Sunday, March 19, 2023

Needle, Thread, Tabi, Tea

Last Friday evening I mended my tabi.

Tabi, as you may recall, are the traditional Japanese "sock" that consist of a large toe and a second pocket for all the rest of the toes.  They are a standard for the martial arts, of which Iaijustu is one.  They are something that one regularly goes through - but just like as with my socks, they all tend to wear in the same place (in this case, on and around the large toe and along the outer side) and it just makes more sense to mend them up as I go for regular practice and keep some pairs for special occasions like demonstrations (embu) or when we are training with the head of our order.

I was alone this particular evening:  The Ravishing Mrs. TB and Nighean Dhonn were off on a college visit and Nighean Bhan was out with friends leaving me alone with the animals.  It was also an "off" evening in that I had neither Iaijustu class nor weight training; other than my typical practice, it was otherwise free for tasks that needed doing.

And so, I sewed.


I had the my computer open and the option to watch or listen to something as I worked - but I did not.  With few exceptions, I find watching YouTube videos or even listening to podcasts a distracting and almost unpleasant thing:  they are either consumed in very small dose (20 minutes seems to be the outer limit) or go on in the background as true "white noise" that I have no intention of learning anything from. Streaming services can be similar - fortunately for my time management, the main service that I use pretty regularly fails to post anything on there that is worth watching.

A the Cat came and joined me at some point on the chair.  I had scooted to the side to sew; he helpfully moved into the back of the seat (after pushing my thread off the table with that nonchalant expression cats always seem to have) and settled in for the evening.  It is always nice to have a presence to sew with.


The dishwasher was a low thrum of washing from the kitchen as I worked.  Oddly enough I enjoy the sound of a dishwasher running:  there is a sort of regularity and pulsing to it that makes for a pleasing background sound, even working in silence.  That silence was enhanced by Poppy The Brave in the chair across from mine, sleeping away, and the sound of the rabbits and guinea pigs as they had their evening meal (the word for the morning and evening feeding in Watership Down is "silflay"; although a completely made up word, it conveys the sense of the activity much better than the phrase "crepuscular feeding").

And so, in the silence of snoring and purring and munching and pulsing water, I sewed.


I am sure that for many, this would seem the perfect waste of a Friday evening for any number of reasons:  re-mending a replaceable item, in silence, without distractions, without people, the room filled with the sounds of animals getting along with their lives and nothing else.  And yet at the end of my time there - when the tabi were sewn and put to the side and A the Cat curled into a slightly tighter ball - I lingered a little longer, finishing my tea and just sitting.

Sometimes it is just good to take peace where you find it.

14 comments:

  1. The mission of the moment is to detoxify myself from YouTube, and re-train myself to working in the silence, so I can hear my inner voice without it being blocked by stuff coming in through my headphones and distracting me.
    I enjoyed sharing your 'silence'. You painted a very poetic picture. .

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    1. Vera - This is really a practice I continue to work on as well - I used to be much better with silence, but have allowed myself to be a bit sloppy lately.

      I am glad you enjoyed it. I need to remind myself of times like this when I am debating whether to listen to something or not.

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  2. Poppy the brave is adorable.

    Darning socks is something I learned from working with my British sister unit back in the 70"s. It was part of what was called Domestic Duties time. A weekly event in British units at that era.

    I seldom enjoy YouTube and podcasts as they tend to be Me, Me, Me shows rather than instructional in nature.

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    1. Poppy is quite a character Michael. We are glad she is with us.

      Darning socks is something that I actually only started doing some years ago, really at Leigh's description of it. It has certainly extended the life of my footwear. Tabi I did a bit earlier simply out of need due to the cost of them - it just made more sense.

      While not a huge YouTube fan in general, I highly recommend Kev Alviti's An English Homestead. Also, oddly enough, the miniature game Warhammer 40K Lore by Luetin09 - one of the best things on YouTube. I know nothing of Warhammer 40K, but he makes it very engaging.

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  3. Nylon126:06 AM

    Peace and Quiet come easier when the other Two-Leggeds in the household are gone and the Four-Leggeds are snoozing. Not interacting with any electronic device makes for Quiet time.

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    1. Nylon12, one of the nice things about being moved out of the Office is I have this sort of silence a lot more.

      The electronic device is something I have to continue to work on. I am still too easily lead astray by them.

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  4. I reckon the concept of wasting a Friday evening is highly subjective. I much prefer productive activities to entertainment, so you describe an extremely pleasant evening to my way of thinking.

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    1. It is, Leigh. That said, explaining this to a lot of people gets a lot of odd expressions.

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  5. I once drywalled a section of my basement for a month of evenings. It was 4' by 8'. The Mrs. was uncomfortably preggers, and grumpy.

    Just me, drywall, and beer. Finally got that taping done perfectly.

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    1. John, there is something about completely an activity on one's own that makes it the perfect mix of activity and thinking.

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  6. I subscribe to a number of YouTube channels. Many I listen to as I do other things like work the daily crossword and sudoku, and others I need to watch as I can learn something from them. Unfortunately, YouTube has seemed to move onto "shorts" which do absolutely nothing for either of my uses. Quickly is coming the day when YouTube will go the way of 8-track tapes in my life.

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    1. I certainly have become more selective about what I watch. It either has to be something I really enjoy or something I derive useful information from.

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  7. Passing Peanut9:12 PM

    This elicited the mental image of an odd, rambling "joke" in my head.

    Picture, if you would, a man who has, against all odds, made tabi while on a deserted island. Lacking proper textiles, they are made from grasses and tree fronds, carefully shaped and treated before being used as crude fibers. They suffice; drying them after the sea or rainwater soaks them through is unpleasant, but less time-consuming than mending or making anew, and as such they begin to soak in the sweat and other odors that he would rather not have on his feet directly.
    Little does he know that he has created the first, and thankfully the only, known instance of Reeky Tiki Tabi.

    No, please, stay seated. The door's over here, I can see myself out.

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    1. Excellent! This is just the sort of novel thinking that will revolutionize the world! Thanks for stopping by!

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