Category Archives: Personal time

Early mornings ahead…

Personal time, , ,

made a few years back, but you get the idea

Tis the season that I begin my day at about 6 a.m. [ ish] and start sewing by 8 a.m.  Working until 1 or so, taking a break, and then draggin’ myself back to it for the afternoon shift – unless I have a class that evening.

My busy season.

Wedding dresses, prom dresses dance costumes abound – yay for the chance to create such a variety of beautiful things~!  

My first deadline weekend was May 18th.  Irish dance dress. Gone. After 11.5 hours of sewing.  Does not sound like much time, I know.   And if it could be done all at once, it would be two, not so long days.  But it gets spread out over weeks and looms quietly in the background.  Taunting me with the huge, heavily interfaced skirt that knocks everything off my shelf and window sill as I try to work on it.  But it is gone now.

Next deadline: May 26.  Silk prom dress should be done by then.  That means working on the weekend probably, amongst the two dance events I am booked to perform at as well.  

Oh, did I mention the dance gigs have been picking up this spring too?  Yay! And that means new costume pieces for me as well – must have new things when you are dancing all the time!  Which means making them as well.  Good thing I hand sew fairly quickly when watching Buffy episodes!  5 episodes got my new silver bra and belt done to the point of wearing. Updates will take place though, before the June Recitals/Shows.  But I now have the pre-made fringe [ thanks, Diane] that will form a back ground for the hand beaded and coined fringe I will add myself.

And June 5th brings the light at the end of the tunnel to most of the dance costumes I am making.  A few I can push over to the next week, if I need to.  And then I will run away.  I will take a brief respite after the June 12th show to find a moment of sanctuary before the rest of the bridal season takes hold. There is a retreat that calls to me, but at $400, it may be pushing things a bit out of balance.  Perhaps my retreat simply needs to be me and Boing and a hammock, out of Tom’s way while he processes DVDs of the OCCP.

I’ll decide closer to it.  Once I figure out what I want, it will all fall into place.

For now, I am actually enjoying the structure I have managed to set up for myself with Ical. I schedule in the work time for each project, with some flexibility to move things around and change my mind. As long as I get those pieces worked on before their appointments, all is good.

Today introduces a new wild card into the mix. The return of working in Beacon Hill.  I have been working with Ivy for about 20 years now, part time, full time, off for a while, on to contract work.  It has always been a great way to get out from my own clients work, and see something new.  And play with even more expensive pieces, and this summer offers some fun beading to be done. Yay~!  Here’s hoping that I can find a way to schedule this work too…

Well, off to walk Boing and get ready to head out!

 

 

 

 

 

Dreaming of August…

Personal time, , ,

Click the photo to see more shots of Algonquin Park

DCP_1623.JPG, originally uploaded by campdancer2000.

For as long as Tom and I have been together, August is our camping month.
The bugs are almost non-existent, the nights are cool enough for sleeping, and the days still have some warmth to enjoy.

Our hammock collection has grown each year, after we hit the top of the line with our tent collection. We bring the Condo { 3 rooms when needed, 2 rooms most of the time}. We loan out the Apartment { 2 rooms when needed}. And we offer space on the site to visiting friends who might come up for a long weekend trip.

When May and June roll around, I am in my high season of work. The dancing is still in full flow, with classes and the Ottawa Centre Class Party that I organize coming up on June 12 ( http://www.tav-creations.com/classparty )

And the prom/bridal/dance recital season is blooming too as the tulips begin to wilt and finish their brief visit to the world.

When I daydream, it is of Algonquin park and whatever date we are set to depart in August. We have been going there for 11 years – this will be year 12. It is always the same, yet always different. Some years we canoe more, some years we walk more. The Ice Cream hike has become infamous amongst our visitors.

And the sunsets, and the hammocks, and the general sense of wholeness it brings to our souls.

I hope everyone has a happy place they can escape to in their minds during times of pressure and/or stress! Feel free to borrow mine if you need it…

The Painful day of Garbage

Personal time, , ,

....in judgement

Taking my morning walk on garbage day has become painful for me.  Like walking into an animal shelter and seeing all of the rejected unloved little creatures who just want to be loved and feel wanted, so my heart goes out on garbage day.  I walk past piles of, what seems like still usable goods and chattel that should be given to a good home, not sent to the landfill.

If I can on the night before, upon spotting some fantastically amazing item that someone can use, I will make an effort to come home, and jump online to post a “at the Curb” notice on the Recycling yahoo groups I belong to:

www.freecycle.org [http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/OttawaON-Freecycle/] 

or 

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/FullCirclesOttawa/

If I only see this fantabulous gift to humanity on the morning of, I will carry it home, if I can, and store it in the back yard for a day or two.  And again, post it and let someone who can use it, resell it, whatever – keep it out of the landfill.

