Today’s Daily Stoic writing prompt: What idle leisure can I replace with something more fulfilling?

Idle leisure? This is not a problem for me. I barely watch TV. We don’t take vacations to places that involve no learning (I’m married to a historian, and we both love science and nature.) My idea of whiling away the hours is reading a book or going down a research rabbit hole based on an interesting article I happened to spot online, or that a friend has shared. That’s when I’m not creating something–clothing, or embroidery, or a C&I piece, or writing a speech. I can’t conceive of what it must be like to just sit around and “relax”–because I find that kind of relaxation stultifying.

Sixteen days left on this journey.

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Sometime you buy something because it’s cool, even though you don’t have a real purpose for it, and realize later that it’s perfect for something you need it for. I purchased birch bark “paper” a couple of months ago. It dawned on me today that it is absolutely perfect for something special–something I can’t quite share right now. I also learned that the writing on birch bark is not done with ink, but is incised into the surface. I gave this a quick test, and it works!

Enjoyed a small SCA picnic today, which was an absolutely gorgeous day. I came back home and finished up my Cats of Brutalism project–including solving the issue of why my photo kept printing out with a pinkish hue (it wasn’t configured as greyscale). I will note that in my recent visit to Montreal, I did not notice a giant cat hanging about Olympic Stadium. Perhaps it was elsewhere that day.

Pathfinder was a little early tonight, but we completed two sets of combat and progressed on solving a mystery.

I’ve also started the small commission embroidery piece I’ve agreed to do. I’d thought maybe I could get it done for Tuesday’s SCA meeting before I realized that we’re doing the meeting virtually this week. Oh well–extra time is not an issue. I want to start putting together the material for Thursday’s speech on Truth and Reconciliation Day. This will be a longer speech, but not something I’ve talked much about before, and it is based on relatively new knowledge. The goal will be to encourage others to learn about Indigenous history and how to respond as a non-Indigenous person to some of the key issues.

And a final note of amazement: We’re entering the final week of September. The year is 3/4 over.