LJ Idol is Starting and Framing - It Will Become My Nightmare

LJ Idol is starting up again, and I've got the first prompt working. I really don't have time for Idol right now, but I'm still going to try, because it feeds a creative spark within me. It's challenging, but it's also time-consuming and it's time that's my enemy right now. There simply isn't enough of it available if we're going to be out of business later this year. 

I love the challenge of LJ Idol, but I also know that I'm 
squeezing it into a very small amount of "free" time that 
I'll have over these next few months. I might not be able 
to participate with the focus that I really would need for 
success, but I at least have to try and hang out with my 
fellow writers for another round. 

For most people, leaving a job is just that. You turn in your notice (or storm out the door), clear out your desk or workspace, go to the bar for a couple of drinks (optional, of course), and head home with the knowledge that everything in your life has shifted once again. The surface upon which you stood has become icy and steep; the paycheck with which you were paying your household expenses is no longer a guarantee. It's scary - I've been there several times. 

I've quit a few jobs in my life. Let me tell you ... it's 
a LOT easier to quit a job that to get out of business 
if you're a business owner. It's a bit of a 
nightmare (actually, a LOT of a nightmare). 

In many ways it's even more frightening when you're closing down a business that you've run for more than thirty years. DH is working extremely hard - looking in all the odd corners to make sure we're finding everything that can be sold, making sure it's in condition to be sold, and lining up tasks that I need to do which will allow other items, (a bit less close to salable condition), to be brought to that state. 

There are a lot of components that go into 
framing some pieces of artwork. I have well over 
100 pieces that need to be backed, and many of 
them also need to be framed. *sigh*

For instance - artwork. Our store was heavily into art. I sold a lot of it at my Mall of American store, and most of my Native American friends were graphic artists. We've accumulated a lot of artwork for sale - both originals and prints of various kinds. Many of these need to be mounted and shrink wrapped for sale. DH is photographing everything - we'll probably drive a truckload of items down to our auction house (if this upcoming auction goes well). There are a lot of "if's" and "when's" and "how's" in our lives right now. But I'll be spending days in the framing room working with loose art, as well as working at home with my mat cutter. 

I have two huge racks of mat corner samples 
that DH will start looking through to find what 
colors should go with what art pieces. I'll let 
him do that. He's got a decent eye, and I have 
other things I'll need to be doing. 

I professionally trained as an art framer and I've framed a lot of artwork, but not in the past 10-15 years. I'll be getting my feet back under me once again. I'll start with some of the smaller pieces, just to get my hands back into the process. There were a couple of supplies we were short on, but our local art supply company had what we needed, so I'm set to go now. I may have to give up my Fridays to work on shrink wrapping and framing. It won't make me happy, but that's a real possibility. And, of course, that leaves little time for LJ Idol, but ... I'm going to try anyway. What's one more thing on my plate, after all! Right? LOL Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this stress. Slava Ukraini.