Have I mentioned how cold it is? It is absolutely freezing both outside and in. It has taken since we arrived home yesterday afternoon for the house to warm up sufficiently for me to be able to work at all. The kitchen especially is like an icebox and Small Dog had to have her blanky laid on the floor under her dinner bowl last night to prevent her dainty paws from getting chilled.
Anyway, the first task on my newly revamped 'to do' list this morning was casting, which I thought would ease me gently back into the work saddle. What I hadn't bargained for was having to schlepp up ice-encrusted steps to the shed, then rummage around in the freezing cold to find a new gallon of porcelain slip.
I then had the 'pleasure' of sieving and mixing it several times to get all the frozen lumps out before adding the slip tint. It's a horrible, slimy, messy job at the best of times, but when the slip is so cold it's extra miserable.
No matter.
The slip was eventually mixed and I've completed my scheduled casting batch so that's one thing I can tick off today's 'to list'.
It's now lunchtime but my new regime (it's not a resolution remember) stipulates that instead of a cheese and tomato sandwich, followed by a cup of tea and a Kit Kat, I will be savouring the delights of two pieces of fruit, followed by a cup of tea and NO Kit Kat. I'm a bit surprised that I'm not feeling ravenously hungry, but considering my food intake over the past three weeks it's surprising that I'm surprised.
No matter there either.
PP is making a deliciously hearty home-made vegetable soup for dinner which undoubtedly, as my granny would have said, 'will stick to my ribs' thereby rendering me replete and famine resistant.
This afternoon I will be working on preparation for the workshop in the wake of the Thame Fair next month, as well as getting organised to make a start on some orders.
So the work ethic is working well so far, and I will not let the fact that I'm only 5 hours into the new regime lull me into a false sense of security.
In any case, I have a cunning plan to link all work efforts to my 2010 aim, which is, as Ms Hill correctly divined in her comment on my previous post, to finally get into print. I've been fiddling and faffing around with my first book for a while now, but the time is right to grab it by the folderols and knock it into shape.
Preferably something book-shaped.
To this end I have been industriously laying plans, including, following the advice of a fellow blogger, making a secret little virtual work area, carefully camouflaged as a blog, but to which only I have access.
Mwahahahaha....!
It's a great idea and I can store all my resources, ideas etc in there and talk to myself to my heart's content. I imagine it to be just like Vita Sackville-West's study in the Tower at Sissinghurst Castle..... cosy and intimate, lined with books and filled with sumptuous fabrics and textures. A perfect little writing retreat.
I have to get my writing-space thrills virtually and vicariously as in the real world I'm still stuck with my laptop on a tiny tray table, although providing myself with a proper desk space is high on my newly prioritised list of stuff to do.
So, onwards and upwards and back to work I go.......
7 comments:
What is your book about or is it a closely guarded secret?
I took the dogs out this morning and as soon as I opened the front door the air was so cold it sucked all the breath out of my lungs and made my skin crack, both dogs looked at me aghast - but bravely soldiered on..... it was like the Arctic on the country park - horrible.
Joyce, writing project is somewhat under wraps but is on a subject close to my heart.
Richard, Small Dog has barely set paw outdoors all day. She stands shivering pathetically just outside the kitchen door and wees in the gully. Your two must be made of sterner stuff.
Bet your new regime does not include mid week wine...neither does mine...even if it means early to bed.
Bev, how right you are. We can be fellow bloggers, united in wineless adversity.
For the foreseeable future I will be eschewing wine from Mon-Thurs inclusive. In fact I started last night giving myself a head start.
Tonight will be a challenge though as I'm going to a book group meeting and a glass of wine is de rigeur.
Brrrrr wouldnt fancy pouring that slip on a day like today Sandra.
I too was up early for my new year newly efficient work regime and spent the morning in my siberian shed rolled in a quilt like a giant sausage roll trying to sculpt clay that was solid as a rock.
I'm just back in and think a wee dram for medicinal purposes is very much in order ;0)
very intrigued re the book, being a frustrated author myself I find the blogs a wonderful outlet so what greater place for you to plot your masterpiece than a secret one ! Look forward to hearing more ,
julie xxx
What a great idea to create a private blog for your thoughts and ideas - much tidier than scrappy bits of paper all over the place. I wish you well in your endeavours and look forward to hearing more on your progress with this.
I'm a coffee and a Kit Kat!!
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