Creativity

  

   

On my needles:  Radiance Shawl in Cascade Alpaca Lace Paint.  I probably got another inch done on the shawl this week while we devoured the first season of the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D at night when the kids are asleep.  I am so glad I frogged the other shawl I had been doing and chose this pattern instead.  I love it - it's so well written and easy to follow.

On the pages:  The Nesting Place by Myquillin Smith and North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson.  Listening to Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman through CraftLit.  I am really enjoying all three of my books, although I kind of find Herland to be a bit slow so far, but I will persist happily, having developed a trust in the quality of discussion through the podcast. 

I have two major goals this year - for right now, anyway.  One is to get fit and lose weight but how stereotypical is that?  So I'm working hard to get 300 minutes of aerobic activity each week and keep going with my Weight Watchers plan. Last week, check. This week, going strong.  

But more creatively, we are doing a lot of plotting and planning about and making little changes in our strange 1940's built-a-little-at-a-time-with-cheeeeap-materials house.  The credit for this in my world is largely thanks to The Nesting Place - I really appreciate the book's focus on freedom to just try home improvement and home decoration projects without terror or fear of ruining the home.  So when Jesse removed the monstrous, obsolete air conditioning unit above our couch last week and drywalled up the huge hole, I started having fun planning a collage wall to go there instead - but there are many steps first to be done.  {Tonight I textured the wall with just a little bit of drywall mud and a paint roller.  Yesterday I picked up paint to sample in the living room over the place that has been repaired and will try to texture the wall in another place tomorrow - before hopefully priming and painting that little wall to see how we like the color since I wasn't ready to embark on painting the whole living room this month).  This is turning out really fulfilling to me, but prior to this new free attitude, it would have felt much more stressful and anxiety producing.   There are other things afoot as well in my heart and head to beautify and cozy up our home. This is the first time in my life I have actually felt free and adventurous instead of paralyzed by the all decisions and changes and repairs to be made about the house on careful Dave-Ramsey-budget.  I am laying aside my tendency to look at a decision from every angle and just jumping in to change things as we can afford the time and materials.  It is FUN!

So that's the creativity happening here.  I am joining up with Ginny's Yarn Along again today.  I wish I had time to write here a little more, and a little more deeply, but right now we have had our sweet girl staying with our family a good amount of time, meaning I'm mom to four small ones several days of the past week or two and I love it, but with that and all that I've written above, blogging has had to go a little on the back burner, especially more heart-related blogging, although be watching because soon the posts that are wriggling at the corner of my mind will push their way out here.