Summer Doldrums.

I feel like I am floating amiss in the grips of the late summer Doldrums. If you don't know about the Doldrums, well, the Doldrums are the area around the equator (also known as the equatorial calms) that have a light and varied wind due to the heat at the equator. During the peaks of summer, the Doldrums wind dies down to almost nothing. Back in the cool old days of pirates and sailing, the Doldrums became notorious with sailors because of their periods of deadly calm. The area could trap ships for days or weeks on end. Boats would have to sit and just wait for enough wind to power their sails. They were powerless to move until enough wind came to fill there sails and propel them forward again. Thus, in colloquial usage, "being in the doldrums" refers to being in a state of listlessness, despondency, inactivity, stagnation, or a slump.

I am definitely in the summer doldrums.

It could be the heat. It is hot here in San Antonio right now. So, so hot. We are on our 58th day of temperatures over 100 degrees. There is no sign of it letting up, and I am tired of being sweaty. So while my inbox if full of emails hailing the "The Warm-up to Autumn" (Anthropology) and "Fall Shopping Lists" (Lucky Magazine) and "Our Fall Preview Event" (Gap), I still feel like I am melting in an inferno.

It could be work. This summer my office turned over 67% of our labor force. We are a five person staff and we saw three of the five leave. We hired two new people to serve in the management position. We also hired a fresh-from-college kid into one of the vacancies. So now I am the veteran employee, and essentially the only person with any historical memory in the organnization. Transitions in the work place are always tough. They are even tougher when multiplied by three. I find coping with the day to day frustrations of an all new team to be an all-consuming, and not in a good way. I know that time and patience will turn the situation around, but for right now, work is a bummer.

It could be I've just plain lost my mojo. My sewing mojo, my crafting mojo, and dare I say it, even my cooking mojo. Last night I attempted cappuccino creme brule for dinner club. It should have been easy, but it did not set right, and we had the hardest time melting all of the sugar with the butane lighter, so the sugar was grainy. Don't get me wrong, we all ate it anyway and the taste was good, but the overall product was just so "eh" (and it's such a shame, because I baked all the desserts in our china coffee cups and had such a cute theme of after dinner coffee going on).

Sewing is not going so well either. I have botched two projects I was really expecting to succeed with. The "Everybody's Favorite Claire McCardell" dress is going to have to change its name to the "ALMOST Everybody's Favorite Claire McCardell" dress. I just could not get the bust to fit correctly. More to come on that project. I am also working on the 1950's collar confection blouse, and experiencing the same bust fit issues. And I have a beautiful Liberty print of red poppies lined up, so I have to get my mojo back.

I know the summer Doldrums are not permanent. Like any good sailor, I just have to wait and let nature take its course. Until the winds pickup however, I will just be out here floating, waiting for the breeze to fill my sails so I can get back on my way.