Good morning friends!

I hope you are all doing well! I haven’t posted in awhile. Multiple reasons – work was simultaneously making me stressed and sad while also being very slow, I was working on a frustrating C2C crochet project that I kept having to frog, and just general fatigue. Last week was my anniversary of working from home and while my situation has always been very good, I was definitely feeling the pandemic fatigue hitting me hard.

Work is picking up again, I shoved my C2C crocket project into the “YOU MAKE ME SAD” pile, and it’s finally spring! I hear birds chirping as I type this and it’s so soothing. The governor announced access to vaccines for everyone starting March 31. I’m sure it will still be awhile before I can get a slot, but I was so happy and encouraged by the news. I made an appointment to get my hair cut and colored* in April and Husband and I are tentatively planning a birthday celebration for him for what will be our first dining out experience in over a year (outdoor patio; we don’t feel comfortable dining in just yet).

A slow return to normalcy is…exciting. And strange.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing in the meantime. My Gotham class ended last week, which was sad! Ten weeks went by so quickly. A group of us are continuing to do biweekly workshops, which I’m really happy about. I need accountability and a writing group is a great way to do it. I’ll be joining an online journal here in Indy as a volunteer reader, and I just completed my first reading last weekend! It was so much fun. I read four micro pieces. Afterwards, Husband, my friends, and brother planned a surprise Zoom call for me to simulate a post-performance coffee shop discussion. I had so much fun and I felt a sense of accomplishment I haven’t felt in awhile.

Before we go too far down the “Wonder of Me” road, I do want to point out a common critique I get as a writer during the workshops is that I need more description. I don’t know why I don’t insert more descriptors, but it’s something I struggle with. Wondering what this city street is like? TOO BAD. What do these people look like? THEY ARE FACELESS GOBLINS. DEAL WITH IT. (Just kidding. It’s something I’m working on).

I mentioned the C2C crochet project that I keep having to frog, so instead, here’s some progress I am making on a shruglette.

This is a project from Make and Do Crew. I will say I gave up trying to style this artfully pretty quickly, so it just looks like a blob on my floor right now. It just needs sleeves and pockets, and it will be finished.

Our hikes on Saturdays are getting a little longer now that the weather is better and the days aren’t so short.

I hope you all are doing well and keeping safe, and enjoying spring (or autumn!) whatever part of the world you are in.

*After multiple dye jobs, two at-home haircuts, and an undercut, the stylist is going to have a LOT TO WORK WITH.