2012: The year of Ireland and sputtering ovaries

This, my 51st year on this go-round on Earth, was a roller coaster ride! I have also discovered, in looking back, that I really did not blog much.

In January, my focus was on healing. I had surgery in two places, my left wrist and my left palm. It took longer than I expected to heal, but I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer to play with some dye and fabric. I also painted this acrylic piece, unusual for me to paint on canvas, but it was an unusual time. I reintroduced myself to a sewing machine, inspired by the work of Jude Hill and her students, because I could not hand-stitch. These boros fascinate me – weaving strips of cloth and stitching them together pushes my buttons on so many levels.

In February, I celebrated my 51st birthday, my 7th blogiversary, and began obsessively planning our trip to Ireland. I also started weaving on my loom again, and put together a couple of little books, both of which belong to new owners now.

March was mainly focused on my paying job, as it often is. I wasn’t well enough to tackle the enormity of the garden clean-up to get the Back Forty going again full on, but I enjoyed the time I had left with my buddy Guido.

April was full of menopausal craziness and anticipating the big trip ahead, but I did take a few great photos of my hometown and nearby sites.

May was seriously all about Ireland. I couldn’t possibly pick only two of my favorite photos to post here, so go to the posts. We spent our 25th anniversary between Kenmare and a beautiful inn on the seacliffs of the Dingle Peninsula. Our journey left me with a heartache to go back, and we both agreed that we will start planning for our retirement there.

June: I guess that I did get a little gardening done.

We spent the last week of June at Lake Waccamaw.

In July, I had a great weaving month. Mainly because I played. It is good to play.

In August, not only did this website get buggered up, my laptop got such a nasty Trojan horse that we finally wiped the hard drive. I decided that I didn’t care that much about having total control over my blog’s design, and began the move to WordPress.com. I have not regretted it.

September brought the Art-is-You retreat in California, one of the nicest retreats I have attended, and that is saying a lot. Plus I got to hang out for about eight hours with one of my favorite people, exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and eating a great dinner in Petaluma.

I finished weaving my favorite piece of the year in October, a tapestry based on a photograph I took on a short hike in front of our inn near Dingle.

It was a tough month for me, though. My depression turned severe. I holed up in my bedroom more than ever. I didn’t write much in public about it. I had to send my buddy Guido over the Rainbow Bridge.

I did get by with a little help from my friends JoJo and Lauren, who invited me for a beautiful weekend in Wilmington and Wrightsville and Topsail Beaches.

November: Fun handwoven cuffs, a couple more books, Thanksgiving, hair dyeing, and some emotional healing.

In December, taking back my kitchen, getting rid of stuff, and turning the dining room into a studio became my obsession. I took on some new responsibility at Elements Gallery. Fun with marbling paper at Susanne’s, which led to this book: