Travel patterns of good ideas

Have you ever noticed how good ideas travel? One person adopts it, then another, then another. And pretty soon, the good idea is part of daily life. Exhibit A:

I got this idea from Heidi’s blog who adapted it from an idea in Rachael Ray’s magazine. And it’s brilliant. First off, following Heidi’s interpretation, I just had to go to Target. Lucky me, one more dot tray was left. A bunch of supplies later and we have a new centerpiece for the table. There is nothing like a tantalizing collection of art supplies to entertain a crabby kid and/or to get the creative juices going. The art production around here has gone up, up, up in the last few days. Now … where to put it all?

Peonies & Pink Martini

Oh the blowzy wonderfulness of peonies. Fat bunches for $6.99 at Trader Joes = happy PK. Buy them tight and they’ll slowly open to the full reach of their exuberant selves.

A canning jar as vase provide the perfect juxtaposition of simple against abundance. Open the windows, play the new Pink Martini (Hey Eugene is the album), dance around the house. Cook a little. Write a little. The perfect holiday Monday.

Under here

no, here.

Remember me? I’m still here. Just been buried under project work. So many so that it seems my brain has stopped thinking of clever, witty things with which to entertain us both. But I see a glimmer, the little light at the end of the tunnel and have no doubt that I will soon be back with more endlessly clever and witty observations.

Meantime, I leave you with a question: Is it possible to have too many books?

I admit I was astounded to have a parent of one of K’s classmates tell me that she thought books needn’t be part of a teacher appreciation gift because, really, wasn’t the classroom already overflowing with books? Talk about things that make you go hmmmmm.

Look who dropped by

Moments ago, as I sat arranging words on paper, a flurry of feathers accompanied by some rather loud squawking caught my attention. I dropped the phone, mid-dial to interview an expert about wood decks, grabbed my camera and ran outside.

I have no idea where they came from. We live amidst trees and many green things but there is no substantial body of water in the neighborhood. I bet they came to meet Harvey. Harvey is a 4-foot-tall weed that is growing in our cottage garden. I’d show him to you but he doesn’t like his picture taken. He’s shy.

Happy Mother’s Day

“The most important thing

she’d learned over the years

was that there was no way

to be a perfect mother and

a million ways to be a good one.”

Jill Churchill

photo stylist: KK

Weather report

Checking the weather online has become a morning ritual, vital to informing K whether it’s shorts or pants weather. This morning, the ritual was accompanied by a story from K …

When I was little girl, I thought that the weatherman sat on tippy top of the world, so he would know when storms were coming and tell people.

Love the perspective … “when I was a little girl” as if being 6 is ancient. And the possibility of sitting on the tippy top of the world. Once again, as I cling to my morning coffee in IV-like fashion, I’m struck with the desire to bottle just a bit of the imagination and energy that abounds in children.

Doorways

I stumbled across this old building while roaming Point Reyes Station last weekend and saw not a tear down but a reinvention. A new life, new purpose emerging from the crumbly bits. Life feels a lot like that lately. Maybe it’s Spring. Maybe it’s the desire, among so many to-dos and deadlines that I can barely see straight, to create things that have meaning. To find a way to balance the flow of corporate work that is financially rewarding with the creative work that is soul-satisfying.

As I search, I seek inspiration, snatching precious minutes from the day to wander blogland. I am always rewarded with a visual, an idea or a quote that feeds my spirit, giving me renewed purpose. Favorites this week:

:: shim + sons from whom I’ve adopted the :: (or googlies as Sage calls them) and excitedly took part in the grand opening of The Shoppe.

:: 3191 is my Rx for calm. I go there daily for visual inspiration. This week, May 3 was my favorite.

:: Ali Edwards has been talking a lot about balance on her blog. Taking a life temperature makes so much sense to me.

:: Sage on the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Computer captures reinvention in gorgeous, mouth-filling language, and Sage herself who always saves my bacon when my words threaten to unravel on the page.

:: And that Martha. In blog-hopping, I found out that Martha has a new art + craft line. Of course she does! It’s really very clever merchandising … you can buy at Michael’s or online (more selection). And the design is oh-so-appealing.

As Monday morning draws near, I am again optimistic that I can keep many balls in the air, remain gracious when clients are dancing on my last nerve, and pay attention to the little, beautiful moments that make up daily life.