I knew this summer was going to be tough, since all my teaching this year was condensed into about three months. I was having stress attacks last spring just thinking about it. Now that I am in the middle of it, I’m kind of enjoying the fact that I didn’t really plan anything else, just to do what I had to do between trips, and go easy on myself. I am not trying to keep up with the yard or the house, I clean when it gets really bad, which isn’t ideal, but my sanity is more important at the moment.
So, I went on a lunch date yesterday. You may recall I have a standing lunch date on Thursdays, during the school year, with a group of women whom I adore, all teachers from the middle and elementary schools in my town. Years ago, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, one of the things I encouraged friends to do, since everyone wanted to 
help in some way, was to have lunch with me. It got me out of the house, and focusing on something other than my health issues. Some seven years later, we still meet during the school year, on Thursdays, even though 2 of the 5 teachers are now retired. We call ourselves the Thursday Philosophy Club, and we talk about all kinds of global issues, literary choices, our kids, grandkids (though I’ve nothing to contribute to those conversations yet…) and anything else that comes up in a luncheon with 6 interesting women. (These are art, music, and gifted program teachers!)
So, we all got together yesterday, for a summer luncheon, great food, and a dip in the pool. What a great treat, and what great friends!
I’m making progress on the book sort, today I tackled the Bobbin 
Lace books. This is a tough section, because it is disproportionately huge, many of the books were my mother-in-law’s, since she was a master bobbin lace maker. I did bobbin lace for many years, because it was her specialty, and I enjoyed that bond with her. I have more lace pillows than I know what to do with, and I have a large shelf of Bobbin Lace books, many of them in Swedish, since she spoke that language. I can’t part with them. Though I know I’m moving away from lace making, it will take many years before I can even think of reducing that group of books.
One area I do need to address, is my slides. I have binders full of my images from when I did craft fairs, in the 1980’s, and had to have 10-15 sets of duplicate slides. I need to cull down the copies, one slide is enough, especially since there is a digital version saved in about 15 places. But that’s for another time. I cleared three slide carousels off the shelves, putting the slides in archival slide sheets, and I’ll dump the carousels. No 
need for those anymore. (Please don’t tell me that there is an installation artist making sculptures from old slide carousels!) 🙂
I got the crock pot going again this morning. And I found more fleece to dye in a bag in another cabinet I cleaned out. This time I am using an olive green.
And, I started to tackle a project I’ve needed to work on for some time. 
My sketch book/record book/project notebook for all the woven pieces I’ve done in the last 9 years, is in a small journal that is bulging at the seams, falling apart, and losing all the contents every time I pick it up. I try to travel with it, because I’m always asked for drafts and details of the work I show, and I need to rely on my little journal because I can’t keep it all in my head. When someone asks what sett I used, I can look it up!
The whole book needs to be taken apart, and carefully recreated in a larger format, with a spiral bound notebook. And I want to be able to add the photos of what the fabric turned out to be.
So, I tackled the first two pages, which were for a set of paraments I did for a couple churches in the area. The first page was for the white set where I used a doup leno technique with a gold thread. I found the photos of the minister from one of the churches, wearing the stole, with the pulpit banner and communion table runner. So I glued that into the new book with the fabric, draft, and notes.
The second page was for the red set of paraments, an altar cloth for one church, two stoles, and a pulpit banner and communion table runner for the other church. These were done in plain weave 5/2 
cotton with black crosses inlaid in a Theo Moorman technique.
I am feeling encouraged by all the comments and support as I sort through, weed out, make decisions to toss stuff that doesn’t need to be in my life anymore. And though I’m happiest when I am learning new things, I’m even happier when I’m organizing. There is something very satisfying when I stand back and see something organized and tidy, and I can view with fresh eyes. And I get inspired by finding stuff I didn’t know I had. ( I’ve been looking for a copy of Anita Mayer’s I Don’t Do Guilt, and guess what I just found on my shelf?) I’m really looking forward to some down time in the fall to just sit in my studio and make stuff, and enjoy my newly organized library!