I’m writing this long overdue update at a time that is both the busiest in the year (just a little over a week until Passover) and fraught with uncertainty as we expect an attack from Iran any moment.
We’ve been doing our best to prepare for a SHTF scenario: stocking on drinking water, canned foods, hygienic products, candles, medicines, and other supplies.
I’ve been cleaning the house with all I have to make sure I complete as much as possible as early as possible, in case we spend most of next week at the bombshelter.
I’m (mostly) caught up on laundry, I have cash on hand, money in the bank, and the bills paid. We also have plenty of non-digital entertainment (books, board games, craft supplies) to relieve stress if the internet connection goes down.
We aren’t panicking, but things aren’t looking too promising right now. If you’re in Israel and reading this, stay safe and on high alert. Have your self defense weapons ready if you have them.
If I can, I’ll keep preparing for the holiday in the next few days. There’s still quite a bit of cleaning to do, switching to the Pesach dishes, bedding to change, and other odds and ends.
I’ll try to update when I can. Please keep Israel in your thoughts and prayers. 🙏🏾
Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com
When I got married, I was under the illusion that I’d have very little to do with money from then on. I’d just cheer on the sidelines and be frugal, and everything would work out fine… right?
Several unemployment periods, a bunch of financial crises, and one massive fraud (on the victim end, of course) later, I realized that sometimes, things don’t work as you mean them to.
I think my top financial tip for anyone planning to get married would be: Don’t pool everything together. Yes, we always think in terms of joint accounts and finances, but if your spouse owes money or makes a big financial mistake, it can wipe everything out clean. Having my own account has become a source of such major comfort and security I would never give it up today.
If you already have a joint account, I’d set up a separate one, or, ideally, three accounts: one belonging to each spouse and a third for joint expenses. As long as there’s good communication and no childlike offenses (“don’t you trust me?!”) it can work great.
Second, keep stashing something away. Even if it’s very, very little. Just keep adding a tiny bit to that savings pile, and you’ll have yourself a nice little emergency fund for SHTF times.
Third, know the difference between a situation in which you just need to tighten your belt a bit, and a massive wake-up call. I had wrote once about how I found myself scrounging the freezer for a couple last cups of flour. It was an awful feeling. If you’re in a situation when you have no food security, reach out for help.
And one last tip: Never work for free. Your time is precious; yes, unpaid internships are a thing in many industries, but if someone is clearly profiting off your time and not paying you anything, don’t fall for that.
Every winter, I think that maybe it’s time to finally splurge on a dryer. And every year, by the time I’ve almost decided to take the plunge, the rainy season is over and I can happily go back to this:
I’m lucky enough to live in a dry climate with plenty of sun and whole seasons without rain. But when it rains, I have to resort to indoor drying racks, which can be extremely annoying. Washing bedlinens usually waits for good weather days.
Here are a few tips to make indoor air drying more effective:
One, place the clothes with as much space between them as possible to help air circulation. I often use two racks when I could fit everything onto one, because clothes dry faster that way.
Two, go back after a few hours to a day and flip the clothes over to the other side on the rack. Yes, it’s a bit of extra hassle, but it speeds up drying.
Three, if space allows, place the drying rack in a room that you’re heating anyway. It will add moisture to the air, and your items will dry more quickly.
Finally, a bit of foresight: I love natural fabrics, but during stretches of rainy weather, we often wear synthetics. Synthetic materials dry in a flash, while my favorite cotton long-sleeved shirts can take almost a week to dry indoors completely.
And, of course, make sure you have enough changes of socks, pants, and other items, especially for kids. Young kids aren’t terribly careful with keeping clothes out of mud and puddles.
What can be better, once I’m on a crochet roll, than breaking into my stash and pulling out another gorgeous yarn by Malabrigo? Silky Merino, a 50-50 merino and silk blend, will delight every yarn enthusiast. I chose the stunning colorway Mares, which I think goes great with the simple and timeless shell stitch I picked for this quick project.
I used two 50-gr hanks with a little left over (about 75gr total) and a 3mm hook to make a pair of fingerless mitts/handwarmers. I wanted a pair that would leave the fingers free for typing on chilly mornings when my hands crave a little extra warmth.
As usual, I didn’t work off a pattern, but you can easily make these mitts if you know how to make stretchy ribbing and shell stitch. Start with the ribbing, working a rectangle in single crochet in the back loop only. Close the edges when the piece wraps comfortably around your wrist. Crochet shells into the top; I made 7, but you can fit in more or fewer according to the size of your hand. Work your way up. Make a thumb hole by working a chain instead of a shell in one row. Keep working up until you reach the desired length.
