Susan Shirley she/her

I hope lawyers, secretaries of state, and state attorneys general are preparing for what’s coming.

A dirty, vintage barn window reveals a brown-haired woman with her hair in a bun and her mouth open in either a scream or a laugh. She is holding a shovel.

A list of daily challenges for the annual Fiberuary Challenge.

#fiberuarychallenge2026
Day 1~Hello, it’s me,
Susan Shirley, & this is my 6th year participating. I teach public school, live on a hobby farm & am a fiber artist w a passion for felting, spinning, knitting, crocheting, & weaving. I strive to be anti-fascist-racist-colonialist-bigot-sexist. Join me!

A black Subaru back window has 2 pieces of paper taped to it. The sign on the left reads: 5 year olds should be in school, not ICE detention facilities. The sign on the right reads: Abolish ICE! Oppose fascism.

Our district didn’t support the Gen strike today, but I put signs all over my car out on the street & walked out with a colleague at lunch to hold my sign for drivers to see. It’s easy to feel defeated. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. And stay focused on the #Epsteinfiles

I call them the TRUMP/EPSTEIN FILES in all my posts. Kinda like the Trump-Kennedy Center but more accurate.

Where is the pink coat person? Witnesses were taken away. The Gestapo learned from American slave patrols & after the Civil War, the Jim Crow era laws. The Nazis perfected what they saw happening in the U.S. This level of brutality is home grown, & apparently free from consequences.

Minnesota is the best of us.

in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today

👇👇👇👇

Wearing an olive green harness and sitting on a rocky, sandy shoreline, a long-haired tawny Leonberger dog with a dark muzzle stares out at the blue Pacific Ocean waves rolling in and out while a sea otter floats in the waves.

Today, Sierra the #Leonberger #dog and I went to Pacific Grove and walked the #coastal trail and sat for a bit to watch an otter. 🥹

A light-colored wooden Victoria Louet spinning wheel is in the foreground of a wooden fenced separation between the rocky coastal bluff and the gravel path. The blue sky has white clouds and the sun is shining.

A light-colored wooden Victoria Louet spinning wheel and a navy blue campground rocking chair is in the foreground of a wooden fenced separation between the rocky coastal bluff and the gravel path. The blue sky has white clouds and the sun is shining.

Working hard to stay calm these days. At school I’m able to focus my anger into action by helping teach a new generation of critical thinkers. But after school I’m exhausted bc the weight of the assault on our democracy hits.
Guild meetings help bc I’m able to pop over to #spin by the #coast. 🥹

💯

.@PabloReports: What do you make of the White House blaming the police for what happened on January 6th?

Lieu: The White House’s statement is batshit crazy.

Many thanks to the Amah Mutsun tribal band & intertribal gathering at Mission in San Juan Bautista for a beautiful winter solstice ceremony.
Those who gathered sang, drummed, prayed, burned offerings, & contemplated the return of the sun. May we all find ways to gather in peace & purpose.

Yesterday played out exactly as many expected a cover-up. When 119 pages of grand jury documents are released entirely redacted, that goes far beyond protecting victims’ identities. A court ordered these records released, yet what the public received was effectively nothing.

Happy Hanukkah YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC

It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love.

youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng

😊During the lockdown, my partner, & cook in our home, had total knee replacement surgery. At 47 they said he had the knee of an 80 year old. So, I had to learn to cook in order to feed us, & getting to ignite the brandy sauce was LIFE changing for me! When I don’t have pears I use persimmons/apples.

That is wonderful!
I’m getting around to decorating finally & as inspiration I’m re-reading (for the millionth time) your old Dec blog posts. Currently starting in ‘10. Thank you for this gift. Soon I’ll be making your chicken, cranberry, pear recipe. It was the recipe that got me into cooking!

Hello from Mosshollow Hill!
Sierra the #leonberger #dog and I were letting out the sheep, goats, & chickens, & behold! A Western Jack o’Lantern #mushroom I can use for #dyeing #wool & I am so excited.

If you’re in the Monterey Bay area and looking to join a fiber #guild, we have Anne’s Web (2nd Sat) & Carmel Crafts (3rd Sat) that meet at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in the wool room. 12/13 is a combined meeting & potluck. Come check us out! Inclusive and welcoming to all fiber#arts.

A huge pile of hand spun yarn skeins is piled on the floor of a green and multi colored carpet. Each skein is in hank form and labeled with a tag.

A brown skinned hand is adding white Corriedale locks onto a hackle (a tool mounted on a table with a row of nail sized sharp prongs protruding vertically.

A goldenrod sleeved hand is holding what appears to be a puff of bubble bath suds but is really a cloud of a white Corriedale wool batt.

Highlights today at our guild meeting were Allison revealing that she had finally #spun enough yarn to create the rug she has envisioned. So impressive!
Also Three has been processing the champion Corriedale #fleece he won from last year’s wool auction. Holding it was like holding bubble bath suds!

Shapiro: He rose to some prominence by writing a book about growing up in Appalachia, where there are a whole lot of people who get SNAP. He made millions of dollars off telling their stories, and then he turned his damn back on those very people he likes to write about and claim as his own.

AOC: We have a future to fight for, and we're either going to do that together or you're going to be left behind. It's not about Progressive. It's not moderate, it's not liberal. This is about do you understand the assignment of fighting fascism right now? And the assignment is you come together…

Mamdani: "We believe in standing up for those we love. Whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job ... your struggle is ours too."

🎯🎯

I picked up a beautiful skein of your yarn today in between filming.

#Rhinebeck is as gorgeous as it’s hyped to be! The New York State Sheep & Wool Festival is so overwhelmingly vast & beautiful, but I think I am prepared. We got some great interviews today, got the hospitality booth set up for the barn volunteers who brought their sheep, & met some amazing people.

Fantastic! I’ll come find you! I ran through the vendor halls today as everyone was setting up. It’s overwhelming but amazing! I hope you have a fantastic show.

Headed to #rhinebeck for the New York State #Sheep and #Wool Festival!
Anyone else headed there too? I’ll be on the Backyard Green Film crew interviewing artists, and vendors, and I am so excited!

Cartoon by @davewhamond.bsky.social.

Rounding up the Anti-Fascists.