Thoughts on Life & Beads & Plays & Deborah

INSOMNIA
Yes, I am awake. Yes, it is 2 a.m. I just finished a beading project for the bazaar we're doing this weekend.

MY BEADING
Finally, this year my stuff is selling at the bazaars... This is the third year Beth & I have done this, and I've sold like 4 or 5 things up til now. I stuck it out largely for Beth, and because I like working with beads and making stuff with my hands. (I've never really been a make-a-thing type artist. All my stuff has been poetry, singing, acting, writing plays- intangible and ephemeral. These last few years have been different. I don't really have time to be in a play and attend rehearsals. I did choir up on campus with Jake and LOVED it. The big change was painting- I took painting with Beth mostly to have SOMETHING to do in the winter, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it... The beading and the bazaars have been fun and scarey and exciting and horrifying. I like making something tangible. Something people can pick up and hold. Something I can try to sell- which is a bit like selling a small piece of yourself. Good, but scarey.)

Well, suddenly I'm making something unique that people really like- the wirework chokers are new for me. I discovered them a little over a month ago and I'm enjoying them and they are selling well. Rewarding to actually have some stuff selling now. I'm madly/crazily trying to make a new piece every other night to fill in the gaps from the stuff that's sold...

BEADS
Beads are so addictive... I had no idea. Each individual piece is so inexpensive. You can easily spend $10 to $15 at a pop and get something REALLY pretty... Then suddenly you're making stuff all the time and you've got tons of beads everywhere and more stuff than you'll ever possibly wear... Then you're going into bead stores and spending $30, $50... Planning projects and buying beads specifically for something... VERY ADDICTIVE... It's easy to buy beads that are beautiful and you end up feeling more beautiful because you get to handle and work with these elegant and lovely beads...

NORTH POLE BAZAAR
We are doing a bazaar this weekend out in North Pole. We've done two so far this year (Monroe school and Pioneer Park Civic Center) and I've done really well this year. We wanted to get into at least three, but we're now both very nervous about the NP one. North Pole is probably a 20 - 30 minute drive for us, but the really yucky thing is that we have to provide our own table and chairs. WHAT! Like we've got those things lying around... Yes, we have two folding chairs tucked way away back in the garage somewhere. (We call our garage "the black hole"- things check in and they don't check out...) So, I asked Jake where the chairs might be, and he was like "what chairs?"... Umm, hmm, guess you probably don't know where they'd be then... OH, well.. Who do you know that can say they'll be selling stuff in North Pole this weekend???

OUR FLOT PRODUCTION
Oh... I wish so much that we hadn't committed to this. I am thoroughly enjoying it, and even though I dread the amount of time it takes for me to attend rehearsals, I like the other people and the rehearsals and the singing and the dancing... It's just very inconvenient right now with the Bazaar season upon us....

POTTY
My 3 year old is pretty much potty training. Yes, I know this is not important to anybody but us here, but WOW is it important... So, 3 cheers for Deborah: Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray!

PRE-SCHOOL
My three year old has started pre-school this week. She's been going BONKERS here in the cold. She wants to go outside and play, but she doesn't like to be cold, and I don't like to be cold (which is why I live in Fairbanks, Alaska!)... So, we don't much play outside and she is so bright and active that she drives herself and us CRAZY in our limited space. So, when the opportunity came up for us to do a Head Start pre-school we all flipped. She's getting lessons in basic stuff to prepare her for Kindergarten, plus she's getting more interaction with kids and adults, plus they have a big romper room she can run around in for part of the day, plus I'm not having to plan activities for us everyday, plus she's not begging to watch tv all the time (I'm pretty definite about how much time she can watch every day, and she gets so bored stuck inside here...) She would be a non-stop chatterbug if I'd let her- she's very demanding and just FULL of words... So full that sometimes I just want her to be QUIET for 2 minutes... Now, it's quiet for almost 4 hours 4 days a week! Yay! Plus, Abigail is getting more one on one time with me... Everybody benefits! While it is hard to turn her over to other people during the day, I can drop in any time I want- I spent a good portion of the first day there with her. Also, I really liked the way they handled everything I saw. Seems like the ONLY way this could have been better is if it had been a Christian pre-school and she was also learning about God and the Bible... And I think her teacher is a Christian...

So, God- You're pretty cool! Thanks for this great opportunity for Deborah! Please bless it. Please help us figure out the best thing for her right now.

(I seem to be full of CAPITALS today... Hmm. I don't know what is triggering this INTENSE need for capitals. Perhaps my sleepy brain. Perhaps I've just had a really good week. Who knows... Jog on, little black capital letters...)