Oh, what a beautiful morning!

One cannot help but be glad to be alive on such a glorious day and grateful for good health to savor it. It is fully sunny but chillier than it has been. I stood before the heaped cauliflower at the Farmer's Market this morning just staring at sight of creamy white framed with green. Delicious enough to eat. With the cauliflower I also got broccoli, turnips, asparagus, grapefruit, and Satsumas.

Then I drove over to Glendale to Swain's Art Supplies. The view from the 134 freeway over LA and out to the ocean was unmatched. The recent heavy rains have washed the air so one can see, uncharacteristically, for miles. The purpose of the trip was to buy a Moleskine journal (pronounced mol-a-skeen'-a; I called around asking for a "mole skin" journal until I came across a phonetic spelling), inspired by two entries at Hoarded Ordinaries. It is a lovely journal.

Knitting blessings

A year ago I posted an entry about knitting and praying. The current The Lutheran magazine writes about knitting again, this time publishing reviews by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of two knitting books, Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry and KnitLit (Too): Stories from Sheep to Shawl...and More Writing About Knitting.

In a slightly longer version of the Knitting into the Mystery review, more of the "Prayer of Blessing," by Cathleen Murtha, is excerpted from the book:

"A blessing to my mind [...] to be free to enter this time of contemplative activity . . .
A blessing to my hands [...] to be the source of creating something of beauty and love . . .
A blessing to my soul [...] to be open to the promptings of prayer and reflection . . .
A blessing to my yarn [...] to be shaped into patterns of love and caring . . .
A blessing to my needles [...] to be the holders of stitches as they become a whole garment . . .
A blessing to my knitting [...] to be a work of heart and hands, body and spirit . . .
A blessing on the one who passed this ancient art to me . . .
A blessing on the one who will receive the fruit of my prayer and my knitting . . .
May this [garment] be welcomed in the spirit in which it was knit . . .
May we become one with the One who knitted each of us in our mother's womb. [....]
Amen."

Home again

It's good to be home again. I had a wonderful week with my brother's family helping care for the two children. The week was colored by reading Home: A Short History of an Idea by Witold Rybczynski (via the sidebar at Theory of the Daily) and by having read recently a review article on the cover of The Atlantic about nannies: "How Serfdom Saved the Women's Movement: Dispatches from the Nanny Wars" by Caitlin Flanagan.

I hope I can capture my impressions and thoughts about the week before they evaporate. Many intersections of thought as I catch up on some favorite sites:

Theory of the Daily (again)

Struggle in a Bungalow Kitchen

Pioneer Woman with Cell Phone

Offline for a while

Back in a week or so.

Knitting & Banking?

It's not often that the subject of knitting comes up in the financial services industry, so when I read this Forbes' article at work today, I thought it worth noting! I've read about the excellent reputation (business and otherwise) of Golden West Financial but didn't know about the knitting angle. "Stick to Your Knitting," by Seth Lubove (free registration required).

Drop in on the Oakland, Calif. headquarters of Golden West Financial and you'll get a taste of a homespun, unassuming company under family control. Shortly into an interview at the thrift holding company, Marion Sandler, co-chief executive, pulls out a knitting needle and ball of yarn and picks up where she left off on a sweater for hubby, Herbert, the other co-chief executive. Marion, 73, admits to frequently knitting during meetings--"except when I'm running it," she helpfully notes. Herb, 72, jumps up, opens his closet and proudly shows off another cable-knit sweater Marion made for him. [...]

It's what they don't do that makes this company a standout among financial institutions. Golden West gathers deposits and lends the money out as mortgages on modestly priced, single-family homes. No junk bonds, no loans for shopping centers, golf courses or million-dollar mansions. The Sandlers installed ATMs only in the 1990s, and they still aren't sure the expense is worth it. They give away free toasters for new accounts.

"We're boring," Herb says, proudly. But not on Wall Street, where Golden West's numbers have drawn some attention. The Sandlers have produced compound annual earnings-per-share growth of 20% over the last 35 years, a record that appears to be unmatched by any other financial firm, with the possible exception of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. [...]

After talking with the Sandlers, though, you come away with the impression that, for all their financial accomplishments, they're more interested in using the business as a means to the higher end of political and philanthropic pursuits. Die-hard liberal Democrats, the Sandlers support various do-gooder causes and activist outfits, as well as medical research.

Wool find

On my way back from the Farmer's Market this morning, I stopped by a thrift shop that has a nice section of linens and yarn. I found a dozen 2 oz. skeins of Columbia-Minerva Lustra-Sparkletone in black, 50% rayon and 50% wool, with a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch on size 5 needles. There are also three skeins in "Tuscan Rose" color. Price: 50 cents each.

Then I found ten hanks of Rygja wool, 100 grams/280 yards, in a natural, off-white color for 75 cents each. The wool smells a little stale as though the lanolin is rancid, but I think it can be resuscitated. At the price of what I'd pay for one new ball of wool, it's worth a try! It might also be fun to experiment dyeing some of it.

From the label:

Rygja

"The Natural Yarn"
Homespun in Norway
From the wool of the sturdy Norwegian mountain sheep!

This unbleached yarn is popular with the women of Norway who knit sweaters for their men that will protect them while fishing on the high seas or skiing in the mountains.

The women of Norway enjoy knitting with this "Natural Yarn", and so will you! Their men like to wear their sweaters and so will yours.

But, as Theresa at Bagatell warns in her Feb. 12 post, make sure the man is "yours" before knitting for him! In case not, just "Slip that sweater on over his head before he manages to say a word!"

Women and global trade

Via wood s lot, an Oxfam report (in .pdf format): "Trading Away Our Rights: Women Working in Global Supply Chains."

Globalisation has drawn millions of women into paid employment across the developing world. Today, supermarkets and clothing stores source the products that they sell from farms and factories worldwide. At the end of their supply chains, the majority of the workers—picking and packing fruit, sewing garments, cutting flowers—are women. [...]

Commonly hired on short-term contracts—or with no contract at all—women are working at high speed for low wages in unhealthy conditions. They are forced to put in long hours to earn enough to get by. Most have no sick leave or maternity leave, few are enrolled in health or unemployment schemes, and fewer still have savings for the future. [...]

The harsh reality faced by women workers highlights one of the glaring failures of the current model of globalisation. Over the past 20 years, the legal rights of powerful corporate entities have been dramatically deepened and extended. [...] Workers' rights have moved in the opposite direction. And it is no coincidence that the rise of the 'flexible' worker has been accompanied by the rise of the female, often migrant, worker. The result is that corporate rights are becoming even stronger, while poor people's rights and protections at work are being weakened, and women are paying the social cost.

From the opening paragraphs of the report. There is also a much shorter summary of the report available.