Hello friends!  I hope all is well.  I’ve been keeping busy with work and trying to lean in to the new surroundings.  Moving always requires recalibrating your routine and schedule, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what goals I want to accomplish at work and with my creative pursuits.  The days are getting shorter and colder, which makes it easier to burrow and work on projects.  I’m also trying to keep ahead of the seasonal blues I always get with winter. I feel like it’s hitting a little earlier this year since it’s colder here (we had light snow on Halloween!)  The beautiful autumn leaves are already falling (in Texas, tree leaves change color around December).  I’m glad that Daylight Savings Time ended this weekend though, since having the sunrise after 8 am was weird.

I’m taking drum lessons again, which has been fun, and trying to find exercise classes so I can meet more people.  I tried out barre classes – they were a good workout, but I don’t know if this particular studio was right for me.  Classes would have been expensive to keep up with, even with the cheapest monthly rate.  It is a strange feeling to be in a class of 20 people where nobody talks to each other before or after class.  If I did make a connection with someone, we’d get interrupted by the instructor or manager.  And I must have missed the barre dress code memo (black tank top layered over a gray tank top, black yoga pants, and $20 barre socks).  I found another workout studio that I want to try – it’s not downtown, but classes are much more affordable and I feel like I will fit in there much more than I did at the barre studio.

In other news, poor Apollo’s herniated disc flared up on Friday. I was working from home and noticed he was acting weird.  I wasn’t even considering his previous issues with his herniated disc and thought that maybe he’d gotten into trash and had eaten something he shouldn’t have.  Everything was undisturbed, so I should have known that he hadn’t.  But I got really scared. I tried picking him up and he just started screaming.  When I set him back down, he just walked in a little circle and continued yelling.  I rushed him to the vet and he screamed the entire 20 minute drive there.  It was horrible 😦  I was expecting the worst when I arrived, so as bad as a herniated disc is, the diagnosis was much better than what I was anticipating.  Unfortunately, he’s confined to strict cage rest for 3 weeks. He can only come out to eat and go to the bathroom.  😦  We’re on day 2 of full cage rest and we’re all adjusting to it, but poor little guy is feeling better and wants to play.  He did groggily hop in my lap today and I was able to give him quick snuggles.

We’re trying to be very careful because the vet was adamant that without the strict cage rest, Apollo risks getting paralyzed with re-injury 😦  Apollo doesn’t do very well in a kennel by himself, so I’m going to work from home these next 3 weeks so I can keep an eye on him and his recovery.  Fortunately, most of my work is still with the Austin office, so they won’t care where I work since I’m no longer local anyway.  I do worry about the optics of being gone for 3 weeks with my local office now, but my company is pretty encouraging with telecommuting. I just hope my local coworkers understand.  But Apollo’s safety and recovery is more important to me than optics. I’m grateful that at least I have the option of working from home, and that I’m no longer doing field work.

I am planning out my schedule for the next 3 weeks – working regular hours, doing Target runs/exercise classes before or after work just so I can get out of the house and have human interaction. I’m also planning a day trip to the Bloomington art fair next weekend with my engineering friend from NYC.  I’m just grateful that my little dog is okay and while this will be challenging on him (and for us as we adjust our schedules), it’s totally worth it to keep our little guy safe and healthy ❤

I haven’t been as productive this past month with projects, but I did make some progress. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sample stitch the Blossom Hunter from PopLush Embroidery (formerly Studio MME).

Now I’m working on a knitted scarf from Knifty Knittings. I’m weak with knitting, as you can tell by my stitches, but I’ve really been enjoying this project so far.  I started this week and it is working up quickly.

I’d better get off the couch. I hope you all are having a great Sunday!