I'm trying hard to move on from "just surviving" to thriving". I want to learn how to make natural dyes come Fall and since I don't want to ruin all my clothes, I made this apron out of a pair of old jeans and some scraps.
I Got a Job!
Finally, after 2 years of trying I got a job. It's not very many hours, but it's something and it will be meaningful work.....drumroll please.......I'll be MAGO's codriver! Oh wait, he's in Germany and I'm here, okay then, well, I'm going to be someone else's co-driver! Actually, called a "Rider Assistant" here. It's a little different though, best described as "emotional support Uber" for kids with special needs, and/or foster kids/orphans, kids experiencing homelessness, etc. The driver drives and stays with the car. I fetch the kid, sign them in and out if needed and talk or not talk, whatever the situation calls for. A really good role for me. I'm a walking safe space you know. The recruiter found me on LinkedIn and we went from there. I know some days will be tough. These kids are going through tough things, but I'm determined to be a consistent and supportive adult in their lives. I'm committed to sticking through the school year to the best of my ability.
This is given me the confidence boost I needed and having a consistent schedule that brings a little money in will help me focus on my writing and ambitions.
My computer died. 😕
In the middle of all the onboarding for the new job, my computer went kaput! I'm now working on a new laptop trying to get everything just the way I like it. So annoying. Then, I don't know, in a week or so I should work on pulling my old hard drive and getting all my writing and pictures and frickin' everything pulled off and accessible again.
Well, that's all for now. I'll try to come visit everyone. It might take me the next couple of days. Here's a picture of my Japanese Painted Fern. I like to call it a Ghost Fern. It's nice to see it thriving for once, I almost lost it. I struggled to find the right place to meet its light and shade needs. It actually prefers brighter light than I expected.
Until next time!
Awwww....Congratulations on the job!!! You'll be brilliant - and yes, I will now always picture you and Mago driving around together!!!
ReplyDeleteThat apron is excellent!! Good luck with the natural dyes!
Sxx
Thank you! Yes, I like the imagery too. We'll just have to ride around in the spirit of what we do. I will hopefully be posting some success (maybe failures if funny) for natural dyes.
DeleteCongratulations, Melanie!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the computer crash - I cannot recommend enough the benefits of having a back-up of some description. In our case, we each have external storage drives and a subscription to Google Drive! Having lost an entire hard drive's worth of stuff in the past, I made this an absolute priority.
As for the Painted Fern - they are an utter joy. We have one, thriving in a sunny spot alongside salvias and phlox... Jx
Fortunately the internal hard drive isn't corrupted its just some other parts of the CPU that died on me. I built the whole thing from scratch about ten years ago with cheap parts. I'm surprised it all held up this long.
ReplyDeleteYes! Most ferns I'm familiar with like dappled light, now I know Painted ferns want something stronger. One of my "maybe someday projects" is the idea of making a small "Moon garden" with nice rocks for structural form. Lets see, maybe Variegated Hosta, painted fern, some black mondo grass for depth... any suggestions Jon?
I believed that my internal drive wasn't damaged when I unscrewed it from an old PC and tried to migrate it to another one - it was only then that I got the "tick-tick-tick" of doom, which meant it had somehow broken inside and became unreadable... Until that moment, I blithely assumed that recycling and rebuilding/adapting PCs was a simple process. I learned a lesson that day.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up a "moon garden". Plants that "glow" at twilight - I've always loved the colour that any light blue-mauve flower turns as the sun sets. A number of hardy geraniums work well in that regard, as does blue phlox paniculata. The latter is a true "night plant", as it is scented at night and very popular with hawk moths. All gardening is an experiment, so good luck with it! Jx
Great recommendations, Jon! Thank you! And both geraniums and phlox tend to be affordable plants here.
DeleteHooray for you. Hooray for your new job and I love the Japanese Painted Fern too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Madam, much appreciated!
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteBeware, Melanie - that's a spammer. Jx
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteI will try to get there in the next couple of days.
DeleteWelcome aboard !
ReplyDeleteSome practical advice - I know it is unwanted, sorry, - but keep some Kotztüten in reach.
Your passengers seem to be different from mine, like homelessness or somesuch. We had kids with "special needs", a wide variety, there are only individuals. We had only one rule : No eating on the bus, and you never give something to eat to the kids - simply because you do not know anything for sure. Drink is usually allowed, when they drink water, or something that is given by parents or the institution - you do not give cola to a diabetic. Maybe You get an instruction before, s kind of file or something ? We had, but it usually was rudimentray, most was explained on the job.
Building a good relation is essential, and I know that You can do this. But be warned, do not expect too much, some of yer best efforts may evaporate. On the other hand, You may make a difference, really. Good luck Proxima.
Yes, there are many rules! After having every possible background check done I could walk into any government site with a high level of restricted clearance and/or work with children! ;) I had to do onboarding meeting at the butt crack of dawn because the bosses are in a different time zone and then I was tested to make sure I understood. No food! No touch the kids! Me not touch them is easy; but other people have a tendency to touch me! The audacity! Partly to check if I'm real or imagined and partly because I don't know why...I am magnetic? Fluffy in the eyes of the beholder? I don't know, I wear the look of an exasperated cat most of the time.
DeleteCongratulations on the new job! My only experience with natural dyes was ages ago as a young mother helping at school when the kids used onion skins and other bits to dye eggs! xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, that kind of dying exactly! I need to buy alum, it is to be a preservative for natural dyes. I made beet dye, but it got old and smells most unpleasant if not used quickly.
DeleteHooray for the new job! It sounds challenging, but it also sounds like something right up your alley. You'll do great! I've worked with natural dyes on and off, made some inks...my advice: WEAR GLOVES. And watch out for turmeric.
ReplyDeleteI guess I only replied back in my head some days ago. I hate when that happens! Yes, we already have a nice big box of gloves because we also like working with wood and wood stains!
DeleteOh, gods, a kaput computer would elicit much wailing and gnashing of teeth from me. I expect you took it with a bit more dignity than I? If you haven't already sorted out your hard drive - good luck!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of: Congratulations on your new job! And how fortunate to have Mago on hand for tips and advice.
P.S. Your Japanese painted fern looks lovely. Mine's langushing in the shade of a Fatsia Japonica, funnily enough. I must move it out and into the light.
Fixing the computer, must get that done soon, just focused on so many other things and getting by.
DeleteAs you can see I'm playing catchup with you, it sounded like a gig you enjoyed, too bad it didn't play out, it happens. If my computer died I'd go thru Blog Withdrawal and it wouldn't be pretty.
ReplyDelete