The Blackburn Digest

I’ve had an extended & frustrating period of requiring excessively long ‘rest periods’ for every chore accomplished; washing and hanging up the laundry would take all available energy, watering all of the outdoor plants left me exhausted, necessary attempts at taming household clutter meant someone else was cooking dinner. Not surprising, I suppose, as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia both pack a big fatigue punch, and the air pressure(a big trigger for me) has been dancing a ballet for weeks!

Finally, though,I’ve had a weekend during which I really accomplished something . . . more precisely, more then one “something”! Trimmed my e-mail down from 100+ to 4 by actually reading, responding and/or copying and filing recipes, patterns for miniatures, etc. Accomplished the two-week food shopping with Tom’s help. Gave all the plants a cleanup and hearty drink (still need to feed them!), and even managed to spend a productive period up in my “Tower” workroom! I didn’t create any masterpieces, but it was extremely satisfying to convert three long-stored kits into finished miniatures and solve a visibility problem within my newly remodeled Cabbages & Kings antique shop! I hope this trend lasts a while - I’ve sooo many projects I want to complete!

I put nearly 500 miles on The Lady’s odometer today, and now feel like I put twice that mileage on me! (Dealing with miles of Houston-area traffic added to the *thrill factor*.) Despite the “little football players wearing cleats” which are now running around vigorously on my upper back and the new expletives my wrists & legs seem to have learned, I am a very happy gal!

Being an impatient sort (hehe - that shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me!), I arranged to drive to Dickinson, TX to pick up my newest miniature treasure -a “Lady Jane” Conservatory - rather than (shudder!) trust the postal system to deliver it to me swiftly and undamaged. I left Casa Blackburn at 9 AM and located the Elmer’s (of “GweChe Collectibles”) driveway a little before our agreed upon 2 PM arrival time. Visited with Carroll & Gary Elmer (delightful people, attendees of many Castine workshops and well-known among discerning collectors of miniatures for many decades. Gary is an IGMA Fellow.) and thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the remaining (and still stellar) collection of artisan’s creations, many of which they are re-homing prior to moving/downsizing.