Month: October 2024

The old saying is true… life is for learning! So are book festivals!

And the gold medal goes to The Legendary Husband! I literally couldn’t have done it without him and I’m way past grateful! Let’s just say there was a whole lot of loading & unloading and fixing and learning… and a couple of really uncomfortable chairs!

Tomorrow… physical therapy!

Today… Magic chair. Weighted blanket. Some time with you. And some time with my journal… musing on next right things.

First… signing books is really fun!!! And Littles exclaiming, “Bear, Mommy! Bear!” (Yay, for banner and bear postcards and book marks!)

I also got kissed by lots of dogs! Several of them Service Dogs-in-training.

I met an Intentional Creativity® sister in person! (And, yes… we’re plotting Good Trouble!) I also gave a Good Trouble button to the young man wandering the festival with info on registering to vote!

The best part of all, though, was introducing a bunch of kids – and some brave adults – to the path of dots!

I was intrigued by a hot debate between two siblings in the 4-6 year age range… one was totally in favor of dots inside the lines. The other was team wherever. I suggested that each of them try it both ways to see how it felt. They giggled and made dots. All over the place. Mom cried!

#NOTE – the new adjustable tri-pod easel was not designed for uneven ground and wind! Fortunately, I make a pretty good easel!

And, the Littles come with adults, many of whom now know way more about brain processing and how to help!!! The next step for me is to finish the communal dot painting and get it ready for the lucky winner. Blessedly, I woke with a plan! And, yes, the plan includes more dots! Also, big scary glaze!!!

I even did a dot mini-course for a teacher who works with traumatized immigrant children – many of them from Africa.

And a few copies of my first book, Grandmothers Are in Charge of Hope, found new homes, too… which feels like a big blessing. The world needs all of us!

For this moment, a cup of cacao & collagen. And, quite probably, a nap. Being in charge of hope means taking care of ourselves, too!

ps… stay tuned! Shop elves will be at work on Wednesday, ready to help you get your very own copy of A Creation Poem… It’s not too soon for holiday shopping!!!

pps… another reason for red thread in your medicine basket! You can help your neighbor tie their banner to the booth post so it doesn’t fall on people!

…things get way bigger – and more extroverted – than you expected??? Welcome to my world!

What began as a project for an Intentional Creativity® journey called Animystica has become a storm of creative chaos in my world!

A Creation Poem… exists! Not only in my heart, but all over our house! And I did, indeed, get a booth at the Decatur Book Festival on Saturday. The Saturday that’s approximately 60 hours from now!!!

It’s been a long time since I’ve done something like this. Before Covid, in fact. (Hence today’s vax booster!)

The books look – and feel – fabulous! A batch of paintings have volunteered to come along. I have a new tap/chip thing to help with the whole adoption deal… as soon as I figure out how to charge it up. We picked up the banner and book marks on the way home from the vax adventure.

One of the things I’m most excited about is setting up a place for kids – and brave adults! – to make some dots on a community painting. Dots for things like Hope and Peace. And, not only will they be able to join in the project, they’ll go home with a new strategy for their very own medicine baskets, even though they may be to young to consciously comprehend all the magic.

And, yes, we’ll be making washable, non-toxic dots on a canvas like the one, above. (I got lots of hand-wipes!)

Just in case you’re wondering… Yes!!! All this is very scary!

The only thing I can think of that would be scarier is not doing it. All of us NOT doing what we can for our poor, aching world.

Which is, of course, a nod to one of my favorite author/friends, Frederick Beuchner. If you’ve been around for a while, you may remember one of my favorite brilliant things he said:

The place where we are called is the place where our great joy and the world’s deep need meet.

Booth number 325 at the Book Festival – and all that it represents – is that place for me in this moment.

And, after I catch my breath a bit, I’d love to help you claim your version of that place and map out the path from where you’ve been to there! There are lots of ways to get started, and the first step is easy!

You and I get in a Zoom room. My gift. And we explore where you are on the road to the place where you feel called, even if that place doesn’t quite have words, yet. We’ll take one next step together and talk about what the step after that might look like. (I’m a huge fan of choices!!!) Just click here, and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up with a time!

This drawing was a huge step on my path to this moment!!!