Penguin Girl

hectic days, quiet joy

psg — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 01:58:41 +0000

amid hectic days
blossoms whisper quiet joy
brief petals, soft scent

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peony watch 2026, mid-may

psg — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:16:44 +0000

This morning I took a quick look at the growing buds. The plants are quite tall and there are more buds than I think I’ve ever had before. I believe it’s the fourth year the plants are in this “new” location, so it makes sense that they’re vigorous growers. We also gave the garden some TLC a bit earlier this month and there’s a fresh layer of mulch on everything. I’m curious what the weather does to the blossoms this year. It’s been cold, it’s been hot. There’s been rain. There’s been drier spells. And when will they pop?

this plant will burst a white flower with a ribbon of magenta

this plant will burst with a deep magenta flower

the white peonies are more established, the dark stalks are the newer plants

This morning I felt they were quite far from blossoming, but I looked at my first peony watch post of the season from two weeks ago, and they’re definitely growing! I’m sure there’s depth I could take from that. Rabbi Tarfon reminds us that the day is short and the work is plentiful (Pirkei Avot 2:15). Today, the work was watching the buds. Each day we experience growth.

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h+h, briefly

penny — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:56:04 +0000

Today I’m exhausted because I flew to Chicago Tuesday afternoon to attend h+h americas, briefly; the show runs through today but I came home late last night. My badge was as little acorn creations and my goal was to source yarn and notions for my students, and see what I might be able to do design-wise. I did. I was also there as PSG Studio and it was great to see clients’ feet too; we generally only see each other on Zoom. I also went as myself and it was awesome to hug friends¹ and make new ones.

It was my first trip — and trade show — since 2019.

I am both/and right now.

I’m refreshed and excited in all the ways from seeing products, friends, and doing all the work things. And I’m bloody exhausted from all the peopling, walking the show floor, and still making sure my businesses were okay while I was away. If that wasn’t enough both/and: my flight home was delayed, and I walked into my house about 1.5 hours later than I’d hoped. Not as late as it could’ve been, but late enough that I’m very happy it’s Friday and erev Shabbat. I quipped that I earned the delay because I got to the airport faster than I expected²; shout out to the Blue Line and the ten-minute trip from Rosemont to O’Hare.

Many of the clients and companies I work with are also my friends. ↩︎
Conceptually I knew this since I read the train schedule, but I really didn’t expect it to work out. ↩︎

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peony watch 2026

psg — Fri, 01 May 2026 21:03:12 +0000

It’s my favourite time of year.

The buds are beginning to swell, the ants have begun their reconnaissance, and I know that soon, later this month, these peonies will burst into abundant beauty. Each year it feels a most precious and delightfully fragrant gift.

We lost my father-in-law in mid-March, after a short hospice stay and several years of illness. Life is finding its rhythms again, even if some of them still feel a bit different. Some things help with that more than others.

Rabbi Tarfon reminds us we are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are we free to abandon it. The peonies don’t wait for us to be ready. They bloom.

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snuggle time

psg — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:26:42 +0000

Dot encourages you to spend quality snuggle time with those you love. Handknit blankets make it even better.

She also wonders if I’ll ever finish the couch blanket. Some day kitten, it’s hard to work while you sleep on it!

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finding joy

psg — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:31:05 +0000

בחודש אדר מרבים בשמחה. In the month of Adar, we increase our joy.

It was Purim this week. My shul’s theme was heroes and villains, and this year they really wanted the adults in on it too. I didn’t have to think too hard about which side I was on. I spent the days before diving into my stash, my samples, and my bins of swatches with an idea. What emerged was a yarn hero costume, built almost entirely from things I’d already made or had on hand.

I didn’t expect how much joy I’d find in the making of this costume, and fully embracing who I am. Or maybe I did, and I needed Purim to give me permission to lean all the way in.

Play matters. Joy matters. Especially right now, in the hard moments. I wrote more about the serious work of play at little acorn creations.

