mary e. robbins :: moth written

a cousin's strength.

this morning my cousin nalini and aunt niru came for tea and a modeling session to help with my continued shop rehaul.  nalini is a junior in high school and just finishing up hockey season--that's ice hockey, as in, the sport on skates known for fighting and broken teeth.  this is a beauty with brains, heart and brawn.  and all of her teeth. 
as we enjoyed the morning sun streaming through the kitchen windows and nalini obligingly modeled shirt after shirt, we three chatted on about school, sports, travel, india, obama, summer jobs, college, friends, family, history and the future.  this cousin of mine is in the midst of her busiest year of school thus far, quickly becoming a woman before our very eyes.  oh how light my heart felt when she wondered why her mother was returning a keyboard because of an inoperative zero key --'why do you need the zero key?' -- spoken by a person who has yet to face the joys of doing taxes and other such undesirable activities.  nalini, stay right where you are, okay?  there's no need for the zero key yet, you're right.  i have complete faith in your big open heart and thoughtful, world-aware mind, you'll make it.  and never forget should you ever need a little extra support to fall back on, you have two folks right here at grammie's house to welcome you, any time. 

so yes, there are now more new photos in the shop, thanks to a morning of mid winter light and family.

and can i just say?  this photo is totally badass.  we love you nalini.

mint condition muscles.

the headline on this morning's edition of the portland press herald reads 'winter's grip feels like a chokehold.'  i just had to chuckle. every year in maine, we must find new words and ways to describe the very same onslaught of soul-crushing cold and mounds of variably soft fluffy/wet heavy/brown crusty/sleety rainy snow that parks itself around us for nearly seven months.  we face it with tempered malice each year...it is the easiest target for all of the remaining year's frustration upon which we are entitled to lay blame for all our fatigue, weight gain, and general malaise.  it is our guiding darkness--the constant.  we can always count on it to be there whenever a rant or a chocolate binge is imminent. 

the photo accompanying this morning's headline shows a woman chipping ice off her front steps with a garden edger, because that's what we really buy those things for here in maine, and who needs to keep the paint on the steps anyway? 

shoveling snow is good for me, because it represents the only regular exercise i get.  i have no excuse, because 'i don't feel like shoveling, i think i'll just stay in for the rest of the winter' is not as plausible as i would like it to be.  other than shoveling, walking gus to the end of the road and back for his duties is the only movement these muscles make during the months of white. 

nabil and i made plans to start swimming together in 2009 at the pool, and i even bought him some goggles as one of his christmas gifts to reinforce this goal.  meh.  so far it's not happening.  oh well.

these muscles, therefore, are in mint condition.  restored to their original, unfettered, infantile state from months of misuse.  we're nearly to february!

one can for life.

being a short haired gal, i have gone through many hair-dressing products on the road to my perfect solution.  the first time i shaved my head i was 13 years old.  my mother kept telling people that i had shaved it off to get rid of the dyed part so that it would grow back in.  um, i kept shaving it.  and she kept saying that.  oh mom.  (heart heart). 

throughout my highschool years i had several variations on the short-haired look...varying from a classic skin betty chelsea to a shortish pixie to an elmer's glue allover spike to (gasp) a near chin length bob and back to the crew cut once again.  the constant was always that no matter how much i convinced myself during those unfitting periods of longer-than-an-inch hair that 'long was the way to go', as soon as the clippers hit my head once again i felt instantly restored and returned to my most natural state.  in college i stuck to various shades of blonde in short chopped glory, and during my senior year i shaved it to its shortest ever--graduating on a warm may morning with just over a millimeter of hair. 

glue was good for spikes but it hurts to sleep on and is a bit of a pain to clean off the shower floor.  about 7 years ago i was introduced to murray's hair dressing pomade and i found my golden solution.  cheap, classic, and strong--holding up to the elements of the thickest, most unruly hair.  i require only the smallest bit of pomade, and in these 7 years i have gone through only 2 cans.  such wondrous hair product cannot go unshared.  go forth and purchase, my fellow self hair cutting, cheapskate pixies!

my manly model.

i have been thinking for some time about how best to photograph the moth t shirts.  live model?  mannequin?  hanger?  white background or color?  extra lighting or natural light?  include face or body only?  hm.  well, it helps when time and reality limits your options.  and since he is the one who i see most often and he just happens to have these very nice arms and is kind enough to stand for me and allow me to photograph him--he has become the official moth model.  my manly model.  hooray for rehauling the shop!

still working away at the office...you know, there are some nice little rhythms that come along with a very structured day.  last night we came home and immediately changed into pajamas and then headed straight into the kitchen where i made dinner and nabil washed the dishes.  it was a nice little communal sharing of home duties.  and we ate dinner on time.  and there was very little whining. 

enjoy your tuesday! 

happy monday, dears.

well hello.  it is monday, it happened again, just as it does every week!  i have not felt mondays for quite some time--working from home makes pretty much every day a workday and weekends--well--what are those?  i had forgotten.  nabil does not work a traditional m-f work week, in fact i spend most of my saturdays and sundays working away at home while nabil works his morning shifts.  and so.  having worked at the office all last week and reached that golden day of friday realizing...tomorrow is saturday...SATURDAY, and i don't have to wake up and shower and get dressed if i don't want to...i don't even have to change out of my pajamas all day!  well shoot.  how great.  and then, nabil did the unthinkable by having the weekend off too.  what?  yes.  two days off.

