Nooks and Crannies
[Miss Tilda ~ nearly six months old!]
Timing was on my side this week, as it is gray and rainy today ~ the perfect time to catch up on quiet tasks in my studio ~ while yesterday it was nothing but sunny blue skies ~ perfect weather for a day trip to Santa Barbara. I took a trunk load of donations to the Dream Foundation, an organization that received so many of my greeting cards back when I managed an 1100 square foot office in downtown Santa Barbara for Swirly that they still have a small batch of inventory. Cards that did not sell well and that needed to be unloaded when Recycled Paper Greetings took over my line went to the Dream Foundation, and my last donation was given to them in 2001. Like me, they are fanatic about sending cards, knowing how much of a difference it makes to get something personal and inspiring in the mail.
Since publishing Ordinary Sparkling Moments, each year I like to make a hefty donation of books. Hospice of Santa Barbara ~ an organization my husband is closely connected to ~ received a stack for their volunteers one year, this year it is the Dream Foundation, and I already have my donation lined up for 2011, which is for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s upcoming fundraising event. Anyone who makes a contribution to their Meet the Music program that evening will receive a copy of my book, a collaboration I am extremely excited about.
I had not been to Santa Barbara in a while, and it is always a visit that tingles my emotions ever so slightly. I lived there for nine years with my first husband, and it is also where my current husband and I began our relationship, which was, at times, rockier than rocky. I wrote about the odd mix of curiosity and sadness that so often accompanies my visits there here, and on the rare occasion my husband and I discuss the idea of moving back there, I have so far ultimately concluded it isn’t something I could likely do.
This visit felt different. Perhaps it was because I got to re-connect with friends from the Dream Foundation ~ who were deeply appreciative of the boxes of notecards and books (and a plate of cookies!) I brought them ~ or maybe it was because I was in and out so quickly. No matter the reason, this time, as I drove around streets that once provided my daily routes to and from work, movies, errands, and home, I felt a lovely wave of gratitude wash over me, as well as a wee bit of nostalgia for how much easier things were in a town so much smaller than Los Angeles. I’m still not sure I could move back there, but it was nice to savor so much of what was good and beautiful and magical about Santa Barbara. I experienced much heartache there, but it was also where I went through some of my greatest, most positive transformations. In a way, I grew up there ~ it was there where I became an adult.
One of the other gifts from yesterday’s back and forth road trip was about four hours of solitude in my car. I listened to recently downloaded music, thought about ideas for another upcoming journey, admired the sparkling coastline, and even cried a little. During my most difficult year in Santa Barbara, my car became my haven ~ the only place I was alone, quiet, and still. This is why I chose to make the journey to the Dream Foundation yesterday even though my husband and I are headed right back up to Santa Barbara tomorrow for another holiday gathering with friends. I looked forward to that time alone all week, and it did not disappoint.
Spaces of solitude can be found and created anywhere we want. One of my favorite spots happens to be my car, but I also relish long, hot showers, making my morning cafe au lait, and folding laundry in an empty kitchen. Particularly during this season, when my holiday to do list sometimes feels endless, these quiet nooks and crannies offer restful moments that enable me to step away from the minutiae and offer my gratitude for the larger picture of my life.
“Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ~Washington Irving
Day 14: So Much Love
I find myself with a wee sliver of time this morning for an actual blog entry ~ an entry that is more than a brief checking in and wishing well ~ so I’m going to save my inaugural Inspired Details entry for later this week. I decorated our tree (and house) over the weekend and have been walking around since then with all the thoughts that were swimming around in my mind as I unpacked ornaments and searched for their perfect nest in this year’s tree. The holidays are always a bittersweet time. I would say they are always a bittersweet time for me, but I imagine we all have a little bit of the bitter with the sweet this time of year. Things that are beautiful and abundant in my life suddenly exist in starker contrast to the struggles and difficulties. It is as if all these thoughts, longings, and emotions suddenly rise up in places where they were once quiet and settled ~ on the landscape of my awareness but low enough that I wasn’t tripping and stumbling over them. But then Thanksgiving happens, and after that all bets are off. Everything sparkles more brightly than ever, exposing the darker corners more than I’m used to.
