True, I Haven't Been Posting Much

Have you noticed that I haven't posted much? It's ironic that until a couple of years ago I posted daily on both my blogs. Now I can skip a week or two and not even realize it.

What have I been doing?

I've been crocheting as much as I can. I've discovered something fantastic. People will buy my crocheted hats when I offer to donate the money to a charity, tzedakah. I'm going to try that with some of the bags I've crocheted.

I've also crocheted a few "bowls" to use for mishloach manot for Purim. On the Purim holiday we give food gifts, so my bags and bowls are very useful. I've been packing them in my crafts for the past few years.

A friend had suggested hats for tzedakah, and that's another reason I crochet a lot. I've bought some yarn for winter hats on sale recently. You can see me in the picture below wearing one of the hats. I bought more of the same yarn, because a friend wants one just like it.

To be honest I've found it easier to find topics for Shiloh Musings. That's because the politics here is so upsetting, I've had to write about it. Not that post all that frequently there either.

Don't get me wrong. I do stay busy besides crocheting and Facebook etc. I study Tanach/Bible and do mosaics once a week in the program here for senior citizens. 

My Tanach/Bible studies are online, Google Meet and also in Jerusalem. I've been in a study group for about ten years. We used to meet once a week, and now, ever since the COVID lockdown we've been meeting almost every day, though not in person. We used to use Zoom, but now it's Google Meet. I'm also in a monthly Book Club. And I take a short walk at least once a day.

What keeps you busy? Have you missed my blog posts?

Life in the "Senior Lane"

Today at my mosaics class I was having a lot of trouble visually focussing on the work I'm doing. I felt awkward and couldn't see it the way I needed, considering that I have to fit small pieces of glass in all sorts of spots. This wasn't the first time, but it was the worst. My glasses were fine for everything else.

I began trying to raise the wooden tissue box, which I'm decorating. Working on it became easier, and suddenly I realized why.

MULTIFOCALS

Yes, I wear multifocal eyeglasses, and each "level" of the lenses is calibrated for different distances.

In order to work well with the sides of the tissue box, I needed to raise it. Once I found a solution, everything became easier. It was also better for my neck to have the project raised. I could sit straight and be more relaxed. I felt stress free. Next time I do a project like that, I'll have to bring something, so working on it will be more comfortable.

Mosaic Havdalah Plate in Use

Since I have a pile of abstract mosaics waiting to be given as gifts or whatever, I began making purposeful mosaics in the senior citizen craft class I go to. The last one I completed before the Passover break is a שבוע טוב Shavua Tov, Good Week for my son-in-law, to be used for the post-Shabbat Havdala ceremony.

I was so happy when they sent a photo of it in use!

Mosaic Havdala Tray

After making too many useless abstract " It's all in the journey" mosaics, it finally hit me that mosaics is a great craft medium for Judaica.

What do you think of our new Havdala Tray?

New Mosaic Series

This still needs the filler, but here you can see my first of this new series.

SHAVUA TOV

שבוע טוב

It is for the Havdala ceremony after Shabbat.

Mosaics Rough Edges

My latest mosaics projects are still in need of finishing. Polishing and ridding rough edges are harder than any other stage for me.

I am happy to have discovered Judaica for my mosaics theme.

Back to Mosaics

Last week our "senior citizens" crafts activities resumed after a short summer break. We are still doing more mosaics than anything else. I'd love to find someone to help us with beading. I don't know enough about the finishing and the clasps etc. I guess I'll just have to bead at home and hope that I finish my work better. Also, I'm not crazy about the beads I've found so far. I need better sources. 

I now have two more mosaic "hot plates" to give as gifts.

There are also tissue boxes, picture frames and jewelry/"treasure" boxes which can be covered with mosaics. But somehow I just keep on taking the boards. The boxes also need to be painted in order to be really finished nicely.

