Stuff My Kids Gave Me and Other Spiritual Practices

Stuff My Kids Gave Me This Morning, 3/31/09

In a post on Spiritual Practices for Hope in Uncertain Time, Magpie Girl talks about walking in the dark, about riding out the wave in writing and about breathing true things. All beautiful practices. Go there to hear what she has to say. At the end of her post, she asked a question. "What spiritual practices do you have to nurture hope in times of uncertainty? "

That got me to thinking about what I do when money is tight and there isn't any on the horizon, and the only thing that keeps you going is hope. You've just got to believe. How do you keep the faith? Now, I'm not religious, although I know people turn to religion for that hope. Me, I have to turn to the little things. The beautiful things, the point of it all.

That's what this blog is supposed to be about. Little things. Inspiration. Cheap and/or free things, so I thought this is the place for me to share a little bit of what I've learned, not just the cool things I see on the web while going about.

So these are the things I have done in uncertain times.

I have kept a list of at least three things a day that made me happy. Sometimes it was tough to make my quota, Sometimes my happy file floweth over.

I have taken a picture a day. Often many more than one. There are beautiful things out there if you look for them. They turn up everywhere.

Lately I am starting to draw a sketch from life once a day… or maybe not even once, maybe just every once in a while. When you pay attention to the line of a grape stem, you start seeing the wonder all around you. I think it also helps to take up a project so you feel like you are growing as a person and being productive, even if other things aren't going so well. It could be the photography or it could be learning to play guitar or cooking vegan, or growing a window garden.

Also, my kids keep giving me stuff they find, rocks, berries, twigs… I think I’d like to collect these things somehow, a record of them. Perhaps a photo of them, laid out on a piece of paper. (Oh, hey, it's already done! Inspired by this post, and this post. See, this blog really is my inspiration file. Just stick around and see what else I create based on what I find here. :)

Also, have picnics. Take walks. Window shop. Stop and listen when someone is playing music in a public place. Sing. Dance. Spin with a child. People watch. Go barefoot. Have long heartfelt conversations. Have sex. Stand in the rain… take advantage of all the free sensual and spiritual pleasures in life.

Life is still good, even when it sucks.

Keep the conversation going. What are the things you do to keep hope in tough times?

Beth Hannon Fuller

"Making art and ignoring the dishes since 1994" Now that's a blogger I can get with. Beth Hannon Fuller has 3 kids... little ones, and does a painting a day. I mean, I don't know if she does one EVERY day, maybe it's 5 out of 7 days a week, like me. But how cute is that studio/workspace of hers? And how cute are her pieces? Go check out her etsy shop. She has originals and prints for very reasonable prices.
Love this blueberry collage with the little stem over the map.
and I am really attracted lately to anything that resembles a lollipop. I'm doing trees shaped like these olives. Ivy calls them "popsiple" trees and makes me draw them all over the place.

found via paper n stitch blog. she's the featured seller.

Kendra Baird

How lovely is the work of Kendra Baird? I love the stylization of the figures/foreground against the textured and painterly backgrounds. I like it when the painting fools with the fourth wall and reminds you that this is not real, not a window you are looking through into another world, but an actual painting, made by someone's hand.
I think this one is my favorite. Love the girl in blue, and shadowy, foresty paint splattered canvas. Oh wait, there's more.She's called "Dissappointment"

found via scoutiegirl.

Let's Talk Purple and Such

Oh so pretty, found through sfgirlbybay. She has lots of purple there, but this one is my favorite.

Love this living room. Anything with lilacs gets my heart, but also, I love that black chair... although I don't usually like black leather furniture... too oppressive. But this one looks good. Maybe because it's a small chair. I like the patterned rug. I like the piles of books. That's another thing I find calls me. Books. A room needs books in order for it to feel finished. At least for me. I also like the art. A room needs art. And strangely, I really like that radiator. I know everyone wants to hide them, but maybe radiators are nostalgic for me, growing up in NYC. Or maybe I like the graphic pattern. The stripeyness. The industrial feel.

Now let's talk about purple. I really like purple and have found it is great on walls. I used a darker shade than this in my living room once, Benjamin Moore Tropical Dusk. And my kids had a lighter shade from the same paint chip in their nursery. That was an amazing color. So warm and light and fresh. Not girlie at all. I wish I could remember the name of it.

The best thing about those shades of purple were that they were not that purple. They were muted and had a great deal of gray in them. Like shadows. I would definitely use that paintchip again. Maybe not as dark as Tropical Dusk, because that has to fill a need, but that light color was wonderful. Not as pink or as bright as the picture here.

What a Dreamy Room!

Vineeta's done it again. Found something to match my inner vision I didn't know I had until she put it on her blog. Thanks Vineeta.

I love this room. I love the white draped couch (on a side note, I saw a gorgeous white bedspread at the thrift store, but before I could get there, someone else picked it up and examined it. I hovered about hoping she would move on, but maybe I hovered too close and she took it!) I love the collage of pictures. I love the ivy crawling up the wall and the wide windows. I like the spots of red. And I'm not usually a fan of carpeting, but that floor looks so cozy with all the pillows.

Anyway, I would love to live there, even if the room is a bit girly so I'd probably have to limit it to my studio. That's okay. I could handle that.

Image from Debi Treloar Photography

Hi! This is Me.

After I cobbled together a dohickey made out of a cereal box so that I could take my through the viewfinder pictures on thisthe Duraflex II I got at a great estate sale a few months ago.

It's a lot less pretty now that it's got cardboard duct taped to it, but it works better for taking fun photo shots.

Hey, now that I look at it, some kid of mine has lost the knob on the crank. Grrr.

But I'm impressed with the picture I took. So, I guess I don't need the crank. I don't even think the camera works in its original state.

Really? Oh My. I Had No Idea.

Directed by Spike Jonze and written by Dave Eggers?

Can I find wolf suits for my littles before this comes out on October 16th?