Getting outside for a long, brisk walk with my girls led to feeling about as good as I've felt in the past few days. We dodged puddles + worms after the rain. We said hello to everyone we saw (from afar)...more people than I've ever seen on a walk in our neighborhood. There was a dad outside playing a lively game of basketball with two teenaged girls...three adults laughing + making videos of one friend in a full, furry, dog costume walking a dog + another dog driving a toy car...and two people running on opposite sides of the road that we thought might be doing a social-distancing run "together".  :) We walked further than usual...noticing all the new little sprouts popping up + a few fully formed daffodils too. I ended up feeling a little bit stronger + more connected + more hopeful. Hope you are able to get outside a little bit too!

Love,
Jane

Over the past few days, I haven't felt like there's much I can do to make things better. So, today I mended. Halfway through this lovely article that classifies mending as "a quiet, global protest movement", I decided to gather a few mending projects + make something a little better.

Mending always has the effect of adding value to these utilitarian objects rather than downgrading their value in my mind. The pieces I'm mending are always the most loved pieces of clothing in our home. They are the hardest working...the most worn. They've taken on the shape of the wearer...someone I love. 

Both of these pieces had holes at the elbows. One was repaired with a lightweight patch + the other received heavy-duty elbow patches made with fabric leftover from a pair of vintage army pants that were shortened into shorts. 

I suppose mending reflects what we are trying to do together with all of our social distancing + staying at home...trying to add a little strength to the fabric of our collective health. ​Thank you for all the sacrifices you've made for our collective good...not that I'm any sort of authority or anything...I just feel like we could be showing our appreciation for each other right now. I appreciate you, friend.

Love,
​Jane

Nature is not a place to visit,
it is home.
~Gary Snyder

Oh, these are heavy times, friends. I'm guessing that you are feeling it too. I'm having those mornings on repeat when I come into consciousness + for just a second I'm unaware of all the heaviness of a virus confirmed in our own city + all the questions that come with it. My girls work in a library + a grocery store coming into constant contact with people. My parents are in their eighties miles + miles away. We can't step out of the house without hearing someone coughing. 

The leader of our country speaks of "therapies" + "miracles" which lays bare his constant misrepresentation of truth + elevation of the economy over human life (talk about pro-life ??). The race to become his opponent is a mess. Polling places are being closed in areas where minorities + less affluent people live. ​The number of insects found in Germany has decreased by seventy-seven percent in the past thirty years. Prisoners are making the hand sanitizer that is banned for use in their facilities. ​Asylum-seeking children are still being held away from their loved ones, and a for-profit facility to hold them is proposed to be built in our city far away from the border. Refugees from violence are being met with more violence in Greece. 

I know all of these things...the weight of them falls before I open my eyes in the morning.  I also know that whales sing + play. I know that trees communicate with one another. I know that oysters are amazingly circular + beneficial creatures. I know that one shy girl furthered a worldwide movement. I know that humans do things that are very rare among living things...we teach each other...we are kind to strangers...we cooperate altruistically. I know that politics is important, but it does not entirely hinder or exclusively enable truly amazing human discovery, innovation + collaboration.

As soon as we are able to recognize a problem we are able to be a part of moving toward a better way- offering compassion, asking questions, educating ourselves + our children, signing petitions, showing up to rallies, voting, encouraging others + considering ourselves running for office, showing up, doing the work, thinking deeply, having conversations, collaborating + acting strategically.

Fear debilitates, isolates + makes us dangerous to others. Love + hope empower ...expand imagination + possibility...and move us toward each other. Like fear, love + hope spread and reproduce. Seek hope with fervor...awaken love with purpose...and will them to take hold.

I'm still singing for my age + I'm still believing in the change.

I'm singing for my age
'Cuz I'm believing in the change

The links starting in the third paragraph of this post have nurtured my hope recently. Fingers crossed they do the same for you.  :)

Love,
Jane

Before searching for wrap pants inspiration, I was thinking that their styling possibilities were sort of limited to fitted tanks + tees. The photos above offer so many more options + I'm even more excited than before to get some wrap pants back in my life. 

Let your children grow up to be farmers.
Let them know what it is like to be free from fluorescent lights and laser pointer meetings. Let them challenge themselves to be forever resourceful and endlessly clever.
Let them whistle and sing loud as they like without getting called into an office for “disturbing the workforce.”
Let them commute down a winding path with birdsong instead of a freeway’s constant growl.
Let them be bold.
Let them be romantic.
Let them grow up not having to ask another adult for permission to go to the dentist at 2 p.m. on a Thursday.
Let them get dirty.
Let them cry at the beauty of fallow earth they just signed the deed for.
Let them bring animals into this world, and realize they don’t care about placenta on their shirt because they no longer care about shirts.
Let them wake up during a snowstorm and fight drifts at the barn door instead of traffic.
Let them learn what real work is.
Let them find happiness in the understanding that success and wealth are not the same thing.
Let them skip the fancy wedding.
Let them go.
Let them go home.
~Jenna Woginrich

After having a hard time locating hand sanitizer in stores or even online this week, I searched for a homemade hand sanitizer recipe + eventually came across this one (via Julie). I thought I'd share in case anyone else is interested. 

