I am settling in to this Uber driving thing. Sure, I still am running up against some of my social anxiety somewhat, but it is nowhere as intense as it was a month ago. I have, yet, to have a client that I have not enjoyed in one way or another. The people watcher in me is loving it! I think my biggest deterrent from driving is probably my huge desire to be doing things with the gardens, but, unfortunately, my desires are not quite matching up with the weather we have been having. Oh well. Spring is only 17 more days away, which means there is still a good amount of time to get things ready for planting.
We have been having some really intense Spring-like where the last few days. Unfortunately, it has been the rainy, 50 mph wind gusting type of Pacific Northwest Spring weather. There were a few times yesterday that I was certain my little gypsy camp would be blown away completely, like the straw house in The Three Little Pigs when the big bad wolf comes and blows the house down. We did have a bunch of tree limbs drop, thankfully none on the Prius. Definitely one of those times when I wished I had a garage.
I’m anxious to get started on refurbishing the fire pit that I picked up from the side of the road last Summer. Since my workspace is outside and the weather has been what it has been, I haven’t made much progress on it at all. I have taken it apart and scrubbed the ash, soot, and grime off of the pieces with vinegar water. As soon as I can get the parts dried out, I can begin the sanding of the rust spots and such. After that is done, I can start the fun part of painting it and putting it back together. I have decided, after going to Home Depot and seeing what they offer in stock, to use the black and the silver high heat paints.
the fire pit, disassembled and scrubbed
Free Fire Pit from the side of the road
I still have the green to put on the kiddie pool vegetable garden, but it, unfortunately, is also victim to the weather. I’m starting to see the picture in my head of what my gardens will look like this year, which is beautiful in itself. I can feel the Spring excitement kicking in, as well, and it makes me smile like a little kid that has been told that they have a surprise waiting for them around the corner – exceedingly bright, all-consuming, with a little bit of tortured throw in.
I’ve been listening to a new book in between passengers. Its called Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Love, Pray, among other books. I am really enjoying it. One thing that Ms. Gilbert has shown me is that I have left being the care taker of my creativity and entered into expecting the creativity to do something more than just fulfill my creative needs. This is something, she points out, that will quickly stifle and kill creativity. Being creative needs to be its own thing, without demands, something you accept for what it is, regardless of its ability to do anything other than feed your soul. No demands. No expectations of it supporting itself. Invite it in and tell it to make itself at home, no strings attached. Somewhere along the way, I have placed strings on my creative side. It’s no wonder I am feeling like I have been abandoned by it. I, in reality, have abandoned it. Shame on me. So, that said, I am working on getting back to just letting inspiration find me when and where it does, and letting it direct the path we take together.
Well, I’ve been up since 4:30 so I am going to go relax for a bit before heading out to drive, again, this afternoon. Have a beautiful day, Everyone!
Dragonfly Gypsy USA 