Do you go to your basement or another room for a specific reason, noticed something that needs to be done, do it, then go back upstairs, only to realize you didn’t do what you went for? This happens to us all. It is easy to get sidetracked.

January was slipping by, and I still hadn’t finished the clay ornaments that I planned on doing right after Christmas. I was determined to do them, get them off my mind, and put the rolling pins and tools away. Before I ventured into my studio, I googled under-glaze pens. They are pens filled with under-glaze, used for drawing on pottery. They would be handy for my paintings. I came across nibs that are screwed on a bottle of underglaze, which are also used for drawing. I bought them years ago. Where were they?

An hour before lunch, I went downstairs to my studio. That wasn’t enough time to roll out clay and make ornaments. So I searched for the nibs instead. It didn’t take me long to find them.

I filled a bottle with black underglaze and screwed on a nib. A bone-dry mug was sitting on my table, perfect for trying the glaze trailing on. I drew an outline of a daisy flower and quite liked it. I continued to draw flowers around the mug until I was satisfied with my composition of flowers.

I had a dilemma. Should I paint the flowers and finish the mug or make those ornaments?

My father used to say, “Finish one job before you start another one.” Unfinished projects weigh on my mind until they are done. My under-glaze paints were already on the table as I hadn’t put them away. If I painted the flowers, at least the mug would be finished.

I finished the mug and put it in my kiln. The afternoon was almost gone. I still didn’t have enough time to make ornaments. However, I did have enough time to draw houses on another mug to paint. Then I went upstairs and cooked supper.

I might not have gotten my ornaments done that day, but I thoroughly enjoyed painting the flowers on the mug. I will do more of these. I have spent most of my life sticking to schedules, mine, and others and lived a joyless routine life. Now I go with the flow and enjoy my life.

We are all different. Do you prefer to have a schedule or go with the flow?

When this mug and my ornaments are finished I will add them to my Etsy and WordPress shops. In the meantime you can click on the buttons below to check out my pottery for sale.

• Etsy
• WordPress

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