Stephanie Porrata

Category: Digital Garden

This is where everything else lives

  • Proof of Life #2

    Here I am with another proof of life on this July evening:

    Games

    I ended up getting very sucked into playing No Mans Sky on a whim (which is uncharacteristic for me). Gaming doesn’t tend to be at the top of my hobby list and I feel like I am pretty picky about what games capture and hold my attention. We happened to catch a YouTube video covering some new updates happening to No Mans Sky and I was like… that looks like it could be right up my alley! 68+ hours later, I can safely say that I was right. It ended up consuming me for the first week or so that I was playing. When I wasn’t working or sleeping, I was playing. Eventually that momentum slowed down as I started to progress through quests,

    and now I am checking in pretty much to check on my settlements and freighter. It’s been a lot of fun to get lost in the game. It was also fun to get really into both No Mans Sky and All Systems Red around the same time too.

    Books

    What am I currently reading? That’s a good question! I have honestly felt pretty paralyzed trying to figure out what I want to read.

    • I am currently in the very beginning of rereading of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, inspired by wanting to combine some of my own experiences, thoughts, and feelings with those of the characters in the book.
    • Started reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells since I basically inhaled the show. I prefer the book to the show so far, but its pretty close.
    • Started Index, A History of the by Dennis Duncan. I originally selected it to be our fall asleep audio book, but it was too interesting. So now its on my tbr.

    Shows

    • Started Murder Bot on Apple TV
    • Finished Season 4 of The Bear and I have thoughts 👀
    • Dabbled in restarting Insecure because I kept seeing clips of it on YouTube.

    Life

    • Survived my first Jury Duty summons in June which only lasted two days. I didn’t get selected to sit on a jury, so it wasn’t the complete experience. I am fine with that thought because I did have some conflicting feelings about the whole process.
    • Pulled off a really great birthday surprise for my partner which involved SO MUCH coordination. I think I need another week off just to recover.
    • Both my partner and I have been playing around with the Obsidian app and I am running into decision paralysis around how I want to capture information.
    • I really want to try making alfredo sauce with of silken tofu. We saw a recipe that looked amazing, and we love any way to get some more protein into our pasta dishes. It also doesn’t hurt that tofu is cheap!
    • Cheesecake (the kitty that visits us every morning and evening) is still the cutest 💖

  • 2025-05-19 Quick Thought

    I realized this morning that I worked the straps of the Reynolds top incorrectly. When I turned the straps right-side-out, the interfacing was on on the outside, rather than the inside. It seems that when I folded the straps in half to sew them up the side seam, I folded them the wrong way. The interfacing should’ve been on the wrong side. I also seam ripped the top stitching on the back panel and accidentally ripped a hole in the center back of the seam. Today’s sewing momentum was pretty slow and a little demoralizing, but I have a plan to fix these mistakes moving forward.

    I also started listening to Emily Henry’s Funny Story on a whim. I listened to Great Big Beautiful Life a couple of weeks ago and found the story and characters really compelling and interesting. That was my first foray into Emily Henry and was pleasantly surprised.

  • Proof of Life #1

    I am revamping my website and thought that I would start a “Proof of Life” series. This was inspired by Megan Rhiannon‘s Proof of Life series on YouTube, so I can’t take credit for the name. I just loved the idea of a lower stakes check-in and update where I don’t feel pressured to have to do it at a regular interval.

    Okay, as I am working on this, I decided to look up what proof of life actually means as a concept, and found this on Wikipedia:

    Proof of life, a phrase referring to evidence used to indicate proof that a kidnap victim is still alive

    I can’t remember if Megan touched on this or not, but that explanation is pretty perfect if you know how I feel about existence. This series basically says “These are the things I am up to and thinking about that prove I am still here”. I also think it is a great way to practice some mindfulness around the things I am doing day-to-day since I find it so easy to fall into the rhythm of life on autopilot. Alright. We got that out of the way. Lets hop into the inaugural proof of life.

    A couple of weeks ago while out on medical leave, I fell quick and deep into the Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante. This was a series that I heard all over booktube, but never felt compelled to pick up until I was forced to take it easy during recovery. I picked up My Brilliant Friend on a whim and I was locked in for the rest of the Quartet. I veraciously devoured the audio books and didn’t bother to take any notes or capture my thoughts, so I want to do a closer reread highlighting and digging deeper into the conversations around friendship, identity, class, fascism, feminism, and all the other topics these novels touch on.

    I have been working on my sewing and knitting. I have a self-drafted tube top on my knitting needles that is a knit 4, purl 1 rib in the round and I am in the process of sewing the Reynolds Top. I created a toile as a practice run, and now I am in the process of sewing it up in my chosen fabric. I am really trying to take my time with the top and listen to myself when I feel that I am working to get it done vs enjoying the process of making. I had a moment earlier where I was pinning my flat felled seam to do the final stitch, and I was really enjoying the process of putting the pins in, then out, all down the back. I sewed down the seam, and then realized that I pinned and sewed it on the wrong side (boo). I was really frustrated, so I decided to call it there for the day. Next sewing session, I want to

    Next sewing session, I want to:

    • Turn the straps right sides out and press
    • Seam rip the flat-felled top stitch
    • Re-sew the flat-felled top-stitch by hand with the right thread color
    • Connect the front and the back pieces