Personal Public Service Announcement: Holiday Action Plan

 

unrelated crepe paper amaryllis photo: 

available at the Iron Dog- just sayin'.

It's hard not to get caught up in all the "shoulds" that will be marching toward us in the next 6 weeks or so.
I'd like to take this post to remind myself, and all of you,
to do what you can to feed your soul,
not bite off more than you can chew (unless it's gingerbread),
let go of what needs to go,
and get right on down there in the moment as often as humanly possible.
Let's enjoy ourselves and each other.

Obligation Schmobligation. Pffft.
Let's Play.

Song For Sunday-My Childhood Friends

Because the holidays make me nostalgic...



But if you'd like, you can let your love hang out all over.
At my house though, people already shouldn't peek under the beds.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

This sentiment kind of sums up the way I feel about things these days. 

Yesterday I had to go to the store and I anticipated an ordeal...

But Absolutely everyone was smiling At Each Other.

It was delightful!

Sometimes it seems to me to be a new world on the same old planet. 

It occurs to me that the way we measure what things are worth is changing. 

If Time doesn't equal Money...

What can it Equal? 

 Options? Experience? Joy?

There are plenty of moments in every day to embrace the notion that

Less CAN equal More.

Participating in the Joy Economy.

Thankfully.

Whoa! Thanksgiving is This Week!

Howdy Faithful Readers!

I have been gratefully working on some new crepe "forced bulb" creations and plugging away at the annual Pre Tree Cleaning Spree. I made applesauce from great local apples, finished a couple of orders for the Iron Dog and

I find myself  still in denial about the the rapidly winding down Fall!

I'm going to do a little catch up on my gratitude list:

4: Yummy fall produce. Winter Squash and greens, apples, beets, leeks, potatoes, clementines... I just love them all.
5: Hiking the steep muddy trail with my dog and friend. This makes the pie possible and just last week we even helped a lost, shirtless, shoeless guy (8 AM, in the 40's temp wise) find a friendly ranger. Good deed before breakfast.
6: Good Thrift. Oh My Goodness! 2 great lengths of vintage holiday print  for  $3.50.
7: Bleach. I know it's evil. But it saved the awesome fabric mentioned above.

 

8: Creative time. I am so lucky to get as much as I do.

9: My Pets. I spend time every morning in a big pile of my fur friends, enjoying my first cup of coffee.

10: Coffee. Can you be grateful and addicted at the same time? I say YES!

11: All my sisters. Blood and otherwise. You know who you are and without you I'd be lost. LOST!

12:  Casey and Rae at the Iron Dog. Seriously, with out you, my creativity would lack an outlet! Thanks for your support and encouragement.

 13: I am grateful for the motivation of a deadline. I hope it makes me into a wildly productive and jolly person for the next few weeks. I have lots of fun tucked in and am excited to be spending Thanksgiving with my wonderful Grandma and Baby Linnea (and the rest of my family too!)

A little "No Thanks" for my dead computer, but hey.. with a little miracle I'll get what I need off of the hard drive and keep moving forward.

Thanks for Reading!!

Betty

Gratitude Month: Day 3 ( It's a biggie!)

 

Today I am grateful for a call at 2:45 AM that had me up and out the door to meet

8 pounds and 5 ounces of pure, amazing, goodness.

 

Welcome to the world Linnea!

May we make it a place worthy of you.

A Month of Gratitude

I am grateful for good friends who like to get crafty.
Happy Dia De Los Muertos!

And Then It Was November!

Pumpkin Boots for my new niece or nephew!

Howdy Do Bloglandeers,

Today I found myself doing some holiday craft supply and birthday gift shopping, and just ACCOSTED by carols in every shop. Certainly, as I buy the bottle brush mini trees and the tag paper  cones, I am thinking "Holiday", but the music just about freaked me out.
Really? Already? Not even a mix? 
And playing in every store.
So now, I guess it's just all Holiday from now... until January. No wonder people get so stressed out this time of year. I love carols, but I need moderation.

To be fair it, wasn't just the ever so slightly premature jing- jing- jingling that un-nerved me. It also may had something to do with the fact that normally, by now, I am well on my way with my Handmade Holidays: projects picked, lists made, and even a portion of the sewing/creating completed. This November 1st, I don't think I have done item one. I don't even have a plan. I have an inspiration board on Pintrest, but it's whimsical, not practical (which made it much more fun to make... by the way).

I expect lots of blogs are probably all geared up with a full schedule of tutorial goody goodness, adorable pdf printable checklists, and all manner of comfort and joy, but I think I'll just be documenting my strategies and plans as I fully punt my way through the next two months. I need to find awesome fast, fun gifts to make, I need to find time for me and my family to celebrate and socialize and I want to leave stress at the doorstep.

My other goals are that I want to do is get back on the blogwagon AND focus on the holiday at hand...
So, I plan to blog every day in November about something I am grateful for...
(as well as the progress and process of the Handmade Holidaze Unprepared.)

A Full Month of Thanksgiving.

November 1st: 

I am grateful (and excited) that my sister invited me to be there when she has her baby.

I think this is going to be fun.
Anyone want to join me?
It's easy.
We all have so much to be thankful for.

Thankfully yours,

Betty