navylane :: musings

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and earth below, Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along.J.W. Watson

I woke up this morning to a light blanket of snow covering the ground. Even after living in the North my entire life, the beauty of the season’s first snowfall still leaves me awestruck. I spent many moments at the window today with my toddler, gazing at the snowflakes falling from the sky and reveling in her wonderment. The world seems to have changed gears. Cars creeping along the street. Kids tugging their jackets closed tight and trudging through the snow. I, too, join in, slowing my pace to accommodate the arrival of Ol’ Man Winter.

I have tons of things to do, hundreds of emails to read through and reply to, lots of art to make for a few upcoming shows, and I’m not really feeling 100% right now, but before any more time slips away from me, I must send out some way overdue gratitude.

A couple of weeks ago I got a box full of wonderful goodies from my talented and generous friend, Misty Mawn: papers, fabric, music, beads, and tons more that I have already dipped into and begun to use. Thanks, Misty!

As previously mentioned, I also recently received the TLS Transfer and Tri-Fold Book Kit from DJ Pettitt. Not only is the kit great, with clear instructions and great fabrics and fun notions for the book project, but DJ is so sweet, helpful and generous with information. One of my favorite artists!

Hanna recently sent me some of her cool ATC’s, some fun ephemera and a kind note that really touched my heart! Thanks so much, Hanna!

And last, but certaintly not least, Christina sent me a wonderful handmade postcard — I love the art, that way cool fish, and the thoughtful handwritten note, too! It brought me such a smile. Thanks so much, Christina!!

I first read the short story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros a few years ago while in college. At a time of self-discovery, I was really intrigued by the idea that we have a system of multiple selves within us — a four-year-year self, a seven-year-old self, a ten-year-old self and so on up to our current age. I think it puts an interesting twist on birthdays and aging. We can think of getting older as losing time, or using up the allotted life we’ve been given. Or we can choose to think of getting older as an addition, or expansion, of our being. Our inner soul growing year by year. Building upon the foundation of years past.

Although right now, my cranky three-year-old self really needs a nap, but my level-headed thirty-year-old self is telling me I have too much I need to do and there’s just no time to relax right now. I think I’ll ignore them both for a moment and listen to my twelve-year-old self who is saying, “Bring on the chocolate!”

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Have you ever noticed how there are certain color trends, or guidelines, in our society that often govern the choices we make in our life? Why isn’t it generally acceptable to spice things up and have a bit more variety? There is a part of me that wonders how much happier the world would be if there were more pink cars, orange houses and purple hair.

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