Lists and Plans

Batter Bowl

It is Sunday evening and I am contemplating what I want/need to accomplish this week.  I am a consummate list maker so when a Sunday night falls on the eve of a new month, I can’t resist the compulsion to make another list.

Lists help me clear my mind and to keep focus.  I have a list on my refrigerator labeled “Clean Something Obscure Month”.  The thing is, when I clean my house, there are always tasks that I don’t get to before I run out of time, energy, or motivation.  Things like: dust the blinds, clear out the TV cabinet, wash the ceiling fans, wipe down the tops of cabinets, etc.  These are the leftovers – so I thought if I dedicated a month to working on them, they would get addressed.  And, they have. Of the 24 tasks, I have completed all but 4 of them.  That is pretty good and much better than if I hadn’t made the list – even if the actual ‘clean-something-obscure-month’ was May… anyway, there is much more satisfaction for me to set the goals and check some of them off than to arbitrarily do things.

Detail of Batter Bowl

The things I need to accomplish this week have mostly to do with glazing.  There is a lot of glazing to be done.  And, glazing takes more time than I care to admit.  In addition to the multitude of pots that need to be glazed, I need to get ready for my workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (that sounds so prestigious – I call it ‘sleep-away-clay-camp’ – which it is).  In preparation, I need to assemble my travel tool kit.  Also, I am dog sitting while my friend is on vacation.  This is great for Braum because he will have a playmate for the next few days.  I have some reports to finish at work; and, I am covering additional projects for a colleague who is on vacation (I am also taking care of his cat, but the cat is not in residence with us during the pet-sitting).  And, a new session of Intermediate Pottery starts this week!  That is exciting but it will require some preparation if I am to have leather-hard pots for demo.  All-in-all a full (but manageable) week – I have a blessed life!

You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:14-15