Winding Down

Coffee in the Montreal skyline mug, "Cloudy This Morning" by George Winston on the iPod. It is late--almost 9:00. Dave just left for work and Jessie is still sleeping. I posted on Stranded in the South yesterday about fall sliding into winter, and I reflect again this morning how close I still am to the sun and the seasons. I live in a climate-controlled house with an abundant supply of electricity for light whenever and wherever I want it and I get my food from a supermarket. I do not live in a tent, foraging for my food and and migrating south to warmer climes as winter approaches. But my blood and bones drive my brain right now. They say to hoard and huddle. Prepare for the long sleep and eat everything in sight. Shades of an old Bloom County cartoon where Steve Dallas remarks "You chicks store fat in your thighs for winter, doncha?".

I am now allowed to write and reflect this morning because I only have one project scheduled between now and the end of the year and I have got it under control. I could be a realist and borrow trouble about all the last minute "stuff" that will be dumped on me with a "Can we have this next week/tomorrow/right now?" between now and January 1... But I won't. Until the book is in the hands of the Art Department at the Publisher on January 15 I am still on the hook. All the photography is yet to be scheduled (and it is also due 1/15). I *know* the editor is going to call me on December 19 and just blithely assume I have 36 hours a day through Christmas Eve to do it. Or they will start demanding I schlepp everything up to them again for some of the photography. But I said I'm not going to borrow that trouble and I feel myself getting wound up just thinking about it. Breathe.

I have a week and a half to make all the rest of the work for my my biggest retail show of the year. It's going well. I also almost have the entire display figured out. I ordered the pipe of pipe and drape last week to hang the lights from and now the only thing I am still futzing with is the lighting for the lower shelves. I found rechargeable LED bases for lighting centerpieces, but they don't work at all on my glass--too intense a light in small areas. I might try attaching them to the underside of the top shelf so they shine down on the piece on the shelf. They are good because they light for 10 hours and only need 6 to recharge. Flashlights and other cordless lights are usually only rated for 3-4 hours. I would need stock in Duracell to afford using them for 4 days.

Today I will make some more big hanging pieces--I bumped them to the front of the queue as I have to get the holes drilled in them before the show and Kelly gets cranky if I stroll in and ask him to do them NOW, ship a piece to the Art Institute, chase down a couple of past-due invoices, pay my own bills... all the usual small business stuff. Oh yes, and I will begin to contemplate where I am going with my glass work and if I really need a handbasket to do it. I'm thinking that's an accessory I can do without.