five things friday: strong delicacy, libraries, old dreams new
Published: Fri, 03/17/23
March 17, 2023
Hello there,
I am enjoying a few days of rain free and sunny days before the next round of
storms arrive later this weekend. Here are some things for this Friday. Please enjoy.
1. Happy St. Patrick's Day. While I am wearing green today I will not be eating or drinking
anything artificially colored green. I will however be making some Irish soda bread today. Because, yum!
2.
It really is Spring. Officially by the calendar it is in a few days away but buds and blossoms are everywhere. The days are longer and a break in the
atmospheric river rain storms have even brought out the sun and the birds.
This tree outside my door started blossoming
two, three weeks ago when we were in yet another round of storms. I love this ephemeral time the trees bloom and feared it would be lost. The storms were particularly cold, bringing hale and very rare snow not to mention high winds. I though for sure the delicate blossoms would be blown away before their time but they held fast. Now a few weeks and another round of storms later the blossoms are now falling in their perfect timing. Instead of ice snow we have gentle petal snow.
I guess what I want to say is that delicacy does not mean weak and ephemeral does not mean easily damaged. So perhaps it is also true that the delicate and ephemeral parts of us and our life are also strong and resilient, even the
fleeting ones.
3.
Libraries are the best! It
is not new news that the library loans audiobooks, along with so many other things besides physical books but it is a resource I have not used until recently. I just finished the audio version of Hagatude by Sharon Blackie (highly recommend). It downloaded directly to a library app, I didn't even need to leave the house. My next "read" is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
I have both physical books but there is something about hearing an author read their own words that brings a kind of intimacy to the experience. I have not had time to read Hagitude so being able to listen on the go these last few weeks without having to buy another version is
great. I loved reading Brainding Sweetgrass so much and I am excited to experience again through voice. I am glad I have the books, and I value the ability to enjoy them in another way. For fee.
At a time where
so many things are changing and disappearing it is comforting to know local libraries are here serving in so many ways. Besides, do you know any librarians? They are total kick-ass heroes.
4.
Have I told you the story of how I was almost an art major in college but didn't have the courage or trust in my abilities to follow through? And then how I did all the course work for an art minor but never got the paperwork signed, again because of my lack of confidence? Yeah, so much to
unpack here.
I seriously considered going back to school for an MFA last year but decided against it. Not for confidence issues this time but because it doesn't make sense to take on grad school debt and upheaval at
this point in my life, at least as things are now. The stress of academia is not for me anymore however much I have dreamed about the accomplishment of it.
So what is an artist at heart to do? Turn the the internet of
course! I have discovered Fiber Arts Take Two which offers the convenience and accessibility of an online format with enough educational rigger to satisfy my inner art school dreams, while being inclusive of all skill levels. I am currently taking an earth pigment class learning to make paint out of crushed earth and soy milk. I can't wait to go pigment hunting (aka digging in the dirt) later today!
All this to say, those past dreams you detoured from, the ones you were to scared to reach for, they still live inside. The may just need to blossom in a new way.
5.
A blessing for your week:
(Mythic Oracle by Carisa Mellado, artwork by Michele-Lee Phelan)
May you seek delight and find pleasure in the nature around you.
