2022 Happy To Be Here

With the closing of the year comes the final blog at this address. The new address should be 2023af.blogspot.com. It will be empty until I write again.  I look forward to seeing you there.  My only resolution is to try to do better.  It is pretty vague, but I'm going to work with it.  Here are some of the happy things from the last day of 2022: As the year closes, I realize I have deadlines to make. The weaving I have only sporadically been working on must be finished before the end of January. To that end, I'm going to attempt to work on it for at least 30 minutes a day until it is done. Today that got me through the first design of the sword and shield and just a little more.   I spent the evening at my friend Amy's house to ring in the new year. When I got there Heather, their old cat, decided that my backpack needed to be marked as hers. I wonder what our cats will do when I get home? We had dinner, watched two movies, and the ball drop in New Yor...

Things at work have slowed down so when voluntary time off was offered, I took it. I'm scheduled and still plan to work tonight. The part of me that likes a larger paycheck thinks I should have stayed at work. The part that finished Christmas shopping with Keziah this morning is very happy.  Other happy things from today: In the quiet before everyone else was awake I was able to weave.  I finished weaving on the award for fencing and I started the next one.   The weather outside is frightful. Winds are gusting such that the rain is sometimes horizontal. If this were snow, it would probably be a Blizzard. Gideon loves the rain and was very excited to just listen to it when he woke up this morning. Yesterday I finished watching The Santa Clause 3 . I don't think I had seen that one before. The Santa Clauses is new this year. It is a series and I watched the first two episodes today.   Keziah brought home my last two pieces of pottery.  They are finis...

Right after I parked my car to go to work I got a notification from the company. They were offering voluntary time off. I decided that I would go to work, since I was there already. I went in and saw that there was hardly any work to do and I (and some others) didn't have an assignment. So I put my name onto a list for voluntary time off. I got an assignment and ten minutes later they replaced me and I was out the door. Other happy things from today: I was able to sleep for about three hours before getting up again for the day.  While the family slept, I got some weaving done. I'm very close to having the first of three champion's pieces done.  Crossed fencing swords. When the family was up we made cream of wheat and toast and all had breakfast together.  Since I was home and had slept I was able to go to a craft gathering at Joann's with Keziah and see friends. I embroidered three letter D's to put onto favors.   I also finished putting the backing on ...

All I want to do is sleep. I worked, came home, ate, did some dishes, and wove a little. All I really wanted most of this time was sleep.  Weaving was my happy place today. Also: Some gift certificates I ordered came in the mail today. My grandson, Gideon, comes to me when Keziah, his mom, isn’t home for things. Today that was an itchy ear. The other day he had a sore thumb. Sometimes it is a joke, but usually his dad gets the jokes. Sleep time for me. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Raven King , by Maggie Stiefvater. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe

The first day of my work week is over and I made it through. Only four more days to go. Yay! My other happy thing for today is that I did some weaving. About two more inches, all background, got added to the project. I was hoping for more but sleep is calling me.   This may be a week full of short posts. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Currently listening to: The Raven King , by Maggie Stiefvater. Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Laughter hasn’t been coming easily for me lately. I’ve been looking for comedies to watch. I’m finding it interesting how many movies are listed as a comedy that I end up crying during. Sometimes it is a happy cry, but not always. It makes me happy to hear other people laugh. Other things I am happy for today: While out this morning a friend had a mild seizure. Keziah spent the day with them at the ER. It was a little scary. I’m happy that medical treatment has helped and they are feeling somewhat better.   Yesterday when I wove my back hurt. Today I found a position that didn’t hurt and I got a fair amount woven. I have a deadline to get this done by so I am feeling a little more confident that I might be able to finish it. The cats were so cute today grooming each other! ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year , Joan Borysenko. Finished listening to: Blue Lily, Lily Blue , by Ma...

My grandson, Gideon, has been trying to learn magic tricks with cards. He struggles with the slight of hand, and knows it. I admire that he is trying. He also tries to invent new card games. Other happy things from today: My friend, Amy, had a craft afternoon at her house today for just a few people. Most of us had weaving projects. I didn't get as much done as I wanted, but made some good progress on my loom. It was also good to spend time with friends.  Later, at home the family had leftovers from Thanksgiving, including pie for dessert. The pies are almost gone and I have enjoyed them while we've had them.  We also watched a movie together. Spider-Man: No Way Home was a really good movie that Keziah and I had seen, but Gideon and Zed had not. There was laughter in the beginning of the movie and tears at the end. I like that we watch things together and often discuss them after. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful of Miracles: Prayer, Meditations, and Affirmations ...

