Someone Else's Home

 

I wasn't sure what tag to use for our Florida return. Previously there was Winter Park, and then Thornton Park. We used Wicker Park for our home in Chicago (technically we were in Ukrainian Village, but Ukie Village was lesser known at the time). Now, this blog post has been sitting unpublished because I don't know what to tag this next adventure. Inspired by Walt Disney and his research to make Orlando the home of Walt Disney World, we'll go with The Orlando Project. And home. But home has been less location-specific. Orlando, we'll be here a while. We've got plans and projects around this home. And we've got the mortgage paperwork to prove it. 

In the first few weeks, it felt like we were in someone else's home. As if we were in an AirBnB, or guests of someone.  And even when our furniture and boxes of books and treasured items arrived, it still felt like we were in someone else's home for a little. Now, it's more like home. And I'm sure in a year from now, it will truly feel like ours. 

I sold a blanket! After so long of inactivity with my online knit shop, and my lack of attention to this blog and the shop, a kind soul from California was looking for handmade goods. I'm making her a custom blanket, inspired by one in my shop. It feels good to have inspiration to knit again. I often loved to knit on cold Chicago nights. But now feeling settled in our new home, a little old routine of winter knitting seems like a great restorative activity.

Another restorative activity that was always an old favorite of mine: reading. I don't read as much as I once did. Working and parenting will do that to you. But I've really been trying to read more paperback books these days. Often, I order used paperbacks online for a few dollars. Having something tactile on my nightstand gets me motivated to read more than my Kindle app ever did. The one thing that could improve the Kindle experience for me would be if the sound of a page turn happened with every page swipe. It would be so satisfying. Although, I do love how sustainable it is to have e-books. 

A few friends are doing a book club, and they were telling me about a book that they couldn't put down and that they would be discussing it at book club (over Zoom) over the weekend. It will be nice to connect with friends over something besides Zoom-based happy hours/drinking/games. And suddenly, I'm prioritizing finishing the book in time to join their discussion. 

Like the deadline of needing to ship a blanket to the west coast in a week, having a deadline to complete a few hundred pages of a mystery novel for a book club, well, you know they say some people work better on a deadline. Feels good to get back to my favorite restorative activities.