Monday, February 20, 2017

MONDAY - MAKE-UP-YOUR-MIND DAY

I love Mondays. Some people hate them, but not me. I like the idea that it's a new week and I have a (relatively) clean slate. This morning I listed what I want to accomplish today - one load of laundry, try a new cookie recipe I found online, start Spring cleaning the cat rooms in the barn, re-arrange some things in the cabin, iron and hang new curtain valances in the upstairs rooms (which will first require cleaning the windows and sills), continue working on some crochet projects for a special order, and make a decision about whether to participate in a local Spring craft fair or not. I'm tempted to cross off some of the bigger tasks and just do what is most feasible for this afternoon, since I've already frittered away part of the day. Some might call that procrastination, but I'm going to call it prioritizing.

I've often had trouble making up my mind. It didn't matter whether the choices seemed fairly simple or more complicated. I tend to list so many things I need to do, that many times I've ended up accomplishing very little because I could not decide which task to tackle first. Indecision can be very debilitating. I did take a first step and extract new curtain valances from their packages. They had been sitting on my upstairs steps for a few months - yes, a few months. I'm not proud of that, but I'm the only one who goes upstairs and since I've spent little time up there through the winter months, it was another of those out-of-sight-out-of-mind things. But they are out of the plastic wrappings now and nearly ready to hang. I took them out of the dryer last night and realized I'd have to iron them before I could hang them. There was my "stopper". I didn't feel like getting out the iron and taking it upstairs. I will do that today though. I'm trying to envision how nice the valances will look when in place. That should be incentive to get it done. The reality is, even with wiping down windows and sills, the whole process will likely only take about 30 minutes or so. Sometimes the thought of doing a task is worse than the task itself.

Laundry is in the works and butter is on the counter to soften before cookie baking, so next I should decide whether or not to participate in a local Spring craft fair. I had long ago sworn off craft shows, after having participated in them for over 30 years. I'm not as young as I was once was - who of us is? - and I was tired of carrying tables, crates, and totes full of merchandise in and out of venues, then sitting or standing for hours talking to people who were only there to see what ideas they could glean from crafters' displays. I also had little tolerance for shoppers who thought crafters should attach garage-sale prices to their handmade wares. I told myself if I heard the phrase, "Oh I can make that", one more time, I'd boldly confront the person who said it and tell her exactly how much was involved in making quality things to sell, then invite her to try it herself. (I guess it's a good thing I didn't have the chance to follow through on that threat.)  Thinking about that reminds me of how weary of it I had become before I "retired" from the craft show circuit. The idea of selling things I make still appeals to me, but I'm not as enthused about sewing as I once was. That's just a fact of my life right now. I still enjoy frequenting primitive and vintage shops and I support local artists when I see things I can use for my home - even when I think, "I can make that", I don't ever say it out loud and I do buy items for my own use these days, since I am very aware of how much time, effort, and funds go into making them, and I'm fairly sure I will  not be making them for myself. Well, I think I've made my decision about the craft fair. I'm honestly not interested in getting back into that mode. While there would be many more customers than I could attract to my cabin in the country, the pressure of getting ready and the actual work of getting it set up are more than I want to deal with right now. There, that wasn't so difficult. Decision made. 

What's next?  I'll bake those cookies before going to the barn to clean up after cats, but I'll go upstairs and put up those valances before I bake the cookies. As for the special-order crochet projects - that kind of handwork lends itself well to the evenings when I can put up my feet and watch a little TV, so I will definitely work on those projects tonight. I'll go to the cabin and spend some time either before or after I've been to the barn, so I think I have my to-do list covered for now. The dryer is buzzing so my play time is over for this afternoon. Off to work I go, but my heart is lighter since I was able to actually make a decision. Some days I just need to make up my mind!  

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