Refverie - 2019 Books

 My favorite books of 2019!! This was hard because I read a lot of good books this year, but not a lot of them stood out. I chose these because they affected me more deeply than the others, I think.⁣ ⁣ I listened to An American Marriage on audiobook which was really interesting. There were two different narrators and they would change their voice based on the ages of the characters. This story is heavy and deep and gritty and very well told.⁣ ⁣ Red, White & Royal Blue is a modern romance novel and it was SO FUN. So uplifting, so well-written, so witty... I wish I could read it again for the first time.⁣ ⁣ With the Fire on High was another audiobook, which I listened to simply because Elizabeth Acevedo is such a good narrator. Emoni came alive and I loved watching her learn and grow. ⁣ ⁣ The Overstory was such an interesting structure and it made me start thinking like a tree and I don’t know how to say it other than that.⁣ ⁣ I listened to Evicted for my Intro yo Qualitative Research class this spring. Such an amazing feat of ethnography. The issue of eviction is so much more serious than I’d known, and Desmond does a great job with the stories he tells here.⁣ ⁣ Finally, another nonfiction! This one was really important for me to funnel my political anxieties into productive thoughts and conversations. It was like listening to a very long podcast series 😂⁣ ⁣ Thanks for joining me! Shoutout to Hoopla, the library app with audiobooks you don’t have to wait for (!), and Libby, the library app for books you do have to wait for. I think I’ve transitioned to be an ereader... what has this world come to.

Refverie - The Power of a Lamp

 The living room is a place I always forget to hang out in unless we have people over. I tend to spend my time in our guest room (which is really my craft room) or the basement watching TV. I spent some time thinking about why I never sat in here and realized it was because I didn’t like the overhead lighting. I had some block in my head and didn’t realize I could change this by (a) getting a lamp and (b) getting something to put the lamp on. I happened to be realizing this when it was cyber Monday week or whatever and I ended up getting these on way sale. Once I got them, I instantly started hanging out in here more! (Could also be the hella cozy Christmas decorations...) We then got some throw pillows and Byron came home with this beautiful art piece he saved from an abandoned house about to be demolished. Now it’s 1 million percent cozier in here!!⁣ ⁣ Two things were blocking me from making this room what I wanted... ⁣ ⁣ First, I kinda forget that I am the boss of my own life. I keep trying to find people to ask for permission. Byron is someone I tend to ask and he’s like- why are you asking me this? Live your life?? Another person I ask is the imaginary jealousy amalgam of the good parts of everyone else’s life. I’m like- does this hold up to that? It’s an impossible standard so I’m trying to recognize it and forget it. ⁣ ⁣ The second thing holding me back is my guilt for not finding everything secondhand. I want to thrift things because I know that it is better for the environment. However, shopping is stressful so I usually go into it with a very specific item in mind. This doesn’t work for thrifting- you have to be more at the whim of the moment. So I tend to avoid that and then just not shop for what I want. I decided in this instance that a lamp would make me enjoy my space more and it was not worth the internal struggle of feeling guilty about thrifting. It’s an ongoing thing I’m working through! I have a long life ahead of me to get better at these things, I have to remember that.

Refverie - 2019 Crafts

 Resurrecting this account for my year-end lists!!⁣ ⁣ First up, here are 9 things I made in 2019! I made a couple more things but thought this showed a good spread of the types of things I crafted.⁣ ⁣ The top row is knitting... took a fun class, got some funfetti yarn when I was in Toronto for a conference, and did a trendy project that helped me gain confidence!!⁣ ⁣ Middle row is my crochet and cross stitching. Cross stitching was my first craft love but I don’t tend to do it as often as my other crafts. I’ve been inspired by cute designs on Etsy, though, so I might bring it back! I taught myself to crochet and love how quickly it moves and that I can make little (or big) stuffed animals.⁣ ⁣ The third row is sewing which I just really learned for real this year! I have sewed other projects since back in elementary school, but it was really just straight lines and I kinda made it up as I went. Following patterns and choosing fabrics was a lot of fun this summer and I’m proud of what I made. Turns out I can’t find the mental space to sew in the school year... I might try to work on that, might not!⁣ ⁣ It’s fun seeing them all together like this. I’m excited to see what I make next year!!!

Refverie - Blackberries

 This past weekend, we went up to Ben Haven for Fourth of July, and it was so relaxing and amazing. I saw an unripe blackberry on the wall by the driveway and it sent me on a bit of a naturalist journey! I went around and found blackberries- some of them ripe! - and I feel like my eyes have been opened. There are blackberries all over the paths up there in the mountains. I know what the leaves look like!! I got a few scratches from the brambles 😬... the whole thing gave me so much joy. Idk why it made me so happy but I loved it so much.⁣ ⁣ My naturalist journey has been slow... I remember learning different types of trees literally only three years ago. (Which might be surprising because I give off strong *~nature girl~* vibes.) In general, I am not very observant and I didn’t know really where to start, but I started slow and now feel like I add on one little layer at a time. I can recognize some birds by sight now, and at least one bird by its call. I know the main NC tree types, and how to figure out the type if I don’t know it off the top of my head. I get overwhelmed not knowing everything right away, but I do love learning that I have my whole life ahead of me to learn these little bits of nature.

Refverie - Sea Turtles

 Once again I have forgotten about this account ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #livelaughlove ⁣ ⁣ I was feeling bored and cooped up because I was sick through the rainy times two weeks ago, and was missing any and all normal human interaction. I saw this pic of me and Byron on our lunch break from a sea turtle workshop last month and it made me swell up with love for him! ⁣ ⁣ He came to this workshop with me because it just worked best for our weekend travel plans, and it was light and silly and just fun, and I didn’t think much of it. But looking back made me feel so full of love I think because I always do stuff by myself and don’t really ever talk about those types of workshops with people because I don’t expect them to really care. So these are normally really solo experiences. ⁣ ⁣ Byron spent the time just sitting there taking notes about turtles and talking with the people in the class... it was so cute. He cares about me and follows me around to do stuff and it’s fun and idk, just a facet of marriage I hadn’t really expected!!!!!

Refverie - Swans and Bears

 Nature walk 2 of 52!!! ⁣ (Number 1 was my GLACIER WALK OMG... see my regular account for details). ⁣ ⁣ I am starting off my weekly nature walks strong this year... I really am excited to get out and about. This walk was a part of an amazing Educator Trek “Where Swans Fly and Bears Walk” put on by @naturalsciences. So incredible - we saw 37 different species of birds!!!!! Probably going to hike in Durham Friday morning if you wanna join 😉 ⁣ If you turn the sound on, you will hear the geese and swans on the lake... a truly surreal and amazing experience. Reminded me of the last part of Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese”:⁣ ⁣ Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,⁣ the world offers itself to your imagination,⁣ calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -⁣ over and over announcing your place⁣ in the family of things.

(accompanied by a video I can't access right now?)

Refverie - 2018 Best Books

 My six fav books this year! Powerful women, inherited trauma, excellent narration, and all but one by women authors!!! I highly recommend each of these. The Fifth Season and its sequels are truly my favorite books of all time. Wow!!!!