One of the quandries of dealing with Autism is what to do with the girls.

They're both in school programming all day.

When they get home, do I leave them to do their own thing? Do I push? What do I push? Academics? (Workbooks, flashcards, reading, basic math) Physical activity? (Dance, swimming, gymnastics, playgrounds) Art stuff? (music, drawing, painting, etc.)

How HARD do I push? Do I pick one thing that each of them SEEM to enjoy at the moment, and focus on it in the hopes that success will encourage them and that activity might help improve other facets of their abilities? Or go with divergent things - knowing that with them, not having time to repeat/repeat/repeat will mean that at best they'll be just skimming the surface, however much they enjoy it?

Do I MAKE Them practice? Because that's the only way they're going to do it. Unless one or both of them suddenly is seized by an as-yet unidentified obsession for something.

Did you have a "hobby" as a kid? (piano, violin, dance, softball...) Did you pick it, or did your parents? Did they have to make you practice? All the time? Some of the time? Did you eventually quit? How do you feel now about having quit?

What about extra academics? My mother had workbooks for us in the summer. Yours? I'm still not sure whether Mom pushed apptitudes that she saw, or that she wanted to see success in. Was I a math whiz? Or did she sort of "create" that? I certainly never could hang with the real Math Club in college. But I did have some success in the statewide math competition, among other things. Possibly it's a function of my scanner brain again. Once I'd gotten to what I considered "competency" I no longer had enough interest to lose myself in the "higher maths"?

I don't want to "ruin" my children - either by failing to push hard enough or by arm twisting into things they don't want to do. I'm not sure Liesl can as yet get the connection between practice and success. In fact, I'm not sure she really gets the connection between what she seems to WANT to be able to do and what the beginner steps are. Is it OK to push a little through some of the basic stuff to GET to the "fun parts" and then see if she can take it from there?

Any advice, anyone?

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sitting on the couch watching "Jodhha Akbar." Again. OK, it plays merry cob with actual history, but it's a good movie and Hrithik Roshan is always worth watching.

Really, my one regret about leaving the SCA is not getting the chance to do the Mughal/Rajput reign. That would have been fun. Of course, it also would have been Pearls before Vikings, if you will. About 5 other people would have enjoyed it, in sum total, I suspect.

What I don't regret is the idiocy.

I think I mentioned a time or so that the Hubs was planning on trying to start a Fighter's Collegium, centrally located, with a guest speaker each session and a training curriculum. Basically a HEMA dojo. It got dismissed out of hand by most of the fighters in the region and with two major (not mutually-exclusive) responses:

A. Rolled eyes/disinterest in anything that resembles historical fighting. If it didn't involve teaching them how to win Crown, they weren't at all interested.

B. Utter disdain for anything being promoted by a "nobody." I mean (and this is a quote) "You're not even a squire!" O.o

Screw the lot of you.

And - newsflash: SCA fighting has no basis in history to speak of. The wrap shot is just completely ludicrous and can only exist in a system in which your opponent is prohibited from presenting you with an arm bar and dislocating your shoulder. Ditto the rest of it. Stop pretending otherwise. It's no more historically accurate than Olympic fencing.

I have now gotten THAT off my chest, and I'm heading for bed.

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I don't "do" Danish. But these journals (which are all available as .pdf's) look to have some extremely interesting scholarly work. Check out issue 7, for starters.

Have fun, y'all.

http://www.dragt.dk/dragtjournalen/

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I should be putting together a post for my baking blog. I'm too tired to be polite tonight, so I shan't.

Y'all generally love me, even when I'm being obnoxious.

So let's revisit the "sewist" nonsense. I think it's a symptom of something larger. There is a movement afoot amongst the hipster set to learn to sew, knit, bake, can, etc. Which is commendable. And then crow about their accomplishments as if they were the equivalent to determining the structure of DNA prior to Watson and Crick - which is not. There are even adult merit badges to be earned. O.o

OK, I get that a lot of Generation Y (And a lot of my own generation as well) did not get taught some of these basic skills by their mothers (largely). Heck, I live with a Gentleman Ranker. Replacing a toilet was a major accomplishment for him. But he didn't require major ego-stroking for having managed it.

Then there is the fact that they want to be patted on the head for barely learning a skill. If they learn to sew, the might learn to sew and apron. And it's "Whoo hoo! I can sew!" Errr? Yeah, now go try the Vogue pattern, sweetie pie. You can bake, can you? Punkin, muffins are not the end all and be all of baking. Go try some pate a choux and then we'll talk. And I'm not even being all that over-the-top on that. You can knit a scarf? Good for you. Now go knit some socks.

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a good thing for people to learn how to NOT have to buy everything. To know where food really comes from. To be able to make things for yourself. Both because you DO feel a sense of accomplishment and because it's valuable in itself. We could stand to readopt the spirit of the 30's - Make do and Mend.

