Obsessions, Failures And Joys
Imbolc stitchery
Hey friends,
It took a bit longer than I had expected (thank you, thumb RSI) but my Imbolc embroidery is finally finished. I love it, the texture is so lovely. All those french knots, that my thumb hates, the feel of them is just lovely. *heart eyes*
And now it is time to look forward to the next festival in the Wheel of The Year. Spring Equinox is less than three weeks away. I’m so looking forward to the start of spring. Warmer days, please get here soon. :-)
If you would like to join in the Wheel of The Year stitchalong, sign up here.
When I was walking Blake this morning I got to thinking about various…obsessions I had as a child and how a lot of them are still part of my life in one way or other.
I devoured books about astronomy and at one point really wanted to become and astronomer. Atleast until I realised how much maths was involved in that. Then I decided to admire the night sky as a non professional instead, and I still do. :-D
The other evening I stepped out into the garden and just above our garden fence was Jupiter and Venus, right next to each other. Clear and bright. With the Moon some distance above. I gasped. It was so beautiful. :-)
At one point I got really fascinated by the ancient Romans. I clearly remember being in the school library looking through a book with illustrations of how life would have looked for the Romans. Later I took Latin for three years in ‘college’ and I even started studying classical philology (that’s ancient Latin and Greek to you and me) in university but I quickly decided that it wasn’t for me. I haven’t lost the interest in the Romans, though. I listen to any podcast about the subject that I can get my hands, well, ears, on.
After my failed attempt at Latin in university I decided that I’d study Italian instead. I love Italy. And Italian! Another childhood memory is going to work with my dad one day (can’t remember why) and I spent most of the day copying from a Danish-Italian phrasebook on a type writer in my dad’s office.
I stuck with Italian in university for a couple of years, during which time I went to Rome for the first time. Stepping off the train, bleary-eyed and sleep deprived after a 24 hour trip from Denmark, and emerging into the chaos of Termini station. It was love at first sight! My love for Rome and Italian endures, although the relationship with university Italian didn’t last!
I love languages and I used to quip that I’d love to learn all the languages in the world and obviously that’s crazy. But there is a kernel of truth in it. I would love to learn more languages. Imagine going on holiday to somewhere and be able to speak with the people who live there in in their own language! And you could watch tv there and understand it. And all the books you could have access to!
Just before the first lockdown started, I began learning Scottish Gaelic using the Duolingo app and although my knowledge of the language is very basic, I get very excited when I see a tweet in Gaelic and I can understand it without using the translate function!
I’m a nerd, friends. :-)
A nerd who draws. All my life I have drawn. There have been years where I did it much less than I do now, but it was always there. And the interest in art. So I tried my hand at studying art history in university after I parted ways with Italian. That didn’t last either and I finally decided that university probably wasn’t for me.
But art is still for me, both making it and enjoying it in museums and galleries, parks and random walls.
To be honest, I’m not sure where I’m going with all this… Other than to say, maybe there is something you used to love as a child and it would be fun to add it back into your life if you aren’t doing it anymore?
I’d love to hear about your childhood obsessions. :-)
I hope you have a lovely weekend!
x Carina
Some Things I Am Enjoying
Book: Threadneedle* by Cari Thomas. I’ve only just started the book. Have you read it? I think I like it but I’m kinda slowly getting into it.
Watching: The Law According to Lidia Poët (Original title: La legge di Lidia Poët). An Italian (!) show on Netflix, based on a true story. We've watched the first episode and it was good. (Full frontal nudity, just FYI.)
Music: The Lisa Ekdahl album by Lisa Ekdahl. I’d forgotten about this album, but I’m glad Spotify thought I might like it. Because I do. And it reminds me of my sister. :-)
*bookshop.org affiliate link.
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Thanks, always interesting reading!