Must be the planets…

I feel like I’m moving through Jello, the days are easy, and I am accomplishing things, but there is this underlying annoyance of stuff just wanting to be taken care of and making no bones about it…

It has been awhile since I’ve posted, I know, but I’m moving in slow motion this month, and haven’t had a whole lot to say, which is all good actually, and very very different from my life 10 months out of the year.  I welcome this slow easy sleep until 8am kind of pace, because soon, it will be just a memory full of stupid regrets like, “I should have gotten up at six and done…”

So last weekend, I headed up to the Catskills with my lovely daughter, who asked for a “spa” weekend for her Christmas present, and of course I joined her.  We had a full day at Emerson Spa and resort, which is about 10 minutes from my sister and her husband’s house in the Catskills, (that’s NY State for those not in this area), so we combined it with a stay with them.  I’m thrilled my daughter enjoyed her day, of course you know I did, a facial, body scrub, hour long pedicure and of course a massage.  And they had saunas, a steam room, an outdoor hot tub, and fresh fruit and tea available all day.  I could seriously get use to this.  I think of January as a pampering month, the month to recharge, and renew, rethink and regroup.  It is a month when one thinks more than one does.  I’m probably just making excuses, but I need this month, and I’m sad it is almost over.

Anyway, as always, fresh from my relaxing weekend, re-entry always sucks…  I walked into my house Sunday afternoon, to find a flood under the sink, where my kitchen drain once again failed, and the vaulted ceiling lights burned out so I couldn’t even see what the problem was.  Welcome home.  I had also agreed to alter the sleeves on a number of my brother in law’s athletic shirts, since they required a special cover stitch, requiring a special piece of sewing equipment, which I didn’t own, but could simulate, and his gratitude that I would even try was so sweet.  That kind of thing is easy for me, except I agreed to do it so they would be ready for him when he passed my house on his way home from the Catskills a couple hours behind me.  I had to really stay focused on the task at hand, first the shirts, then the light bulbs in the ceiling, then replacing the drain, then sweeping up the dog hair and tidying up the kitchen since my sister and husband were coming in for dinner.  We were definitely ordering out.  I’m not superwoman.

I survived Sunday night, still with relative calm from my relaxing spa weekend, able to curl up with a beer and watch the latest episode of Downton Abbey. 🙂

The rest of the week has been a lot like that.  I have this enormous to do list, that comes up in my face every time I look at my computer screen.  Windows 7 has this great app that allows on screen post it notes, so I don’t have scraps of paper littering up my desk.  There were things on my list like, “Get the car inspected”.  Check.  “Renew passport”.  Check.  “Send proposals for ANWG Conference”.  Check.  “Make a doctor’s appointment to look into Physical Therapy for my wrecked lower back from dragging 50 pound suitcases around the continent trying to do what I do for a living.” Check.  “Get Brianna to the dentist before she goes back to college”.  Check.  “Get Brianna a replacement phone since her six month old phone died and she needs one in college.” Check.  “Check out why my phone is freezing up”.  Check.  “Figure out why my entire computer system goes to blue screen of death when I click on the video icon in WEBEX software when I am trying to teach an online class”.  Sort of check…  I spent a couple hours on the phone with tech support in India yesterday afternoon, I’m not even going to comment on that experience, and no resolution.  This has been an issue for awhile, I seem to be the only one with this problem.  I’ve tried three different Logitech webcams.  Yesterday’s class I had to go without video entirely, which worked out well considering the subject matter didn’t need real time video.  I’m meeting today with Erica from Weavolution to look into new conferencing software for Weavolution on-line classes.

I have to interject at this point how much I adore teaching this way.  I’ve booked a lot of online classes through Weavolution, and being able to sit down, in my own studio, and not have to pack suitcases, or get on a plane, or further wreck my back, is so appealing and this software/hardware glitch is really really frustrating.  I want this medium for teaching to work, I see it as the future at least for someone like me, who is slowly wanting to cut back on the amount of road time, and is tech savy enough to embrace new technology and celebrate what it can do bringing the world closer together.  Still, after three blue screens of death, and 10 minutes to bring the system back up and running after each incident, and no one able to tell my why, it was enough to curl up with two beers and call it a night.

But I didn’t do that.  I took my aching head and back, and my fabric which I sadly finished weaving, sadly because it was such a joy to weave, and because I was shocked when I happened to get up to check on an email, glance at the back of the loom, and see this…

I cut the fabric off the loom, dragged my aching head to my knitter’s group, where I sat with bright light, magnifying glasses, good eats, and a room full of fun knitterly types of talented women, and carefully by hand,  rewove the errant yard and a half mistake I discovered a yard and a half into the weaving.  Check.

So now the fabric is in the washer and I’m deciding what to tackle next.  Some task on the to do list, or my dress…

Stay tuned…