It’s a relief to share the biggest piece of good news from around here first: Apache the horse escape artist seems to be digesting his forbidden spring grass fine. He shows no signs of colic (horse stomach issues), which is good, because one does NOT want one’s horse to get twisted intestines. And he is walking normally so far. No doubt he’s getting tired of me showing up every few hours and making him walk, but that’s what I want to see, normal walking!
The vet says that after 24 hours, he probably won’t colic, so now we just watch his feet. I’m continuing to stay at the Hermits’ Rest rather than going to Austin, and am checking him multiple times a day, in an abundance of caution. This morning it was cool and everything was wet, so driving Hilda the utility vehicle over to him certainly woke me up!
The other piece of good news is that I’m proud to announce that the blog and podcast have their first official supporter! Dorothy Mayer gets her very own hand-knit afghan (or a shawl, if she’d rather have that) from me as thanks for being the first of what I hope is a good number of supporters, who will help me pay for the expenses of blogging and podcasting! I’m so incredibly grateful to Dot!
I’ve still got ten sets of cotton dishcloths ready to be knit for future supporters. To tempt you, here are just some of the colors you can choose from! Check out the yarn page for the other colors, and see a whole bunch of dishcloths you could choose from, too, just for supporting the podcast!
I’m so looking forward to making dishcloths that I already ordered some yarn to make some for our house after I finish the current project (which is moving right along).
The final bit of good news is significant to me. I finally have stopped having so many meetings every day, and now have time to actually contribute some content at work. It’s a nice change. And speaking of work, we participated in a #ChooseToChallenge activity for International Women’s Day, and I got to share my pledge.
Here’s my pledge:
I’ll contribute to a gender-equal workplace at Planview by making sure I listen to all voices, incorporating the unique gifts of each of my colleagues in my work, sharing the accomplishments of my coworkers throughout the company, and noticing when I can diminish my personal biases.
Suna at work
I am proud of the work that the company I’ve been with for close to ten years is doing to create a safe, diverse workplace. They have also been showing they care for our mental health. They gave us two days off this spring, to acknowledge how hard everyone has worked through the pandemic. It’s inspiring to me.
Update: Check the comments to see how the International Women’s Day pledge really upset a reader. She said no one should have to make such a pledge, because that’s the way you should act every day. I totally agree with that, by the way! I think the reasoning behind sharing these pledges is to expose everyone to people doing positive acts. With all the negativity, hate speech, and racism that’s out there bombarding us, I think it’s helpful to counter that with declarations of kindness, caring, and empathy. The more people are exposed to positive images, the more likely they are to consider alternate points of view, I hope. Feedback is very welcome.
So, do YOU have any good news to share? Comment away!
The Hermits' Rest 
I get your point but the premise is flawed. I never saw anybody in a negative manner unless they, regardless of genetics or life choices, wronged me. And I mean literally stole, violated trust, and betrayed my friendship and trust. Speaking of it in our very integrated society is only dividing the country, not bringing us together. Treating people as if they are no different to ourselves is exactly the point of equality.
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You shouldn’t be a teacher. That’s a stupid thing to participate in.
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Apologies, I should have just unfollowed.
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I’m not sure what you’re talking about? What did I do? I’m not a teacher, either.
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Sue, Again, I apologize. I should never write something in Ire. Its crazy for anyone to make a pledge like that. It should go without saying that we treat each other as we would like to be treated. It baffles my mind the point of view that anyone feels they need to make a public vow of inclusivity when it should be an assumption of being a decent lawful civil human being. It was your choice and I respect that and apologize that I would speak in haste because I disagree with the premise of making such a promise, which in my eyes is an un-necessary show of an action. I will admit that I can act in haste and aggravation with this whole non-sense going on in the world and to that and to you I apologize for losing my cool. I am sorry I misunderstood about your occupation but I will no longer follow your blog even though I enjoyed some of your posts as I am just not processing this kind of point of view that makes such things even an option.
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Wow, I’m so sorry to have offended you. Of course I completely agree that all that stuff is how we should all act every day, and IS how I act every day. I appreciate your perspective, but I think the idea of publicly stating it is to expose others to these points of view who may not share them. It takes being exposed to new ideas many times before they sink in, so these pledges are a way of putting out GOOD intentions rather than sharing about hate and divisiveness.
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