paisleypiper's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- grinders and binders Another weekend full of binders. Following a week of evenings full of binders. What I am learning is how lucky I am to have friends so willing to help me in the face of this project. We have sat around the dining room table putting endless sheets into sheet protectors. Collating stacks of papers. Assembling binders. It reminds me of how my mother used to bring her sewing machine over to my best friend�s house when I was a child and sew costumes for dance recitals. Even though I was not a dancer. Or how my great grandmother would work on quilts with a group of women. Only with this, there is no art. There are no images of warmth or cute young girls twirling about. The one thing that has been confirmed is the power of conversation and communication to touch our lives. Telling stories and laughing, making jokes, and learning more about how other people look at the world. And the world gets warmer and friendlier. Quinn and Quinn and I feel less distressed over the cottage industry that has invaded our lives. We have completed seven volumes of the huge binders and are about half-way through the eighth. We will push through with one more yucky week. I dare not envision the end in sight. At this point it is still incomprehensible because it takes about 30 hours to complete a volume. I can imagine the activity that could fill thirty hours and it is big. All the while I know all of the things that have gone neglected for this project. And I mourn the absence of a big community play, a large-scale protest, several chapters in a novel, another class, removing the wall between the mudporch and the pass pantry, the space to relax and breathe�. There will be time again for more satisfying projects. But at least I can say at least, in thanks to all of the people who have helped us. Yay L., Jena, and the wonderful mother of Quinn! 11:14 p.m. - 2002-11-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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