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I see piles of unfinished (or finished & not put away) projects. I've done some good work on finding insurance- I've gone from 100+ options to 3. But our insurance ends in 2 days. I need to balance my check book & pay a bill. I have a painting to frame. I have laundry to do. A painting to deliver. A check to collect. A new contact to call, and new space to check out. A form to get notarized & send in. I haven't put away stuff I brought home from work. I feel fatigued- and realize that it's because I haven't exercised regularly for 2 weeks. Add that to the to-do list. I have a bunch of plants that need re-potting. I need to clean up, organize, recycle, shred, clean, put away, and follow up. I need to eat better and drink less to take care of myself. All the things that weighed on me when I was a cube denizen are spinning around my head in a whirlwind of tattered to-do lists. I have time, priorities, distractions, inspirations, bad habits, things to do, things not to do. I have no idea how to knit these all together into something good. Lost in my own head.

You know you're an artist when: in reorganizing your nails, screws, nuts, bolts, special closure devices, and hooks (because this is what you do on any normal weeknight... after 4 drinks, normal....), you find a dried piece of grass caught in the seal between compartments in your nut/bolt container, and smile. {|-)

SHIPPING AND HANDLING

At first I was at a loss when I thought how I'd send Faith's painting- matted and frameless- light, but vulnerable. I made a wooden frame so that it can't get bent, protected the corners with foam, wrapped it in paper, sandwiched it between 2 more foam layers, then shrink wrapped it, then covered it with brown kraft paper.

I'd just figured out yesterday morning that a good light but rigid frame would be wood, and yesterday I ran across a small trailer being filled with debris from the remodeling of an old house. They'd stripped out many moldings (which I took for frames), and the lath from the lath & plaster walls was prefect for the project. Yeay! I love it when things line up like that!

A NEW BEGINNING

I am officially now self-employed. I'm feeling out a schedule for myself. I meant to get up at a reasonable time this morning- even set an alarm- but 2 hours of toss n' turn from 1-3 didn't help. Jim eventually woke me up- I'm glad he did. I felt funny sleeping in, but I was "working" until 10pm or later. I have a hard time calling it work when I enjoy it:-)

I bought a folding cart today that will help me immensely at First Thursday, and stocked up on frames. You can't beat buy 1, get one free! I scored- got a light folding cart, 10 frames and a pad of nice paper for $125. Whoopee!

Also on the to-do list today: finish Lawrence's commission and the 2 pieces I did in Sun River, and keep organizing.

I stopped into True Brew this morning- it's under new management, so the boycott is over. My neighborhood cafe is looking better & has good aesthetic possibilities, including local art on the walls. That's me! I emailed an inquiry and my website to the owner.