keep centered

Appreciation: Visitations; Change; Sweaters; Coffee.

Me: General good mood continues. I'm living my dream life.

I love when people come to London to visit and I get to go to a nice dinner someplace and have a fine evening out with friends. This week's instalment was with Duncan and Renike, last night – we found a great cocktail bar in Soho for pre-dinner drinks, then shared an excellent meal at 10 Greek Street (one of my faves). I never get tired of that sort of thing.

The Food Report: I made Jambalaya in the slow-cooker at the start of the week, and it was not only the exact right thing to eat because I had a stupid cold, it made enough to last all week, padded out with the keto rice I found. I'll definitely make that again. Dinner, last night, reminded me that leeks are amazing and really under-appreciated in our culinary lives, and that I should bust out the leek/lentil gratin recipe soon.

Villa Formaggi Resort & Spa: Dusty AF, of course, but I'm broadly staying on top of things.

The table that I bought to go under the window that was way too big for the space is now living its best life in my bedroom, allowing me to get my laundry baskets off the floor, and the piles of things off of my bed. I realise it's just moving piles around, but it's contributing to a sense of organisation which my brain is really enjoying, right now.

Reading, Watching, Listening: Reading: . . . Watching: YouTube Listening: A lot of subliminals.

Eagerly Anticipating: . . . Christmas, I guess. Not a lot on the horizon in the short-term.

SCA: I still owe my student a drawing of her device - she wants a red panda "rampant," so I'll need to figure that out. I have some other scribally things to do, so hopefully I can have a spate of arting soon. I did not do the things for Crown that I mean to do for Crown, but one of the recipients will be at Yule Ball, and one of the recipients will be at 12th Night, so Yule Ball has become my new deadline.

I need to fix the sleeve lining on my green dress, and maybe embellish the neckline. We'll see when I get to that. I'm having thinky thoughts about 16th c. stuff, though - I need to retire the two dresses I have as they don't fit properly. I also need to make more chemises of all sorts.

I think I now have the energy and the impetus to sew together the collection of fabric that's been aging for a year into the Langobard stuff. I still need shoes, but I'll be better-placed to sort that out in fairly short order.

Projects: Green sweater frogged and restarted, and it's trundling along at a good pace. I took the hood for Ma to Dorchester and made good progress on it. I also wore the black cowl I made for my Singing in Drafty Churches Capsule Wardrobe, and may rip it out and do it over, since I wasn't completely happy with it. I also need to have a think about the gloves for this collection, since my hands did get cold, even though it was broadly warmer than the last time we were there.

Lots of thinky thoughts about modern clothing sewing, but stopping just short of buying fabric for that, so far. I consoled myself for not buying super expensive plum-coloured wool from Merchant & Mills for a coat I don't need by buying some gorgeous yarn in the exact same colour for way less money.

Work: So. Two weeks in, and I still like it, not that the bar was particularly high. It's just such a different vibe than the previous place. I'm still working through some of my PTSD, but managing to get settled in.

My manager was off to Spain, for most of the week, to present the new branding to the leadership team, so I'm looking forward to hearing how that went, and getting more involved in things. I think I'll be moving to my permanent desk on Monday, which will help, as I'll be sat directly next to the people I'm working with, rather than hidden by a giant monitor on the other side of the row of desks.