This month. Man, oh man. Is there anyone out there who loves February? The Christmas and New Year’s high is gone; we’ve stopped going to the gym and given up on nicotine patches and regular bedtimes. Valentine’s Day brings either anxiety or bitterness, sometimes both. Though the winter solstice is past, why is February the darkest month? February sucks.
I’ve had a bad case of the Februarys as I do every year. I caught a wicked cold, stopped cooking, skipped taiko and aikido (see “wicked cold”), started watching really awful TV shows online, and gave up on living in anything but squalor. Speaking of terrible TV, if you ever think to yourself, “I wonder what the Brits have done with the legend of Robin Hood lately?” I urge you to squash that thought like a bug. It’s horrifically bad.
Last Sunday I got a boost. Though the sermon at church was not related to productivity or taking care of one’s things—it was about the beatitudes—I came home ready to make goals. I didn’t, but I was ready. I also did nothing on Monday, but I sure thought about it. Today I awoke with vim and vigor, ready to tackle my Februarys by washing dishes, hanging up clothes, and organizing my beads [over the course of the next three days].
Having my Internet give up the ghost (or go into a coma) put a damper on the spirit, especially since I a lot to prepare for school that involved finding pictures. Most of my Monday was dedicated to finding ways around that hindrance, but I did start a rag rug to keep my little piggies warm while I practice piano. I was going off of the tutorial on the Little House in the Suburbs blog (the only one I could find that didn’t involve sewing or giant crochet hooks) and trying to make it ovoid, but it mostly ended up looking like fabric naan.
Long story short, I took it apart and restarted twice, and now I have a circle about the size of a large pizza. It mostly lays flat because I stopped pulling the fabric strips tight as I went around.
That took about three hours to do (I had two more false starts). It isn’t finished; I have 1/3rd of the old sheet I’m using left to cut up, but I’m excited that the project worked at all. My homemade projects give my apartment a[n undesired] shabby chic look, and this rag rug makes me feel especially like a pioneer lady. Next stop: quilting, obviously. That, or making candles from bear fat.
After weeks of zero jewelry making I cranked out two pieces that might never make it to the Etsy shop, I like them so much.
Number One: cracked glass rondelles with violet felt and sterling silver saucers (not visible at these angles) and a sterling hook and eye clasp (see “not visible”)
Number Two: cracked glass cubes, fine wool yarn, Bali silver bead caps and a sterling hook and eye clasp.
Maybe they will make it to the shop, mostly because the large cracked glass beads in the first piece come in graduated strands, which means I’m incapable of recreating it exactly and I think it would be a wonderful piece for anyone. The chain is light and delicate, and the glass is elegant but the felt keeps it from being stuffy. The purple is bright enough to transfer into springtime, so…Dang it, I don’t want to part with it.
Also, I cooked. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to cook for myself twice per week, and I’ve been fairly consistent in keeping that resolve alive. During those weeks when I was sick I ignored the goal, but with nothing ready to eat in my house except marshmallows and a lime I reckoned it was time I renewed my cooking habit. My rice cooker is my new favorite tool; I can steam vegetables or make a jambalaya-style one-pot meal. Luckily I had a red bell pepper, black pepper sausage, and an onion ready to be used, so I threw those and a beef bullion cube in with an unmeasured mount of rice. The result is tasty, if a little salty. I add roughage by shoving a package of baby leaf in my mouth like a crazy rabbit.
Despite this movtivation-juice bender I am well aware that the Februarys will return at some point. I wager next Monday after I teach six periods in a row I’ll come home as both bat and bear, ready to waste my life playing Angry Birds and sleeping under my kotatsu (on days like that I really hate my job, but at least they’re allowing me to eat in the staff room instead of putting me on display in a classroom*). Nonetheless I write this post to remind myself and any readers that by the grace of God the Februarys can be conquered.
*The voice of resentment.
- Posted from my iPad
