Come on, really? Snow?

Only time will tell, but snow is supposed to start tonight and go thru part of tomorrow dumping 6 - 12" here.  Closer to Boston and the coast - rain or slushy rain.  And I was just getting used to seeing the ground again.

Patio in Castelnau Picampeau   9/10

I am still on my purging quest for less clutter.  The bag I took out to the recycling bin this morning must have weighed over twenty pounds.  When I look thru my files, though, excitement stirs when I look at the pictures I have cut out and saved.  The patio pictures remind me of writing outdoors in southern France on an old wooden table covered with a checkered tablecloth set in the shade of a wide branched tree.

I want that feeling here in my own backyard and so back they go into the file.  Ditto the garden paths and fountain plans I might need someday.  Can you tell I am in an outdoors state of mind?  Drat that snow!  I could be raking up the last of the fall's leaves this weekend from under the quince bush (everything gets stuck there).  If it snows as much as they say, I will be lucky to find the quince bush!

Bliss is Marty bringing out more libations!

That's okay, though.  I have stitching to do and a great book to read and a garden to plan.  I know it will be warm again soon and the great white blanket will soak into the ground and disappear again.  Then I will get out that rake and have a field day with it!

Tears for Japan

All week, I have been looking around me and seeing the abundance we have in our everyday lives and trying to imagine it all swept away. The reality is that I can only imagine. I have a home and heat and can cook anything I want when I want. My family is safe and I have a job I love to help keep us that way.

I have been shaken by the unbelievable devastation in Japan and I was wondering if I could share something with you.

There is an organization I learned about from Diana at A Certain Simplicity called Shelter Box which is one of the most amazing projects I have ever seen. If you have been looking for a way to help the people in Japan without homes and now under a nuclear threat, please take a minute to check this out.

So far this year, they have sent out almost 104,000 Shelter Boxes and shipments are on their way to Japan as we speak. Each box can shelter 10 people and provide the basics to survive which is so important to the families who have lost absolutely everything.

Each box contains a tent for up to 10 people, insulating ground pads, blankets, tools - shovel, hammer, saw, ax, and wire cutters; a small stove which can provide heat as well as be used for food preparation, mugs, dishes, pots and pans, water storage containers, even a children’s pack with crayons and coloring books. The box itself can serve as a table and a dry storage area or a bed for a small child.

If you can help, please visit their website and take a look around.  You will be encouraged to find that, as we are all finding in many areas of our lives, people step up when the going gets tough.  I am glad I had this opportunity to do so and hope you will consider it as well.

Thanks for listening.

On the Road Again (or as I know it - In the Air Again)

Winter is my travel time for work.  Three shows in two months - meetings with vendors - miles of convention show floors - wheeling and dealing for the catalog.  I like the total focus on one thing to be accomplished and then the quiet evenings in the room to read, write and stitch.  Recharges my batteries.

Snow played havoc with plane travel this year.  I never heard of so many serious storms - ones which disrupted thousands of flights (mine included at both California shows).  It make me wonder what we will be facing in upcoming years as the weather becomes more erratic and intense. The snow on our deck is creeping up towards the top of the railing and is near impossible to remove as rain thickens its coat only to freeze again.  We will have to wait for the slow spring melt.

British Airways whisked me to London last week for the Stitches Show without incident.  After two west coast trips in four weeks, this trip was a quick hop-skip over the water.  Two and a half movies later (would finish Eat, Pray, Love up on the return trip) and I was in a cab in rainy London heading for the hotel.

Thank you, Travelzoo!  The Tower deal was amazing and the view from my 7th floor window was the Tower Bridge in all its glory.  What a sight.  It didn't matter that it rained the entire trip although I would have loved to feel the sun on my face just once.

Profound Inspiration

It is impossible to anticipate when inspiration will strike and a resounding a-ha will escape to echo around my realm.  The reverberations flow like the tide catching facets of other elements buried deep in my mind. 

I suppose no one thing can be that impetus but rather a chain of influences and circumstances sets one up for change.  Mine has been a desire to simplify and stop the rattling in my brain from a thousand things to do so that I can enjoy the here and now.  I have not consciously gone in search of remedies but they have come to me nonetheless.  At this stage of my life when sixty is on the not-to-distant horizon, I find myself looking inward for joy and contentment.  I also find that there are many external things which hamper that desire.

