silent but busy

Well, it's been a while since the last post, and there's no other reason than that I've been busy and/or tired.
The life here is certainly different than it is in big European cities (I am not speaking for small towns, where I suspect, some things may not be that different). Birmingham is supposedly a big city, but I can't tell really. Cycling to work, training and grocery shopping is fun and sometimes hard (well, cycling uphill with a bike that's wobbling from everything that's piled on it, is hard. I cheat by pushing the bike some). There's no window shopping, compulsive buying here, contrary to what can happen in London or Paris. Does it mean that the lifestyle here is healthier? I wouldn't say that. And I will avoid discussing processed food, because that would be a full post in itself.

However, good raw or unprocessed products can be found and I have finally been able to make my own yoghurt and bread. I have invested in a large yoghurt maker (2 quarts) which can hold a glass jar. I will not recommend using solely dry powdered milk for that. Since milk here is mostly sold pasteurized, the milk has to be sterilized/boiled in a pan before incubation. I am using "1 quart or more milk + 1 to 2 spoon(s) dry milk + 1 fresh yoghurt" all whisked together and placed in jar, inside yoghurt maker overnight. The yoghurt will set over the following day, once placed at 4°C.
As for bread, a colleague lent me "the bread bible " by Rose Levy Berenbaum, a book I plan to buy now. I am not sure I would try most of the bread recipes there, but the introduction to principles of bread making is very good. There is a recipe for sourdough starter and breads. All recipes are in imperial/US and metric units. The whole recipe does take all sunday afternoon/evening for handmaking the bread. The simple hearth bread is the one I keep doing (with variations). I am starting to get a better feel for it, even though I have made it several times already and been very happy with the results. Both smell and taste.

I've also completed two crochet shawls since August, just in time for the slight cooling off. Since that means, 25°C, it still feels warm, but I now have the option to wear one in the evening!
For one I used a hand-dyed silk skein my mother gave me. I chose a simple chain motif based on Cécile Franconie's tutorial (and shells + chains for trim) in order to let the colours  take center stage. More complex motifs disappeared in the changing colours. Not having a pin to close it, I thought I would crochet a flower with a chain and a smaller flower at the other end, which I could pass through the holes on each end of the shawl to keep it closed. That works pretty well and I may improve the whole design in the future.

The second shawl is based on the japanese flower motif shawl, which has been very popular on the web. I used the alpaca fine yarn from Peru that I received last Xmas. Since the yarn is finer, I had to increase the number of rows to make a shawl of good size, which used all 2 skeins.

Next planned is another shawl (there's never too many) with Araucania wool yarn I bought. Possibly the Maia Shawl by Lisa Naskrent, with the two skeins in the middle. The rest is stash for now (apart from the malabrigo baby merino colourway arco iris, which will be a gift, either as is or made into something).  Those colours are beautiful...

Lastly, I will talk about exercise. Now the Tai Chi practice is doing fine, could be take up more of my time and I do work on that.
But I want to talk about BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). I am now in my 4th month, still enjoying it very much. I found quite a lot of interesting blogs by women when (after, it's not as if I had planned to start BJJ) I started, like this one
http://bjjgrrl.wordpress.com/
which has very nice info and lots of links to other girl's BJJ blogs.

I still had to do a bit of research to get set-up properly and I'l still struggling with a few things.
So here are the few tips for BJJ gear I've found so far:

- sports-bra. Yes, finally, it's much easier to deal with washing. I got mine online and it's just right as far as pressure/maintain is concerned. The Nike elastika short.

- shorts. Same source. Nike Pro essential.

both are good value I think.

I'm not too happy with my gi, as it is very thick and rigid, but it does the job. Cleaning it is the problem. I naturally wash it after each class, and leave it to dry (not drying machine). It takes 1-2 days to be ready, so it's just ok for 3 times a week. But with the low efficiency of the washing machine I have available, I am not perfectly happy with the results.
Non pre-shrunk gi are supposed to be washed machine-cold.
Disregard that.
There is no way to clean a gi in cold water!!!!
If anyone wonders (and I did): medium temperature + washing liquid + oxyclean for regular washings and once a week on hot with same ingredients. Leave to dry at room temperature (unless the weather's too cold I suppose).
I am much more happy with my short white gi pants, than I would be whith longer, yellow pants!
That's my tips on caring for my gi.

