One Winner and a Few Thoughts

Tracy of Prickly Pear Bloom! Seems rather appropriate that she receive a pear.

I still have a few pears left in the shop if anyone is interested.

My friend Amy wrote a beautiful post yesterday with me in mind; I was so very flattered and touched. The post is titled Industry and accompanied by a beautiful photograph of an old sewing machine from the Muir House. Her photograph and the word "industry" inspired me to take a few pictures of the industry Aidan and I were engaged in yesterday afternoon.




I started thinking about the connection between industry and technology - not just on a large scale, but right within the confines of our home. In so many ways technology has contributed to my personal industry - I see something someone has made and am inspired to create, or I make something and am motivated to document it with my camera and post it on the web. The blogosphere is like an endless, non stop Show and Tell.

Yet in other ways, technology inhibits my industry, and more importantly, my children's industry. When Aidan gets home from school he wants nothing more than to commandeer the laptop and play games on Cartoon Network. I let this happen more often than I'd like; I know he needs down time, yet I'd much rather him unwind with a tub of Legos or a basket of blocks. So yesterday afternoon, just minutes before the above picture was taken, I literally dragged him away from the computer kicking and screaming. I did the same thing to myself this morning when I was tempted to keep clicking from one blog to another.

Here's the thing, my plate is rather full of projects right now, and I'm guessing yours is too. There is a deadline looming over our heads and many gifts to make and wrap. My brain is bulging with ideas, my memory card is full of projects to share, and every flat surface in a ten foot radius of my work area is covered with material. Sound familiar?

So I've made a decision to give technology a bit of a rest and focus on industry. I doubt I will completely disappear, but my presence will be sparse for the next two weeks. Perhaps if I finish the projects in my queue I can give industry a rest too and just focus on being. Watch the flames lick the firewood, sip a cup of coffee, hang out in the kid's fort, listen to my husband's stories at the end of the day, snuggle down in bed and watch another episode of Mad Men - all without having my mind on something I need or want to do, or a needle of some sort in my hand.

At least that's what I'm thinking today.