Then I look at all of the recycling.  We just received our updated notice of the pick up weeks for both boxes and what is and what is not taken.  They actually took photographs for this one to help make it really clear what they do and do not want.  It seems very limited as to what they will take.  But at least there is some  recycling here in Ottawa!

So, I had my pad thai last night and walked over with my take-out container, cleaned and ready to be re-used.  The lads laughed as they took it and plopped my pad thai pak into it, but no problem, they save  a few pennies themselves.  And I refused the new chopsticks as well – I keep the ones from previous meals out. Promo: Champa Thai on King Edward – simple, good, not sure how business is for them, but I am doing my part!

But I still had take out, and have it quite often.  That should be considered as well in order to examine my commitment to the environment.  I reuse and recycle for sure.  And I probably will now start to look at ways to reduce and yet still enjoy my very busy little universe….

So, stop putting your usable stuff out to landfill – post it on Freecycle or whereever – someone can use it!

Boing says so!

 

Ginger Lily

Personal time, ,

Click on photo to see more pics – takes you to my Flickr page!

HPIM4739.JPG, originally uploaded by campdancer2000.

Hard getting back to it this morning!

I had a great weekend but little time off. I know, poor me :-).

After brunch, wandering the market yesterday morning and then coming home to quickly let Boing out ( Thanks, Shade, for walking her!), I had a lovely time at the Clutch, where we were able to give M her baby blanket. Still early in her journey, but with a busy summer ahead, it seemed appropriate to pass it along to her when she was hosting!

Then I packed up and headed off to Renfrew to deliver these lovely flowers on behalf of my outta town brother, and spend some time visiting with Mom and H.

Supper out at their fave haunt, and then back into the car to head home to Ottawa.

It has been awhile since I have driven for hours on my own. I did enjoy it. Lots of music blaring, I get to sing along – no one wants to hear that! Folk are driving more and more erratically all the time though. I can see the point to re-testing for one’s license with some regularity. It is a bit frustrating and scary to see some of the moves people think are okay to pull while driving over 100 km/hour.

Well, after that harrowing experience an evening on the futon was in order, and Buffy came to the rescue. And I slept through most of the episodes. I’ll rewatch today…

But I should get some sewing done first!

The Little Red Golf returns from the spa

Personal time, , , ,

[Click on pic for more shots]

The Little Red Golf returns from the spa, originally uploaded by WTL-Ottawa.

My Baby is home!!!
Yay!
Really – Yay!!!

She drives fine – a bit stiff from all that lounging around at the spa !

Golf Say: I did yoga!
I reply: Yoga? sure ya did yoga every morning!

Golf: Oh, and the hiking and canoeing were great!
Me: Hiking and canoeing? I know ya didn’t do that!

Me: Ya lounged, ya were pampered, ate Bon Bons and watched Oprah for the past month – I know it!

Golf: Blushes prettily….

A month sans auto

Personal time, ,

As of yesterday, Le Golf has been away from home on retreat, getting exfoliations, contemplating its navel, becoming vegan – who knows what else.

And I have been here missing it. 

Not every moment of every day, I don’t drive that much.  Averaging about 10 000 km in a year, I am really a pedestrian and occasional driver.  But on those occasions, I really miss my car.

The garage has been very good about providing me with one of their two, white with red decals, cars when I need locomotion.  As I will in about an hour.  I can take the bus, but I get motion sick.  And I don’t really enjoy that feeling.

I walked to my Tuesday class two weeks in a row, and this past week, I strained my shoulder. When I am heading off to teach a class, the backpack I carry on my shoulders weighs at least 20 lbs! { I exaggerate, I just went and put it on my scale.  It weighs in at a whopping 10 lbs/5 kgs ish.}  The walk takes me between 50 and 60 minutes.  I don’t mind this at all, I love walking, but I have never been a hiker who wanted to carry their entire village on their back, and that’s what it feels like after about 40 minutes!  I am a wimp – you won’t offend me!

I also bought a new bike this spring, and think I will really enjoy using it.  But the same weight distribution of the backpack issue exists, as I have not yet attached a rack or carrier or basket to my fancy shock absorber infused mode of transportation.

So, in theory, the paint job was done yesterday afternoon, and the car should be returning to the garage today.  All of the delay had to do with an overbooked body shop owner who has been understaffed. Whatever…

So, I’ll cross my fingers and toes, and hope that they did a fabulous job and that my baby will be home soon!  The garage will still have to replace the front windshield and trim, and then I’ll have to pay the bill.