BJJ torn fingernail treatment? plasters/band-aids won't stick, so I tried nail-varnish (thick). Quite stylish I think....

What I am struggling with is skin care. Bruises I don't mind (trousers, great). But the skin of my hands is starting to crack and abrade on knuckles (see pic). That and a torn fingernail meant I bled over my partner's gi last time. I have not found much info on the web about "minor" skin lesions like this in BJJ. It is minor, but should be taken care of. Obviously, hand cream will have to play a big role here.
But then, bleeding hands have been a recurring problem for me. Strike that, it is a constant problem, except for the 2 summer months, if I don't use too much detergents at work (hospital or lab)... If I find a solution, I will post it, in case it can help someone else.

new directions

Moving to a completely different place has meant a lot of changes and compromises.
Of of these has been in my training. I have found some way to practice Tai Chi with other people, here, in addition to personal practice: it feels good to practice with other like-minded people. However, I have had to find a substitute for Push Hands practice as there's none here.
As someone told me once, things will come to you.
Walking on my way home one day I saw a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym. So I've started training there for not quite 2 months now. It was an opportunistic decision, as was my going to the Jeet Kune Do classes in Verona. I do no regret those decisions. The JKD experience (3 months) was great, good to become a little less apprehensive with punching and getting familiar with a different stance, getting to work on the kicks.
The BJJ is, of course, very different. There is still some training standing up, where throws, sweeps and trips can be done, but all with grips...... That makes a major difference with Tai Chi, since that is characterized by a NO-grip attitude, allowing for uninterrupted flow. The other obvious difference is the fact that it is a ground grappling art. However, for all that, I am realizing that enough principles of Tai Chi are applicable there (some of the times), though in a different form.
Keeping connected with your partner, being grounded, looking for  flow and following/redirecting are some that I can see, if not put into application myself.
I feel lucky to have found something that ties with what I am most interested in, and in a friendly atmosphere as well.  The students (and teacher) at the school are friendly and generous in sharing tips and understanding.
I will certainly try to make the best of my experience here.



On a very different note (although maybe not, as some meditative virtues are common to all of these), I have picked up my crochet again and needle. The lampshade is a simple conical tube in crochet that I have made on the go and which can be slipped on a small lamp I bought. I am quite happy with it. I used mercerized cotton with a size-2 hook. Three different patterns: 4 repetitions of first (from the top), then 2 repetitions, then almost one border. I didn't finish the complete pattern of the border as I liked it better with a round, soft ending. However, that meant that  the 5 petals were not yet connected. So I sewed a few turquoise pearls to link the petals of each motif.  The little bag is a variation on the 22 granny square bag. The motif for the granny square comes from a japanese book (Kawaï motifs, bought at Junku in Paris) linked after by chains.
The book is called: Kagibari de amu kawaii motif & komono, editeur Nihon Vogue Sha (ISBN : 9784529050142). Il est plein de motifs et projets très tentants.

Who needs a proper nightstand when you have tatami mats and futon? A simple box is all you need.

 And this the typical drink of the South: Ice Tea. That one is home made is is just tea + cold water, no sugar contrary to what people do here.

Changes

I've been silent for a long time now, but things have not.
My job in Verona finished (I will post some of the prettiest pictures I took there another time), and I stopped for a while in Paris before moving to the States for a new job. I have not had a lot of time for crafting in that time, but hopefully will soon be able to start again!
So, I am now in a completely different place. Both in atmosphere and climate.
Birmingham, Alabama.
86°F (30°C) today, 48% humidity, a cool and dry day....
I will get around to posting pictures of the area, as some of the streets in the Highland area have some nices houses and the parks are pretty.

