Monday, January 4, 2010

Insomnia

The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate), named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate rational thinking and to illuminate ideas

I have posted this quote as a prelude to my random thoughts here at 3am. I have insomnia again and my head could nearly explode from all the flotsam and jetsam (I very rarely get to use that phrase but it comes to mind so there it is) floating around in there, so I'll just get some of it out here and maybe grab an hour of sleep later! I sleep from 10pm-2am. When I was in high school, I was leaving the house at 10pm and getting in around this time. WTF! Getting old just sucks sometimes. Anyway back to the Socratic method. The other day, Wesley decided it was time for her to learn how to make biscuits. I make very good biscuits, taught to me by Gerry's grandmother and mother who make the best biscuits ever (not cookies for those of you England bloggers, but flour dough bread things). So, I am coaching her through it and asking her questions and she asks me, "are you using the Socratic method for teaching me this." Who asks this when they are learning to cook something, I ask you!? Then, as she was scooping out the Crisco shortening, she exclaimed, "wow, it looks like a trilobite!" Again I ask, who says stuff like this when they are making biscuits!?!? I knew what the trilobite was, because when she was small we had fossils of these all over the house along with plastic dinosaurs and wolves. She didn't much go for the doll thing. Wesley has looks and brains, scary combination!
Another thing floating in my head is how much I review the day's pottery making in my head at night when I can't sleep. I used to do this when I was a climber. I would think about the routes we did that day, how if I had just got my foot up a little bit more I could have reached another hold, I could still smell the climbing chalk on my hands, and feel the calluses on my fingertips. It's sort of the same with pottery. I think about why the clay rippled at the bottom just as I got a vase right where I want it, or why I cut the bottom out of a piece I was throwing off the hump, or how there were so many things I planned to make and where the hell were they...... I did get some things made today, but was very rusty getting back on the wheel. I got a few vases made for the saggar fire, and burnished them this evening. I find that I love burnishing a pot, I love that coolness of the clay and the smooth feel of the pot when it's finished. I may have to do more of that before I get bored with it.
I have also been thinking about this generosity thing. I love the generosity chain idea that was on Barbara's blog, I also love that I will be getting something from her, and yay! I won a cup from the Musing about mud blog, and I got that nice mug from Hollis. I was pondering why all of this is coming to me and it reminded me of a preacher in Greensboro where we used to live. When Wes was small we took her to church, one, because we thought she should have some knowledge of Jesus since she lives in the Bible Belt and her grandfather is a minister, and two, because her grandfather minister and my mom bugged the crap out of us to take her to church! Sooooo, we tried it. We went to our neighbor's Baptist church and it was one of many to come times that I got up and walked out during the sermon. The preacher had three baskets on stage (I know it's not a stage but I can't think of the right word, is it alter) they were small medium and large in size and his sermon was mainly for gathering funds from the congregation and in a sort of brain washing chant he kept saying "the more you give the more you get". This would have been a great message except that he was basically saying give me money, and this was during the heyday of the TV evangelists that were ripping off poor folks so I got annoyed and walked out. Anyway, my point is, I gave away a butt load of pottery this past couple of months so maybe that is why I am getting all of this coming back to me . The more you give, the more you get! and I am grateful for this.
Well, I have been laying here on the sofa, typing and eating Apple Jacks cereal out of the box (don't you love Apple Jacks!) and now my chest is covered with little round cereals, so I'll get this mess cleaned up and go read some blogs while I wait for 7am so I can get Wes up for school
Happy Day!

10 comments:

cookingwithgas said...

I know- I woke up with the brain going we need to do-X,Y and z.
Can it wait brain- no I want to talk about it now.
Darn.
I love the Wesley is cooking and that good things are going on with you as well.
2010 just sounds like it will be a good year.
Have a good nap.
M

Anonymous said...

cool biscuit! i too roll around visions of work in my head...good to do i believe, keeps the juices always in the flow. do you drink any alcohol before bed? or near that time? often the booze will make you sleepy and then when it leaves your body wakes you up...

Laura Farrow said...

I hate that you were up in the middle of the night, but love the rambling blog entry! I am another one working clay in my head in the middle of the night.. I often figure stuff out that way. Sitting forward bends before bed, and then rest on your back with right hand on your heart and left hand on your belly and breathe deep... see if that works to settle the energy. xo

Anonymous said...

damn, i hate it when i can't fall asleep. if you watch tv or listen to the radio it's apparent that the socratic method has fallen into deep disuse, it's a shame really that rational thinking has gone the way of the dinosaur.

brandon phillips said...

i have insomnia pretty bad...i just can't ever shut my brain off. this last week i've laid down to sleep and i've been organizing my kiln building lectures. i suppose it's better than laying around thinking about bills and such.

ang design said...

well i'd say get a run in but its prob freezing and icy and i'm not sure if you'd get into it...i have always had a 3-5ish am buzz time all my life and last year my naturopath gave me come magnesium citramate...talk about relaxed...anyhoo maybe its a good thing to run all this stuff through your head AND keep us amused in at breakie time...

Linda Starr said...

ditto to the late night, middle of the night thinking routine, my journal gets a work out then

Sister Creek Potter said...

I think I make great biscuits,too, but now I am wondering what makes yours great!
I don't rehash my pottery work but I do put myself to sleep (sometimes it works!) by picturing what I am going to do in the studio the next day. Even though I may not get to the studio for several days!
I had great plans for what I would do in the studio this week--but it is just too cold out there and getting colder by the day. We are expecting to have the worst cold spell in the last 20 years. Not just get cold--but stay cold. I should be writing in my own blog--I've gotten so carried away writing in yours! Sorry.

Trish said...

Tracey...lol you are a joy to read!,but I am not laughing at your insomnia. Although you DO make good use of the wide awake time. thank you!..(I resort to 'my chair', wrap up in my favourite quilt so I am toasty warm and have some puffed wheat cereal--do you have those in the states? -- little puffies which,too, leave little crumbs :) T.

FetishGhost said...

insomnia = naps ;)