My name is Moni, also known on the internet as : GreenPatina.
What is Patina? And why is my page and handle named after it?
Patina can refer to many things and pretty much all of the meanings are beautiful. Most commonly it refers to the gorgeous and varied shades of green that happen on different oxidised metals such as copper, bronze and brass. More broadly though, patina refers to a thin layer of weathering or coating occurring by many different means on many different things. It can refer to a protective layer on wood obtained through repeatedly polishing, applying oils or varnish and use/abrasion of the surface. It can refer to a change in colour and texture of old leather items that have been in use as they pick up skin oils, especially if the leather is vegetable tanned. Some people even use the word to refer to the seasoning built up on a cast iron pan that gives it non-stick properties that work even better than teflon. It can even happen on stone! The idea that something becoming old and weathered on the outside is actually a protective, functional, desirable and even beautiful layer is just really pleasing to me. Like all in the universe is just right and exactly how it was meant to be. Lastly, etymologically, the word patina actually is derived from a Latin word meaning shallow dish or pan (it kind of looks like a round cake tin), as well as the collective name for the dishes cooked within that pan. Clearly the word itself has developed it's own patina... Funnily enough, I knew none of this when I first chose it as my username more than a decade ago. I just loved all shades of the colour green (I still do) and wanted something that reflected that.
All of the above sounds like a bunch of random stuff put together, but they will be the connected to things that I write about in my posts. Whenever I do something, I go into a way-too-deep rabbit hole of research in order to find out (almost) everything there is to know about that thing. And whenever I emerge out the other end of the rabbit hole, I see just how miraculously connected everything in our world is. A little bit as if Alice went through a rabbit hole and emerged into Wonderland every single day, and it was the same Wonderland every time but looked entirely different each day... On my website you will find some of my research, musings, experimentations and a bunch of other hopefully interesting stuff. My main interests are plants (especially edible ones) and anything about growing them, cooking them, and eating them. Most posts will be about these 'green' topics. Besides that, I also love building my own furniture using (repurposed) wood, as well as repairing my clothes and making things out of old fabrics and materials using techniques such as leatherworking, visible mending (kantha stitch, sashiko/boro), crochet, embroidery and sewing. I guess these hobbies can also be seen as 'green' in a way! Finally, I love videogames, books, manga and anime, and although I am fairly picky, there is a lot of really really good stuff out there that is definitely worth your time! The types of media I like tends to be the ones that make me think about them for a long time, see old stuff in a new light, or really break my brain (either from being blown or being overexerted...) You can find reviews on anything that I especially enjoyed on this website.