For a long time I dreaded winter. The short days, the darkness, and, yes, the holidays. Over the past few years that dread has slowly melted, and I now look forward to this time of year and all the ways it encourages quieter days, earlier nights, and an excuse to wear my favorite sweaters. This shift has gone hand in hand with my increasing introverted ways, which doesn’t mean our social calendar isn’t still chock full this time of year, it just means that in between all the festive fun and frolic, I go about my days with a quiet appreciation for the gifts this season brings.
My husband and I attended a swanky event in downtown Los Angeles last night, and because there have been evenings when it took us more than two hours to get downtown, we decided we’d be super smart and leave insanely early. Which means we left our house at 4:15 for a 6:30 event, and because the universe works the way it does, we were exiting the freeway towards our destination at around 5:00. With so much time to kill, we decided to go to the Biltmore and have a glass of champagne, and while sitting at the bar we were talking about our week and everything that has gone on over these past few months that made for an especially full time in our lives ~ getting a puppy, a family wedding, a huge house project, and on and on. During that conversation, I said eight words to my husband: Our house is full of so much love. And I almost burst into tears when I said it, feeling the profound truth of that statement deep in my bones.
As I decorated our tree, hung our wreath, and filled little bowls with peppermint kisses, I thought of all the stories our ornaments and decorations hold ~ the ornaments my mother painted when I was a little girl, the red glittery candle I’ve used for years, the soft, sparkly snowman just purchased, the hand-knit garland I made last year. Decorating for the holidays is always like this ~ each year a slide show of memories and moments from Christmases past passes through my mind. In that sense, each one of our trees has been a time capsule ~ a collection of stories about me, my husband, our family, our friends, and all the love that connects us all.
In the midst of creating gift lists, watering the poinsettia, taking trips to the post office, and planning for holiday guests, it is that truth that drives it all ~ the truth of our home, and all the love it holds, and that no matter what the struggles, the uncertainties, or the challenges that lay ahead in 2011, our house is full of so much love, and that is what matters most.
Day 13: Gnome In My Home
My iPhone doesn’t take the best close up shots, but I couldn’t resist sharing these little Christmas gnome candles here on my own slacker version of the 25 Days of Christmas. Even though this is the craziest of crazy weeks for the holidays in our household, I think I’m going to have time to post an entry for another new exciting category tomorrow called Inspired Details. As if the holiday festivities weren’t enough, I just keep rolling out the new categories…when will the insanity end?
Day 12: Christmas Sparkle
Our tree is up and sparkles are everywhere ~ I love making the house festive.
“I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.” ~Taylor Caldwell
Re-Energized
I thought it would be fun to share the holiday spirit here with posts for the 25 Days of Christmas, but I didn’t get started until Day 7 and now it is Day 9, so I’ll go ahead and admit I might not make it beyond next week. The good news is that I am cranking through all of my holiday to do lists and having fun with it despite the race-against-time feelings I’ve had here and there, particularly on days when Tilda heads out for afternoon adventures with her dozen or so doggie friends. Between gift shopping, gift wrapping, gift shipping, Tilda training, and all the other details that need to be attended to this month, time for online pursuits has been relegated to the back back burner. But I see this as the final stretch of my self-imposed cocoon-dom, the last part of a fall season that has given me time to think about ways I can shake things up around here in the new year.
Looking ahead, this is what is shaping up for 2011:
* My first piece for my new column Across the Globe in Somerset Studio will be in their January issue. Stories about creative pursuits all over the world will be featured, and my first two pieces are already in the hands of my editor. My first three stops across the globe: Jordan, Kenya, and Uganda.
* I’m launching a new column over at the Wish Studio. Called On Writing, these monthly features will cover a wide array of topics related to my journeys as a writer. I’m kicking off the new year with a discussion about Rejection.
* My monthly posts on creative travel journaling started at Gypsy Girl’s Guide this fall, and they’ll continue in 2011.
* Right here I will be changing the focus a wee bit. I have loads of professional experience as an artist, designer, commercial illustrator, and writer, and although I have shared snippets of them here and there, I have yet to create a bona fide category for them. I’m starting a list of topics I can write about which includes licensing, finances, business plans, publishing, and loads more under the heading Nuts & Bolts. If there is anything specific you are interested in learning more about, please let me know in the comments section.
