The Fiberary

It’s been a lot of escapism into cdrama land these past few months. I’ve been dealing with some work-life balance issues and while none of it has exactly resolved, I did finally take a vacation (just in time for my weaving guild’s summer retreat).

This week is halfway over and it’s been really refreshing to have the time and energy to spin (ramie, Himalayan giant stinging nettle, cotton), to finally wash a couple raw fleeces I’ve had longer than is ideal (courtesy of our new washer), do some eco printing with fellow guild members, and just generally find some good solitude to think.

This past year I’ve been taking flute lessons after five years of not really touching the instrument. I’ve challenged myself not only to become more comfortable with playing in front of people again, but also to accept my mistakes–perfectionism and getting in my own head about my playing was a major reason I stopped playing in the first place. I’ve played in two student recitals and I’m getting more confident and able to have fun performing. I had initially hoped to go back to graduate school for closure on my not-quite finished music degree, but it ended up not working out. Ultimately I am at peace with that result–I do remember the amount of stress and chaos that went into it the first time around! But I’m proud of myself for at least going for it, and for taking steps toward healing old wounds.

I’ve been reading more again after doing some digital decluttering. Nonfiction, even, which is a feat for me! My current read is Worn, by Sofi Thanhauser. So far so good–I’ll plan on doing a book review when I’m finished. I also finished Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport. It’s a little outside the scope of what I want to blog about, so I won’t do a full review, but I did find it easy to read and it had some good insights beyond what I’ve already been practicing. Turns out when you have hobbies and deliberately fill your time with them, you do end up seeing the phone and the internet as more of a black hole for your time.

One thing I do want to commit (or rather, re-commit) to is writing and posting here. Last year was a lot, emotionally, personally, and in general, and there’s still a lot going on, but it’s nice to have a place to put things I want to share (regardless of whether people ever see it or not). The Worlds Beyond Number podcast’s The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One has me in a chokehold yet again. Every time I am confronted with powerful storytelling I am once again in awe of the skill of the storytellers and also filled with a desire to world build and maybe even write. Stories are so incredibly human and I don’t know who I would be without them.

Anyway, since I’ve been watching cdramas: Prisoner of Beauty was funny until it very much was not, Rebel Princess was a work of art and made me feel many many feelings (Zhang Ziyi is so good!!!!), and I still have yet to finish Nirvana in Fire. That show is mostly just adults sitting and talking and yet it stresses me out so much if my favorite characters might be in danger! And yet my to-watch list continues to grow.