This past year has been a blur. My day job has had me working around the clock most days, and for months on end. I finally got just a sliver of time to myself and I literally jumped off the grid with both feet.
At the beginning of August, I had just arrived home (late) from yet another long flight, and gave myself about a day to unpack it all and then turn around and pack only a few essentials for camp. I stuffed two bags full of beads, threw clothes in a duffel and grabbed some wine. Truly, that is all a girl needs for 2 weeks away. I was home for a day, but itching to get on the road and off the grid.
I walked in to our camp, did a quick 'broom sweep' just in time for my beading friend Christine to arrive. I was looking forward to a few days of beading on the screened in porch, some cheese, some wine and the quiet (with the exception of the birds and lapping water). Of course there was plenty of chatter with Christine, which just feels like home to me. Pure bliss after months on the road.
Christine stayed for only a few short days, and then I was beading solo. I shifted from simple cabochons (like the one above with a pretty little thulite stone) to a series of beaded collars. I have a pile of bead patterns I've been meaning to get to, and I finally had the chunk of time needed to dig in. I started with this sparkly one (left) using antique Turkish beads I got from a friend years ago. They have been sitting around my studio for such a long time that I figured it was time to pull them out. Then I switched to a pattern that would highlight these gold leaves (right). I can't decide if this looks Native American or Egyptian? It just felt good to have the weight of beads working in my hands again. It relaxes me beyond words. The photos aren't great, apologies. They are pictures inside the camp, which is dark. But hey, at least I did a blog post which is more than I've done since the first of the year.
I started one last project while at the camp, but didn't finish until I got home. It is an ultra soft cuff in a creamy off white with just a touch of thin leather. It started out as a choker, but the beads were so irregular that I had to do too much hunting and sorting to find normal sizes that I just couldn't deal with making this any longer than it is. C'est la vie.
Lately, things have been a bit busy at my pesky day job, to the point where the only break I've had since the beginning of July was a few days up at our camp with some of my beady friends in early August. Other than these days I've worked non-stop (nights and weekends) for what seems like an eternity. Now you all know why I've been M.I.A. in the blogosphere lately.
All that said, my handful of days up at the camp were bliss. Christine and Amy joined me for a few days of beading, hiking, drinking some wine, birding, did I say beading? There was lot of that, which was fantastic. There was the usual bead swapping, pattern sharing a bit of tutorials and teaching. It is exactly as a bead retreat should be. It was made better by being able to bead out on the screened porch and bead to the sound of the birds and the water.
Amy brought a book of patterns she had organized for Christine and me, which included a tutorial on a bangle pattern she has designed. We all tried the pattern, then Christine did an extra for good luck. The pattern is gorgeous and the beads Amy chose gave the best sparkle to this bracelet.
There was also some birding going on. Both Christine and Amy are experienced 'birders' which I can't say I understood much of that discussion! But I did enjoy the hike looking for a few of the local birds up at the camp. We caught the Chief Birder (Amy) birding and taking pictures at the end of the lake where many of them nest. She is an experienced photographer who takes the most amazing close ups of birds! No idea how she catches them in her photos but it always takes my breath away when I see them. Seriously look at these of a snowy owl on the beach. How does she get these pics?
Hard to believe that we're heading into Fall, and somehow I seemed to have missed most of my summer. We're talking about getting another retreat set up, which I can't wait to escape again with my beady friends. Soon.
A few weekends back I was able to get off the grid and just be. I 'unplugged' for the most part, from my devices. And had a few days of complete, and necessary relaxation.
I didn't think about the office, what needed to be done at the house, if one of the kids needed something from me, or for that matter if my husband did either. It is a rare event, and so blissful when it occurs.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the things on my 'to do' list. I wonder how I will ever get through it all. I have a list on my desk in the office, another running tally I send myself from the train as I commute into work for the things I realize I forgot. I have another more permanent list of items in my notebook of tasks that take much more time as these are large, multi-month projects. And those are just the lists I have at the office. There is a whole other set of them for the house, the kids and when I get time ... my hobbies. The things that help me relax. Yes, I have a list of things for relaxation.
I find that sometimes I lose my balance in life. While it is important to know where you are going, you can't see your footing without looking down --- that momentary glance to see where you stand. It is a shift in perspective from seeing the world as you move through it, to focusing on your next move. Not the move for tomorrow, next Tuesday or next month. But within the next few minutes, perhaps the next hour. Truly just living in the moment. No lists. I nearly missed this amazing sidewalk sculpture as I was walking the eclectic streets of Woodstock. Someone had installed a short little path of cement leaves, but I was busy looking at the store windows trying to decide if I would go inside.
This past year has been a blur. My day job has had me working around the clock most days, and for months on end. I finally got just a sliver of time to myself and I literally jumped off the grid with both feet.
Christine stayed for only a few short days, and then I was beading solo. I shifted from simple cabochons (like the one above with a pretty little thulite stone) to a series of beaded collars. I have a pile of bead patterns I've been meaning to get to, and I finally had the chunk of time needed to dig in. I started with this sparkly one (left) using antique Turkish beads I got from a friend years ago. They have been sitting around my studio for such a long time that I figured it was time to pull them out. Then I switched to a pattern that would highlight these gold leaves (right). I can't decide if this looks Native American or Egyptian? It just felt good to have the weight of beads working in my hands again. It relaxes me beyond words. The photos aren't great, apologies. They are pictures inside the camp, which is dark. But hey, at least I did a blog post which is more than I've done since the first of the year.