* I will also be posting more entries that are intended to be nothing more than inspiring. I know this has been my overall mission here from day one, but I feel like things got a bit scattered lately, and I’m ready to bring my focus back to topics, ideas, musings, and links that will uplift and inspire. This new category will be entitled Lovely & Inspiring.
* And my Sparklettes ~ everyone loves the Sparklettes! I’ll do my best to get back on board with those. Promise.
* I’ve also decided to clear out my Etsy shop, so here’s what you need to know: I will be shipping orders through next Friday, December 17, and after that all items except my book will be taken out. I will continue to offer signed copies of Ordinary Sparkling Moments ~ softcover and Limited Edition hardcovers ~ but nothing more for at least the first part of the year.
* As part of a shameless marketing ploy to get readers back over here to see what’s new in 2011, I will be having Daily Give-Aways for the entire month of January, starting on the first day of the year. My intention is to pull people in with free loot, but then inspire readers to stay with inspiring, substantive, informative, fun offerings.
As quiet as I feel like I’ve been around here, I think the time has been productive in its own gentle way. I took a good long look at what I’ve offered here (as well as other blogs and projects I’ve managed) ever since I started six years ago, and my intention for 2011 is to take the best of what I’ve done in all these different places and pull them all together under one roof. I look forward to sharing more creative stories and adventures with you in 2011!
100 Books Project :: Raleigh
[Book #87, left in Raleigh, North Carolina by Book Fairy Leigh Griffin of AraLeigh Studios.]
From the lovely Leigh Griffin, the story of Book #87:
Dear Christine,
After I received the package with your book, I started mentally narrowing down drop sites and even went on a couple of scouting expeditions. I spent one hot afternoon with my son, walking around the university he attends (NCSU) exploring potential locations to leave the book. While I didn’t find a great spot on campus, I did get to spend some time re-connecting with my son and exploring his campus. Weeks went by and life and the weather got in the way. I was pressuring myself to get your book out by today. I needed a spot that could offer the book some shelter from the unpredictable afternoon thunderstorms starting to roll through Raleigh. I was being silly to put pressure on myself to find the “Perfect Spot”. Just pick a spot, Leigh! Then I remembered a lovely little park near the law office where I work part-time. The Rose Garden is just that–a park/garden with beautiful red, pink, orange, yellow, white, purple roses, grass walking paths, benches, a water fountain and a stone rose-covered arbor. The garden is beside a small theater and an amphitheater. Every time I’ve been there have been office workers enjoying a picnic lunch, young couples whispering on a bench, people studying the roses, and families smiling for photos in front of a rose bush laden with blooms. And it has a small pavilion–perfect for protection from the weather! So off I went during my lunch break on Wednesday, August 4th. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself because I didn’t want to hear “excuse me, you left something on the bench”. Leaving the book took some time — the gardeners were pruning, and several people were eating lunch and walking around admiring the roses. Since I had decided to leave the book in the covered pavilion, I carried my journal, a magazine and the carefully wrapped book with me. I sat and waited with my journal in my lap, trying to look casual, not like I was on a secret mission. I finally stood up to place the book and leave. Just as I put the book down, one of the gardeners walked right to the front of the pavilion! So I stood in front of the book, fumbling in my purse while she walked past. Then I noticed someone else watching me. I judged the distance they were from me. If I left the book, would they assume I accidentally left something and call after me? Or worse–would they think I had left a package with evil intentions? I stood admiring the view (it’s really lovely from the pavilion) and tried not to look suspicious. Finally I just left, planning to return after work to see if the book had been picked up.
5:30 p.m., August 4: I returned and walked around the garden to the pavilion. The book was still there! No! What was wrong with these people? Wasn’t anyone curious enough to check it out? So I casually moved the book more towards the center of the pavilion bench and left again.
7:30 p.m., August 4: My husband and I returned to the Rose Garden on our way to dinner. Dangit! The book was still on the bench. Why hadn’t someone picked it up? I decided to make another trip by on Thursday, and if it was still there then, I’d move it to another location. Then after midnight, severe thunderstorms rolled through Raleigh. I woke just hoping that your precious book hadn’t sat there all night and been ruined by the rain.
12:45 p.m. Thursday, August 5: The book was gone! I hope that someone is enjoying it and lets you know how your book speaks to them.
~ Leigh
Thank you so much Leigh ~ I love the play by play!!
