Yesterday I looked at my collection of projects (book, three-dimensional design class, upcoming creativity class, Phoenix Rising, chocolates) and decided that I was overcommitted. Normally I can handle two or three Major Projects running in parallel, butfive? Too many, and it was stressing me out.
So I decided to ditch the three-dimensional design class (fortunately it was early enough that I could still get a refund). I may prune out the creativity class, depending on how much fun it turns out to be. Of the remaining projects, the priority order is the book, chocolates, Phoenix Rising, and the creativity class. I’m confident I can get time to work on the first three, and we’ll just see about the fourth.
Speaking of chocolates – silly me! I was trying to work with chocolate on Sunday, forgetting that it was supposed to be hot out, and that we don’t have air conditioning in the kitchen area. (We do have an air conditioner, but it’s limited to the bedrooms.) It was way too hot in the kitchen – the chocolate refused to “set” properly, and wouldn’t temper at all. I did manage to mix up some coconut gianduja, but wasn’t too impressed by the results – I couldn’t grind the coconut finely enough, so the results were quite grainy. It did taste nicely of coconut, but the coconut-lime flavor combination didn’t impress me – it was OK, but not nearly as good as my coconut tequila lime fudge. Cross one flavor off my potential list!
It is still blazing hot, so the plan for the next few days is to get ahead on the book again, and wind/paint the warp for Phoenix Rising. Book-wise, I’m writing Chapter Four – getting from idea to design – and am doing fairly well. I’ve outlined the content for the chapter and have the content mentally mapped. Now it’s just a matter of pounding out the individual posts.
It’s also been a sad time – an extended family member passed away yesterday morning, following a two week battle with pneumonia/respiratory problems. I didn’t know her well, but the rest of my family did, so of course it’s affecting us all. I’ll likely be flying to Maryland shortly, for the funeral/memorial service.
