counterclockwise

The new faces are new officers on the “board of directors” for my coop. We finally had our annual meeting. It was well past the theoretical deadline, but still six weeks earlier than we managed last year, so I’ll take that as a win. Some of our officers have just changed hats (e.g., last year’s Vice President is this year’s Secretary), but we also have a few hardy souls who are entirely new to the board.

As far as that goes, I have to admit that the places aren’t quite brand new anymore, either. The coop actually moved into its new office back in April, and I’m only just now getting around to posting a photo. The new digs are a major step up in the world. The old place was roomy, but had gappy wooden walls and a leaky tin roof. In the summer (all eight months of it) it heated up like an oven. The new place is two tiny rooms - one closet-sized office and a bathroom where we hoard burnt out computer hardware. But that’s all we need, and the building itself is much nicer brick and tile, situated in a little public plaza.

The Guaraní word of the day is a three-for-one deal: Ypane. This is the name of the river that runs by Tacuatí. I’d tried forever to find its meaning, with no luck until here lately. The first part, Y, means water. But “pane” proved more elusive. It turns out to be a combination of two words, then. “Pa” means rear or tail. And “ne” means rotten smelling. So I live in the scenic town of White Cane, situated over the Fetid Backwater River.

I’ve finished my first crochet project - a pair of fingerless gloves. They’ll be useful for typing and other precise work during the winter. Or for more crocheting, for that matter. This assuming the weather ever gets serious about turning cold. Right up into the beginning of June, we still have afternoons in the low thirties, Celsius. In American terms, that’s the equivalent of having 80-something degree heat at the first weeks of December.

Somehow, the 110 degree days in the middle of summer were easier to take. The summer scorch felt like a necessary evil, unpleasant but not unfair. That it stayed so hot so late, less than a month from the winter solstice, felt more like the weather was just cheating. But we’re finally enjoying days in which you can look forward to hot yerba maté and can close your doors without stifling in the heat.

My new gloves are, of course, as ugly as sin. I still have a lot of beginner problems with gauge and tension, which magnify the visibility of my other errors. But they’re structurally sound, so I’ll call that a victory for a first, off-the-cuff stab at yarn work.

The Guaraní word of the day is kuã, meaning finger. Here’s hoping that mine stay pleasantly warm and pleasantly occupied this winter. Guaraní, unlike Spanish, has a separate, specialized word for toe, which is pysã.