But the over-aggrandizing is starting to give me a headache.

I'd suggest that we throw out "No child left behind" - cause that's not really helping anyone - and reinstitute a home ec program. For everybody. Mandatory. It can cover the basics of cooking, nutrition, meal planning, smart shopping, and include such basic maintenance as changing furnace filters, light plumbing, dry wall patching, painting the RIGHT way, etc. Enough sewing to be able to hem something, sew on a button, or at least apply the chevron patches to your own uniform, should it come to that. Minimal carpentry skills, essential gardening concepts, and storage of staples (says she who just had to throw out some oatmeal because it got those *@#$*^% moths in it. And I know I should keep it in the freezer) Possibly some elective modules that would cover things like knitting, basic animal husbandry, etc.

Make them basic skills again. Which isn't to say that it's wrong to show off your latest dress or batch of cupcakes on your blog. But do keep it in perspective, eh?

/soapbox

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Please point folks you might know who'd know about this at the post, if you'd be so kind. :-)

There is a White treadle machine available locally for $50. The machine is in working order, though the cabinet is in rough shape and missing a couple of drawers.

My main issue is that (and I haven't heard back from the seller yet) it looks like it's probably a vibrating shuttle model.

So, what's my best option?

1. Walk away. It's too expensive in any respect, given the poor condition of the cabinet.

2. Only worth it if it has ALL the feet, manual, shuttle, and multiple bobbins

3. Go for it as long as it has a shuttle and at least one bobbin

4. Grab it. Finding the missing bits won't be all THAT difficult and it's a steal of a deal - even if it needs to go in a new cabinet later.

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Would anyone like to proffer advice for sourcing/purchasing/restoring to useful function a treadle sewing machine?

Best brands for a USABLE machine that's still pretty to look at?

What to watch out for?

What elements to inspect specifically?

Best places to source them?

How/where to find parts?

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Something that has just recently started to annoy me but has apparently been a bugaboo in the blogosphere for a while is the use of the word "sewist."

To me, it's smacks of a PC need to glorify one's ability to sew. Now, in my world, this is such a commonplace skill that it doesn't bear the need to have a silver-plated pin applied to it. And this terms smacks of a pompous need for recognition - more of the celebration of the everyday that annoys me. Like a 5th grade graduation or a "participation certificate."

I don't really get whats wrong with Seamstress, Tailor, Sempster, or even Sewer - it's usually clear from the context that we do not mean the Cloaca Maxima. (And if you don't get that reference, you're insufficiently well-read to be allowed to make up new words).

The connotation, in my world, is that a "sewist" is a johnny-come-lately who has just figured out how to hem a dishtowel. One to whom making a child's dress out of a pillowcase is both a revelation and an activity requiring step-by-step instructions.

Possibly I put "sewist" and "defeatist" in the same category. "Don't be defeatist, dear. It's terribly Middle Class."

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Further explorations of the mental variety...

1. I've been delving into the world of Vintage Cocktails. Enough so that on my next trip to Chicago, I'll try to snag both some Creme de Violette and Creme Yvette. The development of the cocktail and its transmutation from "trashy" to the Very Most intrigues me. Especially cocktails made as they were intended to be made... sans blender. Which leads me into:

2. Collecting some vintage barware. And trying to determine (between Wonder Husband's preferences and my own) what sorts we'd need.

3. Contemplating an evening at a local themed bar. And what we might wear. Husband and I are currently wrangling over whether to do teens, 1930's, or WWII era. So I'm poking at that. Granted, I am at the moment (like everyone else) a little taken with the costuming from Downton Abbey. I'll try to control myself.

4. Just now, dragging out the sewing machine (or, more to the point, getting anywhere near it) is a major PITA. So my sewing has been curtailed. Though now that Spring is coming, I'm more likely to clean out the sewing nook so I can get in it again. However, I still like hand projects I can sit and diddle with. Also on my list is possibly acquiring a treadle sewing machine.

5. Because, once you've started looking at fashions from the 1830's through the teens (if you're me) you then swerve into the whole British Colonial Era. I'd like to do a dress with beetle carapaces in the embroidery. And maybe learn Hindi. :-)

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Or two. Or three. Whatever. Keep in mind here that I don't like to "make" stuff for the sake of making stuff. Make 80,000 of something to sell on Etsy? Eeek!! Not!!

So, I fully intend to stick with the baking/nascent cookbook thing. It has some potential to provide both stimulation AND income. Though I need to schedule another trip to MSU to get more base recipes.

And I'm going to take Liesl to her Irish Dance practices. Provided the new teacher doesn't flake on me, which is a possibility. In fact, I'm going to try top make a little "book" and maybe also a video for her explaining that practice is how she gets to do those crazy dance moves and get those hard shoes that I think she wants.

Let's add something. Or more than something. A couple somethings? Remember that I need something that I'm not already proficient at. And where there is some measure of "success" or other feed for the need to achieve.

