“...she knew what she wanted to do. “I’m going to read a book,” ~ Diana Wynne Jones

I am in the midst of preparing for the start of the new school term...by waving my saber around - I am actually practicing - and learning how to spin wool with the drop spindle I made. I am also waiting for more wool to arrive so I can use the spinning wheel I am now the owner of.

I struggled to adjust to this new mode of life at first. I longed for things to go back to normal, but now I have a new normal and am rather dreading the new normal to end. I have never felt more homey before. Canning and sewing and drying flowers. The sewing is still a learning process, I am now figuring out linings.

Today I walked down to the antique shops in the old part of downtown. I live in the older part of the city, which I really adore. While browsing I had a nice chat with three people about history. I do enjoy finding fellow humans who share my interests. (I also found an amazing Underwood typewriter which is begging to come home with me. A working Underwood.)

Now evening has fallen. It is a quiet evening in which I can enjoy with a friend, listening to records and reading and writing by light of my lantern. I cannot get enough of nights like this. For whatever reason they went away we have lost something of which it is hard to even put into words. I didn't have these kinds of night as a child, now I embrace them with no intention of letting them go. I do find myself to be one of those people who thinks technology takes far too much of our time and causes us to miss so much.

I do own technology, and I do watch movies. But I have never held much interest in either. For me, I saw so much of the harmful effects. And now, being on my own and an adult, I find I have the freedom to decide how I wish to spend my time and I have found I don't enjoy watching lots of movies. I would rather have my nose in a book.

My vast interests of reading has only grown as I have gotten older. I still love a well written children's story, fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, and history. Most of the time, whatever I am doing, what I would rather do instead is read.