Cobalt

 I've been working on too many things all at once, and my life seems crazy out of control. Too many quilts at the same time, garden of weeds (very big ginormous weeds!), mom duty (she had bypass and is coming along at the right rate for an 85 year old - but I am lacking patience)., and an ever growing list of commitments. In my craziness, I ordered in a book that I had come across during my cobalt research for once of my current dress projects: Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara. I find that I can't read for very long before my anger sets in. In a nutshell, the people in the Congo have been mistreated and abused for centuries. All I wanted to read was about how the mining practices are hurting Pachamama (Mother Earth). I've now entered into the world of slavery, horrible governments, lies, unspeakable crimes against the innocent and the knowledge that anyone who has a cell phone, tablet, or laptop is guilty of contributing to problem. Problem is not a strong enough word. 

That was not what I set down to write when I realized that my blog has also been left alone for much too long. Instead of adding it to the to do list, I steeped a cup of tea and sat down for a little break. In the book, I read a Congolese saying that I find very thought provoking: "You never finish eating the meat of an elephant."  For me it translates to "slow down girl, you will never finish that to do list if you keep adding to it faster than you complete."  

Today seems like the ideal day to take a step back from the list and just enjoy the beautiful day that God has blessed me with. It's cool, calm, and the birds are singing. I think I'll go for a walk.