Author: Hashi

Xylocopa sonorina

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Xylocopa sonorina

Female valley carpenter bees are glossy black all over, but this one had a ring of bright yellow pollen on her thorax. At first I thought it was a new species, but no, she was just dressed in powdery finery. The male X. sonorina is golden brown with green eyes — I hope to see one some time soon. Perhaps I shouldn’t be wishing for carpenter bees around our tumbledown old house—they are so named because they tunnel through wood to make their nests. They avoid painted or stained wood, but our place has plenty of exposed timber they might find suitable for excavating.

nemesis

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pantswoes

There are a couple of reasons to sew one’s own clothes. In a society full of cheap used garments, saving money isn’t one of them. For me, the process of sewing is itself very enjoyable. I like putting together fabric and pattern to make something pleasing to my eyes and comfortable for my body.

The huge advantage of home sewing is that I can make adjustments so the garment fits my unique carcass (and lifestyle) with no pulling, gaping, squeezing, chafing, or showing more flesh than feels appropriate. But pants …. argh … they are notoriously hard for the home sewist to perfect. It’s all those curves in three dimensions. Every few months I optimistically measure myself, print out a pattern, cut up an old sheet, sew it up, see where it needs adjusting, make said adjustments to the pattern, and repeat. When muslin #3 still doesn’t fit right, I call it quits for the day. And maybe pour a glass of wine.

Then I listen to the siren song of a different pants pattern from a different designer; that one should be easy to fit, right? Something to sleep on …

(Next day): Muslin #4 fits fine. Tomorrow I’ll cut the good fabric.

The Finkler Question

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finkler question

This is a book I know I’ll appreciate more after we discuss it in book group. While I found it laugh-out-loud funny in places, I felt that the characters and issues would be more relatable if I were Jewish, or even Jewish-adjacent. As a good proportion of our book group members are, I’m sure they’ll give me insights I am currently lacking. Maybe then I can tease out the nuances between Jewishness and Judaism and Zionism.