The Fungus Among Us, or, Amber Prattles On

Having been gradually pulled into in the very instant-gratification world of Instagram and all that excitement over the past few years, blogging, once a passion of mine -- well, it all faded into the background hum of life until I barely remembered that part of myself anymore.







In an effort to stay sane in an increasingly stressful and hectic life,  I've vowed to start slowing some things down whenever I'm able, before I completely crack from a pace I'm not able to sustain.







I'll be taking more "slow pictures". Still digital, but not on a smartphone, so I have to actually take the time to sit down and upload them to the computer, then edit and resize them, then upload them and place them in blog posts. I used to enjoy the ritual of looking at everything off camera for the first time, and I'd lost that for a while there.







I'll be making more "slow food". Convenience foods in times of stress and rushing, when self care goes right out the window, have become my norm, and they're depleting me in every way imaginable -- even the so-called "healthy" ones. My budget cannot afford them, my body cannot digest them, and my mind cannot make sense of why I am intentionally punishing myself, over and over again.







I'll be doing more gardening. I've struggled with how to garden since we moved in here (Raised beds? Containers? In the ground??), and after nine years in this house, I finally know where I'd like to put a real garden. I had the soil tested for contaminants, I have local access to rich mushroom soil, all the poopy straw and wool mulch I could need from my shepherdess friend, and my own two composters are still functioning beautifully, so now we begin. This fall I'll be rototilling a patch at the back of the yard, and feeding and mulching it for the long, cold months, and come spring, I will have the most wonderful gift waiting for me.







I'll be making more time for creating. I knit, I sew, I paint things, I whittle things, I do a lot of things. Not saying I do them all well. But I do them, and I enjoy them, and they help me feel centered and grounded, and because they are a very important part of who I am, I will make time for them.







So that's the plan. Certainly nothing that hasn't been done and said a trillion times over around the world, but I'm putting it out there anyway, because I need to. <3