So, you might ask, Just where were you yesterday? What great revelations occurred on Day 1 of your Inspired Life Plan?
Well, I didn't make it back to the computer to post about it 'tis true, but live it I did. And it was pretty much what any day is in the life of the average woman. I did a bit of housework, performed a bit of daughterly duties, performed a few motherly tasks, comforted a friend, wished mightily for a nap and thought a lot, a great deal, about what an Inspired Life for me would be.
While sitting with Granny I did not write out the proposed list. Instead, I supervised a visit from the visiting nurse, cleaned Mama's badly splattered bathroom, helped Granny do some necessary things, fielded phone calls from home health associates and looked through some old cookbooks I'd picked up in the past two months, all of which deal with budget/economy meals.
Because I realize that this must be a whole life thing, and that would necessarily require good fiscal management I thought I might learn a thing or two new, or at least be reminded of a few things I'd forgotten. And I realized that even on a budget, one might have some scope for meats other than ground beef and chicken. There are a variety of meats and fishes out there and we seldom or never eat some of them. And what's more, I don't even look at them to see if they are affordable. I'm talking about lamb and veal and haddock and scallops.
I also noticed in one of the cookbooks a preponderance of super starchy carbohydrate heavy dishes. Having been what can best be described as poor at one point in my life, and having a lot of extra weight on my personage thanks to that carb heavy regime, I know too well that we will not be returning to that mainstay of many a budget eating plan, thank you! Fortunately, we are entering a time of year when one might easily eat five or nine different fruits and vegetable in a day's time, and all in season, and all budget priced at once. The challenge truly will come this winter when eating whole seasonal foods is still essential, but far more limited.
So how did I live an Inspired Life yesterday? I explored options. I thought about possibilities. I dreamed my life anew. And though I'd planned more activity and more planning than was actually accomplished, I did not procrastinate. I just fit it in around the things I had to do.
Day Two: No kidding, I am very tired and weary. Last night's news from my friend about another dear friend's health concerns laid us low and I spent a great deal of the night awake and actively praying for him. I was barely out of bed thirty minutes this morning when Mama called asking my husband to please come help Granny who'd fallen. Thankfully he was just about to leave for work and was able to go by there on his way, instead of being gone. And more thankfully, Granny was just fine, but Mama was awfully shaken up.
The house pretty much looked like mini whirlwinds had been through it. I couldn't believe that being gone all day yesterday and the three of us home only a couple hours prior to bed last night could possibly result in that much chaos, but it did.
Tiredness always, always makes me indecisive. Hence I've been ambivalent all day long about what I might do, what I ought to do and what I want to do. I've found that my best bet, health-wise, is to do what must be done, rest, rest, rest, drink loads of water and let my efforts be more mental than physical. On my schedule therefore this afternoon: a nap. And early to bed for my evening schedule. And tomorrow, I will physically tackle another task. But in the meantime, I've not allowed myself to be completely idle. I want today to count for a bit more than yesterday did on my road to Inspired Living.
So while I was culling magazines from the bin to pass on to my friend, I also culled ideas from said magazines. One was a duplicate copy and I actually tore pages from it to use as inspiration pages. And it worked! While I was looking for inspiration, I was inspired to think about using what I have to make my front porch an inviting seating area for summer. My daughter just spray painted the old iron chairs raspberry red, which will look fresh and new on the front porch.
I have a variety of birdhouses in various shades of mildewed white that no longer inspire me at all. In fact, I was thinking of tossing them in the trash this morning when I was sweeping off the porch, but suddenly I thought: paint them all in various bright shades. Spray paint is cheap, thank goodness. I can buy five cans for under $10 (and have paint to spare) and paint each one a different shade.
I also have a collection of chipped, cracked, "can't use 'em for anything but aren't they pretty" teapots...What unique planters that will make for the front porch. Two or three plants from a six pack of plants will easily fill each teapot.
My dream is to find a baker's rack...But in the meantime, an earlier inspiration this week was to paint my old metal ironing board which is seldom used, and set it up on the front porch as a plant stand/beverage center.
I also happen to have an old window frame, without the glass, that I could hang on the wall above that new beverage center and maybe hang some pretty things in the middle of each frame, suspended from cup hooks... I see Cute coming alive out there in a hurry, don't you?
I figure I can scout around the dollar fabric table to find inexpensive material to use to make cushions for the chairs, perhaps find some inexpensive but colorful twin flat sheets for curtains to shade the sometimes hot afternoon sun and just soften up the hard edges...Do you see where this is headed? And why not seek out an old rug at the thrift store that I could use as well? I'm looking at spending maybe $30 on the whole thing and I can't wait to make out my list to get started!
So I spent all that time getting inspired, which is terrific, but inspiration without action is dust, isn't it? I thought I'd share a project that I finally finished off today, though it's been a good two years in progress.
Well those photos start out with the finished project and progress downward to the first coat of paint that went on. As I get more familiar with blogger perhaps I can actually learn to load pictures as easily as I over at my Xanga site. In the meantime, I'll explain as best I can about the photos.
Scrolling to the last photo: you see the original cream colored paint, put on about 15 years ago now, which had been just fine, but was boring. I wanted to see that lovely old piece of furniture display a bit of personality and I waffled along for two years talking about how it would look painted, looking at paint samples and dreaming it the colors I wanted it. I finally broke down and bought a can of black paint and started it.
The next picture up shows the 2nd attempt at a gold colored center panel. I had to take the paint I chose and add about a gallon of white to get it toned down to that bright gold color you see in the photo. Just imagine how much scarier the original coat had been!
Next photo up shows the floral wreaths. I eventually found the coral red that I painted the flowers, and I painted the edges of the panels the same green as the leaves of the wreath, but at that point I was just happy to rub on the rooster decals I found at Walmart. And after painting the flowers and edges, I left the piece alone for two years. I loved the gold color in the panel but, but, it just wasn't quite right. The paint looked too flat and chalky next to the gloss black of the rest of the piece.
Now we move up to the top two photographs which show the results of the work I did today.
For months I've been debating how to tone down those panels and at the same time give some sort of gloss to them to make them look finished. I dickered back and forth in my head with the merits of shoe polish, paste wax, and stain. Ultimately, I decided today to just go with the shoe polish. Number one, I knew we had an old can of seldom used brown in the shoe polish kit. Number two, I didn't have to go buy it. Number three, shoe polish doesn't have a tendency to spill and splatter the way stain does when you have a tired, accident prone woman at work.
Frankly, I LOVE the way this turned out. The polish sort of grabbed the dings and deeper brush strokes on the door and the panels have a depth and richness that was missing before, and finally the piece looks old again, which is why I've always loved it anyway. And my fears were totally unfounded because just as I've always suspected, my instincts are good and often right, if I'd just learn to trust them!
I know today isn't nearly over yet, and there's more to be learned, and inspired by, and just plain enjoyed in the hours remaining, but I'll end this post now and go take that nap for myself, because after all I did promise myself I'd take one and we must keep the promises we make to ourselves, just as practice on keeping them when we make them to others.
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