Okay, Something's Gotta Give

I have been living on the edge.

Three weeks of no school and no running commentary in my brain of what's due next or what must be read or written or filled out. It's been bliss.

I've been rediscovering the Chuck of 3 years ago--the Chuck that has lots of interesting things to do. I pulled out old projects, old hobbies, old books and covered the dining room table. The coffee table. The buffet, the guest room bed.

I look at all these things and think, "what will I do today?" It's overwhelming. It's amazing. It's wonderous. It's fractured. It's scary. I love it.

Being a Gemini, I'm going to have a conversation with myself this week. The other side of my personality is saying "There's just too much. Something's gotta give."

I'm going to have a serious conversation with myself.

"Yes, all of this other stuff is fun, but you have responsibilities as well. Wouldn't it be nice to see the floor? Wouldn't it be nice if the bedroom didn't smell like three dogs, two bears, and a cat? What about the litter that's blown into the side yard? How about putting up some cedar shakes at the cottage, marking the driveway, or clearing out the scrap wood? And when was the last time you poop scooped the dog run?"

Okay, okay, okay. Let's make some lists. Let's make some exhaustive lists. You like lists. We can split them up. Some for me and some for you. But let's not get strict about it.

"Well, if we're not strict about it, how can we be sure to balance fun with responsible?"


Do we have to?

"I think we should. In fact, we should probably be even MORE responsible."

But I've BEEN responsible. I got all A's. I worked hard, I wrote a lot and read a lot and put up with a lot. Why can't I just watch movies, knit, read, and nap?

"You've been doing that for three weeks. AND you have to get a job. I'll give you until 2010. January 1st we start ticking things off of MY list."

I won't like it.

"Yes I will."

He's Baaaaaack ! ! ! !

I'm sure that this dusty old thing (the blog, not me) has fallen off of your radar screens, but here I am again.

I am DONE ! (For now.) With college. Yesterday I did the last thing I had to do. I need create no more, turn in nothing else, and neither write nor read for obligation (at the moment).

All I have to do now is sit back and wait (and fret) for the grades to come in (Christmas), the teaching certificate to be approved (January to March), and the degree to be printed (May).

My summer reading list was nothing compared to what I read in the last quarter. Visit www.gliterature.blogspot.com to get an idea. (Then tell me what you think.)

Student teaching had its downs and ups, but I've found I actually do like middle school kids. They weren't the hellions everyone said they were, and oh, the potential there!

Okay, no more talk of school and schooling (and I won't EVEN go into job hunting).

My new year resolution for the past couple years has been boiled down to one word.

2008 - Simplify
2009 - Finish
2010 - Family

It's the year of the family. For the past 3 years I have been woefully out of contact with family and friends who are family, so this coming year I'm going to do something about it.

I'm going to write letters.
I'm going to send cards.
I'm going to visit.
I'm going to call.

I'm fairly certain I've missed EVERYONE's birthdays for the past three years (and NO, I'm not knitting any retroactive gifts).

(I actually still owe Tammy TWO gifts - one promised for killing the most bunnies and one for her last birthday. I haven't forgotten ! )

College obligations are slowly draining from my mind (contented sigh) and the creative Chuck is coming back to life.

I have fleeting visions of writing, painting, knitting, meditating, oh the places we'll go.

Summer Reading List

I have perused
1000 Places to See before You Die by Patricia Schultz
Not In Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America by Christine Wicker.

I have read
Simple Spells for Success by Barrie Dolnick
Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire
The Crow: Temple of Night by S.P. Somtow
Dead Sleep by Greg Iles

School's out for the Summer!

Not quite a week since I finished my last Final Exam of the Spring Semester . . .

I have perused 1000 Places to See before You Die by Patricia Schultz and Not In Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America by Christine Wicker.

I have read Simple Spells for Success by Barrie Dolnick and Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire.

I have visited Green Man and cleaned up some scrap wood and made work plans for my next visit.

I have sketched, sanded, cut, and started painting a VIP Lounge sign for JL.

I have taken a nap, stayed up late, fell asleep early, played cards, and knitted.

All in all it's been a fabulous near week.

Now I'm going to pay some bills and figure out what to do with the rest of the morning before work.

Daydreaming

I'm in the library working on a paper . . .

But I've stopped to daydream about the Summer.

I would like to:

Finish the Bunny Board
Paint a bit on the canvas (The Bath)
Knit
Read for pleasure
Open the windows and air out the house
Go camping at Green Man
Get a roof and doors on Green Man Cottage
Get a porch up to the front door of the cottage
Plot my circular garden
Finish Sarah's socks

Prissmas is Saturday!

Don't forget! ! ! !

This Saturday is PRISSMAS!

It's the holiday dedicated to "I Told You So."

So put on your aprons and leis and pull out all the times you bit your tongue this year and let loose!

Burn something. Spit cheap liquor into it.

Paint a dead tree pink and decorate it with crabs and rats.

To Do List - 11 Days to Go

DONE
Bobbie Jo's scarf
Mandy's scarf
SOMETHING for Cat.
Catch up with the girls.
Doubleknit project of mine (I frogged it).
Daydream.
Clean up the yard. (As much as I could without the clippers.)
Start and finish a knitting project for ME! (I'm taking it off the list)
Rearrange the furniture.
Sort my yarn stash.
Laundry.
Watch movies.
Go for a walk.
Finish that book.
Refine my online personas
Journey to Jupiter
New Bar Prices

WORKING
Socks for Sarah. (only one 2/3s done)
Clean the hell out of the house.
Declutter, putting everything in its place.

YET TO START
Buy my Spring semester books.
Nap.
Juggle my credit card bills.
Plan the circular garden at the cottage.
Maybe find a letterbox.
Pull together my teacher portfolio.
Get acquainted with the PRAXIS II tests.
Pub Crawl in Buffalo
ISIS puzzle
Painting
New Bar models