blazing through the year

it's flying by

the past week and change has been hectic, to be sure. but mostly in the "i don't have spare time to get anything done" way, rather than feeling stressed by overwhelming scheduling and whatnot. sure we had the twins' birthday party at the start of this, but after dropping grandma off at the airport, it's just been one chore after another, struggling to keep up with it all. the babies and i have spent plenty of time together lately though, because

that being said, i have managed to find a few minutes here and there for some leathercraft. mostly trying to make any sort of headway on the most recent project i've been working on, but i keep hitting one snag after another. the zipper i ordered was too wide, so i re-cut the gusset to fit it. i'm ready to sew the back and front panels together, but i forgot a loop that the strap threads through. and so on. trial and error i suppose, and it's turning out well so far, but honestly i am looking forward to having this specific project behind me.

also, i am as-writing realizing that i may not have left myself enough material for the next project i am working on. oh joy

those few minutes have usually been between bedtimes (those of the children and adults being separated by at least two hours), wife-adjacent as she does homework. this evening is the same arrangement, but i'm typing this blog post instead of sewing the other half of the aforementioned zipper gusset.

this project has been an exercise in "how do i make a bag designed for veg-tan leather out of chrome-tan. with great difficulty and improvisation, it turns out! i'm looking forward to sharing it here, but i don't have any pictures worth the bother of uploading right this minute, so i will abstain.

i've got an odd relationship with the passage of time, as of late. there is a groundhog-day-ed-ness that comes with having children. every day is the same routine: wake them up, make sure they get fed and clothed and entertained, put them down for a nap, hope you don't get yelled at too much, and then it's bedtime. if i didn't work in an office i would lose track of the days of the week.

an effect of this is that it doesn't feel like it should already be the end of april, but at the same time, january seems like it was an eternity ago.

there are some things on the horizon that i'm looking forward to this year: my best friend's wedding in october, maybe some work travel in august, and an anniversary trip at some point? hopefully a ren-faire too. maybe some intelligent tracking of these upcoming events will help the time pass in a less fleeting manner.

here's hoping.

-grady c