My Personal Conundrum

I used to love conundrums when I was a kid - the one about the goldfish, or the hanged man without a chair beneath him, etc. Do you remember any? Here try to answer this one:

As I went across the bridge, I met a man with a load of wood which was neither straight nor crooked. What kind of wood was it?

I seem to be having a different kind of conundrum these days. I can't seem to get anything done -  I mean I can get the housework and the gardening done and even fit in some baking. But as far as creative projects  - they just don't seem to happen.

I struggle with figuring out why. Is it the weather? Because after work I want to go outside and enjoy the warmth and the sun? Or is there another reason? Am I scared to start? Do I have too many choices or not enough?

Of course then I spend time thinking maybe I'm spending too much time thinking and I should just start. But then I stand there scratching my head- what should I start? The next problem is putting my hands on my materials. Seems I've misplaced the folder with my Zentangle supplies. Seems I have my watercolours but not the paper and on and on.

Oh sure, there is always knitting and crocheting -but what project do I want to do? Nothing is calling me or inspiring me. I think what I might do is just pick some projects and put the supplies together - the pattern/yarn/hook or needle or the pattern/fabric/floss/needle or the paper/pen/paint/brush  - all together in a bag or box so the next time I don't know what to do or the next time a flicker of inspiration appears I can grab a project and just start. After sharpening an ax for a while, one must cut something, mustn't they?

Dance Update

The recital on Sunday went well - during our first song each of us (5 in my group) seemed to have had at least one little glitch,  overcome by fear and nervousness, but we all kept going and finished the piece. Not too bad since most of us hadn't performed before and those of us that have, have only done so a couple of times. Our second piece went really well. We owned it!! And we all felt really good about it. And we received very positive feedback and praise for it. Yay!

And so, with each performance it gets a little easier and a little better and who knows what I'll be telling you next year - maybe I'll have done a solo by then! I've struggled lately with doubts about continuing at times when I had trouble with a combination or a move, but I've received wonderful encouragement from my instructors and feedback from others that I will continue.

In the previous post, my most loyal, blog reader/commenter Laoch made this comment, "It is sad that something you are doing for fun became stressful". And that really struck a chord with me. I couldn't get this comment out of my head in Monday's class and will definitely remind myself of this - it's so very true! Thank you Laoch - I really appreciate the reminder!

We have a six week winter break and I'm determined to practice even more so that there is a visible improvement when I return to class in January. I'll keep you posted on that! Thank goodness for DVD training videos and online classes!

And thank you everyone for your support and well wishes, I very much appreciate it!

A friend of mine told me a story about how she was sitting in the bathroom thinking her husband was asleep and her son was asleep when she heard a sound. And then the door opened and there was a stranger looking back at her. She quickly reassembled herself and found a young man standing in her kitchen, very apologetic about the bathroom intrusion. It turned out to be one of her son's friends that she hadn't met yet.

She complained that her son always having people over and she never knows who's in the house. I listened as supportively as I could and lightly encouraged her to talk to her son about it since it bothered her.

But you know, I would really, really not like that! I didn't think I had 'control issues' but it would not make me happy to find out someone drank all my soda or ate all my food or that people were in my house that I didn't even know! Heck, I don't even like people (like repair/service guys)  in my house at the best of times!

How about you? How would you feel about that?

There Goes the Toes

Remember last June when poor little Eco had to get surgery on her foot to remove a lump (hamartoma-normal tissues growing abnormally) ?

Well either the dang thing grew back or she grew another one. The problem is it's between her toes so it's a difficult spot to do surgery, especially when there's very little skin in that area in the first place. Apparently their existence is pretty common, but they are usually on parts of the body where they can just exist without interfering with life - such as the shoulder or neck or back.

My vet posted photos of it on a veterinary forum across Canada and the United States, but it seems that  our only option is to remove the toe. We can't inject it to stop the growth and radiation is not recommended because of it's location and sensitivity. She could wear a special orthotic boot - but for the rest of her life? An active young labrador?

 So it looks like amputation is our only choice. And the vet says recovery time is only 2 weeks. I'm really sad about this but there doesn't seem a lot I can do about it. It's possible that we remove the toe and life goes on and we never give it a second thought.

Wow, I just googled "toe amputation in dogs" and was surprised to see all the entries. I guess that's making me feel a little better about it. But still, I don't like my poor little baby losing body parts!

Any suggestions? What would you do?