and so what did we do?  we did what every homeowner does on the weekend--stand in the direct line of a shower of squirrel poop and urine-soaked chewed up insulation, with some squirrel skeletons thrown in just for kicks.

we finally found where the squirrels have been getting into our house, and it was a literal raining down of fun and glory. 

they have had free access--a virtual superhighway--straight into the house for years.  air vents in the roof.  well-intentioned, no doubt--one great structural flaw.  large holes allowing animals to come right in and make themselves at home next to the very warm and welcoming chimney, surrounded by mounds of soft, fluffy insulation (with some loose-fill vermiculite (read: asbestos) thrown in just for a sprinkling of extra joy).

enter: heavy heavy duty hardware cloth--the meanest of wire mesh.  staple gun with hundreds of staples.  cuts on hands, swearing, dirtiness beyond words.  it was a great saturday!

back to work at the office today...alhumdullilah.

working girl.

excuse the absence!  this week i am working at a local office, as i am known to do from time to time, and transcribing in the evenings, because i did not finish it before the week started as i had planned.  le sigh.  i will be working away from home through the end of january--goodness gracious!  (this required a massive cleaning of my bedroom in order to assess the wardrobe and find enough semi-well fitting, unstained/torn clothing to go with the 'corporate casual' model.  it was an all day affair, folks. all day).  but i do so enjoy these little dips into the working outside the home world, where i see wonderful folks and gain extra appreciation for the moth studio at home. i have also found that these times have been greatly motivational--pushing my mind to new places in its design workings...ready for production when back at the sewing machine/knitting needles/printing press. 

so. for today, so photos, no major life tales or instructions or lessons.  just this pepe le pew episode. enjoy.

10 AM today (!) :: shop update. knitting...and knitting...and knitting...and knitting

i am taking (just a tiny!) break right now from preparing my listings for the SHOP UPDATE, scheduled to begin this morning at 10 AM.  (a little more than 1 hour from now).  at 10 i will begin listing all of the khadija knitwear shown in the post of two days ago.  if you see one there that you simply must have, head over to the shop at 10 am and be ready to watch the items go live for your purchase!

and as promised, here she is: khalti khadija.  the namesake. she is full of might and love, simply put.  her story will be included in the new listings (coming to the shop at 10 am (just another little reminder there)).

...and more knitting in the works, lord have mercy.

should you have 10 minutes or so free today, you may want to  take the time to watch this little video i found today--which made me smile broadly.  looking forward to sharing the khadija knitwear with the etsy community!

jammie pants. (um, all day pants).

i fell asleep last night thinking about these pants.  i had them in my mind all evening and was trying to burn the details into my memory for creation this morning.  when i woke up, i made them.  it is snowing outside.  i just had to.  jammie pants.  to be worn all day, henceforth, until...tba.

introducing :: khadija knitwear, and a visit from the ladies

well.  i have been doing some serious knitting!  i had been mulling over bringing knitwear into the shop for some time.  in the midst of a particularly long and winding mind wander whilst knitting recently, my memories turned to khadija--one of nabil's many wonderful aunties and most accurately described as "wa'era" in moroccan arabic :: totally bitchin'.

khadija's story is still coming together in my head,  and a full version (along with her photo) will come early next week when the knitwear named for her is posted in the shop.  there are many things to say about her.  she is a wealth of strength and salt.  she has lived through difficult times, and maintained a sharp wit and biting humor.  she is unafraid to grab hold of a chunk of your flesh and laugh from deep within her belly.  she is intensely mothering and fathering all in one.  she is a master of cuisine, an impeccable housekeeper, and would be the first to throw a punch in defense of her children.  her son aziz was born in the same year as nabil, and as naima had trouble nursing--khadija nursed them both.  and when nabil was small, he would sit at her feet as she worked on her knitting machine, piles of yarn all around her.  "STUDY!" she would yell--if she caught him daydreaming.  and then back to the knitting.  'rrrrew,  rrrrreeeeeew,' he described it.  the steady hum of work, throughout her life.

in her honor i share these boldly bright, strong, utilitarian neck/face warmers.  coming to the moth etsy shop monday 1/19/2008, 10 AM.

...

and...i had a very nice long visit with sister and nieceys the other day!  feeling a bit hemmed in with the cold and two very little ones afoot, sister called with just the slightest of a whimper, needing to get out into the world for a bit.  i was so happy to see them all!  this big sister is going to be just great with the new little one, i know it.  she can teach her everything she needs to know about surviving a maine winter.  like how to make applesauce.  on your face!  oh how i love thee, little niecey.  so glad you all came up.  sis, hang in there.  and come visit more often :). 

experience.

soapy hands.

above the stainless steel

morning sun on snow through

cold glass windows.

alone in the kitchen

with thoughts

unbroken unchanged untouched.

domestic with no bra.

activist with no bullhorn.

a box on the doorstep.

package of goods from naima

sent with love

via brother hicham -- living in iowa.

her music sent.

soapy hands turned wrinkly to push play.

music on.

balady beats and the rhythm

so familiar and so long lost

soapy hands dried.

hips drop in sync.

arms north hands gently gliding east.  following

the resounding heart and ache of our arab neighbors

alone in my kitchen.

happy tears and laughter at once

so very unexpected this morning's moment

of joy touched once more

reborn from the past  recesses of memory and experience.

i miss them.

the women.

never alone in their moroccan kitchens,

never above soapy waters in silence.

dancing together

with music or without.

it's time

to go back.