Making Things Up: A woman with a husband, four kids, and the occasional witty anecdote

This just in: 1 scoop of melty vanilla bean ice cream + 2 crumbled Trader Joe’s Candy-Cane Joe-Joe’s = Not Bad, I Tell You, Not Bad At All.

Unrelated to the ice cream and cookies: I am about to undertake a craft project that I think will be crazy-easy, which is a sure sign that it’s going to take eight times longer than I expect and will require all kinds of seam-ripping, supergluing, and general creative problem-solving to salvage materials when I mess it up.

Isn’t that always the way? If I expect it to work, it isn’t going to. I understand this. Which means that on some level, I DON’T expect it to work. So when I expect something to work out, I also expect it not to work out.

Hmm. Suddenly I’m the Sicilian kidnapper guy in Princess Bride. I clearly cannot choose the wine in front of you, and I clearly cannot choose the wine in front of me.

And now I sound like I’m stalling. Which I might just be.

But answer me this: if I put another bowl of ice cream and cookies next to my sewing machine, will that be my consolation prize when I get stuck, or will it keep me from starting? That is the philosophical question of the day.

6 Comments

Corinne

November 30, 2009

I’ve taken on many a craft project only to realize time and time again that I… am not crafty. I can sew, I can do a few projects, but they never turn out the way I thought they would. However, once in a great while, they do turn out… and having no expectation of that leads to more joy than imaginable.
And the ice cream? I think it keeps you going. Couple stitches here, a bit there, few more stitches, another few bits

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TheKitchenWitch

November 30, 2009

Good Lord, woman! You are mixing sewing and ice cream? Add a bottle of grain alcohol to the equation and you are walking on the wild side!

Obviously, my crafting skills are crap. My drinking skills, however…

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robin (woowoo mama)

November 30, 2009

well my curiosity is peaked. you got that done.

last night i did you one up and i read about crafting and thought a crafting but did no actual crafting. i think it takes real talent to put that much energy into something and not actually DO it. i should go pro.

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Goldfish

November 30, 2009

I am nothing short of a psycho crafter. And am obsessed with peppermint-flavored ice cream. I’m wondering if the teachings of the Buddha might help answer this. Or a bottle of grain alcohol.

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