25 Days of Christmas
I’m joining the game late, but am now on board with my BFF and her 25 Days of Christmas, going on right here. I feel like I am 99% healthy, and today took the first step of an uber-fun project that I’ve wanted to do for years. I’ll share more about that this week when I can take better photos (the object this project is centered on was just delivered tonight.)
I also have a lot of ideas stirring about for this blog, and will be sharing those soon. I’m eager to get started on some of them immediately, but have decided not to put anything in motion until the new year. There is quite a bit on my calendar between now and then, but I am still enjoying the anticipation of the day the clock rolls over into 2011. I will still be me, and most everything will look the same, but deep down there’s always that feeling that with a new year comes new opportunities. It feels funny to look at it that way – I am a firm believer in the power of making a change at any given moment no matter what day of the year it is – but I am feeling especially excited to dive into 2011. Between being sick and feeling the need to live a slightly hermetic lifestyle for much of this fall (at least as far as social media is concerned), I look forward to establishing a new way of sharing, writing, and exploring on this blog.
What are you looking forward to most about the new year?
The Lotus Flower
Each day I inch back towards health, itty bitty baby step by itty bitty baby step. I am getting up each day, running errands, and doing what needs to be done, the entire time operating with an awareness of needing to manage my energy hour by hour, minute by minute. Too much of this or that could throw things off and turn the day’s itty bitty progress into an even ittier bittier improvement. I have been careful, to say the least.
But I feel the fog lifting, and have experienced small windows of feeling….fine. So far they have been fleeting, but I savor them nonetheless, and look forward to the morning when I wake up with a totally clear head and a body that feels ready to leap out of bed. I know I am making a bit of a fuss about this – this being sick – but it has been so many years since I have felt so bad for so long, and honestly, I don’t want to forget it. I want to use this experience as motivation to take better care of myself. Other influences and circumstances are at play here, but the simple fact of feeling so crappy has been a potent reminder of how magnificently important my health is. It is time to make it a much higher priority than I have in a long while.
“To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. Water surrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals.” ~Buddha
Slowly Creeping Back
[Busy bee ~ photo taken in Big Sur last spring.]
I am still operating at, oh, maybe 55% capacity. Did that sentence make sense? I’ve been making a lot of rather inane mistakes over the past week, so I’m feeling a little on the paranoid side, worried that as I write about the details of my week and I inexplicably start wandering off on a tangent about blowing my nose yesterday and feeling like a BMW Mini flew out. (Too bad it wasn’t a nicer color.)
Before I go any further on the Too Much Information front, I would like to say a huge Thank You for all of your healthy wishes since my last post. I got some hardcore anti-biotics from my doctor yesterday, and am just doing what I can each day and letting that be OK. Honestly, I am a wee bit proud of myself for not getting freaked out about the fact that so much can’t get done right now, and instead using this time of moving at a snail’s pace to think about how to mindfully, healthfully get through the holidays. This is always a hectic time of the year in our household ~ as is true for most everyone I imagine ~ and I am actually grateful for this opportunity to start things off gently. I have more thoughts I’m eager to share here, but as I’ve said, only so much can get accomplished these days, so I’ll stick to my most important business of the day for now…
This weekend is the 5th Annual Holiday Show at Peach Tree Pottery. Come see my work alongside more than a dozen other talented artists:
Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5
12:00 – 5:00pm
Peach Tree Pottery
3795 Boise Avenue, Mar Vista, CA
Call 310-567-2708 for more information
Have you heard about Spoonful Zine? I mentioned it here, but wanted to give it another special shout out. This is a lovely publication that is beautifully produced and filled with inspirational goodness. Keep the printed page alive and head over here to support this lovely endeavor. I’m honored to have a small contribution to their third issue, available here.
I am also a proud contributor to Sherry Richert Belul’s Present Perfect E-Book. Click here to learn more about Sherry’s wonderful holiday project.
Need more inspiration? Registration is open for Mindy Tsona’s This Moment E-Course in the Wish Studio, and Jamie Ridler’s Wishcasting Journal is shipping for the holidays!
More juicy details about my plans for this blog and the new are forthcoming. Until then, signing off from the sick bay.
Spoonful
In this lovely little publication, Christine ponders what it means to be alive.
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