Being Creative

Dear Blog Readers,

As I was looking back through some of these blog letters that I have written I realized that they not only serve as a way to keep friends and family informed of my happenings, they also serve as a journal for myself.  Yesterday while I was making this...

I was thinking of when I wrote about my neighbor asking if I was a baker because she could see my KitchenAid stand mixer on my counter.  And although I'm not up at 5am baking every morning, it got me thinking that I really do like to bake.  I crank the tunes up on my laptop and then sing and dance around the apartment while I bake.  The above picture is a mini apple pie that I made for myself.  A little slice of New England in the land of sunshine.  I even rolled the dough with my grandma's rolling pin.  While I don't see this as a career,  it does bring me joy in my own kitchen.  (My dear friend Jak was sadly mistaken when he thought I might give him the other half of my mini pie.)

Yesterday I also started another project...

I call it moveable art.  Ever since I started my new job I have been collecting used gift cards.  I wasn't sure exactly what I would do with them but I knew there was something more creative than throwing them in the trash.  This idea came to me the other day.  The front door of my apartment is metal so I got some magnet sheets that are sticky on one side, cut a small piece for each card and viola, moveable art.  I'm going to ask my colleagues to start saving used gift cards for me also.  So far I have 22 on the door.

On a different note, I'd like to take a moment to send my thoughts to a close friend who lost a family member yesterday.  Though I have my "funeral pants" and am known amongst my family as the professional mourner, I still feel at a loss for the right words to offer a friend in times of grief.  There is the standard greeting card type of things to say but really the most honest way to put it is like this.  I'm sorry, this really sucks.  I wish I could give you a BIG HUG.  And anytime you want to, let's talk about your birthday.

Until next time...
Peace, Love & Hugs,
Hope