snapshot in time

Every so often, if I step back and look at life from a distance, the big picture can be a huge surprise. We all go along doing what we do, rarely noticing the ebb and flow that makes up our days, weeks, months, years...My own life is so entwined with my business that it is impossible to see edges and borders. That's ok, I think most people who are self-employed doing something they really love would agree that there are very few divisions. Considering that The Essential Herbal is a magazine that focuses on seasons, it keeps me grounded (if slightly ahead of the current season).
If I look at this month the way I look at a snapshot, it would have to go into the category of "humorous candid shot".
First, with 15 days until the next magazine deadline, it looked like a good window to finally finish the Balms and Salves book. It needed some photography, editing, and of course, Maryanne's immeasurable lay-out skills.
In the meantime, my sister and nephew were after me to watch the first 3 seasons of Mad Men, so that when the series starts up again towards the end of the month I'd be up to speed. 39 hour long shows cut down to about 45 minutes each because the commercials were cut. If you ever want to get a clearer view of the time leading up to the women's movement, the civil rights marches, and how very far back in the closet gay people lived in the 60's, this is great social commentary! Really well done. I had forgotten how it was then.
The soap shelves of Maryanne's wholesale soap biz were well stocked, and most of the regular customers had ordered towards the end of June, so we were feeling well prepared.
So here is the past week: The book is beautiful and exactly what I'd imagined, at the printer and will be delivered Monday. The option for pre-ordering has gotten a fabulous response, and stacks of envelopes are addressed and waiting to be stuffed and shipped. I'm eagerly awaiting the next season of Mad Men. The file holding articles for the Sept/Oct issue of the magazine is full and ready for us to start. And then.... all hell broke loose on the soap front! Over the course of 2 days, orders - BIG orders - started flying in, and now we have 17 batches planned by Monday, just to restock the forlorn shelves.
Then we can put the magazine together - in plenty of time. Somewhere in there I'll write the article I've been planning, the field notes, and put together a crossword puzzle. I usually wait to see if there is space.
In between, we've been trying recipes to use the cucumber glut, gathered herbs for drying, cared for the house and gardens, and done all the things that life requires - oh, and there's that sleep thing.
I want to save this particular "snapshot" for those days when I feel like I'm just not doing anything with my life.