I overcome a funk, with a little help from a friend

My day started okay, but got more and more blah as the rain wore on. From every window the landscape loomed grey, wet, and uninviting; Tisha slept off his surgery; Erik had a sore throat and my head still felt warmly dizzy from the past few days of being sick. It was hard not to feel super-lethargic and bleh about everything. I managed to get through morning pages, did some emailing, and worked on two silk poppies — based on the pattern I learned yesterday — but even that simple activity felt like uphill work. After lunch I confess I simply spaced out and hung out on the internet for a while. It’s embarrassing, but I have no idea how much time I spent browsing favorite comedy films on Wikipedia… I think I was really half asleep the whole time.

Around mid-afternoon I finally picked myself up enough to drive to the library to return my overdue crafting books, and then checked the mail and found a surprise package from Mo of The Mouse Market! I was utterly excited and pleased, and couldn’t imagine what was inside.

When I got home, I opened the packet and found a lovely card and a white paper Mouse Market box. I opened it, and squealed out loud to discover a half-dozen teeny tiny satsumas! Each one is about half the size of my pinky fingernail, and they are so perfect and adorable and delicious-looking! Mo and I had been talking over email about the possibility of my setting up some kind of mini satsuma display at Craft Happy, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted to do. Now I have these lovely baby satsumas to play with, so I will have lots of fun imagining different ways to present them. Right now they’re nestled in a piece of teal silk (a scrap from the poppy above, and originally a garment Kimber gave me to craft with) and placed in a tiny metal jewel box I’ve had for years, the only container I could find that was small enough to house them! Thank you SO much, Mo — you provided a desperately needed burst of energy and inspiration during a sluggish afternoon! Every so often I open the box and peek in at the little fruits and just feel happy. 🙂

After the library jaunt and the satsumas, it occurred to me that maybe the key to getting through days like this — when I just can’t bear the thought of working — is to stop resisting my feelings of lethargy and sleepy rebellion, and go around them instead. When I stopped trying so hard and just took things one at a time, putting no pressure on myself to do or not do, I was able to rediscover my joy in creating. I think this is what I re-figure out each time this happens: I only experience days like this when I’ve lost sight of the joy, so the secret is to find the joy again and chase it, in however small a way. Just a little bit of that excitement and love for the task at hand can go a long way!

After this readjustment of my attitude, I was able to break out of my funk and get some more done. I drew a couple of cards for friends, then made the above bookmark using one of my favorite Pema Chödrön quotations. I’ve begun sending little surveys to my Etsy buyers after purchase, to get some feedback on how they found my shop, etc. It’s totally optional, so as a thank-you for taking the time, I send them a bookmark. I’ve only had the chance to do this with one buyer so far, but I’m excited to do it more. And I love making these bookmarks!! I’ve shied away from selling anything with quotations because I’m worried about copyrights, but I think they’re safe as gifts.

Later in the evening, I also managed to make my first wrist rest, which I’ve been happily testing by playing the latest installment of my favorite computer game. 😉 The design needs tweaking, but the buckwheat hulls feel great — I may not need to alter my first-shot fill mixture at all, except to add scent (if I decide to go that route). Huzzah!

Good night!