Dreamland

Holiday wrap-up, 2.

Holiday wrap-up, 1.

My next ten posts will feature favorite projects from this holiday season (in no particular order).  Enjoy!

So, no list.

Lying in bed, thinking about my post, I had a much better sentence to start out with.  But actually getting out of bed, making my way downstairs to the computer, that's all that's left:  no list.

In general, I love to ponder my life's direction and make lists.  And the two days off (in a row!) I took at Thanksgiving, combined with being in a completely different setting (the northwoods of Wisconsin), put me under a spell.  Well...work is here, laundry is here, bills to pay are here...and the spell is gone.  The best I can do right now (and I'm perfectly okay with it) is concentrate on helping my kids to enjoy the season by following through on our traditions and trying to stay in a good mood.

I read an interview with Nigella Lawson last week in which she described this season as a means of bringing light to the darkness.  You can read that any way you like.  At its most basic, I like the notion of being cozy at home, being with my family, in the blanket of darkness that is winter in Minnesota.  (It's dark as I write this.)  Concentrating on my family this season is where I need and want to be.

And of course, we have a winner!  Please send your mailing address to me at gina {at} sekelsky {dot} com:

i LOVE the little white sparkly lights.
i LOVE making our signature fudge and giving it away as gifts.
i LOVE taking family photos & writing/sending the holiday cards.
but what i truly, madly, deeply love to do is FEEL the moments of our lives as we are living them, that halcyon magical moment when time seems to stop as if your mind is taking a picture you will never forget.

Posted by: jouette

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the comments from that post, and especially the little community that was built in sharing your ideas.  Thank you!

Next up:  I'd like to finish off the year with ten of my favorite Dreamland/lettergirl projects from the past year.  Then I'll be taking a week-ish off from Christmas Eve till just after New Year's Day. 

Part three.

(From today's Star Tribune Taste section; it's like they wrote it just for me!)

When I got to the third part of my June 2008 organizing series, I realized that part isn't related to the list-making of parts 1 and 2.  And it made me wonder...where did I ever put that notebook?  I used to look at it periodically, and then at some point I even moved to a different notebook so I could make the "do more" items into more of an action-list.  Did I recycle the first notebook?  No idea.  I miss it. 

On the other hand, a perfect opportunity to start over with a new list.  Truth be told, I've been dwelling on it a bit this week (you know: in the shower, walking back from the bus stop, washing the dishes).  If something really is important to me, it will make the list again, right?  And if an item is missed, well, maybe that's just meant to be. I'm going to start tonight and share some of my list tomorrow (along with the giveaway winner).  You can help me get started by sharing an item or two from your own list!

The next step.

This is the second in a series of three re-posts about setting goals, finding joy, and not going crazy in the meantime.  Thank you for all the lovely comments yesterday -- so much to ponder, I really appreciate the time spent by each of you to give such thoughtful responses.  (And yesterday's giveaway lasts through Thursday night, so there's still time to add your comment to the mix.)

Before we go further with the list, there is another list I need to get off my chest.  All the things I do, the choices I make, are informed by a few basic principles:

I love making stuff.

I believe that just because I love making stuff does not entitle me to make whatever stuff I want.

I wish everyone who wanted to make stuff could make stuff.

(I'm pretty sure I've used the word "earnest" to describe myself.  It fits here, no?)

So, back to Monday....  First I made a list of all the things I want to do.  I noted the items I was already doing.  (I wrote "DO!" next to them, as in "Hooray for me!"  A * would work nicely for normal people.)  Then I made another list -- of categories I could divide my first list into.  Most of the items on my original list fit into the following groups:

• traditions
• family
• marriage
• home
• correspondence
• personal

You might use some of these, you might have others.  I suggest keeping the categories to six or less, so you can keep better track of them.  (Plus, you may end up having some sub-categories, which could get a little overwhelming if you're not focused on the big picture.)

