Winter Delights…

Hello, my dears! I know, it’s been a little while since I posted anything here. Mostly I was enjoying a quiet break here at Chez Cohen with my sweet fellow, my sweet cats, and my growing pile of things to make. I’ve been kept very busy with little projects (and big projects) of all kinds, and I’m absurdly gratified by all the kind friendship and out-and-enthusiam when I present something new. Because of all of these people, I’ve been able to not just bring in a little money but also to keep my spirits up. December was rough for everybody this year. It was cold and dark, lonely and seemingly never-ending. We were away from our friends and family and loved ones, and trying like hell not to get sick. More and more of us have lost friends or family or colleagues to Covid, and we’re all still attempting to navigate this world now so full of obstacles.  So the things that have been getting us all through are sometimes small, quiet moments of fun…

What counts as those moments for me? Well, there are the usual bits. I have new paints to try out and appreciate and make a mess with. The cupboard is well stocked with tea from Society du The’ and Mrs Kelly’s Tea. I’ve been trying to read to Matt before bed, since it helps us both wind down and sleep. (The book at the moment? “Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters”. ) Besides scouring Netflix for distractions, I’ve also been avidly hunting down Youtube channels and stumbling onto wonderful, rare gems worth sharing. Pinsent Tailoring, Dominic Noble, Rachel Maksy, Cathy Hay and the Banner siblings (Bernadette and Dani banner) have really made my days brighter, and taught me so much. Cinema Therapy is a great Youtube series, walking us through all kinds of relationship woes using movies. When I need a lift, I go play something from Gunship’s youtube channel, and their videos are an 80’s nostalgia joy. On Spotify I search for all the 80’s Goth channels when I need to get out of my head and into a mopier time where I wore a *lot* more eyeliner than I do now…

Recently I’ve been trying out online crafting days with friends, which has gone enormously well. There’s a whole lot of lockdown still going on out there, and a lot of crafting supplies to use up. It’s just really nice to have that company, catching up with everyone and seeing what they’re working on in real time.

And now that it’s January? I feel like we have things we can hope for. There’s more vaccines out there. Spring is coming. (Not soon, not exactly. But stil! Spring!) I’ve been wallowing in seed catalogs, trying to imagine what the back yard could look like this year. I just had a birthday, and turned 50. Fifty!! It blows my mind that I’ve made it this far, especially after this last year. And today I watched the swearing in of Joe Biden and Kamela Harris, which made me so very, very happy. Better days are coming for us all. We just have to keep going on, finding our joys and cradling the things we love to us…

A drawing I did recently was of Arachne, one of the patron spirits of spinners, weavers and anyone who loves the fiber arts. She became a spider, after contesting with Athena at weaving, but has learned to appreciate small beautiful webs in quiet corners, away from chaos and unfairness and grief. Not a bad lesson for the rest of us, as least for a little while…