I am looking forward to the reunion with some trepidation though – will it still love me? Has it felt rejected by me that I sent it away for so long?  Will a clear windshield blind me? I won’t hug it… at least i don’t think I will…

And here I was planning to blog about how I have managed to be without the car for a month and it has not been the end of the world.  While this is accurate, it did keep me from attending my Mom’s birthday party in Renfrew – that and freezing rain.  It also helped out one of the dancers I work with to enjoy her new Jeep as we relied on her for transportation for at least three events this past month – thanks Anastasia!

Maybe I just needed some time to appreciate my good fortune in having had a car for the past 8+years.  And we are hoping to extend the life of Le Golf another 5+ with this adventure in renovation!All decked out to go camping

 

A beautiful Sunday

Personal time, ,

Boing sits on my lap while I type.  I finally had a day off yesterday – sort of – to do my own things.

I went with Hubby to a computer store opening, and bought a new printer.

Then I went to a friend’s to do some serious crochet work on project.

Then I met up with hubby and walked home to relax on the couch and watch happy movies.  

‘Twas good.

Last week was full of zombies, incoherent screaming, and mayhem. Lack of sleep can do bad things…

🙂

Today involves some downtime, an appointment with a potential client and some bike-a-bout.  Will enjoy an early night in too – tomorrow it all starts again…

[youtube=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=A3DQfrCp2-U]

A bit of a break, and my body breaks down…

Personal time

I exaggerate, but I have been fighting a sniffly head and sore throat since Monday morning. 

Up to that point, teaching three nights a week, partying for WTL’s birthday week and a lot of late nights.  Sunday was the final event day – brunch with the enlarged gang, and an afternoon of dvds on the futon. 

This week, final Monday class on the winter session, first class of the Tuesday Spring session, and the performances are still coming in as well – so I do have to try to take care of myself, but the little whiny voice echos in my stuffy head.  A muffled echo, but it says “lie down” nonetheless.

Ah, well, that’s what vitamins and water and chicken soup are for. And an appreciation of being self-employed so that I don’t have to get up and travel to work.

 I did seek my morning walk to BridgeHead this morning, and while the staff is super great, I cannot even taste the coffee and muffin properly – something definitely amiss with the cranium and it’s functioning parts this morning.

A few more minutes of  online time then I will try to clear my head and start on the day’s list of sewing projects for clients. At least I can see the sun today!

hpim1408.jpg

Getting back into the sewing of things…

Personal time

<Some beadwork done at the hands of TAV Creationsp>

Yesterday was a good sewing day.  I made progress on some clients projects, and felt a sense of connectedness that needs to return to me with the spring.

The winter months are spent dancing, the summer months are spent sewing.  Sort of.

I do both all year ’round, but I find the concentration of both waxes and wanes like the seasons. Which works well for me to keep my creative juices flowing.

Today, I will be dancer. Tomorrow, I will be couturier. Saturday, I will be both. Sunday, I will rest. 

Or take my shiny new bike out for a test drive is the weather does actually hit 4 degrees celcius!

Technology and its uses…

Personal time

dcp_0007.jpg

Am I getting swept away?  I have a new Blog, I have joined Twitter – what’s up with all of it?I am constantly online, checking email,  updating events, checking on what anyone in my various circles of friends are doing and does it add to my existence?

In a lot of ways, yes, it does.  I work at home, so it is a great way to connect with people on a social level that I would only get for about 6 -8 hours during the week – maybe a bit more during the summer months when I see sewing clients more often.For people who work in an office buidling, who see co-workers on a regular basis, have to be approachable and ready to be talked to at any given moment, I cannot imagine how disruptive it is.  When I am out working on contract [which happens when I sew for another local designer] I see the double edged sword of sharing a workspace and having to be ready to chat at any given moment.  While I used to work that way, when I worked for her full time, I have really changed how I work, and peace and quiet serve me best these days when I need to focus.

 I may grumble about getting emails [ ding! ] during my work time, but I do have a choice in this matter. I am actually quite grateful that the email checking and  online time is something I can simply turn off.

Sort of.

I get work through my online activities.  Both students for dance classes, group and private, as well as sewing clients find me online and many times have been very happy to receive a reply within moments of contacting me via email.  It makes their decision to hire me a little bit easier.  Besides being able to read all about me and how I do things with my website. 

These are my jobs – sewing and dancing.  I don’t have a full time job to pay my rent and then do these jobs on the side.  And I love it.  Some days I wish I had benefits.  I can look into that – another choice.  Some days my boss is a pain in the butt – but that’s when I really want to hit the couch for some DVD time , and instead toss it into the mac mini and watch LoTR while I work on an epic wedding!Well, technology has allowed me to do a lot more than I ever thought possible,  but I still have to go to another room to shower when I am getting ready to head out.

 See ya,T/H