A New Look for an Old Thing
Illustration of snails and crabs in blues and their trails in green, brown, and purple
Last week I had a shingles breakout. Shingles is something I have been dealing with since high school occasionally and often shows up when I have a high degree of stress. As I learn more about myalgic encephalemyletis (ME) and shingles, I wonder if I’ve had it much longer than I suspect and it’s only recently become disabling enough to take note.
Anyway, I was in bed all week and it gave me a long time to think…and to thrift. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the ways I have changed since beginning Damned Muddle many years ago. When I began I was just realizing I was autistic and queer. My kids were still young. I wasn’t yet dealing with physical disability on a regular basis.
Now I am largely confined to my bed, I use a wheelchair on a regular basis, I have gotten into service dog training, and I am trying to figure out how to live a meaningful, joyous life under that reality.
It makes sense that my interests and my space would shift over so much time. But I’ve struggled to move this space with it because I know how we autistics feel about change and I so appreciate and respect everyone who has joined me here.
That said, I am going to try. I am going to try to make this space somewhere everyone can still feel safe, but that I can also explore new parts of myself and share that with you.
The good news is, at my core I will always be about righteous justice and caring. I am a cancer rising with 5 planets in Libra…I couldn’t help it if I tried.
But I want to do that in ways that feel more me. Which brings me to thrifting. I LOVE thrifting. I always have.
I come by it naturally. My grandpa (who fought in WW2 and is still alive) used to have a basement FULL of stuff he picked up off the side of the road. He’d make it into garden art or always have the perfect thing someone needed for a project. My grandparents were depression era savvy through and through and it’s a lot of how my mom raised me.
I grew up hanging my clothes on the line, washing out plastic baggies, and buying (if we had to buy at all) as much as we could second hand. I still hang my clothes on the line or the drying rack in front of the fire and wash out my baggies, but disability took me away from thrifting for a long time.
As the boys have gotten older and I’ve started to adapt to the disabilities, I’ve found ways to get back into thrifting. Most of it is online due to my ME, but occassionally I get out to a couple local shops (NOT the Goodwill, iykyk).
Picture of a vintage wooden Thomas Piccone jewellery box with hand painted flowers
I’ve found things to help remodel the house, wear, and lately I am getting into vintage, antique and secondhand jewelry. It started because I love pretty things, but as I learned about the power of jewellery in uncertain times and its ability to empower women across cultures, I’ve really started collecting.
You’ll see me sharing more of these things as time goes on. I’m creating highlights on IG for thrifting and items I have for sale or take secondhand. I’ll still share about disability and social justice, but I’ll also share about the ways I am finding joy, and hope, and life as I practice them.
Ilustration of a blue shell with white hand lettering that reads, "Damned Muddle"
Illustration of a blue and white logo with a wavy border outside. On the inside there are illustrations of a book, tea, a dog, a jewel, scales, and a thrift tag. Words say, “Damned Muddle. Make. Notice. Share. Joy. Meaning. Love”
I’m also debuting a couple new logos/images to go along with the “rebranding.” These maintain the spirit of the wandering muddle while giving a nod to other parts of me like my hermit (crab) nature and very slow speed.
Thanks for being here. Thanks for staying here if you choose to.
Lots of love always.
Willo
