Ok, so I'm not really famous but that article in the Las Vegas Review Journal created a lot more buzz than I would have ever expected. The nice writer who penned the story, John Glionna, (you can read more of his articles here.) had agreed to let me know when the article would publish as he wrote it several weeks before it went to print. He's a busy writer guy who juggles a life lived between two cities and somehow that notice fell through the cracks. Or maybe he didn't get notification from the paper when they were going to run it, who knows? I had intended to have the website all finished with lots of things in the shop and some blog entries written but I procrastinated thinking I'd have more time since I hadn't heard from John. I like to procrastinate. I have a lot of irons in the fire at all times. Currently I am:
Building raised beds, a stone planter and a thermal mass water wall in my underground greenhouse so I can get food planted.
Building a stone chicken coop as a test to see whether or not I really have the fortitude and skill to build a freestanding stone bedroom and so I can house the baby chicks I'll get in time for their arrival this spring.
Building a stone/wood fence to surround an outdoor garden area to hold plants that are too large to be grown in the greenhouse that will need to be in the ground by June 1st.
Building a door to the bathroom and installing mosaics onto the bathroom's outside wall.
Trying to get my hands back into the polymer clay in my newly completed art studio so I can make beautiful things for sale on my site and complete the transition to earning my living as an artist.
Writing a book.
Outlining an idea I have for natural building workshops for women.
Helping my Jesse to build a mill building for processing the ore from our little gold mine so he can complete the transition to earning a living at home as a miner while I'm hanging out a few yards away in my art studio. We like to be in the same place. Also learning how to smelter the concentrates that come out of the mill.
Learning to shoot pool as it is the chief social event around here and I enjoy things much more if I can do them well. We practice daily from around 3 to 6. I lost most games for two years but sometimes I win now.
Those are the things that are actually happening. The list of things that need to happen is way too long for this post. But I do have a list and it has been prioritized and everything will eventually get finished. There are also the things we do just because we want to, like taking Jeep rides now that the weather has warmed and going to bed early and lingering over breakfast.
The point is that in my world procrastination is a must. In fact I think of it more as a form of listening to intuition. When the timing is right for a project then all the pieces fit into place; needed items and help show up, the vision and path to follow are clear and production is a joy. When timing is rushed things tend to not go as well so I like to put things off until that magical "click" happens and I know what to do next. That is where I was with the building of the website and the populating of the online shop with magical offerings when the article surprised me and showed up unannounced. So be it.
The response has been big and wonderful and loving. There were over 600 shares to Facebook pages which resulted in lots of traffic to this little website and beautiful notes and letters from people. It is no surprise that a story with a happy ending touched a chord in so many hearts - we all need hope and something positive to believe in, right? So this should serve as my first official blog post on this site as the other one was truly just a hastily crafted placeholder. I don't like rules or schedules much so will post occasionally when it feels right and I have something to say. If you'd like to follow along the best way would be to sign up for blog updates using the form at the top right of the page. Sometimes I'll share photos from a Jeep ride in the beautiful wild places of Nevada, sometimes construction details and sometimes simply musings....big love to you all.
This was a real maple seed that I embellished and put on a heart. No art is as beautiful as nature's!