With the arrival of the covid vaccines (first vaccinations in our town yesterday) it is beginning to feel like progress is finally being made. Numbers have been in the 'not good' range here lately, but health care workers are getting the vaccine first so they will have some protection going into the new year.
Yesterday I read the schedule for who will get the vaccines, when, and I'm sure that is giving further comfort to people - because the not knowing is much worse than the knowing. When you know, you can begin to make plans.
So far it's not looking great for a 'proper' winter. Temperatures are remaining right around the freezing mark, which means it is pretty depressing, especially on grey dreary days like today. While one can say we will have a 'white' Christmas, it's a pretty thin layer on the ground and no actual snow in the forecast until next week. Even then, it might be freezing rain, not snow, which means the roads will be crappy to drive on.
This winter of staying home is working well in several ways - fewer people on the roads, so hopefully fewer accidents. Fewer people gathering, so less in the way of colds/flu. And so on.
Yesterday I hit my target for what I wanted to do, even went a little bit further. I am trying to spend less time playing games on the ipad so I'm getting a little bit more done. OTOH, it was necessary for me to have some time away from thinking so I'm not beating myself up about it. As my friends remind me, I AM supposed to be retired!
My lowest point was in August. One of the ways I dragged myself out of my funk was to start putting the seminar series together. Helping others in a more concrete way made me feel like I was driving back the darkness, just a little bit. Then I offered to mentor a small group of weavers who were feeling at sea. Having a targeted audience for my 'teaching' has also helped me. Again, I feel a little bit more in control and feel as though I am helping others.
Since I haven't been able to teach this year, finding an audience to interact with has fed my desire to share my knowledge. (I'm keeping the group small enough to manage - this is not something I'm planning on expanding upon.)
I had intended to do more writing for publication, but so far I really haven't worked on that at all. Instead I've been trying to figure out Zoom, and just staying on track with my stash weave-down.
Yesterday Doug continued the re-organization of the pantry area, which meant I had to also think about my studio. We discussed what I was planning and the timeline upon which I was working. Sometimes articulating my goals reminds me what I want to do and gets me going to go do it.
So in the immediate weeks ahead - finish the grey/blue warp. Dress the red/orange warp and weave it off. Dress the Leclerc with that place mat warp I wound almost one year ago. Once that is done, it will be time to start working on the 2/16 bamboo and rayon yarns in my stash. That should take me to mid-Feb?
In the meantime I will also be spinning my fibre. The down side to that is that instead of tidy bags of fibre, I am making big floofy skeins of yarn. Then I need to figure out what to do with those big floofy skeins of yarn. Something knitted - I'm thinking cowls. Once I have more yarn and less hemming, I'll need evening handwork. So mid-February.
What can I say? I need A Plan. I work best when I have A Plan. And Back Up Plans in case Plan A goes awry.
Wishing everyone safe holidays. Maybe by July we can gather in person again. If not? We'll manage. We just need to get through this covid time.
Stay home if you possibly can. Wear a mask if you must go out. Maintain physical distance when you do.
Stay safe. Stay well. Stay covid aware.
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