Always Somethin'

I just re-read yesterday's post and wowa...a bit serious, eh?  I am happy to report that this is a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and I am definitely not in a tunnel today!  The sun is streaming through the windows onto my incredibly messy work space.  No joke...the mess is substantial.

The funny thing is that just after writing about the need to balance creative pursuits and relationships, I was challenged in that very thing. (It's amazing how often that happens.)  Immediately after hitting the publish post button I received a call from my friend Jennifer, a gifted fiber artist who is very good at maintaining a healthy balance between work and play.  She wanted to stop by to share a little inspiration she'd found and what were the first words out of my mouth?  "Can we make it another time?  I'm in the middle of a big project."  Ha! 

Really?  Was I so busy that I couldn't take a five minutes to connect with a friend and be rejuvenated and inspired?  The tunnel was definitely trying to suck me in.  I ended up meeting Jen for lunch and our interaction - the laughter, the article she shared, the "connectedness" - did inspire me and give me renewed energy.  I am so grateful for friends who save me from my tendency to isolate myself.   

So this morning I'm going to work a bit to catch up.  I've got a big order due soon that has been a lot of fun to put together.  I'm working on some items for a spring display...stamped spoons, decoupage boxes, and something new...collage eggs.

These are paper mache, covered with pages from vintage books, painted and embellished with hopeful and inspiring words, quotes, and images.   I just love working on spring projects with messages of life and new beginnings.  I sent the first few out the other day and I'll be working on some more today.  I also have a pile of sterling spoons flattened and ready to stamp (thanks, Em, for your help) and a collection of painted pots fitted with styrofoam and ready to have reindeer moss applied.

All these happy projects are giving me spring fever!  Now I am off to the neighbor's house, hopefully to find a UPS package that should have been delivered here last night.  I ordered some new stamp sets...some pretty fonts to use on the spoons but they were delivered to someone else by mistake.  UPS can't help me find the package until Monday but I really need it today!  Well, okay...I really want it today.

And so it seems appropriate to leave you with the words of the great Roseanne Rosannadanna: 

It's always somethin :)

Investment Counseling

My relationship investment counselor, Dakota Joe

Meet Dakota Joe, my faithful companion for almost three months now. He is a very sweet fellow and I am totally smitten. So far today he has chastised the cat, splashed me with muddy pond water, and tried to eat the butterfly I was about to photograph…all before 8:oo in the morning.
Why do I put up with all the inconvenience? Dakota Joe and I have an agreement. I’ll love and provide for him even when it is a challenge and he’ll love me back no matter what. He will sit with me when I’m lonely, listen when I need to talk and protect me when I am frightened. It’s a simple arrangement and it’s an investment for both of us.
We think so much about investments in financial terms, wanting to secure our future and “put something aside” for rainy days. In the end, though, the most important investments we make are in our relationships. Deposits into the lives of others have eternal value and, as an added bonus, they are impervious to inflation, stock market crashes, and unemployment. In fact, challenging circumstances have the potential to make our relationships stronger as we learn to rely on each other more for encouragement and comfort.
We often do not realize how much our future depends on the strength of our relational investments. We are designed to love and be loved and our poverty in this area causes us to seek comfort in things that ultimately disappoint. Our possessions and our bank accounts cannot fill our need for companionship. (Neither can food, drugs, shopping, or anything else…) So today do something to secure your future; invest in the life of someone you love. Encourage, comfort, and support them. Make the decision to love them no matter what, even if they splash you with pond water or try to eat your butterfly.