Creative Outlets

First of all, I think creativity is subjective. What appears to be a creative process or accomplishment to one could be drab to another. That's the beauty of it, though.

I have so much respect for people who trust themselves enough to be creative and even share that creativity with the public. I am certainly not the most creative person on Earth, but I do enjoy utilizing creativity as a means of connection, expression, and release. There is a growing list of creative endeavors that I would love to do; some of them require a quite a bit of time as well as money, which is why I cannot do them all- or even several of them- at once. I do hope to experience them all (either for the first time or in a more developed way) at some point, though.  A few of those things:

::  Expand my knowledge of aromatherapy. This would most likely happen in the form of enrolling in an aromatherapy course or guidance as a mentee under an expert in essential oils. I currently have nearly 50 oils, which I use weekly in the form of diffusing, bath, and the occasional massage. In my dreams, I would extend my current understanding of base, middle, and top notes with a thorough comprehension of the therapeutic benefits each oil contains. Of course, growing my collection, and refining and recreating blends, and integrating them into additional products (beyond candles, balms, and room sprays, which I've done for family and friends).

:: Learn how to woodwork and have my very own shop.  I've worked with precut wood in the past, and often scour the thrift stores for remnants that I could upcycle. Complete with the necessary power tools and an outdoor shed. Working with local reclaimed wood. Using natural wood stains like coffee, tea, pennies, berries. And on, and on.

:: Learn to read sheet music for the piano.  I've been "playing" for many years. It's all by ear. I'd love to actually know how to read a sheet of music and then play. This has been a lifelong dream. There's a part of me that feels illiterate, since I can play, I just don't have the technical knowledge. Like, I cross fingers and I know that's not how a formally trained pianist plays. We have been so blessed to inherit Andy's grandmother's Cable. It is an immense source of inspiration in and of itself. It came with tenderly old sheet music that wants to be read.

:: Knitting and yarn dyeing. This place totally inspires me. Expand my working knowledge of knitting. Make, make make.

:: Quilting. I envision beautiful, monochromatic quilts in whites and grays. Blues and earthy tones. Wrapped up in them with my family, drinking coffee or hot chocolate by our fireplace.

:: Learn how to build a log home. Massive, I know. Build said log home. And integrate all the above in it.

There are more, now that as I start to actually list them. V.2 forthcoming.

two of my favorite pictures we took while Westward ho! moving to Utah. 2008

One of His Favorites (and Mine, too)

When I was about 4 or 5 years old, my father taught me a version of Let It Be by the Beatles. We had a keyboard, rather than a piano, and I remember how much bigger the keys felt beneath my fingers back then vs. now.

Nate, too, loves the song, Let It Be, and gets a kick out of watching little videos on my tablet. So I decided to video record the song for him so he could watch it anytime.  The recording quality isn't great- there's a hissing noise, but I don't really care because the best part is Nate joins me in playing.  And he did a pretty spectacular job keeping to the beat.

About the Kitchen

I've said it before: we keep food pretty simple and wholesome.  In the past, we'd do two bigger grocery shopping trips each month and, as needed, pick-up fresh fruit, cheese and vegetables in between (we'd always run out of these before two weeks pass).  I've decided to switch it up and do one (smaller) trip once a week, usually Friday, sometimes Saturday. This way, I can focus on meals needed for just that week. I'm sure many people already shop this way; but, I'm particularly grateful for this tweaked approach.

Our favorite place to shop is Trader Joe's! Though I do love Whole Foods when needing to purchase bulk. This week we'll have:
- homemade pizza (with this crust and sauce) with romaine salad
- garlic linguine with caprese salad (with marinated fresh mozzarella) and this rosemary bread
- slow-simmered pintos with homemade tortilla
- garbanzo couscous dish with free range curry chicken for the boys
- black bean and chip salad

I don't assign dishes to dates; just make what feels good that day. And I usually make enough to have leftovers the rest of the week. Nothing fancy, but certainly flavorful and fresh food. Nate loves to help cook, and we have a ton of fun in the kitchen together. One of our favorite lunches is natural peanut butter  and raw honey on multi-grain bread. Classic, and so, so good.

Some things I hope to do to alter/improve our kitchen and the cooking therein:
- build and expand indoor herb garden
- refinish dining table. It's a gorgeous walnut table that has too much wear and tear to go without a tablecloth pretty much all the time
- eliminate completely all plastic anything
- grow my wooden spoon collection

And every morning, around 9:30, the sunlight hits the prism on our kitchen sink window- Nate and I will spin the prism and watch the rainbows flicker throughout the room. It's pretty magnificent.