I LOVED working with Silky Merino. It’s the perfect answer to “Why would people still choose single-ply yarns when plied ones are so much more durable and less prone to pilling?” Well, this one is simple: because it’s irresistibly gorgeous.
Even when my head knows that a 3-ply or 4-ply yarn is the more practical choice, my heart still tugs in the direction of lofty, fluffy, squishy single-plies. However, Silky Merino is, in my opinion, sturdier than the average single-ply yarn thanks to its high silk content. Silk is an amazing fiber, both strong and soft – and, of course, it adds a superb luster.
The result is a stunning yarn: buttery soft, both in the hank and when it works up, warm, with a luscious shine that compliments its vivid colors beautifully. It’s a rather light DK, with 150 yards/137m per a 50-gr hank, or 300 yards per 100 grams.
As you’d expect from premium yarn with 50% silk, Silky Merino is pricey. A sweater made with this yarn, while dreamy to the touch, would be outrageously expensive. But if you’re on a budget, two hanks should be plenty for a hat, a cowl, a pair of mitts or gloves, or a scarf. Garments worked with Silky Merino feel absolutely delightful against the skin and are 100% non-irritating. Of course, care would involve hand-wash only.
A word of caution: before you start working with this yarn, make sure you’ve made up your mind about the stitch and pattern. I wasn’t sure what stitch I wanted to use, so I had to rip a few rows out, and it was an absolute pain. Since it’s a single-ply, the micro-fibers of its fine halo stick against each when you’re frogging, and the strand can break, which is a pity when you’re working with such expensive yarn.
Final verdict: This might be my favorite yarn by Malabrigo so far! Dreamy softness, luster, texture, and stitch definition.
I’ve worked on this open vest for a long time; months, in fact. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I got a lovely versatile item for layering and got to crochet with Sock, another delightful offering by Malabrigo.
First, the technical side: I used almost 200 grams (two hanks) of MalabrigoSock in the colorway Arco Iris, and a 2.5mm hook. I’m terrible at following or explaining patterns, but I drew from this bolero diagram, omitting the sleeves and making it longer.
Now, about this joy of a yarn. Malabrigo Sock is a lovely, sturdy, plied fingering weight, 100% merino yarn. It doesn’t offer the cloudy softness of single-ply yarns by Malabrigo, but it’s a lot more resistant to felting thanks to its plied structure.
Don’t get me wrong, though – it’s still a very soft yarn, both in the hank and when it works up. And it has a fantastic drape. Like all Malabrigo yarns, it comes in a stunning color palette. It’s smooth and frogs easily if you need to correct a mistake. It’s very even (none of the thick and thin patches you’ll sometimes encounter in single-plies).
It’s superwash, so any items made with it would be machine washable. There are mixed opinions about superwash yarns in general, because of environmental issues and the way it alters yarn structure, but I personally loved working with it and look forward to wearing my vest.
Finally, this is a great example of why I love lace and fingering weight yarns so much: you get great value for your money. Each hank of Malabrigo Sock has 440 yards (just over 400 meters) of yarn. Two hanks, and you have a vest or a nice shawl. 3-4 hanks could probably make a sweater if you don’t need an extra large size. And your item won’t come out super bulky.
I have more Malabrigo yarns in my stash, and can’t wait to try them all. Stay tuned and check out my other Malabrigo yarn reviews: Silkpaca, Worsted, Rios, Mora.
Hanukkah had already passed without me popping in to say hi (even though I meant to, I promise), but this is still a good time to wish everyone a happy holiday season. May our light shine brightly and chase darkness away.
Right before and during Hanukkah it became clearer than ever to me that we’re dealing with an unprecedented wave of antisemitism. An online author event I was going to participate in was canceled because the organizers were afraid to expose participants to social media trolls. When I started contacting people in the hopes of organizing an alternative event, I discovered some are legitimately afraid to “out” as Jews. There have been other outrageous happenings, like the Zenner club in Berlin refusing to host a Purim party.
It’s like a very thin, flimsy cover of civilization and tolerance has been yanked off, and Jew-haters are running in a pack again, this time dressing their antisemitism as “anti-Zionism.”
These hateful individuals are forgetting the sad failure of Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, the Inquisition, Nazi Germany, and other nations or movements that tried to erase the Jewish existence or the Jewish spirit. They won’t succeed… but it’s almost certain they will keep trying.
It also seems that the West is on the brink of much more serious chaos than a few anti-Semitic marches. I won’t be surprised if an epic storm of you-kn0w-what might hit the fan in the upcoming years, and we’d all better be prepared. Today, I’m convinced that the survivor won’t be the lonely guy with a bunker full of supplies for the next 100 years, but the resilient community of people who help each other out.
Stay safe, my friends. Wishing you all a very happy and successful 2024.
Domestic Felicity 