Claire was cranky and needed her nap.

I spent Five hours(10:00 - 4:00) in a City sponsored cultural planning workshop with earnest culture vultures (arts and heritage mainly) hammering out a cultural policy for the city of Peterborough. We were in eight break-out groups of about eight per group and moved around the room to different topic tables with facilitators to guide the discussion and record the comments. A typical workshop - think tank format like ones I used to organize for the Ministry when I was working.

It sometimes is fun being old because the bright young things on the rise assume I don't know much or have forgotten what I did know. Case in point - my extensive background in marketing and communications. I usually bide my time before showing my hand. I finally exposed myself when we got to developing a *vision statement*. Many a marketing meeting founders on the dreaded vision statement. While the people in my group nit-picked their way through a morass of verbiage, I quietly pulled the key words together and wrote a draft vision statement, which I handed to the frustrated facilitator. She read it out loud and there was a collective sigh of relief because I'd nailed it. Another younger woman in my group had compiled the list of key words for me. We looked at each other, smiled and knew immediately we both had marketing backgrounds. A nice moment, I confess. Earlier in the day, after three facilitators had tried to maneuver our group discussion onto their agenda, I asked innocently, I was under the impression that this is a free flow of ideas, am I wrong?" The response was, of course it's an open discussion, so I asked why are you editing our comments? The facilitator looked like a deer in the headlights but the preempting of the process stopped. All in all it was a day of hard work by good people who really care about the cultural future of Peterborough.

There was a half hour lunch break and we were hard at it again in the afternoon. I ended the afternoon mentally exhausted and physically drained from bad air, poor acoustics, too many voices talking at once and lack of exercise. We broke for supper and were asked to return at seven p.m. for another two hours of public meeting input and discussion of our ideas. OMG, are they mad? I'm an old person. I declined the two more hours of reinventing the wheel and went home for supper and a nap. Like I said, sometimes being old has its own rewards - naps.

We have too much!

I have had a very creative few weeks. My right brain is well stimulated by the new stuff I'm making in pottery. I have made some lovely organic vessels that are both useful and sculptural. I decided that though I'm not a potter, the medium does suggest some utilitarian objective for my sculpture so I'm making sculptural vessels. It's an interesting process and I'll see where it leads me.

I have also been making an art calendar, using the Staples templates and my own art and photography. It has been very challenging because I was pushing the boundaries of the template. Eventually we arrived at a very acceptable proof and I had the job printed. I was called today to advise me that my job is ready. I'll pick the calendars up tomorrow. So everyone is getting a calendar for Christmas. It's an expensive process but once I figured how much my gift buying costs, plus the wrapping and postage etc. I decided that this was no more expensive, and a much more personal gift. I hope my friends like them.

I have also designed and written my Christmas letter this year. It complements the calendar.
It is a photo collage of friends, pets, places and good memories - 2010's high points, with the message on the back. The copy centre manager, was so taken with it, she plans to copy the idea for her Christmas letter. I've done all the shopping for the children in my life so basically I'm done. I just have to address stuff and mail it.

I wish I could say that having everything done protects me from being sucked into the Christmas consumerist vortex, but alas, it only marginally protects me. As long as I stay away from the shops, I'm safe. But when Christmas draws near, I get swept up too and buy last minute items we don't need. Maybe it will be better this year. I just need to keep repeating "I don't need anything" to myself.

We have too much.

It is satisfying to make things for people and the process has been exciting. It was particularly gratifying to hear the Staples technician say how great the calendar looked after our struggles. She was impressed and so was I. She was great, because she never urged me to compromise my concept to make it technically easier. She kept saying we'll make it work. That, dear reader, is good customer service.

I'm also pleased with my growth in computer savvy. I'm doing things now that I never dreamed possible a few short years ago. I actually love my laptop now. Since I discovered creative applications I slowly came to embracing it in my life. It truly is a most remarkable device. Yes, I am old, but not so old that I can't learn a few new tricks. My little gray cells are still working, Im glad to report.