Week 2 Check-in

I seem to be getting further and further behind with these. But I did read the Chapter and do the exercises. I'm beginning to wonder if the writing of morning pages isn't contributing to my thumb pain. I have arthritis at the base of both thumbs, and this past week it has decided to remind me of it. Guess I'll try doing the morning pages on the computer keyboard which isn't nearly as painful as holding a pen/pencil. I did my morning pages 6 days out of 7. I guess now I need to decide how much printed text is equivalent to 3 handwritten pages (on a very small notebook).

In looking back at my childhood I was never discouraged from art, on the contrary I was encouraged. That was true until it came time to pick a career, and I knew I wouldn't have the luxury of waiting to see if art panned out, and I shifted to something where I knew I would be able to find employment, the medical field.

I really don't have a problem with other people's expectations of me. I long ago gave up giving the opinions of others too much importance in my life, and aging has made me more successful at weeding out toxic relationships. I have few friends, and they are secure enough and supportive to accept me even if I "shape shift." Who knows what we could all accomplish if we had such insights much earlier in our lives.

I'm using my saved outing from our trip as a second artist date. I went to the swap meet in Tucson two days in a row, where I found a few treasures. It combined both walking and an artist date. What a great place with foods, fresh produce, and an abundance of "stuff." The best of my purchases was on the second day when I scored a set of cushions from (probably) a love seat. They were new, and worked perfectly for creating the seating area with the IKEA coffee tables in our little living room. We had been looking at a chaise from IKEA, but this was much more affordable and works perfectly.

I really didn't get out and walk. I'm recovering still from knee surgery, and walking for enjoyment isn't a part of my days just yet, especially when some days are entirely filled with too much necessary walking. I am making progress though with exercises, but can't overdo the weight bearing (and there is way too much weight to bear) or my knees complain bitterly. Maybe this week I'll walk around our home a bit.

My smaller treasures from the swap meet, a pink depression bowl (50¢), little wooden spools of knitting and crocheting silk & cotton (25¢ each), little resin Buddha (25¢)to put in a little cactus pot, and a little framed picture that was lumped with a miniature Regina red wine vinegar bottle--not in the picture. Here's hoping I catch up and make the effort to post my week 3 check-in a little earlier, but I'm not promising anything. I try not to make promises I might have trouble keeping. ;-)

Week 1 Check-in

Rather than explain at length to my readers (joke here), I'll link to another blog for the specifics of what I'm doing. Or at least I'm making an attempt.

Our trip to Phoenix and Tucson was delayed a week, and so I'm just back Monday this week. I did morning pages 5 days out of 6. Usually it's easier for me to get them in, since the mornings are pretty much my own, but with traveling, it was more of a challenge.

I had so many artist dates that I'm going to have them hold me probably until the end of the month. I'm calling our trip to Goodwill and then IKEA in Phoenix as the artist date for the first week. I love shopping at Goodwill, but just missed the everything 50% off at the Phoenix store by a day. I didn't find too many things I couldn't live without, and just got three tops, but I love just looking at everything. I tempered my shopping because I knew we were going to IKEA. We had an extensive list for IKEA, and the one must get was the ANEBODA cabinet to fit the very specific space in our new bathroom. We also got a couple of bookshelves with glass doors that will go in our back entry and in the old bathroom which at the moment is being demolished. Picked up a few things that weren't on the list...ESPRESSIVO halogen light to replace the one above the laptop which was a PITA to turn on and off. Also got a medium sized skillet, and a bunch of rugs, and some fabric yardage. I hope it is still on my clothesline. I did laundry yesterday, and forgot that I had hung it outside. The wind was blowing rather fiercely all day, and I never ventured out after hanging it outside. The photo is of my sale fabric, $1.99/yd, 59" wide! I thought it would make great backings for the kid quilts.

Got several walks in. Thursday, our travelling day was punctuated by walking in rest areas. Walking all day in IKEA was enough to do me in by the end of the day. Pain medication and sitting all the way to Tucson revived me.

I did the tasks in the chapter, and that's about all I'm willing to share on that topic. The best thing I took from the chapter is to just "do it." I have a tendency to not do anything if I can't work on some "work." My husband is just the opposite and plods along with many menial steps. They all accumulate, and in the end he has a body of work. I think the longer I'm inactive, also makes it harder to start something, like I have to paint a masterpiece instead of just doing a little bit of art. I'm going to work on just doing.