Cleanup

If I haven’t been online much it’s because I am still so very busy cleaning my apartment, from the fire that destroyed my neighbors home. The fire was contained but smoke entered every apartment and left an ash residue that coated every inch of the building. It’s been about a month and I wish I could say it’s “done” but there are errant items here and there I still haven’t dealt with. During the 2020 quarantine time in New York I did a really deep clean of every closet, drawer, and cranny where I lived, and I try to remind myself how it felt great to get done then. I must say, it felt great to do that cleansing of my own choosing and without such urgency, though! The smoke smell has dissipated over the weeks, but many of my personal items are shamefully still disorganized.

Some good advice my phone therapist gave me is to prioritize doing things that wil help me relax. I repeat that to myself often, and continue putting “my relaxation” as a priority when there are other choices. Playing the video game Animal Crossing for an hour or getting a massage is important to work on! One day I took my dear child to the New York State Fair to have wine slushees and view our favorite livestock. Replacing material things instead of washing or repairing them has become a bad habit these last few weeks but I’ve survived a textbook traumatic event and quite honestly continue suffering so I’m trying not to think about the global environment as much as my immediate mental health. The therapist also suggested I “Be kind and patient with myself” which is hard to compute, but I’ll try to keep in mind 

One area of my life where I have so much patience is in my hobbies. My summer knitting project is a white cotton sweater of mesh lace, but it seems unlikely to be done soon enough to wear in appropriate weather this year. I tried to work a few rows each day but all the cleaning tasks have kept my attention lately. Most of the body is knit and eventually I’ll make the sleeves. I’m not using a pattern and still haven’t decided how long those should be. It’s knit in the round on circular needles, just a fishnet lace that repeats over 2 rounds. If I ever get it done I’ll certainly share it here.  If you’re a ravelry user, I have a project page too and welcome any new knitting friends if you want to connect there too.

I have blogging goals and plans for what to do with my not exactly new WP website but it happens slowly. Thanks to anyone who reads this and has stuck with me.  I was banned from reddit last year (permanent suspension) and around the same time Twitter became it’s path toward X, so as with so many other social media addicts, I have really been going through it, and trying new things.

My link tree, FYI, until I write an About Me page