quick catch-up

Doing scholarship evaluations this morning (So I guess we are assuming we have a fall semester?) but am taking a quick break so, to follow up on a couple of comments....

Anita: I HAVE read the "Provincial Lady" books, or at least some of them (I think the first one is the best; I had to give up on the one set in wartime last summer because, well, everything that happened late last summer).

I have gotten back to re-reading some of the Golden Age British mysteries, and I can do that again (for a while, at the first part of this, both following the thread of a story to figure out who did it - even when the author is not "playing fair" I try to figure it out, and also the mention of death seemed too much).

And because Lynn asked...the quilt shop I use in N. Texas is Home A La Mode. Their website is a little old-skool and I've never actually ordered from them (only bought in person) but I suppose it works well enough.

Also, my local-local quilt shop, last I heard, was still doing mail order: Lulu and Hazel's.

And, finally, for those seeking yarn: I had a good experience ordering from Quixotic Fibers recently. In the past I had just gone down and shopped in person but of course that is not possible now.


I selfishly hope all three stores survive through this. I *think* I'm most sanguine about Home A La Mode because the owner (I think she must be the owner) is the one who does the longarm quilting and she seemed to have plenty of business. I suppose as long as she can make rent and pay for a little new inventory....Lulu and Hazel's may well own the building they are in so they may be okay. And I think (hope) Quixotic Fibers is going a lot of online business.

Of course, the issue will come as things grind more to a halt and the backed up supply we're getting now stops, and new isn't being generated, either because factories are shut down or because they have had to pivot to what is fundamentally "wartime production" - making masks, or hand sanitizer, or PPE, or whatever. I suspect a lot of fabrics just aren't being printed (many are made in South Korea these days, I think) and there aren't as many imports going on...I suppose it's good I have a "stash" even if I'm not working on it very much (doing very little sewing OR knitting; the energy that teaching online takes ESPECIALLY dealing emotionally with the surreality of all this is daunting and I'm usually sitting down at about 8 pm going "thank goodness, I'm finally done for the day, now I can relax" and then I am so tired that all I do is scroll the internet until bed)

(I heard this morning that there might be tea shortages in the future, because of problems harvesting this year's crop. I am having to tell myself that there will probably be one bad year at most, where I will have to ration or do without, but I am not convincing myself so well)