May is my birthday month and one of my favorite times of the year. When the weather warms up and we all go outside again, there is a collective sense of joy and re-connection that I look forward to every year.
One of my main intentions lately has been to accept my own limitations. I have so much creative energy and projects I want to work on. In the past, I have pushed, forced, rushed and overbooked myself in order to accomplish as many of those things at possible. All of this has been at a cost to my own nervous system regulation by constantly pushing beyond my capacity. It’s a wonderful thing to want to spend time with my loved ones and work on all my various creative pursuits, but I’ve been considering the way I do these things.
A mantra that brings me back to this intention is the process is the way. Bringing forth a creative project into the world is a sacred process and that process is more important than checking the box off my project list and having the completed thing. Learning to allow myself to approach life in a relaxed and easeful way is one of my current lessons.
I want to relax at my house and have down time where I am simply existing without needing to always be doing something. A lot of this has been related to starting a job outside of my creative work and noticing myself bringing the hustle energy I had as a full time business owner into my non-monetized creative projects. Oof! It’s a constant process of noticing myself rushing, slowing down and accepting that maybe I can only work on 1-2 creative projects at a time. AND THAT IS OK! Because you can do it all, just not all at the same time.
This is the second month of my year of zine-making project titled AESTHETIC UNIVERSE! Each month, I am creating a mini zine documenting my projects and inspiration and mailing them to my paid subscribers. I sent the first one for free to everyone in April. Thank you to my six paid subscribers. This project is a delight and I am hoping to expand it to have twenty paid subscribers. You can join by paying $5.55/month. It’s a small delight to receive in the mail and it’s absolutely worth it.
I was extremely delighted to receive an Omnichord for my birthday, which was gifted to me by my partner. I had been hyperfixated on them for months after coming across a video online of someone playing it.
An omnichord is an analog synthesizer that emulates an auto harp. It was made in the ‘80s by Suzuki, was discontinued in the ‘90s and has had a cult following ever since. I have been taking voice lessons since January, and I knew it would be the perfect accompaniment for my singing practice. It has been a joy to learn how to play it and looking up guitar tabs to my favorite songs to play the chords while I sing.
Singing has not just been a fun musical endeavor for me, but has also been deeply healing as I learn how to allow myself to take up space and not be embarrassed by the vulnerability that comes with making music with my own voice. I even publicly shared a video of me playing a Kacey Musgraves song to my YouTube channel because I am leaning into things that feel beyond my comfort zone and just having fun with it.
In May, I planted my veggie garden in the plots I cultivate at my community garden. I also planted a variety of flowers in the tiny patch of soil alongside my house. Here’s how my garden looked in early May and how it looked at the end of May. I currently have in my garden: tomatoes (sungold and purple Cherokee), basil, mint, parsley, arugula, lettuce, kale, indigo, chamomile, calendula, marigolds, zinnia, potatoes, cucumbers, and Thai basil. This year has been my best gardening year yet since I have had much more capacity for my plants as I am healing from my years long extreme burnout. I love to see everything thriving and growing! As of writing this, I have some tomatoes that are coming in and my herbs are very happy.
I sewed myself a plaid midi-length skirt using the Henrietta skirt pattern by Spaghetti Western Sewing with fabric from Arts & Scraps. I made a valiant effort to match the plaids on the skirt! This is the third Henrietta skirt I have made - I love this pattern!
I also made myself a green striped button up shirt (Rose Raglan pattern) that I have been wearing almost daily since. Wearing a button up shirt is the perfect layering element in the summer when you want to have protection from the sun or from blasting air conditioners, but you can also wear a tank top underneath if you get too hot. I cannot wait to make more of these! I also got myself the Genra pattern from Daughter Judy , which is another button up with a different style collar.
I listened to the audio book of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke after it was the topic of conversation at my knitting circle. It was very compelling and I couldn’t stop listening to it! The story is about a woman who makes a living as an Instagram influencer who shares about her life as a homesteader and mother of many children in Idaho, and then is thrust back in time to a period she glorifies. It’s about the truth of what is happening behind the scenes in the lives of people who have seemingly perfect lives they share about online. There’s a lot to be said about performing as a trad wife online (but actually having that performance be income generating) and the realities of being a woman and not having agency over your own financial freedom. I enjoyed it and would recommend!
I went to see the exhibition called Handmade: The Crafting of America at the Henry Ford Museum with some friends from my knitting circle and it was so inspiring! One of the aspects of the exhibit that piqued my interest was a section about the handmade work of the Shakers. This led to me watching the Ken Burns PBS documentary Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God. It was so intriguing to me how these people were in a way extremely radical in their beliefs on gender equality and as chattel slavery abolitionists. They dedicated their days to creating beautiful yet simple architecture, furniture and healthy food. I hope I can one day visit the remaining Shaker villages in Maine and New Hampshire!
Thank you for reading! What’s been inspiring you? What projects have you been working on? Have any book recommendations? Would love to know.
xoxo
Meg
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