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still winter

psg — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:12:06 +0000

With multiple strata of snow outside (speaking of strata, would you like to crochet a Strataterra?) I’m ready for March, but hesitant to trust that next week’s cold front and waves of low pressure will produce little to no impact. Heavy wet snow came out of seemingly nowhere on Wednesday and snarled my 4 minute drive to morning minyan. It took me 20 minutes! I’ve been a house cat whenever possible this winter, and Dot is apparently done with the endless grey-white view from the window. She’s curled up in her wool cave and has put in a formal request for treats to be delivered to this location until spring arrives and can prove itself.

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late winter 2026 reading roundup

penny — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:07:00 +0000

With a long spell of frigid temperatures (though it’s finally mostly above freezing this week) and little desire to go out in the endless grey and dismal dirty snow, I’ve been spending as much time as possible curled up with Dot and reading. I’ve now reread the In Death series (again) through volume 25, I’m on the 26th as I draft this. These are my easy reading. Some people watch sitcoms, I enjoy lighter mysteries. I don’t expect them to be memorable beyond general feelings of “that was fun” and I don’t worry too much that I don’t remember all the details of every case. I do wish for some of the tech described in Eve and Roarke’s world and it’s fun to reread the ones published, say, while I was in college and see what tech now exists and what was proposed then. One day if I had access to the entire series instead of borrowing off and on from the library, it would be fun to go through and map tech to reality.

For more memorable books, since my last update in January, the following titles stood out. I’ve read 24 books total so far this year, and yes, 19 are rereads and part of the In Death series by J D Robb.

On the calculation of volume. I by Solvej Balle, Barbara Haveland (translator) (2024), 176 pages, Fantasy/Science Fiction.
Woah. This title floored me. It’s a study in so many things. It’s beautiful. It’s human. It’s haunting. It feels novel and timeless in its exploration of emotions, of relationships, of expectations, and of change… and lack there of. This book seems to draw the lovers (short listed for the 2025 Booker for example, it did not win) and the haters. I plan to purchase my own copy so I can reread this and try to figure out what about it because on the surface seems overly simple has hooked me. I’m curious about Volume II and a hold has been placed for it as well.

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny (2025), 375 pages, Mystery.
As Louise Penny writes, I didn’t expect this to hit so close to home. It’s a good one and you’ll settle in with your favorite characters both in Three Pines and at the Sûreté, and a few new ones. As I’d read all the other books in close succession, I was curious how my brief pause (over a month, and many other titles inbetween) would do to my enjoyment. It’s still good. It’s interesting; at the moment I don’t have a strong desire to reread these books. The characters have grown and evolved, and whatever book I read next is enough for me. I’m sure there may come a time I want to reread and go deep into Inspector Gamache’s relationships, but for now this is where I am.

The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) (2025), 272 pages, Fiction in Translation, Japanese.
Set in Tokyo, a cat is rented for a few days for a variety of reasons. The experience is never what was expected for the participants, and lives are changed. Is it magic? Is it just the addition of a feline allows for a viewpoint that didn’t exist before? The stories explore grief, caregiving, second chances, and the ways we try to connect. For more, see my review at pennyshima.com/book-reviews.

Playful : how play shifts our thinking, inspires connection, and sparks creativity by Cas Holman (2025), 288 pages, Psychology.
If you spend any time with me, you’ll find I urge play. Doodling, swatching just to see how a yarn or stitch works in different combinations, sitting outside (when weather allows) and just enjoying nature. So I was excited to read Playful. For more, see my full review at pennyshima.com/book-reviews.

Right now, I have an ever evolving stack of books on my desk, most are library books. I’ve been dipping in and out of V E Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. Two books on the library’s new shelf caught my eye the other day: the heartbeat library by Laura Imai Messina and one that’s not actually new, The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. I’ve not seen Hitchcock’s As the Lady Vanishes. Hopefully I’ll make time to read them soon. But let’s be honest, I’ll probably finish another three In Death books first.

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Dot’s excited

psg — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:39:11 +0000

That it’s Friday beacause tonight means extra time snuggling with her people without their technology or work in the way.

She’s been rearranging her packing paper in anticipation.

שבת שלום

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