My mosaics are very different from everyone else's projects. I only do abstracts. I let the colors speak to me and control me. Yes, I admit it sounds very flaky, but that's what I enjoy.

Last Mosaics for a Month

Retirees don't get "vacations," but our "activities" do. So, very sadly, the next few Sundays I won't be enjoying my "arts & crafts" with the other "senior citizens." Yesterday I finished off one mosaics project and started another one.

Besides using two shades of green, this one has a lot of strong solid colors and is very different from my others. 

I really like the oval shaped wooden boards the best, but we've been all out for quite awhile. That's why I had been doing round ones. But then yesterday, I couldn't even find a round board, so I started a square. That's a very different challenge.

The colors and the shape of the board give me inspiration, and I found the square very disorienting. Because I'm not used to dealing with all these straight lines, I decided to frame the outside edges first. When working on a round or oval board, I frequently start from the middle, then frame it and finally fill it in. This time I really felt that I was starting from scratch, like when I did my first couple of mosaics.

I'm not very happy with this one. It's missing something, and I hope that when we resume sessions, in about a month I'll solve the problem. What do you think?

More Mosaics

It never occurred to me that I'd have so much fun doing mosaics. I'm so glad that it is the main craft we do in our little "senior citizens workshop" once a week. There are a couple of reasons for this. We have a couple neighbors who can lead it, and one of them is a retired teacher, so she's good at explaining what to do. she's available most weeks.

And of course, we love doing mosaics. I'm having an absolute blast. It's definitely a new favorite art/crafts medium. All of our work is a bit different. There's no "right" and "wrong." And I don't have to make my "projects" look like anything in particular. I let the colors guide me.

After next Sunday, we're on "summer break." I'll miss the fun creating something. I do still have a small weaving project to complete. It's home, so if I feel the need to do something artsy, I won't have to go crazy, like "withdrawal."

Here are my two newest projects, that already have the filler, and they're home.

And here's the one that isn't finished yet. I have to paste more colored pieces and then when it's fully dry, after the summer break, add the filler/sealer.

As you can see, I vary my work, depending on my mood and how the colors "want" to be. There's a certain dynamic in it that I have no control over...

and Another Mosaic Begun

Yesterday was another chance for me to do mosaics with the "senior citizens." OK, I'm a senior citizen, golden-ager, alte kocke or whatever term you prefer. I started a new project. Here it is:

PS Please don't ask me what it is. OK?

Presenting The Latest...

...works of art, my mosaics.

The upper one finally got the background filled with white. I had really wanted cream, but there wasn't any of the color I had envisioned. So, I settled on the white. Gd willing next session, I'll finish it with the "filler."

And the one with the light green background has itis filler now drying. It'll soon be read to be given away. Yes, I haven't kept my projects. I just love making them. I don't need more things.

I can't wait to start a new one. I do have ideas, but they aren't going to be for me. We don't need anything new.

An Advantage of Being Old

Here in Shiloh we have some great "senior citizen" activities that I've never really managed to take advantage of when I was working at Yafiz. Occasionally I'd get to one of the lectures to translate, but I had never gotten to the various crafts workshops which really appeal to me. That is until today.

On Sunday morning there are three different activities, ulpan, exercise and crafts. Thank Gd I don't need the ulpan, but I certainly can use the exercise which is led by an amazing professional who had been a fitness trainer to the stars in her former life. Of course the class is geared to those even less fit than yours truly, but it's an hour long and has great value.

I had really been looking forward to the crafts, which were mosaics yesterday. I had done one a few years ago and found it great fun. I doubt that you'd be surprised to hear that my "work of art" ended up very different from all the others. That large blue piece was my inspiration, and the rest of the picture just somehow followed.

Everyone else did realist types of pictures or very repetitive, symmetric patterns. All the other works of art look pretty, but they are just not me.

As a kid I was never considered "good at art," because I couldn't draw realistically. That's one of the reasons that photography is a great medium for me.

Nu, so what do you think of my mosaic?