Therapy

I woke up from a nap on Saturday afternoon to a husband who had just seen an episode of Hoarders on A&E. "You're not as bad as those people, but still!" Sheesh. I wake up and suddenly I'm in the wrong. Well, OK, I already had been in the wrong, but now I was in the spotlight for it. And right after a good nap, too.

I can't really complain about my husband because he's right, I have too much stuff, but I'm more of a pack-rat than a hoarder. I have to work up to being able to let something go. It's easier to just keep it than go through separation anxiety. I can usually let it go in the end, I just can't get rid of it without a bit of grieving first. I have to have a mini-therapy session and counsel myself "...it's OK... I haven't used it in years... I can buy another if I really need it... it doesn't bring me joy...."

Sometimes the "I-still-want-to-use-that-one-day" feelings surface when I find something I don't need but still want. Self-counseling is trickier in those cases.

The rest of Saturday and Sunday were productive. My sewing room got a kick in the pants and I was able to get a lot done. I cleaned out a box of general crafty supplies without any heartache. I finished all my Girl Scout badge sewing jobs, ALL! Then I started to clean up one of my work tables and found another GS vest that needed work. Sheesh, I wonder how long it had been there? It wasn't with the others and the mom never called to check on its status. Oh well, it got done, too. I even got my sewing table cleaned off to the point where I was able to actually quilt for the first time in six months. I had Dan take this of me to prove it:

I'm trying out those blue quilting gloves for the first time. They have little grippy nubbins on the palms so you can control the quilt without having to grip the fabric to death. I can't believe how much easier they make machine quilting! Why did it take me so long to listen to my fellow quilters about them? I should show my progress to my quilt bee tonight, however:

My ceramics instructor called me on Friday to encourage me to sign up for another class session. Evidently, they want to get enough students in each section so they don't have to cancel any classes. I talked to Dan about me taking one more class and which night of the week is best. Monday night is the winner, so I'll be back to the studio tonight.

For this session my goal will be to get everything finished by the end, perfect or not, so I don't have any unfinished work and I can make a clean break from ceramics. Ha ha, that's funny: clean break from clay! OK, never mind. The problem is the mandatory lab fee is for a package of 25 pounds of clay. Do you know how hard it is to go through that much clay when you're still struggling to make decent pieces? I go into each class with the mindset of "practice" and not worry about perfection, but more than half of my pieces end up as a crucible-sized vessel or in complete ruin: a mangled lump showing no signs it was ever almost a coffee mug or bowl. When that happens I can re-wedge the clay and try again. However, I'm not using up the 25 pounds very fast that way. This session will be different, just practice.... This session will be different, just practice.... This session will be different, just practice....


And now I will finish this post with a complete nonsequitur: who came first (without the help of IMDB!) Wayne & Garth or Bill & Ted?