Month: May 2019

Out of the Kitchen

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Slowly but surely the living room studio is taking shape. I need to think a little on how to best sort and store the million little bits that I use, but I have already been able to jump in and get to work without having to haul everything out of a closet or make room for dinner prep. I love it. I highly recommend carving out your own space to make things if you can. Also, it still is cozy, if not cozier. It is now my favorite room to read, drink coffee, and write my blog posts in the morning before I scoot off to work.

The natural light in this room is perfect all day, bright and golden in the morning and softer as the day rolls on. It’s the perfect place for Olive and I to watch the parade of dogs on walks, neighbors driving their riding mowers to the gas station, and the man on the yellow bike who argues with himself all the time.

I think Bee likes it here, me too.

When I’m Fifty Five

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Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

On a recent TED Radio Hour author Joshua Prager talked about his new book 100 Years: Wisdom From Famous Writers On Every Year Of Your Life. 

He discovered that the beginning of each decade can come as a shock, but that somewhere in the middle we feel more contentment with our age. I feel this has been true for me… how about you?

My birthday is still 249 days away, but according to Dostoyevsky, my 55th year will be a flowering time of existence when real enjoyment of life begins.

Bring it!

Click here to listen

Run Like You Stole It

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No, I’m not running for city council again, but this photo pops up in my feed each May like a bad penny. It reminds me that I once did this super scary thing which was so out of my comfort zone and the rewards are still being counted. Steve and I had been living here less than 2 years (this timeline may be edited later), so this felt crazy.

I was a write-in candidate for my first election… so obviously unplanned and late. As soon as I sent off my application I was struck with fear and called the city secretary to ask about withdrawing my application. She said it was not possible, but that I could run a really bad election if I really didn’t want to win. Excellent advice.

Later that month I was chatting with some people at an art show or potluck and mentioned I wasn’t sure if I was the best person for the job. A local attorney asked me, “Well, are you the worst?”

My reply, “I hope not.”

So I won my first election as a write-in candidate, ran unopposed for my second election, had my drunk neighbor run against me for my third, and had my ass handed to me my fourth run by a candidate who had more cousins than I had votes.

The takeaway?

If I can do this, so can you. All I had to do was show up to serve and listen. A lot. In return I realized I was more brave than I’d thought and gained a host of new friends and a whole new community.

Here’s to making your world larger every day.