A Few Stolen Hours

I bartered a late start time at the office today in exchange for some photo touch-up work for my boss, and so I found a bit of time this morning to get some things done. I finally got the tree off the porch and got it decorated:


(Those are the glass birds I bought in an Amsterdam department store about the time Rick and I got engaged. I started with a set of six, but I'm down to 3 or 4 now.) The puppy doesn't know what to make of the whole thing, and bears careful watching anywhere near the tree. And it's only going to get worse once the gift boxes appear.

I also got the two wool/silk scarves washed, rinsed and ready to go, but for a final press. I need to deliver the blue one shortly, and get the desert-toned one in the mail sooner rather than later. (I also need to load a pair of those electronic photo frames with images and get them in the mail. Cross one thing off the list, add two more. But on the plus side, I also got a dozen cards into the mail today, and figured out what to get -not make! - for one of the previously mentioned mystery husbands.)

And finally I got a couple of hours of quality time with the grey round & round project while watching the last few episodes of Boston Legal. Jeez, how is it that Candace Bergen gets to look so great? I know the options for digitizing have evolved significantly; just look what they did for Patrick Stewart in the flash-back scenes from X-Men 3. But seriously, she looks better in her late 50's than some of us did in our late teens. (Cue the Janis Ian music, please.)


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Anyway, I am now officially just a few inches short of half-done with the grey round & round project. No, I'm not telling. And I bet you can't guess, either.

Saucer Sleds

Today I had that conversation with my boss, the one I'd hoped was 4 or 5 years off - how we would handle a transition to a me-less office. Economy yada yada yada, expenses yada yada yada, give you the best references yada yada yada. I'm out the door in roughly three and a half weeks, although the exact date will depend on several factors which are still in flux. I've treated that place as my business as much as that of my boss during my time there, and it feels odd to think of leaving it. I've had a very good relationship with my boss, who as recently as two months ago was joking that I could never be permitted to leave her.

I'm still in the early phases of adjusting to this news, even though I've suspected it and seen signs of it for about two weeks. Do I try to find another spot at a firm? (There is one firm in town advertising for someone with my credentials, and I of course have sent over a resume.) Do I spend some time trying to really launch my photo work into a viable financial enterprise? (My boss is really pushing this, and although I've done more of it this year than ever before, it still is nowhere near a significant amount. I love the photo work - just can't figure out how to market it.) Maybe I should consider going back to school - the allure of that Master's in Psych seems to have faded for me, but my mind keeps wandering back to the thought of a Masters of Divinity and ordination. Certainly some sort of volunteer work; and I wish you could get one of those "teach English overseas" jobs in smaller, more manageable chunks of time commitment.

You remember when you were a kid and went sliding in one of those round metal "flying saucer" sleds, the ones that turned out to be so dangerous? There was always this point at the top of the hill when you were perched on the very edge of friction, just barely holding your place and about to hurtle down the hill in a completely uncontrolled manner. I feel like I'm there now, teetering on the cusp of a wild ride in a direction only marginally of my choosing.

If you asked me today what I want to be when I grow up, I'd probably suggest some sort of travel photographer and writer. A travel blogger, maybe; wander around the world taking photos, writing about impressions, and getting a lot of knitting done on the train. I'm just not sure what the market is like for a job like that, or if it will still get me home to see Rick on the weekends.

So close, and yet . . .

I picked up the stole from my friend's house on Monday evening. Actually, she dropped it off at my office Monday afternoon, at which point we noticed that unevenly sewn layers were making it ripple funny in the back. She took it home for rework, and then I picked it up. Now I notice it's still uneven, and there's a funny dip along one edge, and the fabric is pulling out in a spot just past the shoulder. I guess I didn't realize how slippery the silk was and how tricky it would be to sew. Bottom line: I'm going to take it to a professional to see if they can rework it. But there's no way it will be done in time.



Oh, and those pieces left over from my friend's grandmother's jewelery? They're not where I left them. Memories are foggy, but it seems likely that someone threw them into my jewelry work basket during a cleaning frenzy. Little bitty pieces of metal. In my work basket. Which, of course, has holes.

NOTE: Luc, amazingly, found the earring pieces. And Elizabeth says she can get me a referral to a seamstress, so I'm starting to wonder if a Christmas delivery might still be possible. But so long as I have a few extra days, I think I want to redo the silver fish-net on larger knitting needles.

Christmas is a-comin'

Christmas To Do List report: not nearly enough progress on #3, and getting close on #10. The rest, sadly, is untouched. I think I'm going to take a day off later this week so as to jam on things when I am not expected to be in 3 other places.

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However, I did get to see the Christmas Train on Saturday night, which was a very cool thing.

I also spent much of Saturday at the salon, doing another batch of "glamour shots." It seems our clientele for this kind of thing tends towards girls posing for holiday shots, rather than ladies looking for the fun of something mildly risque. But there's no question that having Pam in front to do hair & make-up, with me in back to shoot the images before even very little girls can mess themselves up, is becoming a popular item. We're going to do it again in January.

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