Looks a little different around here, doesn't it? I've been tinkering around with the appearance of the blog. It seemed like it might be a good idea to put the magazine in as part of the frame, for instance, and since we got the capability to add an image to the header a while back, that's been on my mind. Well, of course then the colors had to change, and well.... here we are. It might be done. Or you might come back and see something completely different again. We'll see.
Ramblings About Time
It has been a very full summer. Both my sister and I have businesses, and we help each other. We also enable each other to continue to take on projects. Over the last year, both businesses have done some serious growing. We weren't really looking at that as we jumped into the farmer's market, signed on to teach more classes, and developed products. It's a fun ride, but as I look back at summer last year - filled with days of playing with the still, puttering in the garden, reading piles of books, and the occasional afternoon nap - it is clear that times have changed. This summer has been crammed. Not a lot of napping going on.
One thing I've learned (finally) is to stop thinking that "as soon as we get "X" done, things will calm down." When we had the shop, that was our mantra. The problem is that while you're waiting to complete "X", other things are jumping onto the calendar. This is just an observation - not a complaint.
When I quit the day job a couple of years ago, my days appeared to stretch out before me like a wide, empty highway. Someone dear to me told me that very soon I'd be wondering how I ever found time to work a full-time job. I laughed to myself.
The first time I took an afternoon to read a book - not a reference book, a novel - I felt almost guilty. It was difficult to learn to adjust to all that time. The house was spotless. The cupboards were well stocked, laundry done and put away, and the gardens pristine.
Ah, but that was "then".
Now it's time to adjust again. All of my multi-tasking skills of the past seem to have gone to seed, and it's time to re-learn them.
So we're back to making lists of things that need to be done.
Back to planning when to fit things in.
Back to knowing what day it is.
Once again, I must use the whole day, and stop dawdling over the second cup of coffee.
There is a difference, though. Almost everything on every list is something I love to do. The crossword puzzle for the next issue is all but finished, and I love typing it in and watching it come together. The Field Notes are rattling around in my head and just need to be unscrambled on paper. The soap we made yesterday will be cut, shelved, and the molds prepared for a new set of batches. Orders will be mailed out. The herb bead making class will be posted to the group, and the attendees invited. The new page for the website is formulating, and the updated sample articles will go up soon. The new items to take to market this week are labeled and sitting prettily on the shelves. And yes, even taking the kid out to practice driving has become enjoyable - now that I'm not digging grooves into the handrest with my fingernails. Even hauling out the checkbook to pay bills is satisfying, because I CAN.
Somewhere in there, I'll step outside and gather jewelweed seeds, because I promised them to some folks on the list. There will be things along the way that will need me to take pictures, and those pictures will inspire some blog entries.
The only problem is that in all of that, I just don't see any place for house-keeping. Heh heh... maybe I'm not looking closely enough.
