Navigating the gusts of change

-
My bestie snapping pics of the sunset.

Previously I was a socks on first then shoes kind of person. Lately I've been a one sock and one shoe on then the other sock and shoe type of gal. I don't exactly know what that means long term, but it seemed full of meaning when I was considering how to start this post.

If I had my way, I'd be in the thick of hand sewing an Alexandria quilt. Instead I'm full of machine-piecy notions. I didn't plan 2023 to meander along this road, but other things have occurred that weren't on my list of To Do's, definitely a let go and let God kind of year. And if that isn't your scene, how about the title of today's installment; navigating the gusts of change. Either way, I'm feeling blown off my preferred choice of course, but better to make hay or quilts or write books while the sun shines or the machine sews or the prose emerges than not.

My BFF spent the weekend with us, perhaps that's why I'm in this introspective mood. I've known this lovely lady for forty years, boy that's not a small chunk of time anymore, lol. We shared wonderful chats, delicious milkshakes, and a chilly but awesome beach outing where the sunset beckoned for us to remain on the sand, yet the wind pushed me toward the car, leaving her to enjoy the day's end, then she too hightailed back to the car, where my husband had already retreated. We're getting old, I considered, not willing to stand out in the wind despite nature's beauty, easily seen from inside a warm vehicle.

I wanted to spend this year hand-sewing, but a pinch nerve overruled that desire. I wanted to share our home with my husband's sister and her husband but cancer blew those plans askew. I wanted to draft a sequel to The Earthen Chronicles but instead I'm writing a story about life and death and alternate realities. No big mystery to where that theme emerged, ahem, but I am thoroughly enjoying crafting the kind of tale that truly drives my muse, love and regret heaped with a large dose of how can the heart move past the agony to heal? I don't know how this book will end, which is half the fun of writing it, and right now I need a copious amount of joy. The machine-piecing is also laced with the thrill of employing a new manner of sewing, those easy-peasy sixteen-patch quilt blocks immensely satisfying in a ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom manner. Hanging out with a bestie was a big win for my soul, which still aches for a beloved lost in the corporeal. I remain on this plane, at times wondering why.

Such is life, rife with peaks and valleys and marvelous sunsets that at times aren't to admire longer than seconds. A reason, a season, forever; this rule remains, yet not for us to choose how or why or when. Right now I'm happy putting on one sock, then a shoe. Maybe that's how it is, as one approaches the latter section of their fifties. I feel like I've stepped into a new reality, but man I'm super-grateful writing and sewing remain within this realm. And tomorrow I'll try it all again.

Popular posts from this blog

Good to be home

-
Image
This Mandolin block was waiting for me last night; I added four perimeter diamonds and it was finished! Subsequent pics are all EPP made during our holiday. Despite a head cold that emerged late Monday/early Tuesday, our holiday was marvelous! I add this disclaimer because right now I feel pretty crappy, so if this post rambles, it's due to my current state of health. Ice Cream Soda block My goodness, there is a lot I want to say, perhaps the best way to get back into the blogging swing is to eke out bits here and there. The Gee's Bend Quilts Collection was AMAZING! Thirteen quilts were on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art , beautiful comforters I never thought I might see in person. All were hand-quilted, most were completely hand-stitched. Designs, colors, and purpose made me grateful for my minor contributions to the quilting world, as well as causing me to wonder at future projects and ponder my fabric stash. Much food for thought at that deeply touching exhibit, wh...
Read more

Always good to be home

-
Image
  Heading west on I-580, just having crossed over a lengthy bridge. My goodness, where has the time gone? I've been back for two days, but no moment has been free to post here. I enjoyed a lovely getaway with an old friend, some warm temps, and an environment wholly altered to where I live. All in all, a terrific holiday, and now guests are arriving, which will probably preclude my usual flow of entries, although I truly am hoping to release my next book VERY SOON, lol. Getting out of one's routine is full of positives, the sense of adventure, especially when going somewhere new. Spending time with a pal from the the past enhanced the sojourn, much over which to chat. She knew our locale well, for which I was grateful. And I didn't miss my hexie box at all, instead spending my downtime reading one of my old novels, again falling in love with the sense of writing merely for my own pleasure. Our impending visitors will preclude me from diving into the prose, but I'm certa...
Read more

Earthquake recovery

-
Image
Records and box sets spilled out, blocking the door to a closet. An unexpected beginning to our day yesterday; at 2.34 am a 6.4 quake roughly stirred us from bed. In all my years dwelling in California, I have never experienced such turbulence, and boy howdy, this one packed a punch. Several striking memories remain, reaching for my bedside phone, but finding it had been tossed to the floor along with a small bookcase. Putting on shoes as a 4.6 aftershock rumbled through. Locating my computer tower on the floor next to my desk (spoiler alert; once power was restored at 8 pm, both my machine and my husband's were just fine!). A large bookshelf was toppled, vinyl albums flung from shelves in the living room, a few dishes scattered on the floor. Several framed photos had fallen, but only two sported cracked glass, one from which I was able to extricate the picture. No structural damage to our knowledge, and we had hot running water and a generator going all day. For all that could hav...
Read more