Pick One

Years ago, I visited a printer who had a sign in their front entrance 'Quality, Speed, Price:  Pick Two'.  It made me smile because I think it can be applied to other things. Honestly, there are some days when picking one seems enough.

Balance is a difficult thing. I think it's probably even trickier when you work at home (and I'm not in any way diminishing the burden carried by those who work outside of home).  I can try to ignore duties attached to the house when I am supposed to be here being creative, but the house surrounds me. If one of my girls has a dentist appointment,  I'm the one with the 'flexible' schedule so guess who drives her? If Meeko needs a haircut, I'm the one who takes him (he's looking cute, by the way). Throw in a medical appointment for me, a sick day for one of my girls, two walks a day for Meeko scheduled in between rain and wind storms, and a week can disappear.

One of my daughters came home from school this week saying that some of her friends thought that everyone had a cleaning woman. No, not everyone.  We don't have a gardener either.  Well actually we do, but she lives here and is feeling bad right now about how neglected the garden is.

My husband is away from the house about 13 hours on most days and often works weekends, not by choice. He has an impossible job.  He comes in the door at the end of the day like a hurricane and rushes around the house being 'mostly' helpful in a very condensed way. It makes for a family life that feels upside down sometimes.

Beyond the demands of day-to-day family life, it's hard to achieve balance online as well.  If I look after my blog, I'm not painting.  If I'm painting (and I did finish a painting this week), I'm not producing new prints for my Etsy shop (which still take me a lot of time to do).  If I spend time making treasuries for Etsy (which is really helping my shop get more views), I'm not visiting other people's blogs and encouraging them.  But if I spend time visiting blogs, I feel like I'm cheering on others and I'm neglecting myself.

You get my drift.  I'm sure you all live various versions of this. It's hard to achieve balance or even feel that you're getting close some days. I'm not complaining. I'm mulling. I'm sifting. I'm deciding for today which one to pick.

Paintings As Gifts

In December, I worked on two paintings that I couldn't show you previously because they were Christmas gifts.

I did one painting for a very dear friend who moved to a new house this past summer. I painted her former home complete with her sweet cat sitting on the front porch.  She spent many years in this house raising her three great kids. I can say that because I know them. :) (In case you are worrying, her cat was not left behind. He sits on the front porch of the new house now.)

The second painting I did was of my parents' Golden Retriever named Ginger.  If you have been following my blog, you will know that Ginger was a sweet girl who died in December at the age of 12.  I held my breath through most of the painting process as it was so important to me that it really look like Ginger.   I have never done a watercolour painting of a dog before.

Both gifts were very much appreciated but I made everyone cry which I didn't intend, although I knew that I had chosen subjects with emotional weight. I know that they were all touched and I told my friend and my parents that I wouldn't be hurt at all if they put their gifts away for a while.

Trowel & Paintbrush & Power Tool

On occasion in the past few years, when I wasn't picking up my paintbrush as often as I should have and my garden wasn't needing me, I have turned to projects within the house. My birthday and Christmas wish lists have often included a power tool or two.

One of the biggest projects I ever tackled was making a headboard for my eldest daughter. It was a lot of work but it really turned out to be something I am proud of. It is made of solid wood and measures about six feet tall. Inset on its front are gorgeous fabric panels trimmed with beads and shells. (The panels were actually sold as table runners.) I installed a lamp that's perfect for reading at its top.

The headboard is front of mind these days as it is about to enter a new phase of its life. It has been in Emma's room for six years now and she is ready for a change, both in colours and in furniture. The most obvious choice is to move it to her younger sister's room but that will mean repainting it and also changing the fabric panels. My daughters' colour choices, just like their personalities, are completely different.

It was initially hard to thinking of transforming the headboard, but I am coming around to it more and more. It's had a good life and can be cherished for a few more years with a slightly different exterior. My thought at the moment is to replace the shell panel with something softer and cushier. Emma has told me that the shell panels, while beautiful, were not always a comfortable surface when reading in bed.

Being ready to adapt furniture, even handmade, is part of the larger process we are going through in our house.  It's about accepting and embracing change as our daughters grow and evolve.