Welcome to springtime in the mountains!
It's hard to believe that yesterday the deck was completely dry...
Vladimir the snow-o-meter is on duty! I think he's expecting a romp through the winter wonderland, but I have no intention of spending time outside today. The snowflakes are thick and heavy and I'm content to witness the steady precipitation from inside my warm house.
On a whim, I recently bought birdseed and a feeder to keep my local birds healthy through the snowy spring. The feeder is in a prime location for us to watch the darlings as they dine "Chez Peterson" but it seems they haven't gotten the memo. Either they haven't discovered this secret location or the reviews on Yelp are terrible and they're steering clear.
My theme for this snowy Sunday is coffee, couch, and fleece loungewear. Yesterday was a wine-sipping, productive afternoon. All afternoon. At 12:15 inspiration struck and I made a bee-line to the recently-opened bottle of red sitting on the counter. What a perfect accompaniment to my efforts in hard labor!
This year we'd like to sell our house so I'm tearing out the old carpet, repainting, and getting rid of unnecessary items. The challenge of living in a construction zone is making sure it's always safe for Vlad. He's not allowed inside while there are dirty or sharp items afoot!
I believe he just expressed his appreciation for my caring efforts by knocking over his toy basket and strewing his favorites around the living room.
Plywood is not loveliest flooring to uncover, but I'm really enjoying this process. I like getting to know what's underneath all that I'm used to seeing. Progress is slow and I revel in this opportunity to wonder, What's next?
Besides getting the house ready, we're also getting rid of TONS of items. Shedding the old, the unused, the unneeded. It's hard work. I cut out a cute cartoon to guide us through this process. There's a monk sitting in the middle of a room that is bare except for two planters, each containing a Bonzai tree; the caption is "Zen Hoarder."
We'll only bring a select few plants with us when we move. I hope we find good homes for the rest of my green friends.
As I tear out carpet and clear each new plywood space, I relish the time I spend with the emptiness. It's crazy how much I have that I don't need or even use.
On a similar note, I'm trying to fully experience the things I have that I do want. Why hold on to things that should be used but avoid using them for fear that I won't have them anymore? While they sit around, unused, I still can't enjoy them! I'm making an effort to throw out the crappy stuff I use in order to save the good stuff for "later" and turning my attention to the good stuff NOW.
Among other activities, I'm also spending more time with my wonderful sewing machine.
It's so much fun! I've made several cute but pointless pieces, creating simply for the sake of creating. One project was sewing little 4"x4" decorative pillows. Many years ago I picked out the fabrics and pinned them all together. It was fun to follow through at long last, like I was giving a nod of respect to my younger artist self, helping her out like a big sister would.
The pillows are arranged in my newly-created nook. I adore my nook! I've always wanted one in this house and I've finally made it happen.
This is a space for clarity and imagination and where I check in with each new chapter of The Artist's Way. It's a really cozy space. Piers likes sitting here, too.
My mom gave me the book, The Artist's Way, nearly 15 years ago. I'm not sure why I plucked it from the shelf at long last, but I'm thrilled I did. On Tuesday I'll start Chapter 6. What a great journey I'm on!