I know it began at Patrick's house in southern France.  A serenity pervades the place and the four of us were content to revel in its pleasures rather than scurry all around the countryside following a tour book's recommendations.  Writing in my journal (as did Kathy and Marty) was a contemplation born of the aura around us and the uniqueness of the experience of being in this particular place at this particular time.  None of us walked away unchanged.

When Karen lent me 'Choosing Simpicity' by Linda Breen Pierce a few weeks ago, I had no idea that it would show me through others the complexities in my life which were making it impossible to feel content.  I see my heart's desire and there will be much pleasure in the quest.

Her book is a result of the simplicity study she conducted by interviewing people who had simplified their lives.  From all walks of life, with many methods of simplifying and diverse impressions of their past and present lives, I saw so clearly how I waste my energy and what I could do to make this latter stage of my life into a more enriching one.

Just as I rowed my first canoe toward open water this summer, mastered its balance, even in rough currents, and shouldered its weight on dry land, I am excited to find my joy and contentment in simplicity.

Embracing Simplicity

A Teacup by Jennifer Orkin Lewis

 A curious thing has been happening to me over the past few years.  I find that I am becoming increasingly bothered by clutter.  Not craft-stash-clutter, but life clutter.  Habit clutter, responsibility clutter, people who wear me down, inane TV shows - there are quite a few things I have been drawn to assess in favor of peace and contentment.

As my bones creak and stamina declines (what is with that?), I have a strong desire to move past the habitual to-do's.  Why waste my reserves on something I don't really like in the first place?  There are a plethora of ideas in my pocket just waiting to take me on a proverbial road trip of pleasure.  Ahhh, but where is the time?  It is right where I left it, only it was taken up by things totally unnecessary and usually involving procrastination.

Things.  Stuff.  Collections.  The stuff in my world is distracting and overwhelms my mind whether I am in their proximity or not.  I have never considered myself a person who collects for the sake of collecting, thank goodness, but that hasn't stopped me from amassing a nice set of cookbooks (a shelf's worth of which have gone unopened for many years), a fair number of Longaberger baskets (some of which are packed away under the eaves upstairs), and a drawerful of dog toys, only two of which Bailey actually likes to play with.  Purge - donate - eBay!

My scheme has picked up steam as more and more time is freed up.  My mind is happier, too. This is amazing. Also, I find that I am doing things more slowly, savoring the experiences, listening intently to friends and approaching more aspects of my life with a single-mindedness that is rewarding.  The more I simplify, the more I gain in fulfillment.  Nice.

Snowed Under /Out From Under

The snow this year has been piling up.  Just after the most recent storm, I was driving home from work and noticed along the sides of the road that the snow blades had exposed a timeline of the storms' history.  Like sediment, layers of snow told the story of the past month's deluges.  It was fascinating in an archaeological kind of way. 

Of course, the best thing about new snow is that, for awhile, all the nasty, dirty snow wears a clean coat.  Everything sparkles in the sun and even the strongest sunglasses cannot dull the intense whiteness.

I have been joyfully hibernating.  I have read countless books, cleaned a little and simplified my busy life.  It is amazing how many time (and mind) wasters I have filled my life with.  Some may have started for good reasons, but have been continued out of habit rather than need.  Take my budget notebook, for instance.  A page for every month to track purchases and bills and plastic pockets for the receipts.  Originally, we were trying to identify our cost of living and where we could trim.  It worked.  Never occurred to me to discontinue it.  And did I mention that it is time-consuming?  Yup.  Well, we trimmed and saved and now I have said adios to the chore.  I kept only the critical receipts for taxes and house renovations.  How nice to have that eliminated from my life.  Now I can get back to my book or putter in my studio unfettered by paperwork. 

Nice.

Weekend Finds

No matter how thorough I am when I pack up the Christmas decorations, there are always a few which hide and then show up weeks later.  I'd like to say I have discovered them all, but only time will tell.

It is nice to restore order and give the house a more streamlined countenance.  Saturday was cleaning day, Sunday was for baking - both nice on a cold and snowy winter weekend.  I added pomegranates to the apples in the pie crust which was yummy - next time I want to add more.  Reducing saved paperwork upstairs, most of which could be pitched, felt good.  Why do I save so much?  Every time I purge, I think of Chris having to go through this stash someday.  I wouldn't want that chore and I certainly don't want her to have it either.  There are plenty of minimalist people in the world - you'd think I would have brushed up against a few in my lifetime.  No such luck.