​Homemade Hand Sanitizer ::

• 2/3 cup 99% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) 
• 1/3 cup aloe vera gel 
• 8-10 drops essential oil, optional (lemon + grapefruit sound fresh + clean to me)
• 1 tsp vitamin e oil

Mix the ingredients + use a funnel to pour the mixture into recycled sanitizer containers.
(I noticed that it matters into which containers we put liquids involving alcohol. It seems that the container needs to be hard plastic rather than softer plastic.)

Other considerations: In terms of zero-waste + general cleanliness, I prefer hand-washing to using hand sanitizer. In the face of the current spread of novel coronavirus however, I do want to be vigilant about having an option for cleaning our hands when we are away from home. It is recommended that we use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content, + this recipe would meet that standard. I am not necessarily in favor of purchasing multiple bottles of ingredients for homemade recipes, because this can create more waste. We just need to make thoughtful decisions...which may be different at different points in time.

Hope you + those you love are healthy + remain so.  

Love,
Jane

In the past few years I've worked toward owning less...enough...a minimal wardrobe in order to lessen my impact on the planet...to avoid holding resources from others. And I've learned so much. My mind has truly been transformed. I know that I don't need to crowd my closet with choices...I am comfortable wearing my favorites over + over...I recognize my style...know what pieces are most versatile for me...avoid impulse purchases...am comfortable waiting...and have cemented my commitment to fair.

I've scaled my wardrobe back to the most versatile basics that can provide the most milage in terms of repeat wears. I've worn a somewhat unintentional uniform for the past few seasons. I say unintentional, because when I think of choosing a uniform I have hopes that it would be somewhat more stylish than my current default.  :)

At this point I'm thinking about adding a few pieces that give me a little bit more freedom of expression...the opportunity to have a little bit more fun with what I put on my body. Well...that or just finding a simple uniform that feels exceedingly like "me". (I'm very decisive.)  ha!

These are some of the pieces I'm considering or...have found thrifting! (I almost can't believe my luck!) I've found a couple of secondhand Black Crane square shirts (one in wool flannel + the other in cotton gauze) + a linen Ilana Kohn jumpsuit. It's March + I'm full on warm weather (fair) dreaming.

Love, 
Jane

This week my partner decided he was ready to let go of these two shirts, because they have become a bit crusty under the arms. These shirts have served him well...both were thrifted + have been worn every 7-10 days for somewhere around five years.

Since I'm not sure that they would (or should) be sold again in a thrift shop, I decided to repurpose them into something new + completely wearable. The fabrics of these shirts don't really scream "men's button-up", so I decided to make them into tops for my girls. 

I used the free Peppermint Peplum pattern. I like the rounded neck at the front + the v-neck at the back. I left off the peplum, straightened the sides on the front  piece + added some length at the bottom of the bodice pieces. (Since I didn't add the peplum, I only needed to print out pages 1-10 of the pattern. I didn't need to print the directions either. This saved paper + a few coins, since we don't have a printer. I use the one at the library.)

Getting in close with these shirts made me realize what craftsmanship went into each of them. For example, there were three buttons at each adjustable cuff + darts at the back of the salmon-colored one. I'm glad each shirt was well worn + appreciated in its original form. The cotton fabrics are high quality + worth selvaging. These tops will get lots more wear now.  :)

A few other ideas for giving a men's shirt a new purpose: 
-bento bags 
-child or baby's dress, top, skirt, shorts or hat
-women's top
-boxer shorts
-produce or bulk or bread bags
-period pads
-tote bag 
-pillow
-doll clothes
-cloth napkins
​-smock
-stuffed toy (can stuff scraps inside)

​I have to say that I think the idea of making men's shirts that are showing their wear at the collar (though the collar can be turned) +/or the pits into boxer shorts for the owner seems to be a fitting progression. 

In the end, (after cutting off + saving the buttons) I'm left with a few scraps of fabric that I added to my scrap fabric bag that periodically gets dropped off at Goodwill. They will send those scraps off to be recycled into things like carpet padding. This feels like a pretty successful waste reduction project.  :)

Love,
​Jane