to do that make me happy but I definitely need human contact. So I guess loneliness, or the fear of it, is what worries people.
My comment vanished. I think Sandra, horse trainer ad breeder, probably can explain the blanket thing to us. Maybe you're a person who will need outside groups and interests in order to be happy in retirement. Go you.
ReplyDeletegorgeous saddle blankets - I fan understand why folks would buy them for house decor.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful work by Linda Hayden! I'd like to own one of her garments and twirl about in it! What a wonderful thing to do with your $90 rebate. I love your fighting spirit! In terms of living solo and getting out, there is plenty of research showing that social isolation is very bad for one's mental health and for cognition. If you're curious about how social isolation affects a person, I'd be happy to write more in the future. If a person is staying home and not physically moving much, well, you already know how important movement is. But I believe what you're asking about is how staying home could be a poor choice for YOU (or someone like you), and I'd say that I can't see how it would be! You have many social connections, you read (and/or listen to) book, you engage in current events, etc. In terms of the way you would be assessed in a psychological study, your world would be appraised as being deep and also wide. I may have misunderstood your question or overstepped. If so, apologies!
ReplyDeleteYou're being so generous, I'm not complaining! I think I just object to the one size fits all of get out, join in, be congenial, etc!
Delete