Never enough time

I wonder what my family would think if I suddenly did an all night sewing event? 

I used to stay up late on Saturday nights and sew.  Everyone else would go to bed and I'd be up until the middle of the night, sewing happily away and watching television. 

Not sure why I gave that up.  Likely because I couldn't open my eyes on Monday morning.  And, we got Mable, so there wasn't any chance of sleeping in on Sunday. 

I sent my supply list to the LQS for my hand piecing/quilting class in August called "HAND is not a dirty, four-letter word."  And, I thought I'd get all prepped and send the supply list for the Mariner's Compass class in September.  The shop owner wrote back and asked if that was all they'd need...what about a sewing machine?  thread?  pins?  Oops!  Before I could get back with her, I thought of a half dozen things I'd left off.  My bad.  I tried to create that list from my head without doing the work of making the sample block, thinking "I'll do that later".  So, first thing tomorrow is to draft and piece that block and get her a better supply list. 

I also need to spend some time at the break of dawn out in the yard before it gets too hot.  Much maintenance needs to be done.  It's surprising how fast grass will try to take a flowerbed back over.  I also have a mess in the garage that resulted from cleaning out the sewing room closet last week.  And, I have a mess in the sewing room that is the result of needing to do something with 25 pounds of scraps that are not going to get cut anytime soon and that I'm tired of tripping over (so much for my 15 minutes of cutting scraps a day.)

I really need to make a Jubilee block.  I've fallen far behind on that; stopped at block 20 of 36.  And, I've had a couple of friends share batik fabrics lately, so there's all kind of incentive to get back to it.  Incentive I have plenty of.  It's time I'm needing.

And, amidst all of that, there's still parenting and partnering and pets and normal housework and cooking. 

Here's a story from last night.

I pick Sydney up from basketball practice on my way home from work.  She flops into the seat and immediately reaches over and changes the radio station.  I turned it off and said "you don't get to plop into my car and change the station without even saying hello".  I eventually turned it back on and later, established a new rule of you can get in the car and ASK if you can change the station.  When we got home, she'd left a sink full of dishes, just sitting there.  And, by that time, my blood was beginning to boil.  But, Rob made me laugh and later...

I remained calm and sat next to her on the sofa after her shower.

Me:  Tell me three nice things I did for you today.
Her:  Ummm.  You gave me the money for my bus ride and you picked me up after basketball and you're going to make me supper.
Me:  And, what did you have for lunch today?
her:  Pasta and chicken.
me:  I made that for you before I went to work this morning.  What did you have for a snack today?
her:  Pineapple.
me:  I cut that up for you before I went to work this morning.  So, it surprises me that I've done 5 nice things for you today and I still found dirty dishes in the sink when I got home.  Dishes I didn't have time to put in the dishwasher because I did all that other stuff.  Couldn't you have found a few minutes to do something nice for me?
her:  ummmmm
me:  You'll get a chance to rectify that soon.

I LOVE IT WHEN I REMEMBER NOT TO SHOUT.  Of course, there will be dishes in that same sink when I get home today.  She won't remember.  She might not remember for years.  But, one day, when she's about 23, maybe she'll do something nice for one of you and then you'll be thinking...I wonder who taught her to be so nice.  Please tell me that's how it's going to work out.

Everybody have a great Friday.  I have figured out what to quilt in the rest of the silk quilt, so I'll keep you updated on whether I do what I need to do or whether I sit and quilt all weekend.  After all, undone chores are how I find time to sew. 

Be well.  And, be kind to one another.

Lane