Dear Lacemakers, My lifestyle is flawed in the eyes of quite a few. So take from this what appeals, if anything.
Years ago, I developed a plan for the years ahead (much like a business plan). It was laid out by decade and took into consideration where and how I wished to live in the future: What I wanted to achieve by age 40, 50, 60, etc. Part of that plan is simply explained below. It is not worthy of additional comments or criticism from those who could not do it, but may help some people on this list to develop their own strategy. This is how I "made time" for my textile addictions when I was a stressed-out 37-year-old and had a difficult relationship (since dissolved), daily 4-hour commute (2 hours each way), and demanding career. The solution, for this phase of my life, was to rise at 3 a.m. and "play" for two hours when no one else had demands on my time. Then, I prepared for the long commute and work. Yes, I became tired after lunch each day, but it was on someone else's clock. I scheduled work-related errands for after lunch and tried to avoid boring meetings at that time of day. Payoff: The gift of creativity first. This is somewhat like the financial advice given to working people -- pay yourself first (that theory is to deduct savings and invest before you even see your paycheck - if you save the first hour's earnings each day before you get your hands on it, in time it will add up to a lot for your retirement). Even though it was difficult to make financial and creativity ends meet, it worked for me. I retired at age 56, and have been concentrating on lace and embroidery ever since. It helps if you have lots of energy and can train yourself to get by on less hours of sleep a night. Many years later, I am automatically on short sleeping hours. It is "found time". Not for everyone, and not worthy of comments one way or the other. It might work for a fraction of our 1,000+ Arachnes. It is to that busy (mostly-lurking) fraction that I am writing. Adding a weekend afternoon "beauty" nap is helpful, if family and commitments will permit. It acts like a powerful vitamin - boosts your Monday morning energy level. Ideally, everyone would have some control over a few hours of life each day. It's worth retraining people around you so everyone has a win-win situation. While you are having your special time, they have theirs. Your lacing time will increase, if this is something you can do. You might start retraining your body to accept less sleep in 1/2 hour increments. Even in that short time-span you can spangle bobbins, wind bobbins with thread, prick a pattern, read a portion of a new lace book, etc. I let breakfast and a shower wait until their normal times in my schedule, since the odor of brewing coffee and the sound of the shower water running could disrupt the household. Another thing I did was to banish TV from the house until about the time I retired. Read into this what you will; it was a good decision for me in years when there were not enough hours in a day. No regrets on personal time management, Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
