December 1, 2023
1. I channeled my sadness into getting a whole lot of stuff done on the weekend.
From the sale clothes I’d bought: one sweater’s going back. Two jeans might go back unless they can fit someone else. Only two of them fit me comfortably but the price is so good that I’d like them to be worn if they can be instead of returning them.
The kids and I dropped off four large bags of film / plastics for recycling.
I finally found children’s Sudafed after checking at three pharmacies. I really hope this isn’t another shortage like last year. I am learning my lesson after last year’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen shortages when the shelves were literally empty. We’re stocked up on Robitussin and Sudafed for JB, my medications, and Sera’s. There’s not a good time of year to be out of meds but running out at the end of the year feels so much worse given all the other pressures of the season.
Oh also, it turns out I already bought the Ziploc BIG BAGS (for storing clothes) that I’d put on my shopping list again, months ago in fact!, and totally forgot about them. They came out this week to store JB’s shoes and WOWZA they were not kidding! That is a BIG BAG. I think I fit in that bag… ! They hold 9 pairs of biggish children’s shoes, laid flat instead of stacked. Stacked, I bet it could hold twice as many pairs. But they wouldn’t fit in the small storage space we have that way.
2. Making better choices (for me, for now): It’s too late to try to make cloth gift bags for the holidays. I gave in and ordered some cloth bags as a second best option. I picked the slower shipping option for a digital $1 reward. While I should have enough to get myself a free Kindle book soonish, it turns out my patience stinks. I want them here right now so I can pack up all the gifts and cross that off my list. If only this had been made earlier, self.
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November 24, 2023
1. My favorite person is here and that’s the best.
2. Finally found jeans for myself, first jeans I’ve bought since 2016.
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November 17, 2023
1. I tried to pry the sick kids out of the house for a walk on the weekend. Sera 🐶 and I headed out first, followed by JB and then PiC and Smol Acrobat. We ran into all kinds of neighbors. One texted me about spotting JB trying to find me, to confirm they were actually ok and didn’t need help. One was walking her dog while we petted a very friendly stray cat. One sent their kids out to do a rousing chorus of hi hello hi!!
2. I follow Shirley Raines on Twitter and her work to help people directly is so humane and caring. I especially appreciate that she doesn’t hold people hostage to get their basic needs met like people from organized religions do.
Challenges this week: sick sick sick
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November 10, 2023
1. JB gestured at my 20+ year old knit sweater, not a hoodie or a fleece, and asked: why are you so fancy today? It almost feels like an achievement of a low maintenance lifestyle that “not a hoodie” is fancy.
Challenges this week: Mutant virus abounds!
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November 3, 2023
The Background
The Pine Ridge Reservation is part of a larger territory established for the Lakota in 1868 that was later broken up into smaller tribal reservations. The Pine Ridge reservation portion of the territory includes Pine Ridge, Wounded Knee, Porcupine, Kyle, Oglala, Wanblee, Allen and more, and is now home to about 40,000 Native Americans. Pine Ridge County, within the reservation, is the poorest county per capita in the nation. Folks on the reservation are generally living in very poor, cramped conditions. Household sizes range from single adults to families with 16+ children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom need food, clothes and education. As you can imagine, with limited income, the need for assistance is great. It’s common for families to lack heat, running water, clothing, and basic household supplies, even more common for large families to run short of food.
For the past six years, friends have contributed to a pool of funds and I’ve used them to help families on the reservation through the Okini. Each year, our effort grows a little bit more.
In 2023, we’ve sent 43 shipments of new and like-new goods to the Allen Youth Center and the Red Shirt School. We also directly helped 14 families. That sounds like a lot but it’s only chipping away at a mountain of need. For a lot of reasons, this year has been harder. The prices of goods and gas for the folks on the reservation have skyrocketed at a time when donations are much lower than usual.
The Idea
Directly supporting more Indigenous folks on the reservation would be an appropriate way to observe this federal holiday. Last year, our goal was to send lots of basics in bulk to the Allen Youth Center to distribute to the approximately 100 local families that live near the Center. Last year’s report: We did pretty well!
I’m starting later in the year than is ideal, so I’m hoping we can help a few more families. We could give the kids holiday gifts when they wouldn’t otherwise get presents, or supply another family with warm clothes and blankets, or send bulk supplies to the Allen Youth Center to share with the community.
The Plan
If folks are able to pitch in again, I’d like to see how many people we can help this year. I’ll shop the best possible sales that are available at the time we have funding. With my full time job, full time parenting and life, I can’t optimize every single sale but I always do my best to make the most of every penny that comes in.
The Need
We’ll need our community’s help to help Indigenous families this holiday season. If you’re able to contribute funds, we would deeply appreciate your help, as would the families! Sharing this post widely would be a great help as well.
Important: To accept a wider range of donations, I’ve teamed up with my dear longtime friend Ruth Tillman. She and I go back over a decade and I trust her implicitly with financial matters. She’s publicly visible, whereas I remain pseudonymous, and she can accept money on behalf of the project at:
- Venmo: @RK-Tillman
- PayPal: ruthtillman@gmail.com
- Cashapp: $ruthkt
Please add a note that your gift is for Pine Ridge and include your email address to receive updates if you want them.
Thank you, as always, for supporting our Indigenous neighbors!
October 27, 2023
1. Neighborhood bird watching! A beautiful hawk rode the thermals and circled overhead for five minutes. A mischievous crow rousted the whole flock of pigeons. Tiny blue breasted birds chased each other across lawns.
On at least two afternoons, the birds were twittering so loudly it brought me back to moments in Hawaii in the spring, or Thailand in the fall. Just a profusion of tropical singing.
2. The last Keeper’s Six copy has been given away! 🎉 I hope everyone loves the story and we get more from this world.
3. TWO dear friends are retired early and traveling the world and they are delighting me this week with texts of their travels and adventures or spontaneous calls to tell me they’ve landed in a new country and are doing well. I’m so happy for them and glad to reap the sense of adventure without having to leave the house because I’m so tired I don’t want to do anything else.
Challenges this week: Woof.
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October 20, 2023
1. No idea if I’m doing this right but I twisted off the sprouts from the sweet potato and put them in water to root them. The potato goes back into the plastic bag to encourage it to grow more sprouts. If these sprout roots, the kids and I will plant them on a weekend. Update: they are sprouting rootlets! This is exciting!
2. I had no idea that growing something that’s essentially a weed requires this much reading and maintenance. I may have chosen poorly, as a low effort preference gardener. We’ll see.
Challenges this week: The days, they were so very long.
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