Life Goes On

It's hard to be creative when so many other adult things need to be tended to. Like look for a new job and a new place to stay. It's hard to stay focused when you're worried about yourself and see the world falling apart around you. There may be times when you just want to crawly under a rock but you keep telling yourself that things are temporary and take one day, one step, one moment at a time. So here's what I've been working on. Prim Dollies.

My March front page for my Bullet Journal. I live vicariously through my friends who have gardens. Reading their posts of them scouring seed catalogs. Ready for the weather to break to clear out their space and get ready to plant wonderful things that will be put into salads, or soups, or canned for next winter. I used to have a garden many moons ago. I would like to have another one.

Here we go!

Sometimes you just need to talk to a good friend, who really knows you, to help you get back on the creative wagon. Things keep happening that want to derail me being as creative as I want. My mother fell again last week. The second time this year. I went into her hometown on Monday to check on her, the house, and I made her a big pot of veggie soup and some rice on the side. I bought her some frozen breakfast sandwiches, frozen chicken and turkey breakfast sausages, and breakfast bars. Why? Because she won't eat breakfast. Then later in the day, she'll get dizzy. And then comes the fall. So I got easy and small things she can eat in the morning to get something on her stomach. Today I go back because she's got a doctor's appointment.

Back to my friend. She helped me get out of this little rut that was about to turn into a canyon. It's the same old negative loop. I have a list of things I want to do. I get a great start in the morning. Then right after coffee, things go haywire. The doubts seep in. Why work on something and it won't turn out. Or no one  will like it. No one will buy it. No one will buy anything because nothing's finished. Then I get freaked out, think about my mother, getting a new job, and it just goes on and on. My friend told me to stop it. Find a beautiful picture of Scotland and put it where I can see it everyday. And tell myself that I need to work on and complete things so I can get there. Yesterday was a good day. Got more Frida dolls stuffed and put together. I didn't get to all on the list, but I got to that.

See, they look like aliens. This is one point where I would stop and do the bad thing of beating myself up. So when I get back from mom's, I will paint pretty faces. Have a great day y'all. Someone should.

July

Yep, here we are in a new month. I guess I just have to roll with the waves because things are just weird. I did get the front page to my Bullet Journal done. Boris Bigfoot and what may be his camping adventures for the month. Yep, Bigfoot goes camping.

Last week was my birthday week. One friend took me out to breakfast. Another friend took me to Port Austin, MI on my birthday and it was wonderful. Such a unique little village that is pro-artist and musician. The waterfront is beautiful and there's a lighthouse close by. You have to take a boat to get to it but I did see it in the foggy distance.

Public art.

The Bank is a restaurant in an old bank.

Port Austin Lighthouse. This is the type of lens used in the lighthouse and the miniature model that was made of it. It's in the Visitor's Center/Chamber of Commerce.

This was an old barn that has been turned into a living space and studio/gallery for the artist in residency program.

And this is art town. Another program for artists. If you think you want to have a brick and mortar place, instead of spending tons of money to see if it will work, you can rent a shanty for the summer and give it a go.

Even though it was overcast and sprinkled a bit, it was a great birthday day and gift.

It's May!

April was okay. I guess pretty good. My first doll show went well and I sold several pieces, including some new pieces. After the show, the adrenaline rush crashed in a pretty bad way and I got a little depressed. Again, it was, now what? I did take a bit of time off to regroup and then life got in the way again. More hours at the job, taxes done, a good friend passed away, and I just continued to work on the new creative habits I started. I finally got my mini witches done three have already sold.

Now it's May and into the second quarter of the year. And got notice of another previous co-worker passed unexpectedly. Married for only about three years and had a six month old son. That kind of throws a whammy on you. Two sweet people have left this world way too soon. And I'm still struggling to get... something... together.

I have two new habits that are still going. After reading 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear, I liked how he said that it's not so much as how many days it takes to create a new habit but being consistent. And if you miss a day, get back to it as quickly as possible. Even if it's just for a short period of time. That way, does take the pressure off of working on something new. So I've been sketching more (it's been on the calendar on the refrigerator) and practicing hand sewing because I would like to make a Regency costume sewn by hand. I'm working out getting more consistent with my writing and I've started making hexies for some upcoming Halloween wall hangings. For my Regency wardrobe, I did find my chemise I made and my short stays that still fit. I will probably make another chemise with a lower cut neckline.

Hexies are a type of English Paper Piecing used to make quilts or appliques. I'm nuts and am doing very small ones. You get all of them made up and then sew them together.

I've also pre-washed fabric for a summer top I'm going to make. That way, I know things will fit.

And I'm ready to make more church lady aprons.

That's my update. I don't know if things will get to normal, whatever that is. I know what I like to do and what I want to do and what I get to do. Because we never know when our number is up. I found this quote from Roald Dahl (read a lot of his work):

"I began to realize how important it was

to be enthusiastic in life.

If you are interested in something, no matter what it is.

Go at it Full Speed.

Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all
Become Passionate about it.
Lukewarm is no good."

Catching Up

Yes, catching up, yet again. For the past three weeks I've been running around like crazy. After a sudden heatwave, we now have fall temps and the leaves on the trees are starting to change color. My favorite time of year.

So I will start with three weeks ago when I went up north with my friend Kristi and her friend Abbie who is probably my new friend. We started out at Spicer's Cider Mill. Got cider, fresh donuts, apple pie, and wine. Did I mention that this was a ladies getaway? Yeah... Then we went to Ossineke and saw the roadside attraction Jurassic Jesus, the one who protects the dinosaur park.

That's me in the green. And the next pic is of a postcard from the dinosaur park. We also got fudge from Joann's Fudge. Actually, I got truffles.

We then went to a small waterfall and onto Posen. We took a nice walk on the property and got pizza at the town's party store.

The next day we went to Mackinac City. We visited Fort Michilimackinac.

And this poor guy waiting for visitors to come around so he could talk to them. In the back you can see the Mighty Mac aka Mackinac Bridge over the Straights of Mackinac.

There were several large gardens (at the end of their days) that had to feed everyone in the fort.

My new new friend I met. We talked about costumes and costume books.

We left there and I went to Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. It was around closing time and I was part of the last group to go up into the lighthouse. 51 narrow steps and an 11-rung, eight-foot ladder through a narrow hatchway. I did it, I went all the way to the tower. So glad there were only 3 of us. Really got a chance to talk to the guide.

The original Fresnel lens is on display in the light keepers area. I also got a quick look at the Shipwreck Museum. Very interesting and continued my talk with the same guide. He was pleased when I started talking about Michigan shipwrecks and U-boats of WWII. It's really nice to talk to people who love and appreciate history and they don't make you feel bad if you don't know everything they know. I wish I had time to buy him a beer and just talk. So if you're ever up north in the lower peninsula of Michigan, go see the fort and lighthouse. The Mighty Mac and the Straights of Mackinac. The best time is off season. No crowds. A little on the chilly side but still very cool. The last thing we did before heading south was to have pasties for dinner. Yum. Pass-tees. Until next time.