I Need a Life
I spend all day driving around from one appointment to the next. In less than 24 hours I drove 42 miles, and I hadn’t left the Greater Lansing Area. Last week I taught ten classes in five locations. This week I will have 8 classes and two musical performances. I’m very grateful for the work, but I am wiped out. I’m emotionally exhausted lately. I need to look at my scheduling and start giving myself days off again.
When I started teaching, I spent some time with my loving brother, Eric. He implored me to make days without appointments. I scheduled Tuesdays alone and Fridays where Brian and I both had the day off. Now, sometimes I had guild meetings on Tuesday nights, but that’s something I’d do no matter if I worked in the knitting arena or not. Generally, it was a quiet and wonderful day alone, capped with a social gathering.
Well, right now I have a helper in my dyeing business. The only day that both of us seem to be able to connect is on Tuesdays. So now I dye yarn on Tuesdays, at least afternoon/evenings. Or that is, I work on the knitting business while she skeins yarn.
Sometimes I write patterns or print patterns, sometimes I take photos of yarn for the web. But without her I would be significantly less productive, and thus I’ve given up more of my Tuesdays. Usually I still have Tuesday mornings free, so far.
Fridays vary, I sometimes schedule classes, sometimes have events with Brian (this week is a 50th anniversary in Grand Rapids for his aunt/uncle). I’m more likely to have a Friday off than a Tuesday, but on Fridays Brian is in the house. I adore Brian but I need some time in dead silence and serenity… he’s not loud at all but it’s different when he’s home.
Besides being overfocused on my art/knitting business, I’ve been focused on new recipes, trying new foods (that I’m probably not allergic to). I finally “woke up” tonight that I was too focused on the food thing when I found myself reading in a cookbook: “…if you have goats…”
What? If I have goats? Oh my, where did reality go? I feel like I just woke up on mars! I’m a citygrrl who needs to eat a broad variety of foods each week. I tease that I’m an “earth muffin” because I eat organic sometimes, because I actually like tofu, because I’d rather eat beans than meat, can tell the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga. But I’m just reading a cookbook, and I get hit with that?
I don’t have as much as a gerbil or parakeet. I had no garden this year, and when I do have one it’s about a yard/meter wide and not as deep. I don’t grind my own grain, I wish I could call for carry out! I need a life! Aaaaargh, as my friend Charlie would say.
OK, I do have a spinning wheel… I do make yarn “from scratch” but I buy CLEAN wool, usually dyed and combed wool, for me to spin. No dirt, no animals, nothing to shovel, thanks! I really appreciate those (some of you who read this blog, even) who raise the animals to produce fiber that I use. However, that lifestyle does *not* appeal to me!
Goats. How did I get to that? I need a day off!
(For the record, I admit I didn’t have to leave the house today till 1pm. I didn’t get home till almost 9pm, but I did have a tiny bit of leisure, and I enjoyed that YouTube exploration I shared with you…)