Phix's Curiosity: what sparks my interest
Watch this space to see what's sparked my interest this week. A random grab bag of delights!
First five days of new job down. Woohoo! Nice start. What I've been thinking about is how important connection and community is. How we choose to engage with each other. As a super introverted person (meaning - I enjoy being around people, but I also needa lotof alone-just-me time). I really adored my last team. Not getting to see them (almost) every day feels a bit like losing family... like I'm the kid who had to go off to college and away from a close-knit family (haaaa! knitting....). I am trying to make sure that I'm keeping connected to people, but some nights... it's lonely after seeing just my honey bruh & kiddo #2.
This is sort of new for me - when I started this and was... under-employed to say the least... It was months before I started wanting to see or work with people again. But then, I was so miserable and burnt out that I needed the recovery time. I'm in a different place, and coming from a different place now.
And so, even if I have to be the one to make sure I'm getting people on the calendar and time scheduled for lunches and random last second light shows and whatever else might come up, am going to be trying to keep up with this.
Medusa's Garden
When you need every one and everything around you to just stop.
And after a few days of new job, I'm already running away to the islands to visit deeply beloved long-time friend. I love the islands, and this island in particular. They are heart-lands to me, and this island in particular holds so much resonance and memories for me. In the past, when I have had less familial responsibilities, I used to take day trips up when I needed to literally get away. Now it's a little harder between everyone's schedules and chores and stuff that needs to be taken care of, but it's still there, and when things get to a certain point, I'll close my eyes, and picture myself standing there at the edge of the water with my arms outstretched, remembering the smell of the salty air, the breeze coming off the water, and connecting to the all-nature that was here thousands of years before people and which will be here thousands of years after us.
Ariadne's Yarn: playing with threads
What I'm up to with fiber and possibly how mythology and stories all tie together.
The bunny is all spun up. The black Welsh mountain sheep is all spun up. I'm trying to go very slow with a fine merino (though I have a merino/silk blend on the way) - I need to knit and weave! I did also start working through carding the waste wool and experimenting with making felted blocks out of it. I'm thinking of using it for under a box I slide back and forth that holds my drum carder. Possibly figuring out if I can make it dense enough to hold up to being attached to the feet of chairs to help protect floors and whatnot. Total experimental territory. Kinda fun just to see what comes of it. Am also trying to finish off the silk/baby camel blend scarf so I can get on to some more hats and gloves (honey bruh is overdue for new hat and gloves!). And I saw a cute woven wrap... so I have some ideas. :)
Mythic Librarian: the art of arranging a life
Thoughts on ontology and ways to organize a life.
I don't have answers to building community. I have experiments I'm trying. Connection is important, and in the end, we're all we really have. It's not going to be the great meeting you led that you remember at the end of your life. How do you prioritize the memories you want to have had when you look back?