Merry scribbler. Monsters rescued; knights slain.
Apparently, this is regularly misattributed to Emerson.
I’m feeling overwhelmed by the lack of hours in the day and the number of things I feel like I need to do. I’m just trying to hold on to the meaning in this quote and feel it: that there’s really something inside me that’s really got what it takes to overcome my challenges.
I had intended to blog more about creativity as my theme for the year, but January found me with time challenges no plan to address them. Instead I focused on knitting, finishing the books on my reading plan, and reading for pleasure.
I finished the following books in January:
I picked The Accidental Creative as part of my theme of Creativity. I moved the Practice forward from where I originally scheduled it because it seemed a good partner to The Accidental Creative.
I try to read intentionally, at least in part. In January, Meditations was my intentional, educational read. I try to include a few of these each year, to keep my mind learning.
Some of my reads are purely for joy. The Pines series proved to be one of those reads. Star Trek and Star Wars are two of my loves, so I new they’d be easy and enjoyable.
I always take recommendations from friends to heart. Lovecraft Country was recommended by a friend who passed away two days after recommending it to me. Finishing it proved bittersweet because I’d already started it and was looking forward to talking to him about how much I liked it when I heard he was gone. It will forever be the book that I won’t get to talk to CH about.
February is Black history month and my personal theme is self-care. My plans for the month include getting my writing schedule under control, scheduling time for fitness and relaxation, and fully outlining my current writing project.
I’ve pulled the following books to the top of my virtual and digital to be read (TBR) piles:
My educational book is the Paul Ortiz An An African American and Latinx History of the United States. It’s been in my TBR pile for a little bit now, and it seemed like a topical read for Black History Month.
The Zora Neale Hurston book is a collection of her short stories. It was recommended by a friend as a stunning example of short stories and has been in my TBR pile for a while now, so I’m looking forward to taking the time to read it.
I bought Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man because I’ve enjoyed and been challenged by Emmanuel Acho’s youtube series of the same name. It’s probably not going to be How to be an Anti Racist, but that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile to read.
The Witch’s Book of Self-Care fills the “theme of the month” spot. It’s a Kindle Unlimited read, which is part of why I picked it. I’ve already started it and I can tell it’s a little outside of my comfort zone, but I’m still hoping to learn something from it.
The Conjurer is the latest in the Vine Witch series of romances. It’s pure indulgence. A little Valentine’s Day fun never hurt anyone, right?
If all goes to plan, I’ll finish my cardigan this month, too.
I started playing with Adobe Illustrator and working through the tutorials this evening. I’m filing this learning under “broadening my horizons” and “I like owls.” I know it’s not much of a thing, but I learned some new skills doing it, so I think it’s a win.
Playing with the horizon line within the square. The quote is one of my favorites. It reminds me that I’m my own worst enemy, but I’m also my best protector. I burn myself and my work down more effectively than anyone else can, but I can take control of my thoughts and actions to build myself up, too.
And then, like that, Amy Herzog Designs and Custom Fit Knitting was closing.
I call this project Vector to Halloween. I started with the Vector pattern by Tanis Lavallée, but I’m striping it every two rows with yarn from Stitch Together Studio‘s 2020 Halloween advent calendar. Laying it on the table and photographing it this way, turned the stripes into a horizon of its own.
I threw my back out on Thursday badly enough that I went to the clinic on Friday morning to get checked out. A prescription and some instructions for physical therapy later, and my schedule for creativity has been slightly derailed.
I’m still working, just more slowly.
One of the things suggested in the creativity and productivity articles I’ve been reading is to create a word for the year and then monthly themes that are guided by the overarching word of the year.
The idea behind this is to provide parameters instead of leaving the horizon wide open. Sometimes too many choices can lead to analysis paralysis and inaction, but constraints can free the mind from the choice of where to begin and let it work on novel solutions within the field defined.
I think I’ve mentioned that my word for the year is “creativity.” With that in the back of my mind, I picked the following themes for each month of the year.
I had these themes in mind when I picked my books out yesterday, in addition to the other constraints I put on myself (Books I already own, either on Kindle or in hard copy, or books I can get through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.)
While I looked at this, I put together my book list for this year. These aren’t the only books I’ll be reading this year, but they are books that I’ve put on my “make sure to read this year” list. Some books fit monthly themes throughout the year, some are from my “I bought this. I should read this” list, and some are “I have Kindle Unlimited, therefore I should use it” books.
I do plan to read other books this year: Bookclub books, Spontaneous reading, TBR backlog, etc. These just represent books that I want to make sure to read.
MAJ: Wow. Our backyard looks creepy.
Me: Yes. Yes, it does.
This is what my back horizon looks like now. Without the leaves, it’s easier to see the sheer devastation.
I know the city has sent people to evaluate cleaning up the debris in the flood plain, but other areas have higher priority.
If nothing else, it’s good for giving me decidedly creepy inspiration.
I’d been expecting that Covid-19 would be the thing that waylaid our home and changed my horizon in 2020. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I had 15 minutes of warning before the derecho hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 10, 2020, just enough time to call the dog-walker and let her know: bring the doggo home and go get hunkered down yourself.
I took this from my back deck as the winds were dying down. The branch showing in the foreground on the right of the picture came from the 40+-year-old ash tree, the trunk of which should have been blocking my view from that angle.
I still cringe when the winds start to howl, can still hear the crack of its rootball breaking, sharp and clear like a bat against the horsehide of a softball you didn’t expect to hit.
My roof was finally fixed in November. The deck repairs have to wait until the spring. Too many other people needed new roofs. There simply weren’t hands available
I can see all the way across the wooded area behind my house now, a green space defined by where Dry Creek flooded in 2008 on its 1000 year flood plain and a safety margin beyond where no one may build. I can see apartments I knew were there but were hidden by trees. My horizon has been expanded at the cost of the trees and I’m not comfortable with the view.
I’m learning to live with discomfort for the sake of expanding my horizons.
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