The Journey Continues ... New Life from Old

Setting Goals but Seizing the Moment Vacation mode is over, but that doesn't make it any easier to switch gears.  I put my shop in "vacation mode" while we went on a road trip to capture the last weeks of the summer.  Now that I'm back, there's so much do be done:  I have been listing a few vintage pieces, but once that's done, it's time to get some handmade items completed. My to-do list grows every time I glance at it, with an unending series of should-do's, could-do's, must-do's,want-to-do, and likely-won't- do's.  Sadly, many of the want-to's are likely going to end up in the likely won't-do pile.  If I am going to keep up with creating, listing, and marketing the things I make, there needs to be some discipline.  But when is "too much work and no play" just too much altogether?  I mean, what is the point if we can't seize the moment sometimes and just do what we enjoy? I intend to do a lot more o

The first long weekend of the summer starts today -- Canada Day weekend here in Canada.  It is also my husband's birthday weekend or, as he likes to say, all of Canada celebrates his birthday.  This is a milestone birthday and we are planning a surprise party for him.  Well... he knows we'll have a family barbecue and cake, but he doesn't know we invited an extra three dozen people.  My sister is hosting at her place which is perfect because, one, it helps keep the surprise; two, she decorates much better than me; and, three, her house is much tidier than mine.  One extra surprise that is the most fun of all is that my son who lives in Europe will be here for the celebration. Meanwhile, we have been doing a bit of house renos, specifically installing a new sink.  That is a whole other post, but after spending a day working on it, there is a new sink in my kitchen.  Believe me, we had all sorts of glitches.  There are so many more updates and repairs and re-decorating jobs

I have heard that it takes a month to establish a new habit.  At least that was the advice when I joined a gym some years ago.  Work out faithfully for a month, and it will become habit.  Didn't work for me. The first item listed in my shop.  I recently reworked some of it, making it thicker, and adding a heart! My dog loves this rug.  It was a new design for me - chevron.  Maybe I'll keep it. But this Etsy shop venture certainly has created new routines for me and established some new habits.  Since my shop became "live" approximately four months ago, I have become somewhat addicted to checking my shop stats and looking for new posts on team threads.  I joined a few teams, and some of the other members seem like old friends already.  Yay A4!  Yay Promo Junkies!  Yay Recycle Party, and the other great groups I drop in on from time to time! Loved the colours in this rug.  It sold quickly and I shipped it to Brooklyn.  That's such a great feeling.

Yesterday I spent several hours setting up an Etsy shop.  It really is exciting to see the shop go "live" with my handmade items listed for sale.  I am thrilled, and probably would be calling everyone I know to announce my shop, except for one thing ..... I registered with Etsy in January 2012.  That would be, oh, 14 months ago.  When you look at the details for my shop, it says it opened last year.  Unfortunately it sat waiting all that time with no items listed.  It's kind of a downer to see that statistic because I wish I'd struggled through the minutiae of details involved a long time ago.  I'm not going to let that interfere too much with my excitement though; I need to spend time working on the shop, not regretting my procrastination. Of course, maybe the time just wasn't right back then.  What did I do in the past year?  First, there was family life.  A first grandchild, a son moving to Europe, visiting relatives in the summer ... Indeed, there were

I've never seen much sense in making New Year resolutions when I haven't accomplished everything I resolved to do last time around.  I still want to do those things that were in my resolutions... maybe this year. If not now, when?  The more I consider it, I realize the time is now. Lots of exciting ideas peculating in my head, lots of new projects to try... I've acquired and practised the skills that I need to complete a few of those projects, and the new year is the perfect time to say, let's begin! This week will be inventory taking and some cleaning up of the work area, all in preparation for the work that lies ahead.  And, yes, it is time to decide on what to do when -- resolutions, in another form. There are bags and totes and rugs to make, and not a few children's clothing items. By spring, there should be several new items ready to market.  The cold winter days don't have enough daylight, and the evenings arrive too early, with me feeling tired and re