Women's Business?

Somebody's Luggage - inside and outside views

This remarkable piece of jewellery - is it a locket? - was a present from my father many years ago. It has some very old (Victorian?) photos in it, of person's unknown. So the title 'Somebody's Luggage', on the outside is very appropriate. I have been trying to get a good photo of it, so I can make a print to use as a journal cover (more on this below). I got this idea from my mother (she has the same creative bug) who has been experimenting with printing photos onto fabric (amongst other things), and she has been doing some amazing things with book covers - perhaps I can share photos of her work here sometime. 

Anyway, I liked the idea of a photo of a suitcase on the cover of a book. Apart from wondering about the people in the photos, it also makes me think about the idea of 'baggage', as opposed to luggage: what we choose to bring with us, and what we don't choose, and would rather get rid of.

organised earrings

On one level, this is relevant to my deck-clearing and decluttering campaign - yesterday I sorted out my earrings - on another it is about memories and behaviours and thoughts and feelings and all the stuff we call 'baggage' - in the psychological sense. Does clearing out the material clutter somehow give us the illusion that we can sweep our mind clear as well?

As a therapist, I understand I am acting as a symbolic 'container' for other people's difficult 'stuff', so its appropriate that my therapist father gave it to me. Was he perhaps unconsciously acknowledging that some of my own 'stuff' might be about him? (how could it not be?). Or did he want me to take on some of his difficult stuff? (how could I not?). All good food for thought.

My 15 year old is going on a 'youth leadership' camp next week, and one of the statements on the flyer was that it would teach them to 'master your mind and emotional states...eliminate fear and negative self-talk' - wow, big promise! It also promises to teach them how to play the stock market and get onto the property ladder in order 'to create your own financial destiny'. I could suggest that perhaps being motivated enough to get a part-time job at a fast food outlet is a more realistic goal at this stage, but hey, I guess there is no harm in aiming high. We (parents) suspect there is a deep-seated and ill-concealed capitalist agenda to this camp, but as my dear husband says, its good to know your enemy...

So why did I call this post 'Women's Business'? Another thing that matters to me is keeping tabs on my health, and I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. This was encouraging, in that I got feedback on my blood tests from last week - all good results, cholesterol is 5.5, could be lower but not too high - however no information was forth-coming on whether I am actually in the menopause yet (is this like in the zone? - perhaps not), despite having fairly rampant symptoms. And wasn't that the point of the blood tests?

I am bemused by the manner of most doctors. How do they make you feel ten years old again? I had just agreed that I had one of the many symptoms of menopause - poor memory - and then she asked me how long since I last had a mammogram! (How would I know? - I just go when I get a letter telling me to go). She also told me to return in a week - this seems to be common practice - without really discussing why I would need to be doing that.

One useful piece of information though - apparently the herbal remedy RCT  I have put myself on (Red Clover Tablets, called Promensil) have been proven to reduce menopause symptoms - but only if taken at double the recommended dose. So I have now adjusted my RCT (art therapist's joke, also refers to a Randomised Controlled Trial) accordingly. I told the doctor I wondered if my perceived improvement on these tablets was due to the placebo effect - she said if that was the case, it would wear off after 3 months.

One other thing - I have noticed that hot flushes, like blushing, seem to be triggered by thinking about them.

If only I had that thought control down pat...

Two quilted journal covers

Some other 'women's business' - no caps this time as its not, really - my artwork for the past two or three days has involved sewing, but is also book related. I had seen a website  about journal quilts, and since I also make visual journals and other hand made books, I was very excited! I don't know about making a weekly journal quilt - I have enough projects - but I did immediately start making some small quilts the size of A5 paper, so that they can be glued onto stiff card and made into books. The best part was the size, which makes them very quick to do and manageable.  

'Ladybird' book covers

I am using the crazy quilting method, which involves  machine-sewing random shapes of fabric directly onto the backing, which is an old mattress protector, cut into A5 rectangles. I am using mainly strips of retro prints which I had previously bought in a roll, and incorporating pieces of fabric from clothes I have cut up to customise, or other remnants. For the quilting, I am machine sewing into the seams ('ditch-stitching' - great term!). I also started hand embroidering the quilts once they are pieced together, to enhance the quilted effect. I like to use running stitch as if I were drawing on the fabric, to accentuate the design. The hardest part is glueing the fabric onto the book cover without messing up the corners.

I have an interview today to become an angel (I just misspelt that 'anger') - wish me luck...more later.