Holiday and sick leave cancelled!

My muse has been trying very hard to walk out on me, requesting early holiday leave and even sick leave. I have decided I can't afford to give it to her this year - times being as they are.

Actually, I have had quite a rough week. I don't know if it's the seasonal storms passing through or the darkness coming on, but I have had a headache that has caused me to lose most of my sleep for the past week, and has resulted in a depression that doesn't want to lift. I realized yesterday that I also have not been spending any time in my studio or sitting room, which are the two brightest rooms in the house. Almost century old Arts and Crafts houses do not have a great deal of light, in spite of a having a lot of windows. We have very deep eaves, and darkness is the prevailing result. I decided this morning to sit in the brightest spots, with extra lighting on, to see if that will help. I also drug my muse back, kicking and screaming, so I could do something creative, even though it is a very small something.

One of my grand-daughters is getting a dollhouse from Santa. The dollhouses of today are sturdy and nice, but not very colorful. So I am on a mission to add some color to make it more of a 'doll HOME.' This morning in the sun, I crocheted a 'rag rug' for the house, and painted a 'portrait' of their family dog, to sit on a little easel. Keep in mind that the painting is about 2x3 inches, so is not terribly detailed. But the goal was to be colorful, not to be precise.

I will sit in the sun several times a day through this grey time, to try to avoid SAD-ness, and I will also try to keep my muse active, even though I won't have time for large projects for the next month or so. The holiday sweaters are still being knit, as well, and I think I'll move my knitting out of the basement (ultimate darkness!) up into the light, as well. The biggest reason for avoiding the two lightest rooms has been Booker, who always seemed to get in trouble in there. But he was pretty good this morning, so there may literally be light at the end of that tunnel, too!