right on right on

Brax,

Well, today I called up my dad and said, “Dad, I have officially quit my job to start my own business and be a writer. Does this terrify you?” And my dad, being an honest man, said, “Sorta.”

Well, it scares me some too, but here we are. Almost a year ‘til the book comes out, and I have no illusions that I’m going to make enough money to live on with writing and designing…that’s why the business (gulp), and it’s also why the crystal ball shows aprons and trays of food in my future. Unable to manage doing what other people tell me to do day in and out, I have invented a patchwork of ways to obtain money, none of which require me to get up very early if I don’t want to. Which I don’t.

I feel a little like a loose cannon here, but I knew I couldn’t make my life look how I wanted it to look—basically, knitting and writing all day—unless I really devoted myself to it, so that’s what I’m doing. Anyway, if need be I can always get a job. I think that, when it comes to risk-taking, sometimes people are more worried about telling people they failed than they are about the tangible consequences of failure. This whole thing fails? OK, I’ll just get a job. Whatev. I am pretty comfortable with risk. Anyway, for the moment, I’m happy as a clam.

I was a lot more frightened until the other night, when the Husband found out he got this awesome job. This job means he is doing exactly what he wants to do: he is a labor lawyer now. It’s the whole reason he went to law school, and he’d begun to think he wouldn’t be able to do it because of the scarcity of jobs. And now here we are, and he starts in June. This means he is very, very happy, and he has a bright future, and all the crappy crappy things we had imagined could happen if he didn't get a job soon ain't gonna happen.

I’m so happy he gets to do what he wants to do, and he’s not being forced to do something he hates in order to pay these loans off. On the selfish side, it also means that I’ll have health insurance. Thank heaven I married a lawyer, and not, as I imagined as a teenager, the drummer for a punk band.

So it is day 2 of unemployment, and I am trying to figure out the routine of being productive all on my own in my house. It is a very, very strange feeling. I am managing though.

Other than that? Let’s see. I went to the Nationals game. This may shock you but I’m not really into sports. However, baseball games are fun! I understand baseball better than any other sport, and the games are outside in nice weather and you can pay attention or not, and you can drink beer and eat fries. Also, you can knit. A lot of people knit at baseball games.

So when I was invited, I went. The Nationals have a new stadium which is within walking distance of my house and which is really nice. I mean really nice. It’s got about 50 food vendors, including Ben’s Chili Bowl. I totally ate some chili. Some delicious million dollar baseball chili. You can see the Washington monument from the stands, which is kind of cool.

So here I am knitting secret projects at the Nationals Game. We saw a grand slam!!

Also, we went to TR Island. I’d never been. There is a really big statue there.

Also there is a swamp preservation project thing there, and if anyone can tell me what this here funny swamp growth is, I’ll be pretty grateful.

These guys were all over the place in the swamp area. What do they be? They look like they’re out of the Dark Crystal or are possibly transplants from the Dagobah System.

And finally, while I still can’t show you my knits, I can pose this question: isn’t this one exciting pile?

Stay tuned for a full report from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! I'll be there all day tomorrow.
Bruce