Tag: 2023

Word of the Year: 2023

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large collage of images from 2022: Lots of my face, some spinning yarn, some weaving, and a few with friends
Photo collage of 2022 highlights

2022 in Retrospective: I often take the time at the end of the year to look at my crafty accomplishments or maybe my experiences from the year. It often is a time to see if my “word of the year” fit my pursuits or my actions. In 2022, I selected CONNECTIONS with the hope that I would be in the moment and be part of people’s lives.

When I assembled this photo collage, these are the highlight photos that jumped out at me.

  • January: Crafty pursuits included preparing for February online teaching.
  • February: Teaching more Andean Weaving as part of Franquemont University.
  • March: I actually did the homework as we studied “Spinning with Color” and had lots of fun.
  • April: Shenanigans! More crazy push-the-limits weaving with my weaving-bestie.
  • May: Some connections at Potrero (SCA camping) and more weaving.
  • June: Scan Fest textiles demo and Lyondemere Baronial Anniversary
  • June, July, August, September: Lots of swimming!
  • July, August, September: The great house interruption with the water leak and then asbestos abatement and 23-days kicked out. But bonus: Connection with my sister.
  • October: Demo in Irvine, some good things at Great Western War (more SCA), but BOO we ended up with Covid post-GWW. I lost pretty much the rest of the month.
  • November: Big Santa ramp up, Family gratefulness dinner with Boyo, and some string!
  • December: Yule with Lyondemere & Gyldenholt, then ALL SANTA ALL THE TIME.

I can barely believe that’s what happened this year, and “Connections” also was followed up by a surprise companion word this year: INTERRUPTIONS.

I know this: I’m so thankful that I have the partner and family and friends in my closest support groups that helped me get through this year.

Santa and me, in a car on the CA freeways
How I spent my New Year’s Eve: In seven-plus hours of torrential rain

So what did I select as my “Word of the Year” over the past decade?

Looks like I’m consistent–always working on something, always pursuing something, trying to be both in the moment and finding those incremental improvements. I often joke that my super power is “Incremental Improvement Girl.” What does that make me reflect on then? And what’s different now compared to previous years?

For one, we still have a Covid-world. I still work from home most days, I still take my mask out with me most places. It’s “not over” yet and will never be if most of the world just ignores it. If I just do a google news search for “covid” and my county, the top news all feature warnings for surges from Holidays and New Years. They might even reimpose an indoor mask mandate in my local county, again.

Cases of Covid in Los Angeles County, CA - from March 17 2020 through Dec 21 2022. Spike in Dec/Jan of 2021 into the 15k cases range and spike just after New Years 2022 into the 40k range
Cases in LA County from Mar 17, 2020 to Dec 31, 2021. Huge spikes occur at New Years for both 2021 and 2022.
Deaths from Covid in Los Angeles County, CA - from March 17 2020 through Dec 21 2022. Spike in Jan/Feb of 2021 into 200+ deaths per day range and spike in Jan/Feb 2022 into the 50+ deaths per day range
Deaths in LA County from Mar 17, 2020 to Dec 31, 2021. The biggest spikes are again in January/February each year.

I can only describe October 2022 as, “and then I lost a month from Covid.” Sweetie was infected, and it was impossible to isolate effectively in our small home. So I was sick on a two-day delay from him.

Every year, there is a risk that Santa “catches the crud” from the number of children he sees. We know it’s part of the job. But after we both were sick with and then recovered from Covid in October, the year-end crud has hit him so much harder than ever before.

What does all this have to do with my Word of the Year?

I no longer really know how to set plans the way I used to. On one hand, life is still life. I still want to do crafty things, I want to teach, I want to influence people for the better, and I want to be there for my partner, my family, and my friends.

But is there a “THEME” for me nowadays? I’m not sure.

Sweetie and I just spent the evening looking over the Santa season, making note of what went well, what could be improved, our plans and goals for the next year, and getting fully caught up with each other. One thing I noticed about the scramble we had to jump into the season in November, it was easiest if I just took charge of all the paperwork and records, and we communicated constantly about everything. And we have plans for his workshops, his mentorships, his own storytelling, his Santa season–which means technically, “There is no off-season.”

I’m not sure how we’re going to accomplish the things we are interested in doing together. But we’re committed to communicating, setting priorities, and pursuing our dreams together. Still, after all these years, he’s the most fun to be around.

Beyond our joint ventures, I’m still interested in spinning, weaving, and studying textiles (and textiles history). I am still pursuing language lessons (mostly Spanish daily, but also Mandarin Chinese about weekly, and learning to read Korean Hangul on occasion). I still have lots of house organization to do, boxes to unpack, and de-cluttering to do. I’m still on a variety of social media sites and we have some goals for increased video content.

I’m not sure if there’s a theme word for me yet. Maybe I’ll have something eventually.

But right now, “There is no off-season.”