Over the three plus years I spent writing my memoir it’s taken much of my time and focus and I haven’t inhabited my life and my house the way I otherwise would have. That’s okay–it was a personal choice to focus on my writing.
But since I finished the book last fall I’ve had time for things I had set aside; things like putzing around my house and changing up the decor.
Enter Pinterest.
Have you heard of it? Are you on it? (If you’re not and you want to be, let me know. I’ll send you an invitation.) What is it?
Pinterest is a treasure-trove of ideas and inspiration about a plethora of topics. Since I joined I’ve gotten ideas for my garden, my house, my one-day-dream hobby farm, just to name a few things. Apart, or perhaps along with, inspiration, its given me permission to relax and enjoy simple things again.
Like this beach vignette I created in my kitchen from things I had around the house.
And this pretty little figurine I picked up this weekend.
There’s something so sweet and comforting about the smooth lines and pale yellow color.
And milk glass.
(No actual birds were harmed in the making of this display.)
For many years I’ve appreciated milk glass and told myself that one day I’d like to have some for myself. A few days ago while browsing in an antique store I found some and decided that it was high time I made good on that promise to myself. Now I’ve got the sweetest milk glass cake stand and a couple of other pieces that caught my eye. They weren’t expensive–they don’t have to be–but they delight me every time I look at them.
And then there’s the celery.
Thanks to Pinterest I learned that it’s possible to grow celery from the piece I usually cut off an throw in the compost. I bought a new bunch of celery to make soup over the weekend and I had to try it. On Sunday, January 1, I planted the piece of celery I had cut from the new bunch. Today, five days later, it’s growing! I can’t wait to see what it does over the next few weeks.
Now all of this is fine and good. It’s a good thing to care about one’s home and to spend time making it as pretty as possible. It’s great to learn new ways of growing food. (It’s almost impossible to wash away pesticides and chemicals from porous celery so unless you’re buying organic it’s impossible to avoid consuming a schwach of junk along with your celery.)
The time I’ve spent poking around on Pinterest has been fun and it’s given me ideas for things to do around my home. But it’s also inspired me to come up with my own creative ideas and plans.
It’s the same way for those of us who consider ourselves to be writers. The more we read the work of others the more we are inspired in our own craft. If you’re not a reader, it’s hard to be a writer. We learn by studying the technique of other writers; we can also find inspiration to take our writing to a level we may never have considered on our own.
We are all teachers; we are all students. I, for one, think that’s pretty neat.
Love it mom! …and I also LOVE that we’re kinda going down this little path together!!
I so agree with the concept of learning from others. I’ve learned so much from the other bloggers that I follow …but I’m hopeless in the home decor area. I’m going to check out Pinterest and see if i can be inspired.
I greatly admire the beautiful displays you’ve created, Linda, especially that bird in the nest, that is so precious. But I have to agree with Jann, I learn from other writers but I’m also hopeless in the creative decor department! However, I’m going to try to see if I can get the celery to grow, that is so interesting, I never heard that before.
I’m far from creative in the home decor department too, Jann and Cathy. Once in a while I do get inspiration from what others do though. Isn’t it wonderful that we all have different gifts, talents, and abilities that we can share with one another?
Two things turned me on big time in this post! One, I saw your celery posting on Facebook, and started my own on Jan. 2–it’s already sprouting, and two, so true, so true! to write we (or I) must read, read, read. Thanks for both! And I’m hoping to get active on Pinterest soon as I finish the short story I’m working on.
Good luck on the story you’re working on, Trilla!
Dear Linda,
Sorry to be away from your blog for the past three weeks. I’ve been dealing with an infection that just won’t go away. So I’ve been too exhausted to blog. Today, I’m trying to visit everyone I read and respond to their latest posting. I hope to begin once again to read and comment each day.
Your posting today was inspiring. I’m going to try to grow celery! And yes, I so agree that to write well we need to read well. I find myself often stopping in the middle of a good paragraph to study just how the author achieved that particular effect. Thanks for reminding me how important this is.
Peace.
Welcome back, Dee. I hope you’re feeling 100% very soon.
Hugs
Hi Linda — I’d love a Pinterest invite, and like everybody else, I’ve got to try growing celery!
An invitation to Pinterest is on the way, Elizabeth!
Loved this post, Linda! First, it gave me comfort knowing that I’m not that slow in writing my memoir. I’ve still got time on my side. Secondly, I’ve not explored Pinterest and think I would like to do that if you’d send me an invitation. Last, but not least, I love browsing through antique and thrift stores if for no other reason to get ideas!
An invitation to Pinterest is on the way, Sherrey!