Life School - List what subject you're learning about right now.

This week I’m learning to make pinatas
and researching container gardens
and trying to learn if fish can be grown on a porch.
Or if I’ll even like the kind of fish I could grow on a porch.
I’m studying vermicompost
and edibles that grow in shade
and small water fountains.
I’m looking into whether I’d like a guinea pig as a pet.
I’m planning the layout of my new apartment and its garden.
I’m also wondering how to help my church strengthen its relationship ties within the congregation.
I’m re-learning the theory behind building with cob
and how to construct a wood-fired pizza oven.
I’m thinking about “placemaking” and “the power of 10”.
I’m also trying to learn to sing several songs from the play “Matilda”, because they’re so inspirational they make me cry, and I think they’d be good to sing for kids at graduation.

Just another tool I’m learning about as a way to avoid other, more important things I should be doing.

http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/

This article talks about how maybe that very habit of procrastination might be used FOR your productivity instead of against it.

It says basically that since we ALWAYS put off doing our most important tasks by doing things lower on our lists, we should fill our lists with stuff we will be glad to get done. Even though the top stuff gets delayed and delayed, at least the lesser stuff IS getting accomplished. Which is what I’m doing now. Instead of cleaning my home, I’m staying current with my online community. Which is always one of my major goals (though not necessarily my hypothetical number one slot of importance, it still matters a lot to me).

Website = http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done

Learning about techniques to focus on what matters and accomplish what I want.

I’m studying videos that show how to sew very simple clothes. I’m trying to learn how to make a sloper for a fitted dress top, and how to make flattering darts.

I don’t think I’ll ever be skilled enough to handle making fancy fitted clothing with zippers and waistbands and stuff. I could do buttons or elasticized things.

My challenge is that I’m trying to come up with a few basic patterns which I can use over and over again, so someday I’ll be able to sew most of my own wardrobe. I’ll still need to purchase things like blue jeans or anything very fancy, but I’m gonna try to minimize my need for storebought clothes like those.

I want pieces that will be flattering and practical. They must be very mix-and-match, so I can wear the same item many different ways and not get bored with it.

• Tank Top (possibly with darts for shaping)
• Longsleeved Tee (also, possibly with darts)
• stretch shorts (to be worn under skirts, mostly)
• loose shorts (for summer wear)
• flowing ankle-length skirt (because I love them)
• some kind of overshirt or long vest, for layering
• elastic-waist or drawstring pants
• fancy, pretty aprons (because that’s my fetish)
• simple bra

The bra is the most challenging thing I want to learn. I know I’ll have to come up with a pattern different from anything I’ve ever bought. I cannot deal with underwires, or with precisely curved seams, or so much structure. I just want something that will give me a little support, and be comfortable. Although I’ve gotten very comfortable going braless at home, I don’t think it’s right for me to try to leave the house that way unless I’m under a lot of layers. Something about the sight of nipples showing through, or breasts that actually move is still deeply disturbing to my sense of public propriety. So I need something to help give me that little bit more security in public, without digging into my shoulders or sides. And of course, I want it to be something I can do myself.

Here is a video about a type of bra called the Bust Sling, which just might be the one that I’ll be able to work with.

Today I learned about canning fiddlehead ferns, and now I plan to go into the forest with my son tomorrow to see if we can find any. If not, maybe we’ll find some young stinging nettles. This has been a terribly warm winter, staying in the 40’s mostly, and I’ve seen signs of spring growth on some of the trees. Maybe the ferns think it’s spring too.

Also, I learned an awesome new way to make soap, similar to the other lessons I picked up before, but with different technique. This is the one I’m surely going to try first.

Finally, I’ve been researching French Drains, which is a technique that will come in handy when I try digging a root cellar under my Tiny House here in wet Western Washington. With luck, this will keep things properly dry and tidy.

Watching a guru named Kevin Coy who’s making a YouTube series on building a tiny home. Today I took a pop quiz, to figure out how much wood is needed to build an 8’x8’ wall with a door and window. I feel proud that I’m learning all kinds of building jargon like king stud, jack stud, cripple, header, and lots of other things.

I really think this is a skill I can master. It’s not really that much different from designing a quilt. Just have to know the math involved in cutting your materials, understand the “seam allowance” (overlap/thickness of boards), have a basic idea what the finished product should look and function like, and proceed in the correct order of operations. I can do all that.

Whether or not I’ll actually get to build anything this year, I WILL learn HOW to build stuff. I’ll learn the steps, and get educated on codes and procedures.

Today I’m learning how to make soap. I’m studying both cold process and hot process. Found a lovely YouTuber who explains things very clearly, and I’m sure now that I can do this!

Cold Process Soap

Hot Process Soap

My daughter is at that tipping point where she’s no longer my little child, but she’s not quite a full-fledged adult yet. She’s trying to figure out how to afford a place of her own and also handle pressures of getting a job and completing college.

I am trying to help her find her way. It isn’t easy for me, because my situation puts crazy pressures on the family, being disabled and dependent on food stamps and Section 8 housing. She cannot save for these life changes while she lives with me, because it’s illegal for me (or the combination of any members of my household) to own more than $2000 while I’m on subsidies. Nor can she, as an able-bodied adult, just “not work” while she lives with me, even though she’s a full-time student. We don’t know yet how to navigate this rocky river of governmental rules which seem designed to keep us poor and uneducated.

I want my daughter to have a better life than me. I want her to enjoy a strong middle-class lifestyle. I know there must be a way to launch her successfully out of the mire of poverty that traps me, and free her to have a great life.

I don’t know how to do it yet, but I must find the way.

I just finished planning and running a holiday event for my church, and now I’m compiling a book (binder) about it so there’ll be a blazed trail to help the next planner find their way.

I’m learning how to reach beyond what I thought were my limits in this group, and take more responsibility.

I’m learning how to plan a complicated event. (Hint: It’s all about building a good team!)

I’m learning how to record what I learn, so others may be helped.

So…
What book are you reading?
What YouTube videos are you favoriting?
What articles are you researching?
What projects are you attempting?
What ideas are you experimenting with?
What surprises are affecting you?
What is “the moral to the story” of what you saw today?

This goal is about listing whatever lessons we glean this year, however we come by them. As we look back, we will have a record of our growth and accomplishments.