I’m still cataloguing my old designs for quicker
reference. I’m not keeping photos of simple items made with just like
Swarovski… I make hundreds of those and they’re not worth cataloguing.
Anyway, it’s fun seeing
old designs I’d forgotten about.
Okay, story time:
There was an otter and he had a task. The task
was to keep the sticks out of the river. So every day, he’d go down to the
river and diligently pick out stick after stick and pile them on the riverbank.
As he was doing this, the wind would occasionally blow and some of the sticks
would fall back into the river. At other times, his friends would scamper by,
playing around because THEY didn’t have as much work to do. And their
scampering would also send some of the sticks back into the river.
It didn’t seem to the otter that he was making
very much progress. Yet this was an important job. Not one he had the option of
dismissing in favor of playtime. It seemed, though, that for every five sticks
he took out of the river, four sticks went back in. And then new sticks also
fell into the river from the overhanging trees. His job was not only
never-ending, it was often overwhelming as he scurried around trying to
retrieve the sticks before they passed by him.
Anyway, one day this otter just couldn't take
the frustration anymore. He was overworked, he never got to play, he rarely got
to rest, and he saw very little progress for his efforts. So he stepped back
and decided to consider the source of the issue, rather than the surface.
And when he sits back for a moment and looks at
the whole picture, it comes to his attention that he’s scrambling around and
using much of his time and effort needlessly. He decides to come up with a
solution to stop the sticks BEFORE they get into the river.
Within days, he’d trimmed the trees that
overhung the river and he’d built a dam that would allow water to flow through
to the river but would filter out the sticks. Now all he had to do was go to the dam once a day and remove the build-up of sticks.
How infinitely easier this was than picking all the sticks up from the river
all day long. And yet, that’s precisely what he had been doing, for years!
From then on, any time the otter felt like he
was spinning his wheels, he would step back and look at his situation, figure out
what he hated most about it, and go to the ROOT of the problem rather than
scrambling around on the surface of the problem.
And so will I.
Sorry it took me over a week to get in here.
It’s been crazy busy.
I did a small show yesterday… I consider that a
“dry run” for the larger show I’m doing at the end of April.
Saturday, Laura and I met Alex and Patrice (whoohoo! Patrice is back!) at a
bead show in downtown
I ended up going twice… once before the kids’
hockey games and again after.
Haven’t even really had much
time to go through my purchases. The best deal, by far, was at Anil’s table.
I have some new, simple designs to put up. Also,
I’m thinking about changing my way of listing. As some of you know, I usually
list on eBay first, then anything that doesn’t sell
gets put in the eBay store and in here. But if I want more people to be more
inclined to come to this website, maybe I should start giving first dibs here,
rather than on eBay. It behooves both myself and the
customers (less fees for me, lower price for the customer).
Maybe I’ll try that this week and see how it
goes… like I said, I have quite a few “minimalist”
type pieces to list.
Aside from MAKING jewelry, I guess I can go
ahead and finish my book, maybe market a few articles, then perhaps… PERHAPS I
can look into teaching. EEK! That would entail talking with people. And not
just people… STRANGERS!
Well, we’ll see…
Hm… This will be another
busy weekend, but it’s all hockey related. I also get
to meet up with Alex… that’s always fun… hopefully Laura can come with.
Actually, LOTS of hockey for about the next 4 or
so weeks. Then… who knows.
Y’know… Mike’s been awesome
lately. I hate to say that ‘cause I don’t want to jinx
things, but he’s been so helpful and it makes a HUGE difference in my life.
He doesn’t seem too happy today, so this makes
me sad.
I need to think of some changes in our lifestyle
so we’re not always tired… all of us. I think exercise (moderate!), eating
better, and getting to bed earlier would make a significant difference.
Implementing such a plan, however, is usually the problem.
We’ll see.
I have mostly minimalist jewelry listed at the
moment. Will see what I can come up with this weekend. Maybe I’ll put my pc
pieces up for sale. I have to redo Peacockso, though,
‘cause the cats chewed on the peacock feathers… d’oh!
Thinking.
Yeah, I am always thinking. I probably think
So let’s see what’s at the forefront today…
Other Laura and I are running our butts off (I
wish!) trying to get ready for: the NorCal playoffs, the Girls’ Nationals, and
our OIC Easter Tournament. Eek!
I cleaned half of the kitchen. Not because I
wanted a clean kitchen (I do, but I had an ulterior motive), but because I want
to try torching again. I find it relaxing and at times I do feel creative. It’s
been like 4 or 5 months, now, though…
Why do I worry? Worry is a misuse of
imagination.
Do you think people who are more imaginative
innately are also more likely to be worriers?
Monica won’t work on jewelry this morning
because she has the playoffs, so she’s doing menu planning instead.
Mike’s not too happy lately… I hate seeing that.
I hope there’s something that comes along eventually that makes him happy.
I have a lot of friends going through hard times
right now too. CS, best to you and your family, and it’s not even important
that you read my blog… ‘cause
I’m merely trying to send out good vibes. It’s like a GOOD way of talking
behind someone’s back. Ha!
Okay, I’d better go now.