Creative Every Day. Week 1

In this first week of the challenge set by Leah to live more creatively I thought there would be slim pickings around here. I'm not writing, painting, drawing. I don't even have yarn on knitting needles at the moment. Yet I felt drawn to sign up, and to see in what ways I could give more attention to the things I've been doing.



I got my camera out again. I'd neglected it in recent times.


When I went to make soup, I snapped this picture. These vegetables became my own version of Mulligatawny soup, which , along with some oatcakes, made this evening's supper. Absolutely delicious, I must say. And I can feel very virtuous, in that there was barely a scintilla of olive oil in it, and no other fat. Just good veggies and lovely curry flavour. Rich and satisfying. Yummy.

There was more soup. Wonderful creamy red pepper soup, too - all in quantities to allow for a freezer stocked with soup for quite a while. And chilli. It must have been the drop in temperatures that preceded the first snowfall of the winter here that made me want to stock up on richly filling, warming foods.


And while I peeled and chopped, stirred and tested, I ruminated and planned, wondered and wished, and my intentions and plans for the coming year coalesced into shape. Drawing on what I'd said on my first post on the subject, and the idea of a single word to be a talisman, a watchword throughout the year, as Christine Kane suggests, I decided that Prayerfulness would be the word I want to permeate my actions this year. It fits into the intentions I'd stated already. In ways it's about mindfulness, too, but with gratitude.


Then, yesterday, I did a reading of my SoulCollage cards to choose four to be my guides through the year. I posted about it on my SoulFragments blog. As a way of keeping those four guides present to me during the year, I followed Noelle Remington's directions and made a little accordion-book with copies of my four cards, and the words associated with them from this reading. I've never made anything like this before, but I must have been ready, because I had a huge choice of papers and cards to choose from to make it. I chose purplish-shades, as the chakra-energy that emerged was the 6th chakra, and I thought this colour was close. Here is the finished product. I'm really pleased with it. The cards are on the front, the words on the back., and it all ties up in a pretty starry package.

And now I realise that, while I said I'd done no writing this week, I'm actually quite happy that my blogs have come back to life. Simply having time has made a difference, and I have been writing more here than in quite a long time.

And there were those 3 little poems I wrote on postcards and sent out to participants on the Perennial Postcard project. So there was some writing after all.

So the week started better than I'd thought. Now I'm going to check out a few of the participants' blogs. I wish I had time to get around to everyone, but know I won't. But I do wish every one of the participants well with their creative efforts this week.

Bits of Thursday

Today (or yesterday, since midnight has now passed) was a good day: A day when I spend time with my son is a good day. A day where we travel together and eat together is even better. We had lunch, then went to visit his aunt, and then I took him to the train, as he heads back into his life in Dublin. As we drove, we spoke of his memories of childhood Christmasses. I realised that my memories were reinforced throughout my childhood in the conversations my siblings and I would have about Christmas... "Remember the time... What about the gift you got..." Being an only child, my son's memories had already begun to slide away. We hauled some of them back from the brink, dusted them off. Laughed .... Phew!

I caught up with an old friend. We had an impromptu dinner together, and it was good. The timing was right. I got to be there just when she needed a visit. I found her at home just when I wanted to see her. ... And she gave me a late Christmas gift of a voucher for something I'd just put on my mental "Must Have this year" list - a seaweed bath! Hurrah for synchronicity!

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I got to spend a little time in the town I lived in for 16 years, exploring new shopping areas, checking out a snazzy coffee-spot (good hot chocolate too). I had a bit of a book-shopping spree, and was especially glad to find Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain workbook. - Might kick-start me to exploring drawing again. I enjoyed following the book for a while a few years ago, but came to a full stop when it came to perspective. Maybe the workbook will help. I'd like to do some drawing this year, and to get over that barrier. While I don't think I'll be up to being Creative every day, I'd like to think I might do something every week this year. I'm excited at what is happening over at Leah's blog, though. Her lovely list of possible creative activities includes such things as colouring in a book, re-ordering a bookshelf, or making hot chocolate. Looking at it that way, I suppose I am creative every day.

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I've been participating in a poetry postcard project since September, sending and receiving poems (Yes, on postcards!) and getting quite a kick from finding these little treasures among my mail. So far, I've received 10 cards and sent out 11. When I made my hot-chocolate-stop today, I had no reading material with me, and no notebook! but I did have a few postcards in my bag, so I wrote 3 poems to send off to the next people on the list. I think people can join in at any time, as it's a Perennial Postcard project. Wanna join in?...

Driving home, I met the first snow of the winter. And some freezing fog. I drove slowly, with Christmas music playing. I loved it. Everywhere looks magical in the snow. I hope it's still around tomorrow when I wake up. I want to take photos. I want to go out wearing my (fake) fur hat. I want to build a snowman.