On another subject, I have read a very good book called "The spirit catches you and you fall down", written by Anne Fadiman and published in 1997. It is about the clash between Western medical culture and Hmong culture, and is centered on the story of one of its victim, a young girl.
This was a book that you have a hard time putting down. Very well written and both very intelligent and sensitive. Having worked in pediatrics, it felt very personnal and true. And being interested in anthropology, even more fascinating. I wish this book had been on the reading list for my 2d year at med-school....

Another book I will recommend, even though I am not finished yet, is Ursula Le Guin's rendition of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching". It arrived in the post this week.

fickle weather

That's what it is. After a beautiful thursday 26th (national holiday in Italy, as it is the celebration of the liberation), today is overcast again and preludes to another rainy week-end. So it is quite fitting that I should post rainy pictures from the previous week-end. Or maybe I am just trying to avert a repeat? But since I will be travelling to Lugano again this week-end, it is almost certain to rain....

Mantova (Veneto)

Apart from the first one, taken in Mantova, the others are from Lombardy, North of Italy in the mountains and around Lake of Iseo. A beautiful region. Around the lakes, the villages look like what you expect of italian villages, colourful, pretty. Up higher in the mountains, it is the mountain village look that is seen. No different form the swiss look, which by the way may only be 1 km away....
Although it is spring, there is still a lot of snow at fairly low altitude I thought (above 1500 m) and the contrast between the snowy tops and the green vegetation and colourful houses was a little bit surprising to me. It reminded of the amazement I had felt in Nepal at seeing Bougainvillé in bloom and lush tropical vegetation against the snowy majesty of the Himalayan range. The Alps are certainly smaller, but beautiful too.

Above Sondrio, the road to the San Marco Pass (closed)

Lovere, on Lake Iseo

Clusone, Monastery

View from the Basilica at Clusone

On another note, I had finished the Armorique shawl by Anntte Petavy / Eclat du soleil. I am very happy with it. The colour is beautiful, it was done in Madelinetosh Prairie, micas colourway, 1 skein crocheted with a 3.5 mm hook. It squishes in a small ball and can be draped around and give the warmth you want from a shawl. I followed Barjolaine in using a larger hook for an open lace look. I had been waiting for a sunny day to take a few pictures. Since I cannot block and like new things washed, I have just extracted the excess water in a towel as I had read on the web and hung it to finish drying, hoping that it would open the design. It does, although doesn't have the crispness of those who do a proper blocking.

Où donner de la tête?

It's difficult to keep up with the weather changes these days.
The trip to London early in April, graced by sunshine and a feeling of spring coming, has been followed by cold rain in Verona, very hot weather for someone who has spent 5 years in London, and heavy rain again.
So, in chronological order, here is a few snapshots of a couple of a recent week-end.
Since Verona is only 1h30 away from Venice by local train (7,5 euros single only!), I hopped on a train for the day when the weather was ideal and spent the day shooting. Of course my battery ran out 50 m from the Piazza San Marco and I could only find a shop selling batteries after the Rialto bridge. Such is the price to pay for having delayed buying a second battery. But that did not diminish the fun for very long.

 

One of the two is a reflection on the canal....

Spring

Finally time to start again, after all the changes.
The PhD being finished, I left London, with regrets, and moved back to Paris. From there to Verona, Italy for a few months of work.
I have tried to fit some training in this new organization, in Paris and in Verona. The remparts surrounding the old town of Verona are set like a park, with trees, a small lane and grass. It is a lovely place to be when the sun is out, something all too rare this winter and spring.

For Christmas, we (design by the girls, execution by yours truly) made carzy patchwork balls. More precisely they could be described as Frankenstein Christmas balls. But it was fun! I even made myself one... To go with it I had made little garlands of crocheted snowflakes and simple granny squares in coloured linen yarn from Namolio.

I have also managed to crochet a little bit. in January I managed to start and finish (thanks to the trip to BHM) a scarf in Malabrigo yarn (Bobby blue, superb colour). Hook 1.25, just assembling squares on the go (square N°39 from Annie's attic 101 granny squares) with a border to finish nicely. It was given unblocked, so looks a bit rumpled. Next one finished will be the Armorique shawl...