Behavior Patterns

I've noticed something: the busier I am, and the more commitments I have, and the less free time I have, the more I obsess about projects. I want to research textile history, start projects, learn something new...anything but deal with the things in front of me.

I washed the dished this morning for the first time since Saturday.  Saturday!  It's Friday, folks, and I've had dirty dishes sitting in my kitchen for almost a week.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but since I've been loading most of them into the dishwasher every day, it wasn't quite as bad as it could have been.  But still.  Ick.

So what did I want to do this morning?  Play hooky and learn card weaving.  Finish an old embroidery project.  Finish the Kimberley sweater in time to wear it for Easter (it stalled at the weaving in 50,000 ends/sewing it together stage).  Clean the house.  Sit home and drink tea.  Spin yarn for the first time in over a month.  Play with the new tapestry loom that hasn't even been delivered yet!

I didn't.  I went to work.  It's hard to get motivated, though, when the sun is shining and my wanna-do list is growing longer by the day.  I finished my taxes last night, and e-filed, which takes an enormous weight off my shoulders, even if I did have to write a check to the State of Michigan (it was for less than I would spend on a couple skeins of sock yarn, so I don't feel too badly about it...)  

Tonight I'm working at the last fish fry of the season, and the clean-up will be a huge task.  We have to clean up and pack out all the supplies we use, clear out the leftover food from the fridges, and make sure everything gets distributed to the proper places (leftover uncooked food goes to the food bank).  And the kitchen has to be spotless.

I'm getting really antsy and obsessing over the excess stuff in the house.  I look around and see things I don't want to keep, and never seem to have the time to get it out.  I'm considering putting an empty box in each floor of the house, and every time I run across something I don't want to keep, just toss it in there and swap out boxes when they get full.  It might be the least-stressful way of getting it out, since I never seem to have the time to clear out a whole cupboard or closet in one go.

Thanks for the encouragement lately, in the comments.  It's affirming to come home to messages from you guys letting me know that I'm not a complete lunatic.  Just a partial one.

I have so many things to do, pictures to take, and posts to make, I just can't seem to keep up with my ambitions.  Kind of depressing to not have time to play.

On the bright side, the sun us shining, the nights are cool, and it's going to be gorgeous weather all Easter weekend.  I'll be baking tomorrow for Sunday brunch, and cleaning house, and maybe playing a little.  Sunday afternoon is totally free and clear for whatever I want to do.

And I haven't decided if I should make hot cross buns, a brioche (with an egg in it, of course), or what. I always bake something special for holiday brunches.  It's tradition.  It's also tradition that I shake things up with different recipes, and not stick to always making the same thing every Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas/random birthday.  But I always bake.  If only I could find a local store carrying the flour I use...for some reason it's disappeared off the shelves of several local stores I used to get it at!  Not good!  White whole wheat flour is not an easy thing to find, and it has to be fresh, not rancid...every year that it's harder to find gives me a little more fuel for buying a grain mill and a 50# bag of hard white wheat.

But that might be a bit much.  Yes?  No?