No, I’m not deliberately trying to smash to smithereens this carefully build image of myself being a manly man, focussed on construction work and heavy duty gardening and equipped with a preference for impossible jobs, admittedly with an non typical predilection for beautiful flowers possibly suggesting otherwise, but still technically skilled enough to keep the metonymy alive and credible.
Yet to further illustrate my uncurbed faith in interconnectivity, appropriately known by now, If I simply rename it to knitting there will be another story to tell, starting in primary school at a very young age, rather heroic actually and certainly not something to be ashamed of looking back, quite the contrary.
There, in third grade, coached by the same teacher who taught me the impetus to speak French, hardly a coincidence, weekly needlework lessons were given to girls while us boys were send to the classroom next door for extended math sessions, unsubtly confirming our future divide, still common those days.
I can’t be sure whether it was my disdain for numbers, my desire for embroidering or just my rebellious nature, but I eulogize my role of being the contriver of the riot that eventually led to a non gender related freedom of choice, which of course had to be approved by our parents first so unfortunately there were some who could not be rescued from this prolonged inequality, but it gloriously added French Knots, Woven Wheels, Queen Stitches and Crochet to my life’s repertoire of skillfulness, and knitting obviously, which I did literally and maniacally for a while, shawls, sweaters, hats and mittens, all the useful common, before learning to incorporate its patterns and possibilities in a more metaphorical mechanism.
Yesterday my in-laws commemorated their forty third wedding anniversary, an awesome party we would have loved to have joined in, but couldn’t because of Covid. Their first date at the time took place at a pizzeria, therewith dictating our celebratory dinner menu in their name, topped off with a homemade sorrel and kale pesto from our garden, to knit the countless filaments of our alliance into this new fabric we can share, regardless of the distance.
This new fabric we can share, regardless of the distance
Trying to make ones life sustainable is more than a personal choice and almost automatically leads to a multitude of decisions you have never even thought of before. On this website we share what works for us, or woefully no longer works, obviously without claiming the same for you.
We hope that our journey towards a supplementary comprehensive celebration of nature’s beauty might just clear a pathway forward for you too, perhaps challenges a revealing reconsideration, or simply provides for an equally indispensable diversion.
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