When I was young, a day spent in my pajamas watching movies was like being luxurious. Now it feels like I am being lazy. There has to be a balance in there somewhere. Today that balance included watching part of a movie on my phone while I did the dishes and curling up on the couch to finish it. Later another movie while I paced getting steps in. These were happy parts of my day.  A few other things included: It was a low key day. I spent some of it at the studio. I did a small amount of weaving.  Hopefully I'll be able to concentrate and get that pattern I started, done tomorrow. Some friends visited. One of the things I like about my friends is the way they sometimes describe themselves. My favorite quote from the day is, "I'm chaotic neutral, of course I'd do that." Using a term from Dungeon and Dragons to describe themself made me happy. Two more of my pottery pieces are complete.  I really like how they came out.  I have two others that have been bis...

This morning my big errand was to take Keziah's van in to be inspected. It needs brakes real soon, but not so soon that it didn't pass inspection. Other happy things for today: Instead of waiting for the inspection I walked to the studio. The weather has been warmer than it probably should be for November. It was a nice walk, just about a mile from the shop that I got the van inspected at. I actually worked a little bit on my coursework. The cats were play-fighting. We have a tube for them that has the normal holes on either end and two along the sides to poke out of. Nanni was hiding inside of the tube, but her tail was wapping against the side of the tube or out one of the side holes. I found this funny and tried to get a picture of the tail. Last Friday I went to the studio and made some things on the pottery wheel. Today I went back and trimmed those things so that they may get ready to be bisque fired. I finally picked up my loom again and got a little over an inc...

We had an SCA event today to celebrate the Barony being 35. I think I did better with people than the last event, but I still need to work on it. We also chose our new Arts and Sciences Champion. It is always a difficult choice, but there can be only one. There were three entrants, so at least the options weren't overwhelming. There were also three judges, so at least I didn't need to have to make the decision on my own. These don't look like much in the picture. They are lovely beaded headdresses made to  resemble 15th century (I think) Italian. Tablet weaving. Embroidery. In case you are curious, the tablet woven person is the new A&S Champion. Other happy things from today: There is a guild, the Dabbler's Guild, within our Barony that had a lovely hands-on display. People could try a few different types of crafts including weaving, sprang, and kumihimo. The event was small but space was made for the fighters. I got to watch them for a few minutes. It is a...

Instead of falling into a restful sleep yesterday I had an anxiety attack. Eventually, sleep did come but the end result is that I felt sick at work and came home early. I decided that feeling shaky and dizzy near machinery was a bad idea. Here are some happy things from today: It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep when I returned home from work. I even slept later than I wanted to. Somehow, I still felt tired all day, but the shaky and dizzy was gone. I worked on the module for my prerequisite class while the rest of the house still slept. Keziah wanted to go to the studio so I walked part of the way there and she picked me up for the rest. I got some pictures of the Merrimack River from the south side of the bridge.  Yesterday the pictures were from the north side of the same bridge. At the studio I worked more on the module and did some weaving. It is my attempt at finding some balance between the class work and the SCA crafts.  It is also more comfortable to wor...

If you read my blog regularly, you know we have a dog, Aesop, that we have been trying to re-home. He needs a home without cats and with more routine.  Earlier this week a couple met him for the first time and tonight they came to get him. They are taking him on a trial basis. They live in a city and are concerned that he won't take to city life. They committed to keeping him for at least the month as a test period. I'm sad, there were tears, but I know he will be fine.  Here are some happy things from today: There is a friend I have from my old job as a paraeducator that I got to spend some time with. We went for some walks and I showed her the studio. It was a nice visit. She even helped me warp my loom some. After she left, I got a new book to listen to on my phone and continued to work on the loom. It is now warped and I have started the weaving process. This introvert (me) stepped out and talked with a complete stranger today. Keziah and I were going into the grocery sto...

 In the last few days I have completed the first three modules of the prerequisite course I'm taking to try to get into a different course next year.  These were the short, this is how the course will work modules and a very introductory coding one.  The modules get longer and more in depth as the course progresses.  It feels good to have started it.  Other happy things from today: After leaving the car at the shop to try to get it inspected, I walked to the studio.  Here are a couple things that made me happy along the way. My protege came by the studio and helped me to get started on warping a loom.  There are more champion's bands to make and I would like to finish them soon. In the evening a few of us went to the movies to see Avatar in 3D.  It came out originally in 2009 but I hadn't seen it.  Gideon hadn't either and we all enjoyed it.  I look forward to seeing the next movie, Avatar 2: The Way of Water , coming out toward the en...

 The calligraphy practice has helped me improve on what little calligraphy I did, but I was getting very stressed about getting actual scrolls done.  In steps the friend that does the occasional scroll and happens to be in the studio below us.  He stepped up to the plate and created some nice scrolls for what I need them for.  Nothing elaborate, just simple in design (not that it isn't hard work) and beautiful.  No finished pictures until after they are given out.   I tried painting today too, so that I might be able to do something for these scrolls.  Unfortunately, none of these skills come naturally to me and I must practice if I want to do anything at all.  In the end, I am super happy that I at least tried.  Other happy things from today: The two bands that I finished weaving are off the loom and the ends are stitched so they hopefully don't unravel.  Keziah got the three that my friend wove today and they are in the van....