nevr-dull and other inspirations...

I will be amazed if I survive the month of January. I am fairly self entertaining, but today boredom got the best of me. Garden shop life in these deep winter months is proving to be slower than ever and, by mid-afternoon I was surprised to find myself still standing and not laying across the counter in a puddle of drool.

Seriously. At one point it got so bad that I considered rubbing myself down with a can of NEVR-DULL that I found under the counter next to a pile of dirty rags and goo-gone. Instead, I finished two more essays for my thesis, wrote a letter, dusted, did inventory, called my husband, then my brother, and then my husband again. I read part of a book, shoveled, made lists, took out the garbage, sang bad honky-tonk, and ate way more than I should. I have a feeling that the month of January might prove to be very, very long.

I know, I know...I should be more thankful to have a job that allows me to write letters and read books. But I've found that these things are only good in moderation. Since my boss is hitting the road for the month of January, I've committed myself to holding down the fort until she gets back. My only question: can I survive a whole month of talking to myself?

Yes, too much quiet can be a bad thing. I'm sure there are some mom's out there who might disagree with me, but uh....yeah. I suppose I could treat the time alone as though it were a spiritual retreat of some sort and, if possible, I might just try that. But in the meantime I took my Christmas booty of gift cards and went on a little Barnes and Noble shopping spree tonight. It took nearly an hour to snap out of my flat-line funk, but OH! A few good books finally pulled me back into the world.

{side note:}
*I got this beautiful little Fabriano Artist's Journal from my husband for Christmas
*I signed up for Leah's Creative Every Day 2008
*I decided that journal energy is better than drooling

Before hitting the bookstore, I stopped at the art supply store to pick up some stretcher bars that I had ordered for prints. Yes, my friends,

PRINTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

on my Etsy! :) While I was there I picked up some fantabulously super pigmented pastels to play with. mmmm, yum--they make my eyes light up every time I look at them!

And at the bookstore I found 2 wonderfully inspiring books:


* * *
The Creative License by Danny Gregory

This one looks like a lot of fun. I looked at it more closely while waiting for our Chinese take-out. I sat there drinking tea and smiling as I flipped through the pages. I love this guy's sense of humor. It totally makes me want to play, be messy, and get inspired.

* * *

* * *
Visual Journaling: Going Deeper than Words by Barbara Ganim and Susan Fox.

This one seems a bit more serious, but I'm really into the idea of working intuitively lately.

* * *




On a bit of a whim, I also picked up Excuse Me, Your LIFE is Waiting:The Astonishing Power of Feelings by Lynn Grabhorn. I don't usually dive this deeply into the Self-Help section, but the title grabbed my attention (yes, this is how I'm feeling these days). I've been slowly reading Ask and It is Given over the past several months and am really getting a lot out of it. Since this book has a similar philosophy, I thought it might be good to give it a chance. I'll let you know if it's any good. ;)

In other news, it seems as though doing horse and dog portraits has found its way into my future. Hopefully it will be more lucrative than the NYT interview--but, hey, I just find it incredibly interesting the way my life keeps presenting me with options and opportunities. Although it requires ample amounts of patience, I'm finding the whole process (well, certain parts of it anyway--ie, the truest parts) to feel very organic and natural.

Despite boredom, I'm looking forward to whatever it is that I seem to be waiting for. When I visualize what it would be like to follow my heart, it feels a lot like this:

*lotus image from here.