Watch out for bad luck and socialists.

So 2011. I vowed not to do some things at the beginning of 2010. Mostly I succeeded. Two 'failures': library fines (though I didn't do the damage I have done some other years) and hair dye. I quite like being blonde again, carcinogens be damned.

The post I am most proud of on my blog in 2010 is my post on abortion, which The Hand Mirror, The Standard and the Down Under 27th Feminists Carnival linked to.

2010 turned out to be the year of the sewing machine for me. It was a good year at work for me on the whole, though I deliberately don't blog about work. The casualty of my time at work was the garden. I have cut back my work hours for 2011. My daughter is showing signs of having green fingers and I hope that we can spend much of our last year at home together, before she starts school, making magic in the garden.

I am disappointed in my 2010 from a political perspective. I achieved nothing. The danger money received by our local miners got called in and none of us has any decent answers. I don't have the certainties of faith in socialism which would help my sense of direction. I don't have any sense that any other political perspective has something better to offer either. I've been reading the comments about John Key from Chris Trotter and Deborah of the Hand Mirror. I've been considering them in the light of an experience in Auckland when I tried to direct Christmas Day banalities into a conversation about politics and economics (unsuccessful as I froze the table into silence). 'There but for the grace of God' is a phrase I often invoke. I don't think it is necessary to believe in God to find this phrase helpful. But 'there' is bogeyland, and most people do not want to go near bogeyland in case it is catching. So what is so attractive about John Key and his simultaneous wealth and accessibility is that he exudes success and the idea of catching some of that success is most appealing.

I managed to throw out three pieces of clothing this morning. Old, ugly, poor fit, no longer worn. Still took some discipline to actually put it in the bin and not in the craft pile for repairs or just in case. May they be the beginning of an avalanche of decluttering. If I cannot garden because of the rain, then at least I can whittle down the junk.

Happy New Year.

Comments

robertguyton said…
"So what is so attractive about John Key and his simultaneous wealth and accessibility is that he exudes success and the idea of catching some of that success is most appealing."
Are you taken in by that?
You seem more sensible ...
why do you rinse your seaweed? The eatra salts are good for your garden.
Both sewing and sowing are noble arts.
robertguyton said…
considering your comment...Key made his money by playing around with the earnings of others - does that impress you at all?
He hasn't brought prosperity to others, just to himself.
Great model.
Sandra said…
Hello Robert and thanks for your comments. I hadn't realised that my post came across as if I personally support John Key. I do not support his policies or tactics or his previous occupation at all. I was considering his seemingly widespread appeal as a phenomenon 'out there', not in myself.

I think for all of your notions of modernity, we are still, as a group of animals, quite easily spooked and hope that some kind of fairy magic will keep the bad luck from us. Theory has no place in such an interpretation of the world. There are other bloggers (Against the Current and Reading the Maps are good examples on my sidebar) who write about the frequent antipathy towards left wing theory much better than myself.
Sandra said…
Should read 'our notions of modernity' above.

I have recently read that seawater can go on composts, in Kay Baxter's recent ORganic NZ article. But until then, the standard advice was to rinse the salty water off. I shall henceforth dispense with the minor faff of rinsing.
Christy said…
Hi Sandra - if you ever make it over to our island, my husband would be up for a discussion on politics or economics any time :) Christy

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