Change

Good Morning and Happy Sunday! I've been awake since 430 am which is my normal weekday waking time. Part of me says I should have gotten out of bed and the day started. The rest of me is glad that I took the time to relax, something I rarely do. The sun is shining bright, and hopefully will not get too hot today.

What did we do this week? Amanda finished up her time in the OR as part of her grad program at Rochester. She has seen so many interesting surgeries over the past five weeks including a cochlear implant. This next week will be spent resting up and attending GTA training. What I don't think they realize yet is how much she already knows from her time as an RA and mentor at RPI. It will be interesting to see how it goes. I hope some of that training will aid her in an endeavor with some of her fellow students this week.

As students started back to school Thursday, it was a little strange to not be rousing Serra from her cozy nest to get to class. Instead, we both woke up on Wednesday and said, "OH crap! College is next week!" It has been a busy week of cleaning, laundry, sorting and packing to get ready to go to college. She is just about ready. I, on the other hand, need to finish some things up for work and pack my bags.

Speaking of work, the photo shoot went very well. Hardest part was driving home in the unexpected monsoon weather that decided to hit Tuesday afternoon. Between the sheer volume of water and the accident on Harmony, fifteen miles of distance took an hour to drive. Lots of little things to take care of before heading out.

Craft time this week was spent spinning and weaving. I am still working on my Tour de Fleece spin, slowly but surely. The bulk of time was spent weaving a lanyard for Serra.

I will get out my sewing machine and finish it up this evening. I am having a blast with the Gilmore Curl.

I also have my next spinning project. When Kate comes to town for shoots, I see wonderous yarns and learn new things about spinning. The Summer 2024 issue of Spin Off has an amazing yarn in it that I am going to try. You know what that means! Fiber shopping!

I did try to go stash diving first, honest I did. I found that I have a the right amount of Plum Tree silk from Treenway Silks that will work for the yarn. I did not however have braids that would match for the technique. Off to Carolyn's website! Better known as Greenwood Fiberworks. The third and fourth braids from the left are Merino/Camel/Silk and will be for the yarn featured in Spin Off. Braids one and two were the last in that colorway in Rambouillet. It is super bouncy and a delight to spin. The happy orange braid on the far right is Merino/Yak/Silk and I couldn't resist. This will be fun for this fall and I'm hoping treadling will be good therapy for my ankle. 

Kate also brings her toys, I mean tools, with her and this time there was an adorable little spindle. I found the website.

A matching set in Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) from Scotts Mountain Crafts. They are light, adorable, and only 4.5 inches long. 

As for me, it's been a good week. We have done a lot of cleaning and reorganizing that feels good. The ankle is healing. Still not allowed outside without my boot. Inside, I remind myself how to walk properly in my tennis shoes and to go ahead a put full weight on it when I'm standing. It feels good. In fact, a lot of things feel good. I like it. Change is on the horizon and will take time to grow accustomed to. I wrote many years ago that "Change is a good and necessary part of life." It is. Without it, we stagnate, and creativity dies. Life is expansion and over the last twenty years that expansion has been external, home, family, career. Now that expansion is becoming internal. Authenticity, hope, strength. Exploring every moment. Life is so much bigger than I even thought possible.

This week! Amanda is resting up for the start of the semester. Serra and I will be off to college for each of us to begin new adventures. Breathe, feel, savor, Love, embrace Change, and I'll be back next week :)