‘Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.’ With this quote from Voltaire my current library book starts. It’s Jenny Colgan’s The Little Shop of Happy Ever After. A cringe-invoking title if ever there was one, but I could do with some light reading. And it’s about books. In a nutshell, librarian Nina loses her job, buys a van, moves to Scotland and starts a mobile bookshop.
I haven’t finished it yet, but I can already tell you that it’s totally unrealistic and fluffy, and also warm and funny. Yes, let us read! But I’d rather substitute something else for the dancing. I can think of lots of other amusements that meet Voltaire’s criterion:
☑ Walking and cycling
This is one of my favourite stretches of bicycle track, part of one of my short weekday close-to-home cycle routes:
It was here we took the photos of my Gazelle Mitts. I’m looking forward to the time I’ll be needing mitts and mittens again.
☑ Making felt butterflies
With blanket stitch two layers of felt are sewn together – short stitches, longer stitches and some beads along the edges.
☑ Knitting
I’ve just finished a pair of socks from Meilenweit ‘Cosima’ (100g/420 m/560 yds; 75% Merino extra fine, 25% Polyamide). The yarn is very soft to the touch, yet so strong that it can’t be broken by hand. I wonder why one sock yarn is far stronger than another with exactly the same wool and synthetics percentages. Trying to get two matching socks and to make the cuffs and heels coincide with the colour changes in the yarn was a fun game.
I’ve come to call these my Dutch landscape socks, because they have a typical Dutch heel and, well…
☑ Photography
With my small and simple camera, I wouldn’t call myself a photographer. But what I love about taking pictures is how it opens my eyes to things and creatures I would otherwise never have noticed. Just imagine wearing a pair of feelers your own length once again on your head all day every day.
☑ Spinning
My own spinning hasn’t progressed much since last week, but I met a wonderful spinner at a market on Wednesday. She doesn’t have a website to link to – just call me Reny, she said.
At the back of her stall there was a washing line with hanks of wool in beautiful colours.
None of them for sale – all hand spun and plant dyed they were priceless. Instead of price tags, they had tags with recipes. This one was for the second skein on the left (the green one): mordanted with alum, first dyed with onion skins, then overdyed with indigo.
What she did sell were knitted birds and small sheep from unspun wool, as well as these peg loom woven sitting mats. They look wonderfully soft and warm.
I have the feeling that Reny wasn’t really there to sell things, though, but rather to share her passion for her woolly ‘amusements’.
Watching the news and reading the paper, I often feel sad and powerless. What can we do? Engaging in ‘amusements that will never do any harm to the world’ at least will not make things worse. That’s something. And they may just add some warmth and beauty to the world as well. I could think of many more such amusements, but am signing off for now. Hope to share some pictures of a finished butterfly and blooming heather next week. Bye!
These are, indeed, all lovely amusements. They bring joy and beauty to the world and that is never a bad thing.
I’ve read several of Ms..Colgan’s books. They are sweet fluff, just right in the moments you need them. They’re sweet and reliable and not at all heavy.
My amusements these days are sitting in my porch , sometimes knitting, sometimes just drinking a cup of tea and listening to the birds. I live in a forest and there is plenty of wildlife to watch…most of the time I see deer and wild turkeys (and all their babies!), but a few weeks ago I got a glimpse of a bear family. They are black bears and while fun to see, I don’t want them too close because they can be pretty destructive. Mostly if I see them, I shout at them to go home and they amble off. So, yes, they’re an amusement too!
How lovely to read about your ‘amusements’. A very different part of the world and I can see it in my mind’s eye the way you describe it. We have deer here, too, but I hardly know what wild turkeys look like – similar to tame turkeys? I’ll look them up. And black bears, wow, I understand your mixed feelings about them. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and hope to see you here again soon!