A full year
May. 7th, 2023 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaI arrived back in the Bay Area on Monday May 9, 2022. A full year of piecing a new life together, step by step.
Yesterday I picked up the framed art to replace the standard frame whose glass cracked across in the move. The glass was already chipped, so that's unsurprising. Today I glued the only other casualty, the left horn of a beloved black dragon clay sculpture. You can just see the glitter of clear glue in the closeup. The pot started out with a gold kintsugi repair at the rim, so the glittery horn adds to that. (There's a Japanese artist's stamp on the pot, and sadly I don't remember her name. I'll have to continue digging to see if I saved a business card somewhere.)
Today I had 3 zoom meetings, went to the farmer's market, and walked around the Berkeley Marina with a friend. Yesterday I went to the eye doctor and a two-hour singing group. Two of the zoom meetings are regular events, and the third was decidedly irregular - I probably haven't talked to my sister in 5 years. We do email occasionally. We both made polite conversation and it was fine. Good to see my mostly-grown nephew, too. It's a full new life!
Yesterday I picked up the framed art to replace the standard frame whose glass cracked across in the move. The glass was already chipped, so that's unsurprising. Today I glued the only other casualty, the left horn of a beloved black dragon clay sculpture. You can just see the glitter of clear glue in the closeup. The pot started out with a gold kintsugi repair at the rim, so the glittery horn adds to that. (There's a Japanese artist's stamp on the pot, and sadly I don't remember her name. I'll have to continue digging to see if I saved a business card somewhere.)
Today I had 3 zoom meetings, went to the farmer's market, and walked around the Berkeley Marina with a friend. Yesterday I went to the eye doctor and a two-hour singing group. Two of the zoom meetings are regular events, and the third was decidedly irregular - I probably haven't talked to my sister in 5 years. We do email occasionally. We both made polite conversation and it was fine. Good to see my mostly-grown nephew, too. It's a full new life!
What a lovely guardian dragon
Date: 2023-05-12 06:32 pm (UTC)to accompany you on the big move. (Is it made of yixing clay?)
So glad to hear of the community and comfort you've found back in your own backyard.
Re: What a lovely guardian dragon
Date: 2023-05-15 03:26 am (UTC)I went down the rabbit hole of that yixing link. What gorgeous (expensive!) teapots! I don't know if my dragon pot is made of that clay. It might be. I got it years ago at the Oregon Potters Association show, and treasure it. I put a lot of care into packing it up, and it was the last box I unpacked because I was so scared it would be smashed.
The song is a good reminder that lots of people make big circles in their lives. I've never understood people "moving back home" because I feel no need to return to the East Coast, but maybe now I understand better.
Re: What a lovely guardian dragon
Date: 2023-05-15 04:21 pm (UTC)Yixing teapot rabbit hole is thematically on point this Lunar year.
When I was a "conversation partner" for ELL learners, I had the good fortune to meet someone planning to open a tea shop in Taiwan. She showed me the Gongfu tea ceremony and introduced me to 100-year-old pu'erh tea as well as 50-year-old Yixing pots. She's still in Wisconsin and we're still friends. She mostly makes tea with tea bags now.
Goldthread is a "Chinese culture" YouTube channel; 6 minutes (pro captions) showing how experts build the teapots by hand--it can take up to a month!
Re: What a lovely guardian dragon
Date: 2023-05-21 04:07 am (UTC)Re: What a lovely guardian dragon
Date: 2023-05-21 07:38 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you liked them.
I don't think I've captured her on video -- perhaps because she's rarely in one place for long. She's a world citizen and polymath -- in addition to Taiwanese, she speaks Mandarin, German, and English and she's learning Cantonese and Spanish. Since she decided to stay in the U.S., she's worked as an interior designer and builder (non-licensed architect), built her own house from top to bottom as well as most of the furniture, raised her nephew, dived deep into tango, spent time working as a carpenter and designer in various places around the states. As well as visits to Taiwan and Germany and (most recently) Patagonia.
I've had the great good fortune to celebrate the Lunar New Year with her in two centuries.