All at once now — a quick update

A waterfall at the Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland

A waterfall at the Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland

We’re back from Scotland, so expect to see several posts over the next several days (weeks?) related to that adventure.  There’s much to share, including how to survive single-lane roads, millionaire shortbread, the great hoodie search, castle ruins, Doric dialect, figuring out how to order coffee, and security observations coming and going. One constant: the people of Scotland we met were kind and welcoming, and they had a fun sense of humor — like there was some sort of “trickster” gene they shared.

As if International travel wasn’t enough, we’re also in escrow to buy a house, which is its own adventure. If all goes well (please oh please let everything go well), we close on the 24th.  The last day of our rental lease is the 30th, so this is going to be a couple weeks of remembering to breathe. We’ll be hosting friends on the 18th, so we’re figuring out what we can pack now, and what must wait until the 19th so our friends have a comfortable space.

Of course, all the while, my work is full of big projects while overseeing the daily needs assigned to me, plus I’m attending a STAR symposium this week (on neurodiversity). It’s all actually quite fun!  Just requires a bit more caffeine these days.

Love Between Fairy and Devil – exploring beyond the familiar

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I was thinking about stopping my Netflix subscription again. Try as I might, I couldn’t find anything new that I wanted to watch.  Why do I even have this account?  I browsed different categories, and it was more of the same. I clicked the thumbs-up icon to “like” certain shows to try helping the algorithm, but still nothing new.  It actually recommended Twilight to me.  Okay, so I’m good with fantasy and shape-shifters and such… maybe I can help refine the results a bit?

So I searched for “vampire” to see if I could find some vampire shows that I did like and let Netflix clue in a bit better.

What I got was something unexpected. It was mostly Korean and Chinese Drama shows, None with vampires, mind you. Among them, however, was something called Love Between Fairy and Devil.  

My first reaction: Netflix, your algorithm is drunk. Go home.

But curiosity got the better of me, and I opened up the first episode. The intro was beautiful, so I kept viewing.  Then the first scenes played, and I found myself asking, “What am I watching here?”  It seemed like a combination of a comic book, a stage play with elaborate costuming and background scenery, and some CGI.  Not just the visuals, but the acting too. I allowed myself to let go, be curious, and just take it in.

It was cute, silly, cheesy… and I cringed a bit at first. However, it was also beautiful and interesting, and I found that I couldn’t look away.  I kept watching. It required that I let go of preconceived ideas, not expect familiar visuals or tropes, and watch the characters’ reactions to things that were said or done (because I couldn’t rely on my own interpretations of how meaningful a certain action was). By the end of the show, I felt I understood those expectations a bit more.  That’s right: I watched the whole thing, all the way to the end.  I have all the songs stuck in my head now, none of which I understand the lyrics for, but I found that I enjoyed them too.

Netflix noticed that I watched all of the episodes.  Now my account shows me almost only shows I need the captions on to understand. There’s a whole other world out there, and apparently I have found entry to another small part of it. Perhaps, once I explore the current recommendations, I can see where else a key word search can lead me.

Living in Liminal Spaces

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Changing the bedding, I stripped the blankets and tossed them on the floor. The blankets ended up staying there for a couple days because the twins decided this was their new favorite place to sleep.

Eventually, laundry had to happen, along with a bunch of other cleaning.  In addition to packing for an overseas trip, we needed to make sure our rental was presentable for showing.  Let’s just pile on the tasks, shall we?

We moved the tech and other valuables out, but still have moving boxes stacked in some spaces. Upon our return, we will have guests visit us for a couple days, then pack more, sign papers, and (hopefully, if all goes well) move to a new home.  That’s right: we gave notice, but nothing is 100% set for the next steps.  We’re just living in liminal spaces these days!

In a few weeks, I hope to have more solid updates – hopefully happy updates – and lots of pretty pictures to share.

Two small ferrets in bedding laundry

Updates May 4, 2025

As I write the date, the words “May the 4th be with you!” enter my mind, immediately followed by: wait, did I miss free comic book day?

Things have been excitingly busy.

After much debate, we have decided to not renew the lease on our current rental and instead look for housing up north. The one hesitation is that we like being near Kevin’s parents. However, over the past year, we realized that living about an hour away might actually result in us intentionally seeing them more.

We put in an offer on a place.  It is in a nice neighborhood full of walking trails and parks. It has a large deck out back, a greenhouse, and several raised garden beds.  It also has a house (important, that).  The house is smaller than what we are used to, but it is cute, and it’s the only one within our budget that wouldn’t require a lot of work. At least, we hope that’s the case. Inspection on Tuesday.

If all works out, on our way to the airport for our Scotland trip, we will drop by the title company in a couple weeks to sign papers to close on the house.  The current residents will stay in the house until closer to when we return.  Since it’s only 10 minutes from where Cass and Dan live, they can make sure the place is secured.

Lots of creative-type things to do in the area! Kevin has learned that there is a new makerspace being set up not far from the new home. Proximity to makerspaces has become part of our criteria of where to live.  I haven’t signed up for the gardening classes yet (don’t want to jinx anything). There are also book clubs, museums, nature-related activities, and other things one or both of us enjoy.

We’re still planning on a trip to the PNW at some point, but timing is TBD.

Next month sometime, I will share more details about the new home (and address), the Scotland adventure, and PNW visiting via email. If I don’t have your contact information, feel free to message me via LinkedIn to share your email. I’m amused that the “rolodex of social media” is the one I ended up keeping.

By the way, leaving Facebook was a very good idea. Life on the other side is more peaceful, and  I highly recommend it.

Ferret Fix, Update, and Connections

K, Tam, with ferret Patrick

July 1, 2021 in NH, taking Patrick to the park

K and I have been trying to navigate away from most social media for a couple of years now, and we’re taking more steps that direction. Let’s see how well this approach works:

1) Regular “ferret fix” posts here for those who tell me they go directly to my social media pages for that reason alone.

2) Some public posts/updates here as time and energy allow

3) Efforts to connect directly with people

 

 

Ferret Fix!

Notice there are already a few ferret posts up to get us started. I’ll continue to add new ones, plus pull from my albums of the past. You can click on Journal and go directly to the Ferret Fix category.

A Quick Update

Almost a year later, we still have a lot of stuff in storage, but we’re no longer completely surrounded by moving boxes. Our rental is just minutes from K’s parents, and a reasonable drive to see kids and grandbaby.

It has been too long since I have seen my youngest though, so we’re looking at timing a visit to the PNW in the near future. There’s a wedding and a funeral to plan around.

We have also planned and booked a long-talked about trip to Scotland! It was a challenge to research the lines of grandmothers, and now I will get to visit the places where they were born and lived. We will also visit locations for K’s ancestry. Expect future updates for this!

K is on the board of directors for a MakerSpace, and has been busy helping them with updates to their systems as well as working in the space itself. He’s also updating his gear with the intent to capture people’s stories – the things they would like future generations to know.  He did this with his grandma before she passed away, and also with a dear friend before his passing. It would be meaningful work.

My work in education – in various forms – continues to keep me busy. It’s how I can best contribute positively in this world. Time and energy are finite, so I’m learning to choose wisely how I spend mine.

Connect Directly?

I have made some effort to provide my direct contact information, and have requested it of others. For personal connections where we didn’t manage to exchange this information, LinkedIn is an option to remedy this. Although I don’t use it much, I will probably maintain LinkedIn for the foreseeable future, and I check messages there several times per year.