Moving Forward

After months of recovery and therapy, followed by months of tail-dragging and whining, I have finally decided it's time to move forward with my work and my life. Apparently, with a vengeance.

First, I've made finishing my in-depth study my priority. At least 2 hours of each day must be spent working on it in some capacity. I have restructured the study to exclude 4 samples, but added six others, making more work for myself but, I think, a more logical piece of work in the end. I have managed to produce two of the sample yarns, get the wool/nylon fibre blended for all of the samples, and make one of the sample socks. In six days. That amount of work under my old routine would have taken a month. And the great thing is that the momentum is inspiring me to keep going--I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there is a glow.

I accepted a commission a couple of weeks ago to weave a prayer shawl for a local yoga instructor, and she invited me to join her class yesterday. I was into yoga in my teens, but have done little (read no) exercise since my accident. The class was marvelous and I felt great all day. I'm paying for my past inactivity today with aches in places I didn't even know I have, but I will be buying a pass and attending Sunday yoga from now on.

All the talk of prana and energy in the yoga class took me back to the days when I was exploring healing work. Back before I became pregnant with Julia, I studied and practiced Therapeutic Touch. So much of what is explored in yoga is tied into the sort of energy healing that was involved in the healing community that I was involved in back then, and so much of what I did back then is tied into the considerations of the shawl commission. So I played with the energy work that I could remember, and found a new dimension in the textile work. I have found a deeper sense that the textile work is important, and new doors have already opened for me. I will be making more than one prayer shawl, and now there are meditation seats on the list, too.

The last big change is our new addition to the family. I have wanted a dog off and on for years, but circumstances have always made me reconsider. Lately, though, I have had this almost compulsive desire for canine companionship. Steve has never lived with a dog, so he does not really understand the companionship and energy that a dog brings to a household--all he sees is years of poop-scooping in his future--so there have been heated discussions. But this past weekend, I said "damn the torpedos" and put a deposit down on this little cutie.
She is an 8-week-old Schnoodle and I am just waiting to hear from the breeder about when I can head down to pick her up. It will be an interesting week--my only regret is that the drive to the breeder's and back will eat up almost two whole fibre days! Oh, compromise!