Maintaining Sanity

My Rectilinear Life

overworkedtiredandnumb

Location: Dalian, China
Birthday: December 11

Bio: US expat living in China. Another 40-something woman experiencing mid-life crisis, only this time in China, with dumplings.

MY RECENT POSTS

Job Hunting
September 20, 2011 04:46PM
Home Again
September 16, 2011 04:38PM
What does it mean?!
April 20, 2011 01:42AM
Reality Check (India, part 4)
February 16, 2011 04:19AM
Tiger, Tiger (India, part 3)
February 13, 2011 04:35AM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

“Oh shit. I think I might be one, too.”
February 16, 2011 12:12PM
“In my experience, the peasants of China are much harder to find. They are mostly…”
February 16, 2011 08:05AM
“I think the Mahajahs took two years to give up the land. :-) It was awesome!”
February 13, 2011 06:57AM
“Control? We always act like we can control every minute detail. What a crock.…”
February 11, 2011 09:32AM
“Uh oh, now I'm on the hook. Working on Day 3 now. Thanks for reading!”
February 10, 2011 10:59PM

Overworkedtiredandnumb's Links

My Posts: 83. Tiger, Tiger (India, part 3); 82. Ridin' That (Turns Out to be Midnight) Train (india, Part 2); 81. A Passage to, uh, India; 80. A Dream; 79. Learn the Language; 78. When My Morning Comes Around; 77. 2010: The Year in Quotes; 76. The Immigration Bunny; 75. Google Translate, 一半半; 74. Motherhood, a photo essay; 73. Special Friend: Clay; 72. US-Chinese Relations: Slowly Warming Up; 71. Good Job, Bad Job, Any Job, Please; 70. Ideas That Shake My World; 69. Would you like some hot water with that?; 68. Special Friend: Brandon; 67. Special Friend: Jane; 66. A Visit to Hong Kong; 65. Pork Pastries 不好吃!; 64. Rock, Paper, What?; 63. 很可爱的女儿（Very Cute Daughters); 62. Digesting China; 61. Adapting (?) to China; 60. Christmas in China; 59. Expat Drunk Blogging; 58. Adventures in Translation; 57. Settling In - In China's Rust Belt; 56. And we're off; 55. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part V; 54. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part IV; 53. Preparing for Our Move to China, Part III; 52. Ft. Hood: Potential Lessons; 51. Things We Are Doing to Prepare for Our Move to China, Pt. II; 50. Cyber-Anger: Not New, But Lasting; 49. Things We Are Doing to Prepare for Our Move to China, Part I; 48. Attending the Theater; 47. Gloves On: Slightly Better Than Awful Pizza Now Available; 46. Old Couple Overheard on Flight from Chicago to Phoenix; 45. The Toilet Reveals Something Deep. But What?; 44. More Food Notes from China; 43. Lunch in China; 42. The Way We Made the Decision; 41. Choosing a Home in China; 40. House Hunting in China; 39. 不看 Facebook (No Read Facebook); 38. Almost a Year; 37. 15 in 15: The Quote Quiz; 36. Thoughts on Southern Liberals (i.e., Mama and Daddy); 35. Notes To and From a Packrat; 34. Dude, Where's My Brush?; 33. Dad is Awesome; 32. My American Idols; 31. Dinah Washington; 30. Spansion Lays Off Thousands While Spending to "Retain" Execs; 29. She's Mean and Evil Through and Through; 28. Signage; 27. Who Could Resist?; 26. A receipt; 25. Saturday, July 25th, 1925; 24. My Afternoon on OS: Or, I really need a new hobby.; 23. 2008 The Year in Quotes; 22. 25 is a lot of things; 21. Open Salon Cherry Juice Debate, a call for volunteers; 20. Open Salon Debate Format, Version 1.0; 19. Debating Debating: A Proposed Open Salon Debate Format; 4. Unearthing Treasures; 18. Hard Times; 17. Portrait; 16. OS Collage: o please o please o please let me in; 15. Hope Springs Eternal; 14. Pre-school Civics 101; 13. The Consolation of Laughter; 12. Circling the Square; 11. Compromise; 10. Here I Am; 9. Dull Ache; 8. The Way of Clay; 7. This is My Favorite Picture; 6. Poor Cissy Hadn't Got a Mama; 5. Some Beginnings; 3. Maintaining Sanity; 2. Mama Died Today; 1. Death 'n' Shit

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SEPTEMBER 7, 2008 7:22PM

Rate: 5 Flag

311012610_1059488516_0

This a "yoyo" that my Mama made. You stitch them up, then put several together to make quilts, doilies, tablecloths, etc. My mother manufactured thousands of these the last time that my brother Wade descended into heavy drug addiction. I use the word manufacture because Mama sewed them in a frenzy very much like the one that has kept me typing nonstop these four days since she died.

I honestly never understood the yoyos. Mama and I were such very different people. She loved to sew, crochet, knit, you name it. If it involved taking a piece of string and turning it into something, she could do it and do it well. I hated these activities and refused to learn them despite her strong wish to pass them down to me. In retrospect I simply didn't have the talent that Mama had. Even trying these activities was a frustrating experience.

But of course now I do understand the yoyos. And that is why I feel particularly bad about always referring to them as "those asshole looking things." As in, "When are you going to stop making those asshole looking things?" From now on, I think I'll call them yoyos.

You may be beginning to grasp how hard it was for my Mama to raise me, so I thought I'd also share the picture of me shown below. My other brother, Clay, gave it a title.

The Demon Seed

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Well my eyes squirted laughing tears. Are you sure we aren't related? My grandmother tried to teach me that stuff. I did learn t sew at school, but, none of that string stuff. Hated it. I think my sister Sally thinks that I am the demon seed in our family.

Dr. Susanne Freeborn

September 07, 2008 08:41 PM

As someone who was always into needlecrafts, I admire your Mother’s work. The manufacture of a proper yoyo is no simple task. To put it plainly, it takes skill to make an asshole-looking thing that doesn’t look like it has a hemorrhoid.

The woman made a damn fine yoyo.