Last Day Of Break

It's Friday -- the last official day of my Christmas Holiday Break.  Saturday and Sunday don't count because I have those off anyway.  So,...

Let's get it out and over with -- wahhhhh!

There... all the whining done.  Actually, I wrote a long and whiny post and just deleted it.  I hate hearing myself whine.  Whining doesn't help -- doesn't solve any problems, but it does help me dwell long and hard on all the negative things.  So,

NO WHINING!!!

I did have a lovely morning -- called a friend in Ireland and chatted.  Then got to make cat food.  And I just had to take a photo of my fuzzy bowl cleaners!

Tolstoy (orange), Spencer (fluffy B&W), James (not fluffy B&W), and Dante (brown tabby)

After breakfast, I had a nice chat with another friend, I read some posts, and I snuggled Anya a bit.

Now I need to figure out what, if anything, I should do to relax when I have time.  I don't have a lot of time and it comes here and there.  This limits my options.  I can't do something that takes 30 minutes to get started or to clean up (no painting in oils) or something that requires daily work (no learning partial differential equations).  So, I need something that is quick to stop/start, this can be left for days to weeks, and can be done in here.  (The latter is because of Clarissa, my ever so helpful tortie tot!)

Clarissa, my tortoiseshell Persian

I've got it narrowed down to 4 possibilities:

1. Quilting --  I do the hand-piecing of quilt tops.  I have a couple started and would like to finish them.
2. Sewing vests -- They are quick and easy to do with lots of room to embellish them.
3. Cross-stitching -- If I can find a place to sit and still see well in here, I have some lovely kits to do.
4. Making cards -- I have bought some stamps and I would like to use them.

Each option comes with advantages and disadvantages, so I need to 'try them on' for a while.  I really am trying not to overthink this!

Always Something

It seems like no matter what I do to get caught up, there's always something new that comes along.  <sigh>  I know, this is just how life is, but at some point I would like a week off of new surprises, usually of the unpleasant kind.

Just so no one worries -- nothing new today.  Yet.

I'm still in a bit of a shock over Bertie.  I love him.  And I'm worried about me having to go through the kidney failure stuff with him, Clancy, maybe Dante, and maybe Robbie, all at once.  I just need not to worry about what might happen and focus on the present.

So, the present.  Those lists I made the other day are actually proving useful.  Here's today's 'really would like to get done and is realistic' list:

• do more laundry
• write a book review
• clean eyes and ears on all the cats
• order my carpet cleaner
• reflect on 2012 and plan for 2013

I'm also contemplating getting some quilting stuff out.  I really would like to have a hobby other than playing around on the internet or reading.  But this hobby has to be something I can stop for days and start again with no problems, and something that is not to mentally taxing for when I'm tired, and something I can do without endangering my fuzzy helpers.  I have a couple of quilts started and could work on them in here with Anya.  

Then again, I look at the Maggie scrapbook pages and think they are sooo beautiful that maybe I could so something for my other kitties, angels and present ones.  But to do that, I would have to buy lots of bits and pieces to make them look good, and I'm not sure I want more stuff right now...

Stuff to think about as I do laundry....  More later.