Knitting

I've always loved knitting. I love the feel of the wool, watching a project unfold, and the peace of mind that comes from creative projects.
I remember watching my grandmother knit when I was young. I was fascinated by the repetitive actions and although I didn't think about it in these terms then, she definitely found her creative 'zone' when she knitted. She found peace in it and managed to pass that on to me. I used to help her wind the wool sometimes. I remember loving having a role to play, even then.
It was my mum who taught me to knit. She is also a very accomplished knitter and seamstress and loves to pass on the skills and the tricks of the trade when she has a chance. I had make a few attempts as a kid, but I was on maternity leave with Dan (almost 30 years ago!) when I had the urge to really begin taking knitting seriously. A small group of us gathered weekly for our little knitting 'club', held at my house and led by mum. We each did our own projects with mum there to troubleshoot whenever necessary. And for any of you who have learned to knit, there is always a fair bit of troubleshooting needed. Even now, every time I drop a stitch, my instinct is to yell "Help" hoping mum will come running.
I've knit a few things over the years but it has been a while since I've tackled a big project. I've been pretty excited about getting going again in retirement. I've been imagining cold January evenings with wool on my knee as we watch TV. Mmmmm, sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
So, I dug out the needles, looked through leftover wool and old patterns and started with a wee blankie for Vinnie, made from wool from an unfinished project from years ago. And imagine that, he loves it :)
That little project got me hooked again so I've spent some time at Lens Mill (what an amazing store!) browsing through the huge selection of wools. Patterns are now readily available online, so I've also been browsing those and making plans.
I decided not to be too ambitious to start, and chose an afghan made with Homespun Thick & Quick, which has a natural stripe in the fibres. So there isn't really a pattern, but you end up with these beautiful stripes. I chose a colour scheme called 'Granite' with muted blues, grays, tan, and a light cream. This is the afghan half finished.
It only took me 2 weeks to complete it and it's lovely and cozy. I'm so happy with it I that went back to Lens and got more wool and I'm on to the next project!
Christmas is coming after all.

Encaustic Art

Last Friday, I attended an Encaustic Art workshop, organized by teacher friend and co-retiree Katie Saunders, and led by Guelph artist Julia Daly. Julia has a gorgeous studio in a separate building that she built 2 years ago on her spacious property. It is a wonderful, bright, creative space and was so well set up for a group like ours! There were 6 of us, of varying art skills. We learned the basics of encaustics, safety with the equipment, and we each completed a project to take home. I think these images will give you a feel for the experience!

Here is Julia's studio. I would live out here if I had a space like this!

The wax was warming in the trays when we arrived. The trays are basically pancake griddles!

Small amounts of oil paint added to the beeswax gives the colour.

Julia had a variety of her work on display. These are some of the smaller pieces.

Encaustic involves painting layers of wax on wood,

then using a blow torch to melt the wax and adhere it to the layer below. Fun!!

You can add textural elements as well - including lettering, fabric, carving, small beads, etc. 

This is my finished work. Yes, it's a bit of a hodge podge. Haha! I didn't go in with any type of plan, so this was a bit of a 'playground' where I could try out all the different techniques.

The end result has so much wax, it weighs a ton! I hope to go back soon - but next time,

I'll go with a concept! It was great fun - I look forward to trying it again!

#bit15

I don't even know how many years I've been attending the fall conference hosted by ECOO - the Education Computing Organization of Ontario. I've been an attendee, a presenter and for a couple of years, I even worked on the conference committee. It's been a good run.
This annual conference happened this past week in Niagara Falls, called Bring IT Together, or #bit15. It seemed like a good idea last spring to submit a proposal to do a workshop with Trish. My thinking then was that Retired Susan would be excited to attend and reconnect with friends and get a little technology boost to spur on my new projects. Well, that was then and this is now. I'm feeling a little differently now that I'm actually living in this place. I confess I'm feeling a significant lack of interest in some of the things that were my professional passion last spring. Usually I'm really excited in the days leading up to the conference, this year, I felt hesitant. I could easily have stayed home.
So how did it go? We were only there for one day, but it was a good day. A very thought-provoking day. Our workshop went well and we had a pretty good crowd. It was one that we've done before so we were quite relaxed presenting. Through the day, I reconnected with lots of friends and colleagues and that was really nice. The keynote was given by Sylvia Martinez, on the topic of the Maker Movement in education. Normally I would have been tweeting like mad and taking copious notes. This year, I chose to sit and listen. She was amazing. Such a refreshing way to think about classrooms and learning. My personal quandary with Sylvia's presentation, as well as with a couple of other good presentations later in the day, was 'now what?'. I wasn't sure what to do with my enthusiasm for the new ideas. No classroom in which to implement new ideas. No teacher PD to plan and incorporate new strategies. No presentations and pep talks to teachers. It felt odd. I shared some of this in a couple of brief conversations with 2 retired friends, Doug Peterson and Peter Skillen - they have more retirement experience than me and had some wisdoms to share. They talked about life long learning and the importance of taking my time to find new applications for new ideas. I respect them both and appreciated their comments and encouragement.
I will continue to ponder. Retirement frames everything differently and part of this journey will be to figure all this out.

Politics

"You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It's very real. It's very strong." ~ Bono

I watched the swearing in of our new Prime Minister and his cabinet this week and was completely overcome with emotion during the ceremony. I clapped, I cheered, I cried, I stood for O Canada and sang my guts out. (Yes, I was in my own family room.) I have this sense that we are entering a whole new world - of inclusion - of positivity - of compassion. I haven't felt such optimism about the political landscape since Jack Layton.

Not everyone is as enthusiastic. There is plenty of hesitation and skepticism - no surprise - this is politics and for the past 10 years, we've had Harper politics. Canadians don't know or remember anything other than divisive, combatant, exclusive politics. But Justin Trudeau is promising something different. Real change. Right from the ground up. He has set such ambitious goals - goals for our environment, our First Nations peoples, women in the cabinet, a relationship with the provinces, the media, and new policies in every department. I believe that Justin's campaign promises were more than just campaign strategies, they were expressions of his deeply held beliefs. So keeping them should not be a challenge because they are what he truly believes in. And I don't want to spend a single second doubting that he and his team can do it. I just want to cheer him on. I want to join the team.

Trish and I have donated to and volunteered for the NDP party in the past couple of elections. We have good friends who work for the party and we've convinced many of our friends and family to support the NDP. We both voted NDP. But I have to confess that I am not disappointed in the results of the election. Quite the opposite. Trudeau is a motivational and inspirational leader with enormous potential. He has created a new and very different team, with strong skills and unique voices. They in turn will create teams and committees who share their strong values and ideals. He wants to include voices from all parties. The trickle down effect of this positivity has tremendous potential to evoke change into every community throughout our country.

In our schools we say that to have a truly inclusive classroom, our students must see themselves represented in the materials, language, visuals and conversations that happen on a daily basis. Only then will they be able to envision themselves as successful students. Canadians of different heritages, ages, abilities, looks sizes, genders and sexual orientations now see themselves reflected in significant positions in our government. And not only reflected, but truly celebrated for the voices they will bring to the discussion. Now, as a result of our new diverse cabinet, so many more Canadians can now envision themselves as leaders. As Canadians with voices that matter, that are respected, that deserve to be heard. The power of this cannot be underestimated.

I feel positive and optimistic. I am excited to see what transpires over the next weeks, months and years. Idealistic? Absolutely. And proud to be.