Kathleen's Korner at TheStidhams.com

Yesterday was the solstice. It was a short day, but busy for our family. I should probably give up on trying to make it a really special day as it lacks the emotional pull of a “Christmas”, but managed to pull off a decent coffeecake in the morning and a fancier than normal dinner.  For me, this day is the beginning of my time to start planning for the next garden, to work on little things around the house, to rest and hibernate.  The next two months for me are generally very difficult, so I try to minimize activities and focus on hearth and home.

The boys and I spent yesterday morning trying to get the house a little more pulled together for a visit from our dear friend, who goes by “riemann” on playbabble.com

Known by the kids as “Uncle John”, he called about 11 from Tacoma where we would pick him up, and the elder kid and I dashed north to retrieve him. Mission accomplished, we met up with my Tom and did a quick shopping run at Costco on his lunch hour so he could spend a bit of time with his best friend.

The rest of the day was — interesting… our big dog is terrified of tall men. Everytime our friend tried to stand, there was Lucky, growling with his hackles all raised. Poor puppy, poor friend!

So John and our elder son stayed at my parents’ home last night just to get a break from Mr. Afraid and so Lucky had a chance to unwind.  Still, when Tom (who took today off) retrieved them this morning and drove into the driveway, Lucky barked and barked. Funny thing, though — he doesn’t mind when John decides to throw the ball!  At least it’s dry today, and with four energetic men in the house, he won’t lack for playtime today.

So I am going to concentrate on updating my blogs and making a few cards.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll even manage to update my webpages this weekend!

Here are pictures that demonstrate exactly (I hope) why I am unproductive creatively the last ten months — and why I am so frustrated!  Hoping it will be remedied soon…

As you can see, there is still plastic hanging from the ceiling to protect my desk and some of the fabrics, a large container of insulation, the shopvac and various other tools strewn about.

Behind the empty boxes and the boxes of empty beer bottles (we save them to refill when friends make beer) you can see a bit of the wall where the insulation isn’t yet up.  The mottling is from mildew…  I treated it so it no longer grows, but the staining remains.  This corner is where Tom’s desk belongs.  His desk now takes up part of the entry area, and books and boxes of his supplies are piled in our bedroom in front of the dressers…

The image above shows the clutter of tools better.  Behind the tarp is the desk I use for computer work and writing.  Not much getting done there now!  and below on the other side of the wall is the corner I use for sewing and studying.  You can see some silk scarves awaiting their makeovers, and the desk piled high with items I can’t put away on the writing desk.

I finally cleared a narrow path to my workbench a week or so ago, but as you can see in the image above it’s still pretty cluttered and cramped.  Not real conducive to creativity.  And the image below shows the very end of the workbench near the door, and the comfortable chair that belongs over by the window for reading…

Hard to stay organized when there is no SPACE for organizing.  I have spent most of my time the last many months working from the sofa where the light is poor, or from the kitchen which has a skylight but I can’t leave my materials set up while things dry for a few hours…

Lest you think I complain with little effort to change things, we have thrown out or donated at least a pick-up full of items in the last three months!  But organization comes slowly when storage and time are at a premium.

Still, I now have a skylight that will stay bright (the plastic in the old one had turned semi-opaque), and does not leak.  And the wiring in the wall under the window is complete.

And the rest of the house will seem so much bigger when I can get things stored away properly in the office again!

Chasing those clouds away. On my way, to where the air is sweet!

Today dawned bright and clear. It was warm outside. The birds and the animals rejoiced, and I sat inside wrapped up in blankets with a cold. And laryngitis…
Seems to have been the right decision, however, since I am getting more alert and feeling better by the hour. Thankfully, there was nothing that had to be done today — though there were several baking activities I had planned.

I managed to get some work done on the computer, and some surfing that I don’t normally get to do.

I miss watching Sesame Street when I was a child. Its focus back then was on creating a virtual safe space for children who might otherwise spend their entire days surrounded by fear and ugliness. Though meant for kids from the inner city, it helped me as well, teaching this military brat about friendships and basic social skills even as it reinforced the more academic subjects. The slow pace and repetition were not just good teaching strategy, they were comforting and familiar.

By the time my children were born, however, Sesame Street had gone to a more frenetic pace that not only annoyed me, but made my kids jittery. We didn’t watch more than a couple times.

Still, on days like today (when I have a voice), I can be heard singing the wonderful theme song I remember from 35 years ago.

UPDATE

3 December: It turns out to have been an allergic reaction, not a virus. I put the details at stidmama.blogspot.com

If it isn’t on the first page that comes up, select “allergy” from the list of labels in the sidebar.