Where I Have Been...

I haven't been blogging much recently.  I just haven't had the time - or when I did have time, I had no energy.  You may have noticed me pop up occasionally, with a comment on one of your blog posts, but I admit I have not been a very good Blog Friend recently...  Sorry!
I have been Busy... I really have!  My small bookbinding business has suddenly taken off and I have had Work To Do! 

I'm not a very organised person;  nor do I have much stamina. For me, it is a challenge to run the household, do housework, help DS organise his life, help DH with bits of his own life, keep the laundry and grocery shopping up to date.  Somewhere I need to also fit in the outstanding decorating and clutter-clearing tasks...

Then there is my mum, who needs varying amounts of my time and assistance, depending on her own state of health.  She has had another series of nurse / dr appointments recently, which have taken up a couple of mornings a week; I also do her "Monday jobs" every Monday morning - collect her pension, pick up her prescription and then drop back round to the dr with the new prescription for next week, collect the eggs from Mrs B. in the village, pay the newspaper bill (once a month), help hang out / bring in laundry, make her bed and take away the sheets for washing at my house, occasional bits of shopping, other little jobs...There are often other jobs or appointments to fit in too. 

So, I have a full-time job already... Then I start a Business from Home! 

Hum... sometimes I wonder Why? Why did I do this?  Why tie up 3 or more days per week, that I could use for all those other things?   Why remove them from my "available" calendar and say "I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday"?

But, on days like today, when I just took two completed Wedding Guest books to the Post Office and sent them on their way; weeks like this week, last week, the week before, when I have finished lots of books, I know why...

16-photo Template, kindly sent to me by Amy

These are 16 of the books that I have made since February.  Most of them have been commission books, made and sold in the last 3 months.  

And I still have orders on the go, for four large books and one set of 16 pocket notebooks, for wedding favours! 

I have had such a great three months, working on all this.  I feel very lucky and quite blessed. 

Why? Because I have this God-given ability to create, coupled with a desire to make beautiful things; because I so enjoy making things that will give pleasure to others; and I love to have my hard work appreciated - so Wedding albums and other books are an ideal vehicle for my creative talents; because I have been sent all these wonderful, lovely customers, who have patiently and enthusiastically embraced the process of imagining and designing a special item for themselves - which has made my job so much easier and more joyful; because I have been able to produce these beautiful and useful items and send them out, all over the world, to carry that joy with them. 

So, this is where I have been, the last few weeks, while I have not been blog-hopping (much) or commenting (much).  There just haven't been enough hours in the day, for me to keep up with everything; blogging has had to take a bit of a back seat.  I'm sorry to have missed many of the things going on in my friends' parts of the world; I am sorry that I have been unable to join in with some of the great group activities going on; but I am oh, so glad that I've had this wonderful Springtime, full of creativity and joyfulness, improving, experiencing and sharing my craft!

I truly feel that my talent for books has been given to me, so that I can share a little joy with the world! It has made me so happy!

So, where have you all been? Have you been doing anything special that I have missed?  Tell me where to go, so I can catch up a bit! 

Thanks for coming here to read my post - and for bearing with me while I have been "too busy" to take much time out.  I do miss my blog friends; I will try to plan more blog-time into my week from now on.