I was glad I'd written my original list in the front of a notebook, because I was able to use the subsequent pages for my categories.  I wrote a category at the top of each page, and then under it:  Do and Do More.  For example:

Again, I lived with the list for awhile before making any changes.  We all make choices, and those choices can be narrowed by our circumstances -- my need to live creatively fits inside a life with two kids, a very old house, and a 16-year-old small business.  Some days I only have time to dwell, not do.  So I let the list sit for awhile.  I eventually added Do Later for the things that weren't as important to me, or were more difficult to fit into my current life.  (Mailing baked goods once a month to surprise friends is an awesome idea...but not one that's going to happen anytime soon.  I'm okay with that!)

Go back to your list.  Devise some categories.  Give yourself a * for what you're already doing.  Then go for a walk, see if the peonies are blooming yet, make dinner and forget about the list until tomorrow.  (Yes, there's more!)

Make a list, take two + a giveaway.

 
Yesterday, I spent awhile pondering a conversation I'd had with a friend at church.  I described a customer of mine who has a theme for the holidays every year, which she uses to inform all her creative choices for that particular season.  (One year it was an all-white Christmas, another year was the sugarplum fairy...great idea, right?)  Then my friend said what really gives her pleasure at the holidays is baking. 

I replied with my standard "too darn busy to eat lunch" routine.  For the last five years, my busiest time at Dreamland has been October through December.  (Previously, it was summer.)  I learned early to just forego all personal creative pursuits until the mayhem subsided -- a lot easier said than done, but still necessary.  (If you followed my blog last year, you may remember I attempted a Holiday Journal, which I kept very simple...and didn't finish until early in the new year.)

Our conversation got me thinking:  what does make me happy at this time of year?  It's just silly to spend the holidays waiting for December 23rd (by which point my work is done) and then cramming a few holiday moments into one evening (including wrapping the gifts, making my grandma's caramels, figuring out what the kids will wear for Christmas Eve, etc.).  Then I remembered "the list."  Here's a repeat of my post from June 2008, with two more re-posts to follow this week, and a December 2009 revisit of the initial idea.

I'm hoping to share quite a few ideas in this blog for everyday creative living.  (And by creativity, I don't really mean making stuff.)  If you're reading this, you're a past customer, a friend, family...you already know that I try to nurture creativity in my little world:  I keep scrapbooks, I exercise, I send holiday cards, I use the library -- all are conscious choices I've made.  When I focus, I can do more/enjoy more/relax more (though I'm better at doing than I am at relaxing).  Here's how I got started:

Step One
Years ago I started a list of "Things I'd Like to Do."  I kept it in a notebook so I could add to it over time.  My initial thought was just to get all the ideas floating in my head down on paper so I wouldn't forget them.  My list looked something like this:

• decorate the house seasonally with pillows, wall hanging, hand towels, flag, etc.
• send an annual Thanksgiving card
• keep scrapbooks for the kids
• sew for myself
• get regular haircuts
• help at church
• have a collection of stories we read only at Christmas
• have a welcoming guest room
• send thank you notes

Forest was a baby, Juliet was a toddler, I was trying to keep my business going, we had just moved into this house, and apparently just remembering to get my hair cut was something I had to write down.

I included things I was already doing as well as things I've been wanting to do for awhile.  I lived with the list for a couple of years before I did anything more.  I reviewed it a few times a year and added to it occasionally (get into a housekeeping routine, read chapter books aloud, stop talking about money).

Now...go start your list.  Write five things or five pages.  Be exhaustive.  Pat yourself on the back.  Remember what you dreamed as a kid.  (I did actually dream of having a welcoming guest room.)  Tomorrow I'll help you turn that list of miscellaneous ideas into a plan of action!

I'd also love to know what you truly, madly, deeply love to do during the holiday season -- and I mean creatively.  Share your idea with a comment on this post and on Friday I'll draw one name to receive the quote above. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Thanksgiving 2003.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2008.

Thanksgiving 2004.