You’ll never know how much difference one individual can make until there’s a single mosquito in your bedroom that you can’t kill.
On Friday at 2:00 am, I was awakened by an intense itch in my left fingers and hand. Generally, mosquito bites don’t bother me too much, but this was different. I gently itched, but the feeling on the back of my hand was intense and almost painful. After a few minutes, I turned my bedside light on to see what was going on.
I could see a raised, white welt right beside the knuckle of my middle finger. I looked for one on the back of my hand but saw nothing. It seems he or she bit me in just the right spot to make the feelings radiate throughout my hand. My finger felt a bit swollen, so I took my ring off and set it on my nightstand. I rubbed the areas gently, as I know scratching too much can cause an infection.
I wasn’t sure what else to do (and couldn’t go back to sleep with it feeling like that), so I went into the kitchen and put an ice pack (wrapped in a kitchen towel, of course) on my hand for a few minutes. I do think that helped, along with extending and contracting my fingers to get the blood circulating.
After a while, the itchiness calmed down, and I was able to go back to sleep.
All that from a little tiny mosquito.
🧿 Life Observations
Change is Rarely All Good or All Bad
Last week, my landlords replaced all the old (yet still very functional) windows in my building. It was a chaotic day for me and Libby as all our furniture was smashed together in the middle of each room, and the noise level was pretty jarring.
On the bright side, my electric bill should go down, and I should hear less street noise at night while I'm trying to sleep.
But there are some downsides. First, they installed my wide kitchen windows backward. They used to open on the insides, which meant when I had them open, I was standing right in front of the breeze while preparing meals. Now they open over my oven and behind my fridge, which is much less convenient. I didn't notice until they were done, and my landlord has no intention of correcting it. So, I immediately felt a sense of loss. (That’s what I get for not paying attention to something one time!)
After being in my newly quieter apartment the next day, I also realized that many of the bird noises Libby and I used to love may no longer reach us. I remember nights lying in bed hearing a beautiful bird song at 11 pm and just feeling my mouth unconsciously smiling.
I feel like I am entering a period of endings and new beginnings, and I feel it is time.
📑 Project Updates
Long Dog Sampler Cross-Stitch
I'm getting further along on this but not with the speed I'd like. At least now that I'm doing a pattern that's only four pages, I know I'll finish it in some reasonable amount of time. And I’m loving the colors I chose, including the fabric.
The Arts Marathon is coming to an end on the 30th, so I will be done making daily videos. Next week, I'll include the link to the YouTube playlist of all the videos I made so you can check them out if you’d like.
Card Game
After chatting with a friend the other day, I decided to revisit the social card game I started working on a few years ago. I think I can tweak it nicely to compliment the book I’m writing. Plus, I can probably reuse illustrations from the book for it, so that’s exciting. More info on that soon.
⏰️ Currently
🌦 Feeling like I am in a calm before a storm, but not necessarily a bad storm.
🚴♀️ Focusing on being as healthy as possible for financial and mental health reasons.
🌿 Experiencing daily gratitude for the peaceful, simple life I’ve built that gives me maximum flexibility and breathing space.