Hey Fiberista. I think I need more coffee, but I am pushing forward anyway. I am sitting on my front balcony listening to my neighbor chat on the phone in a different language. It is cool enough for a sweater, but sunny enough to be an irresistible morning. I toyed with going to a hip downtown coffee shop. That has always been a dream of mine since I started blogging. I remember when I had a desk job, I used to stop in around the corner at the hip coffeeshop in Asheville and I would see young entrepreneurs in yoga pants sipping matcha soy lattes tapping away on their laptops. I vowed that once I broke free from the soul-crushing 9 to 5, I would spend my mornings tapping away on my laptop writing my blog posts. I have plans to meet my mastermind buddy at a new joint tomorrow morning, so for today, My porch will do just fine. I don’t reckon there will be many more cool mornings like today to languish in another cuppa joe from my own coffee maker, hanging with the dog, where I don’t have to fight someone for the plug to recharge my machine. Summers in Raleigh start in May. Global warming means 85˚ by 8:00 am.

I usually like to have a theme for my Friday Five, but today, Fiberista, I am spitballing a freeflow brain dump.

#5: Learning to love the buzzards.

I don’t know why I never saw as many buzzards in Asheville as I do here. I mean I am sure they exist there. And I don’t think the City of Asheville was better at clearing the roadkill as the town of Cary is. Fiberista, there are so many buzzards here. I am not gonna lie, I found it disturbing to see a buzzard party tearing apart a deer carcass on the side of a road. And if you are familiar with how well-manicured West Cary is you will understand how even more odd the whole wild kingdom carnage is. I am actually surprised at how much wildlife lives in my high-density corner of town. There is a bunch of green space and parks in-between the dense clusters of development, so I suppose nature just settles in regardless. I am not mad about it. I have learned to love watching the buzzards glide through the air.

#4: Back on the art journal bandwagon.

I wish I were more consistent about my art journal practice. But sadly, I am not. I tell you mainly because I have fallen in love with gelli plate backgrounds, and setting up for an afternoon with my paints and gelli plates was just too much effort. I have moved my home office to another part of the house and added my art journal space there as well. Y’all. It has been a game-changer. I am hoping my enthusiasm for art journaling will not fade with the enthusiasm for my new workspace. My art journals have evolved so much over the years. But I will say it has grown with my work as a whole and has totally changed the way I approach my projects as part of a cohesive whole.

#3: I have also been spinning WAYYY more.

In the great house revamp of this year, I have also moved my espinner to a little sitting area in my bedroom. It has been just a perfect wind-down to my day to just do some mindless spinning and plying while watching the news before bed. I now have a basket full of new handspun yarn that is inspiring me to get onto the loom. I am not 100% sure which loom. But I feel like it may be my big floor loom. I love art weaving, and I love my floor loom. I am determined to explore art weaving on my floor loom…as soon as I rework the converted living room space that will house my looms.

#2: Real estate in the Triangle is challenging.

I mean, real estate everywhere has been bananas overall. But here in the Raleigh/Durham area…it is enough to break even the most seasoned agents. Lord knows I was not expecting a global pandemic nor an influx of big tech when I decided to get my license. But here we are. So I do what I can, and keep learning and growing. I do love it. It really is all about marketing, which is my wheelhouse thanks to my former life in advertising.

#1: Class migrations and reconnecting with you guys.

The company that housed my online classes is going out of business. They announced this in November 2021. I spent the first 4 months of that time trying to make the first migration work. OMG the learning curve was steep and I was having to patch together 2 pieces of software that evidently did not like talking to each other. In March I started the migration over completely with Teachable and it has been so much better. Classes have been moved, students have been informed, and I have just loved being back in touch with you guys. I really did miss connecting with y’all. I have some new ideas I would love to produce, but y’all….I am pacing myself this time. Burnout is real, especially in the online space. So baby steps…sustainably…my number one goal is to make art again and get it out there. To slowly add what I can while still carving out a sustainable pace around work (bill paying kind of work, not artwork).

What are you guys working on this weekend? Leave me some comment love and share with me what is up.