Not much to report, today. I filed the
income tax – they say I owe them money. I made a dr's appt for
myself, and pursued the question of why the cleaner didn't turn up
last Friday. It was only this morning that I grasped that these two
achievements overlap – I am to go see the dr early on Friday morning
while the cleaner is supposed to be here. I'll have to think about
that one. It might be better if she didn't come.
It has been a long time since I went to
see a dr for myself, so I just asked to be assigned to anyone in the
practice who had a slot free. I have wound up with the nice young man
who made the house call to see my husband a fortnight ago, so that's
good. I am now watching myself anxiously for fear of feeling so much
better by Friday that there's no point in going.
34 scallops done on the third side,
edging the Unst Bridal Shawl. The first ball of yarn obstinately
refused to expire yesterday, but I don't think it can hold out much
longer.
Last night we watched the Coen
brothers' “A Serious Man”. We had seen it in the cinema when it
came out, and I was eager to see it again. I didn't knit a stitch. I
was struck with how economical it is, as so often with a good film.
The effects I remembered so vividly – the unctiousness of the
dreadful Sy Lieberman, for instance – were conveyed with far less
screen time than I would have thought possible.
I still don't see the relevance of the
prologue, involving the appearance of a dybbuk in the snow in eastern
Europe somewhere. Life is absurd, and tilted against us? The film
itself could well be viewed as a retelling of the Book of Job.
I was puzzled the first time I saw it
by the word “hashem” which several characters use, referring
(clearly) to God. That first time, I had forgotten the problem by the
time we got back. Yesterday, at home with my iPad, I looked it up. It
means “the name” and Jews use it to avoid using the Name of God
in speech. (Everybody in the film is Jewish except for a sinister
next-door-neighbour. At the end, after the credits, there is a little
Coen-brothers disclaimer: “No Jews were harmed in the making of
this film”.)
Catch it if you can.
It is nearly time to think of ordering
long rosewood circulars for knitting the body of the Unst Bridal
Shawl. Sharon Miller seems to think that 24” is all that is
required, and I think EZ says somewhere that that is the only size
you'll ever need. I would have thought something a bit longer might
be useful when you've got the whole circumference to deal with.
Yes, I think that, in the interest of stretching out your work to read it and catch mistakes, a longer needle would be useful.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing the taxes. That is always a relief..
I often think of EZ writing that 24" is the only size you'll ever need when I plunk down money for a 32" or 40" needle. I also seem to remember her giving tips for keeping all those sts stuffed on the needle when necessary. A rubber band around the body? Something like that. The right size needles make it more relaxing. Go ahead and order them. Order them all, what the heck.
ReplyDeleteI understood the prologue about the dybbuk as explaining the curse on the Serious Man.
ReplyDeleteKate in IL
The movie was filmed in Minneapolis, my (adopted) home town, as well as the hometown of the Coens. Many of the characters, especially the small roles were based on people in their own lives, and some of them actually played themselves. It was filmed in neighborhoods all over town, and so we often ran into them shooting. A very funny article was written by one of the extras about her experience dressing in the clothes of the era. They were all sent home with instructions for setting their hair in pin curls and rollers, and the women had to wear the old style cotton bras and panty girdles or foundation garments with those awful snap suspenders that held up your stockings, Some things HAVE gotten better since the old days.
ReplyDeleteEZ was very spartan; get a 40 " needle for now, and switch to a smaller one as you progress inward. It's not fun if you can't stretch out your work and admire it!