1. Design some fabrics and submit to Spoonflower. I'd like to do a retro-look floral and ticking stripe voile for sheers for my front room. Maybe I can make a little to offset my own cost, eh? I might even think about learning enough graphic design and dink around with it enough to design a fabric line to shop around to some of the quilting fabric companies.

2. Aprons. I love aprons. I don't have a good reason. I should pick up the new issue of Aprononolgy. I could put together a submission for Apronology. Make a bunch of aprons out of vintage textiles, new stuff, whatever.

3. Letterboxing. This is something I could take the girls along on. Though they might be totally uninterested. Letterboxes are things you find based on directions provided by the "hider". You then stamp your logbook with the one in the box and it's logbook with YOUR stamp. I'd need to carve a stamp. And go find boxes. So that's probably a weekend-y activity.

4. Wordpress themes. I need a new one for MY blog. I could probably get to the point reasonably quickly where I could design a few more and offer them up for sale. Maybe also some vintage style party printables?

5. Back to the garden. Get some fruit trees and bushes and whatnot and get the yard in order. This one will have to wait to spring. And will be dependent on budget. But it's something I'd like to get around to eventually.

6. Paperdolls. Paperdolls are fun. I've found some cute ones that I had as a girl online. But it might be fun to do some with historical costumes, eh? Someone also suggested doll dolls. I've investigated that from time to time. But it's an expensive hobby, and I'm not sure it speaks to me. Because I'd probably either want to do Waldorf-style sewn dolls for my girls, or make my own porcelain dolls. And I'm not sure I have the sculpting techniques.

7. New embroidery. Stumpwork? Goldwork? Tambor work? I'm not one for just embroidering for embroiery's sake. It needs a purpose. Household linens, clothing, something. Or I could design some line-drawing type embroidery patterns. (i.e. redwork, but maybe in colors).

8. Dancewear. Liesl would probably like to have an Irish Dance dress to play/practice in. But I do have to say that I loathe working with poly fabrics - which is what most ID dresses are typically made of. I also like the idea of making tutus, ballet costumes, etc. But I have no idea what I'd DO with them. There is a website for a couple of ladies who sell patterns (and even do seminars) for each. I can't really afford the seminars, but maybe a pattern or book.

Anybody have thoughts? Other suggestions?

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I'm coming to the conclusions that most of my dissatisfactions come from two things:

1. I have a stricter moral code than average. And this annoying habit of insisting that other people live up to it, too. Nor do I buy into situations where someone vies for a position of leadership and then refuses to try to lead because "it's too hard." Sorry, no. You wanted the big chair. You get to do something with it. Or I reserve the right to consider you a useless git.

2. I am a Scanner in a world designed for Deep Divers.

http://www.think-differently.org/2007/06/are-you-scanner-or-deep-diver/

For me, it goes way beyond multiple interests. I can certainly function in an environment where I need to focus. But even when I was in Vet School - I couldn't stand to devote all my time to school-related things. While my classmates were signing up for Foal Team and Colic Team and volunteering in the clinics - I had a NEED to be outside that little world and doing something else for at least part of the time.

I find an interest, pursue it to proficiency, and then move on. Knit or sew the same pattern more than once? Arrrggghhhhh!!!! Where is the challenge in that? But I need to be pursuing something, always. Or I get bored, the hamster gets on the wheel and my brain just runs in circles.

I'm not sure that it's true that I'm unhappy professionally. It's that I'm like Dad watching TV. He doesn't want to see what's on. He wants to see what ELSE is on. Unfortunately, channel-flipping isn't a great career move.

Possibly, if I'm to be honest with myself, this is also part of why I was so in favor of creating a Principality. I enjoyed the process of researching the history of the region, the creation of Principalities in general, the local politics, etc. And would have been much more engaged in the SCA in general with something new to "make."

I can't wrap my head around the people who contentedly plod day after day, year after year, through the same events and activities. I don't understand why people want every event to be like every other event (and clearly they do - clever event names implying some sort of underlying theme notwithstanding). I reject the insistence that change is both impossible and undesirable. And I really reject the frozen-corpse UAW culture of the Middle Kingdom. Which is really too bad, because the SCA held a wide enough range of things for Scanner Brain to be busy for many years to come.

So, possibly, what I need is a couple of things:

1. A new social circle. Y'all are great, but mostly too far away. And the local SCA people.... yeah. No. Ditto for the Autism Moms.

2. A way to keep my little Scanner Brain occupied. What I possibly need is a list of things to pursue, in sequence or simultaneously. Fabric design, wordpress theme building, gluten-free baking, etc.

3. Other scanners to connect with. This is a toughie. A lot of people think they're true scanners and really aren't. Short attention span or ADD =/= Scanner. I can think of two other true Scanners - Dad, and [Bad username: alysten.livejournal.com].

Thoughts, advice, or suggestions?

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