Thursday, December 3, 2009

lost days



The days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are, for the most part, lost time for me.  What I mean by that is, these are days I have no control over.  Between certain obligations on my part and the general mild hysteria the population engages in this time of year, both combine to make it impossible to further my personal agenda, whatever that happens to be.  


There is Hanukah, which floats around and is early this year, Christmas, Marc’s birthday and New Year’s.  And then there is whatever work I have in the shop at the time and having the grandkids down to the country house sometime during the holidays.  Whereas I am totally non-observant, the people around me are not.  I’m not a shopper at best (of course, if I found myself independently wealthy at some point I could sure give it a try).  It’s not that I dislike buying gifts for people, it’s just that whole time constraint thing.  You have to do it by certain dates or it doesn’t count and those dates have a nasty habit of sneaking up on me.  Because I’m non-observant and don’t keep track of that stuff.  So it never fails that I am in a time crunch with getting some job done when I have to squeeze in time for shopping.


The only job I am trying to get finished is the Oklahoma Heart Hospital, the one I have been posting about.  I had set a finish by date in my head of December 15th.  Last Tuesday, the art consultant called and asked about our progress.  His truck with all the other art for the hospital is leaving on the 10th.  He didn’t pressure me, said it could be crated and shipped later, but his crew will be there through the 14th installing all the art.  It would make it so much easier on both of us if we could get finished in time to get the panels on the truck so we are staying in town to work instead of heading home this afternoon.  


So the lost days are beginning and I will have to shelve the selfish things, the things I want to do for no one’s pleasure but my own until the holidays are behind us.  It’s not as bad as it sounds.  I will have fun with family and friends, the obligations are not onerous, I will enjoy giving the gifts but I will also be glad when it’s over.


later...


I have put in a very long day today.  All the sandblasting is done and all but two of the big panels have their second stencil cut and 6 of the 12 have the background etching done.  We could easily finish on Saturday if the weather would cooperate.  The past two days have been only moderately cold and no rain.  Unfortunately, the weather people are predicting a frigid wet front to come sliding in tonight or tomorrow bringing with it snow and ice.  


Snow and ice.  Two words that strike fear into the heart of any true southerner.

14 comments:

  1. WT has always maintained that absolutely nothing gets done the whole month of December.

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  2. I saw your December calendar X and had to laugh. Ain't that the truth! Perfectly said. I'm finishing up a manuscript edit, but other than that, just small busywork projects till after the New Year. 'Tis the season!

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  3. I am catching up posts on Bonnie’s blog at Original Art Studio and read you comments on religion – i.e. “I finally came to the conclusion that the purpose of religion was/is to control as many people as possible.” Since I came to the same conclusion I thought I’d come and visit your blog. It looks very interesting and creative. I’ll come back and read your past posts.

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  4. You said it, Sister. I've found myself doing a lot of sighing and standing in one spot wondering which direction to go next. An overwhelming sense of underachievment plagues me. Bah humbug!

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  5. "Mild hysteria?" What planet do you live on, chica? It's full out Christmas war here!

    I have two words for you, Ellen... two words that are going to make your life infinitely easier: gift certificates.

    Our shopping will be minimal this year as we are continuing the tradition of making a sizable donation to the Jacksonville City Rescue Mission in the names of our family members. We are all very fortunate and don't need to waste money buying each other useless junk when so many people are suffering. And isn't that what the spirit of Christmas is about?

    Your project is coming along amazingly fast. I can only imagine the work. I hope you are able to knock it out by the 10th! What a relief it will be to have that accomplished. I'm excited for you and just know you'll make the deadline. XO

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  6. I am definitely not a shopper either, but I do love this time of year - something about snowmen and Christmas lights make me happy. Plus it is my son's birthday :).

    For the shopping? I do it all online. I hate malls, I hate how rude everyone is at the mall and I like the UPS guy coming to my door everyday. And I can wrap everything a bit at a time. I think it also helps that my family [ILs included] love this time of year too and bring me along for the ride.

    Hope you get everything done and enjoy the grandkids :)

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  7. I'm already sick of Christmas mania, and I don't even participate!

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  8. i get immersed in the excitement of this season - as a teacher, it's a feature of the culture of the children - this is their big time of year of course. my wife is a principal and so ditto for her. i have two children - teenagers - so ditto for them. o maintain my focus beyond work i stay away from malls and big shops. i don't attend "christmas parties", and i focus on the vibe over at golden fish world headquarters! it seems to work. peace. steven

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  9. The nice thing about not having kids is that we can do as little or as much as we want. We both love to decorate, but some years we have more energy than other years. This year is up in the air - we'll see! I might even take pictures if I like it...

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  10. Like the calendar. We're very selfish over Christmas and New Year, we don't see our families, preferring to see them at quieter times of the year. Seems to work for us, but regarded as odd by most people. Hope the lost days end soon.

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  11. I would like to just skip it all, but.....

    Today is not a good day.

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  12. I know exactly what you mean. I went to sleep for a night and woke up feeling like I missed 2009 completely...Fast approaching another year - Scary!

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  13. My sentiments exactly. Ellen do you think we were separated at birth?

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.