Good morning (wait, is it still morning? Yes, yes it is) all (or well, most of you…I suspect if you’re reading this, then yes) on the first official day of my Winter Break (I don’t count the weekend…it doesn’t feel real until I don’t have to get up at 6 AM and drive to school with my eyes barely open…and I did go to school on Saturday to clean up because I didn’t have time on Friday due to union things that had a deadline and they’re doing the goddamned Winter Academy in my room so I had to move shit and lock shit up because teachers are the WORST sometimes for stealing and breaking shit. I still might go in that morning and glare people down. We’ll see. WHOA that was a long parenthetical comment.). So I am officially still in Stage 1 of trying to rest because that damn holiday Christmas is coming and there is no rest until it’s done. My gifts are mostly purchased…I think…probably…I am fed, showered, dressed, and waiting for the boychild, who bravely went to Costco to buy the meat for Christmas dinner and has not returned (it’s been over an hour; when do I call in Search and Rescue?). I will then accompany him on his shopping trips for Xmas dinner. My official role is to maybe push the cart and carry shit. I don’t even have to pay for it (the ex is paying for it? I think?). I started wrapping, but I hate doing that shit…I do have to finish before Wednesday night, because the girlchild is coming in Tuesday night and staying at her dad’s so she can work Wednesday (oh that sucks). So I have time. I also need to get firewood in the house before it starts raining, dropping the heavens down upon us, which is our Xmas gift this year. Fun times.
So. Yes, I’m grading. Yes, I’m still tired. Yes, I’m still recovering. I will be for a while. It’s two weeks usually before I get my head straight and break is only three weeks long. Bodes well. One thing I need to do is finish this quilt so I can ship it and five others in early January. So I quilted Friday night…
And then for 3 1/2 hours on Saturday…
When I got the outlining done and started the background quilting, which was dark blue thread on dark blue fabric WHAT the ABSOLUTE FUCK was I thinking. On Sunday, I thought, oh I should quilt during daylight; it will be easier to see. Nah. It wasn’t. I finished quilting after 3 1/2 hours on Sunday…
Nine plus hours total. I’m ready to trim and bind today. Already contacted the photographer. Got to start the next one, but first, I need to go shopping (who knows when I will finish writing this…).
OK, four hours later. Shopping is done, presents are mostly wrapped, tree is still outside, quilt is still not trimmed, brain is still fuzz (see comment on rest above). I’m planning on going to ceramics in the next hour or so. At around 1:30 AM last night, when I decidedly wasn’t sleeping, I typed a short note about the next quilt. That was an hour after I typed a short note about the next ceramic piece…but I have to finish the bowl first. Unfortunately, I’m not really sure what I’m doing next on the bowl. Minor issue. Either I carve or add clay, or I just paint. I kinda want it to be functional, and so I can’t carve the inside. It’ll make it difficult to clean. Huh. Well. There’s that. Some part of my brain (the very tired part) just wants me to stay home and not do anything with it. That’s what Friday brain said, but Friday’s brain had a better excuse. I did not teach all day today, then start cleaning my room up, then race over to the union office through Friday holiday traffic. These days before actual Christmas are just nuts.
I have lots of picture of cats not quite interacting.
And sometimes a dog…
I was sitting there between Scribble and Simba. Simba was on my leg; hence the weird position.
This was when I got home from work (pajama day)…
They appreciate my time on the couch. So do I, but there hasn’t been much of it.
I hiked Saturday and saw one of those weird partial rainbows in the sky
It was warmish…it’s been warm, even today, with the rain barreling toward us.
I appreciate the time to be out in nature.
I was trying to plan hiking before each of the holiday dinners I have, but it’s supposed to be pouring both days. Not sure how I feel about that. I might do it anyway. I need to exercise before eating holiday meals or I can’t eat anything…the gym closes early Christmas Eve and isn’t open Christmas Day, so outdoors is my only real option. I have raingear and I would shower afterwards anyway. We’ll see.
I took a video on Saturday’s hike. There’s this one rock that people always pile rocks on and it drives me bonkers.
And it’ll be back the next time I’m there. Leave no trace y’all! This is not a trail marker…it’s next to a fire road. Go pile your own rocks in your own yard.
I got home and noticed these two weird piles of dirt in the driveway…squirrels or gophers? It’s getting annoying.
The hardest part is always finding where the dirt came from and trying to put it back.
True that. And this.
OK. Well. It’s Monday, but it doesn’t feel like it. School would’ve just gotten out if it were a school day, but it’s not. I’m going to do a couple more things here and then go to ceramics and try to figure out this bowl thing. Then come back and grade a little. I never know whether it’s better to hunker down and finish all the grading quickly or to torture myself by doing a little every day. I know I don’t have the brainpower or the willpower to do it all right now, so I guess this is what I’m doing at the moment. Then trim the quilt and get the binding sewn on by machine and start doing the handwork. Tomorrow is pretty chill: a retirement webinar and then two freakin’ trips to the airport, all after 8 PM. Surely that will be a joy. Luckily the rain has pushed off a little so I won’t be traveling during a flood warning. Finish the quilt tomorrow and then draw the next one. No joke, I’m watching the recording of the Zoom call I missed because I was teaching about electromagnets and I need to have finished this quilt yesterday. The one I haven’t started. No pressure. Seriously. OK. I have a plan at least, thanks to my inability to sleep at night. Or ever. Pros and cons to that I guess. Happy yesterday was Winter Solstice Day and hope the holiday season is OK for y’all. It’s always a bit of stress here, but plenty of food. Maybe too much food. Better than the alternative.
Kathy Nida 