If you've had the kind of month like we have had around here, anything to brighten it up is much appreciated. Needless to say, Shimelle's posts of late have made me want to dig out all the baking supplies. Just looking at the pictures is a treat in and of itself. She's got an awesome blog to boot, and her classes are wonderful. I took her "I confess..." class not too long ago and learned so much. I hope to take some more of hers soon. She has an approach to scrapping that is unique and fun. And of course, Alicia's blog is always good for some eye candy too...but I tend to not visit until well after meals are done for the day so I don't get tempted!
We are finally all sort of back to normal. It is strange for us all to have gotten so many different bugs this last month and spend most of June sick- but we are all breathing a sigh of relief that it is passing!
The cycle of life is so interesting. In the middle of June I posted this post , and it's fun to see where things have gone from there. We finally got some rain, and while the reservoirs are still low, most of the grain crops around here and back to normal. It was a complete bust in the fruit department though...the peaches, blueberries, and strawberries barely produced. But it rained!
James started a new chapter in his life, and it has had some page-turners, to be sure! He works really hard, and on top of which, has continued to attend school. He switched from the state university to Strayer, which was a big change, and a good one. All of his classes are entirely online, and it has made it much easier for him to balance. They started about three weeks ago. I've watched his stress level go way down in the school department- he knows his classes are waiting for him and the deadlines are so much more reasonable for a man who has so much on his plate ( full time job, three toddlers, a side business in computer solutions...) it's great to see a burden lifted from his shoulders.
Being creative??? Not so much. I feel like I am in a creative "absorption" time. There is a lot of inspiration that is getting stored in my brain...new avenues I am thinking about...lots of wonderful tutorials on all sorts of crafting levels in the blogosphere (some of my favorites are here, here, and here.) If you had asked me what I would be doing now two or three years ago, I would not have said, I am going to be a "crafter", a "life artist", a "scrapbooker", an occasional photographer. I was going to be a writer, plain and simple. So this evolution in me has been fascinating. I dream one day of opening an Etsy shop. It sometimes makes me smile at odd times, this little dream of mine. I often wonder where it will lead next. So for right now, I am patient. Waiting for my body to get back to semi-normal, waiting until I have the strength to do the things I love. Until then, I'll dream in color and fabric and paint.
