Last week I was able to cross another item off my #30 before 40 list – create a macrame piece of art. I have been wanting to try my hand at macrame since I saw my friend, Kayla, working on a piece a couple of years ago. I bought the macrame cord back in the summer of 2020 but never got around to doing it. It always felt too scary or overwhelming when I would watch a video. Thus, I decided I needed to put it on my #30 before 40 list so I would be more inclined to actually try. Then, in August 2021 I went to visit Kayla and picked up a couple pieces of driftwood when we went to the Pacific Ocean. Then and there I knew I would use the wood for my macrame. I mean could it be more perfect? More than 6 months later and here we are, a completed macrame piece:
I used this video to guide me through the process. I was able to finish the piece after multiple stops and a couple of times of having to undo my work. It was a nice change of pace to my other current main hobbies of writing and reading. I like working with my hands and would like to do more projects that require that skill. Since I still have macrame cord left I’ll likely try making another piece, maybe something a little bigger next time.
Also last week I tried my hand at a new recipe – yet again from YouTube. That in itself is strange as I’ve never tried a recipe I’ve found from YouTube before, not that I can remember at least. And I don’t watch many baking videos on YouTube but somehow it knew I would want to watch this one. Peanut butter bread. I don’t know exactly why it called to me but I imagine it had something to do with B. Dylan’s enthusiasm. I made a vegan version of his bread and it turned out decent but way too rich for me. I don’t like peanut butter cookies so maybe that should have been a sign that I wouldn’t love this bread. I don’t plan on making it again. But if you like peanut butter cookies then maybe this recipe is worth a try. It did taste better with applesauce on top and I have no regrets about trying something new.
On Wednesday I got my first ever root canal. Woot! It went really well and the actual root canal process took less than 15 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. It was pain free too, I barely even felt the numbing shots. Yet again my dental office comes through for me. Now if only my mouth would come through for me too…I mean, do I need to start brushing three times a day?! My smile wasn’t too off kilter this time since it was the bottom half of my mouth that was numbed (see picture above) but the numbing didn’t wear off until after I fell asleep and it made me have a slight lisp when I spoke certain words so that was interesting.
I finally got my car’s windshield replaced too! That’s been at least a year in the making and it was the one resolution I had for 2021. Woohoo, guess I can slack off the rest of the year, right? 😉
The highlights of my week though happened at the end of the week. I got to see my ex-mother-in-law, Lydia. Two years since we last saw each other in person and almost that long since we had seen each other virtually too. She is in town visiting for a week and she made time to go on a walk with me at Fairmount Cemetery. It was very bittersweet and also sad. Her presence is a reminder of the pain and sadness that I went through prior to and during the divorce. It’s a reminder of a future I no longer have and a reminder that moving forward is still a continuous process. I am happier now than I was two years ago, but I still feel pain, anger, and sadness on occasion because of what went down. Life. Never quite goes how we plan it. Still, getting to spend time with Lydia was precious even if it took us some finagling and planning.
I also got to see Hamilton in theater on Saturday! My coworker, Nancy, whom I had dinner with a couple weeks ago, had purchased herself a ticket but when she heard I had never been to a live show (I’ve only seen the Disney+ Lin Manuel Miranda version), she gave me her ticket. Just emailed me her ticket and told me to go. I felt very honored and lucky. I LOVED the show. It was slightly different from the movie version, which made it kind of fun for me to try to spot the differences. The actor who played Thomas Jefferson was amazing and hilarious, everything he did was perfect. Everyone’s vocals were superb and the dancing was on point too. I can’t wait to have another chance to go sometime, this is a production I would see over and over again.
On Sunday I went to Chatfield State Park because I had checked out a state park pass from the library. I wanted to see if it would be a good park to go to for my meetup’s annual Lake Day. I spent about 2 1/2 hours at the park just wandering around and enjoying being outside. I found a dead fish in one place and when I poked it with a stick to see what it would feel like, it felt fake to me. But I swear, it had been alive at one point. I sat on the beach for a while so I could listen to the sound of the water. I decided Cherry Creek Reservoir is a superior place for Lake Day but I still appreciated getting to visit Chatfield. I hadn’t been there in many years.
That evening, Elisabeth and our friend, Alyssa, came over to my place for dinner. It was so comforting and enlivening to have them to hang out with for a few hours. We laughed a lot and I regaled them with my Hamilton experience and getting my root canal. Elisabeth brought me flowers which lifted my mood – I do like getting flowers. They left last night with a promise that we would get together again, which made me feel happy because they’re both great company.
Today Lydia is coming over for dinner before she heads back to Washington in a few days so I better go get ready. Gotta appreciate all the time I can have with her in case it’s another two years before I see her again!
Just Lauren 