November Obsessions
In this monthly series, I will share things that I can’t get enough of and I encourage you to do the same in the comments. Enjoy!
Beekeeping
I’ve been enchanted by honey for as long as I can remember. I think it started when I was a kid, watching Winnie the Pooh do everything in his power to get at a smackerel of honey. That pantless, ever hungry bear was a whole mood and his love of honey ignited mine. I remember wanting to know why it was always up in a tree. I was equal parts impressed and repulsed when I discovered that the delicious household staple that I loved, was made from bee vomit to feed bee larvae. Then I was devastated to learn, as every child in the 90’s learned from watching the movie My Girl, that bees are extremely dangerous and will kill your best friend. For this reason, I was going to always respect the work of bees from a safe distance. But recently I’ve come around because a co-worker has convinced me that you can maintain hives and still remain among the living. He gave me The Backyard Beekeeper to get me started and told me where I could reserve bees. I think I’ll try to get a hive going in my garden in the spring.
Relationship Podcasts
I can’t stop listening to the podcasts Where Should We Begin? and How’s Work? by Esther Perel. I love the messiness of relationships, both platonic and romantic, and how we all bring our baggage and childhood experiences and mental health issues into these interactions and do our best to make it work. Esther Perel’s shows allow you to listen in on therapy sessions between couples and it’s truly indulgent. In one episode, a couple grapples with what it means to be in relationship after divorce, when they can’t seem to untangle their lives. Esther shares that maybe instead of a divorce, they have a different kind of marriage and you can hear them start to unpack traditional values and views of marriage that they didn’t know they had. The episodes are really intimate and insightful. Esther also has two books, Mating In Captivity and The State of Affairs, that are excellent.
Ceramics (Still)
I started pottery classes this week and it was as delightful as I had hoped. We worked on hand building with slabs (rolled out clay) and I made a soap dish, 2 tumblers and the mug pictured below. As I’m gathering ideas from Pinterest and Instagram for the next class, I’m excited to learn glazing and carving techniques and wheel throwing.
Little Baby Mug
~Glaze soon come~
