Hello! Hello!

A few days have now passed since I quit my job, yet the feelings I had associated with still continue to linger. The past several nights I've actually had nightmares about that place. Seriously, {now, don't laugh.} but I've been wondering if a a job can cause you to suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome? Anyways, I slowly easing my way back into the land of living.

On Wednesday, Don and I took a road trip over to Amish country... out St. Rt. 309 to 288 and over St. Rt. 97 to St. Rt. 39. The weather was perfect for a day of riding in the Jeep with the canvas doors and heavy plastic windows off, allowing the air to flow through our hair! Although, I'm certain we both looked like a disheveled mess as we entered some of the restaurants, stores, and shops in the Walnut Creek area. See? Some things are best left to your imagination, LOL!

I had a Literal "field day" in the "Tis The Season" shop and could have browsed a lot longer than the two hours I did. I can assure you it didn't take me long to fill a willow basket with a few selections to add to our Christmas tree and home decor this year. I was amazed at all the sparkle and glitter, twinkling lights, the coolness of the air conditioning, and simply being surrounded by that feeling of love one experiences that time of the year. Some of the purchases I made were two teal/turquoise various squares and rectangles acrylic garlands. I felt they'd be a perfect accent to the new ornaments I'd purchased during last year's end of the season sale from JoAnn's. And how could I resist a wire and glittered "snow" signs to tuck inbetween the branches? For our living room tree, I couldn't resist three 9" long gold glittered skeleton keys; along with some of the sweetest little resin birds I've ever laid my eyes upon. I believe I ended up with a total of 6 of them, with only one being a bit different mainly due to its size, yet he'll coordinating with the others. Of course, I couldn't pass up purchasing two of the Midwest of Cannon Falls large resin sheep. I've coveted them from afar long enough. They'll look so pretty on the primitive/country cabinet that my dear friend, Sheila gave to me for my birthday last year and could also look good in my, once rooster, now country farmhouse kitchen! LOL! {funny how things like that sort of evolve on their own}. But my most precious purchase from the shop was also from the Midwest of Cannon Falls line, a pair of large white resin vintage ice skates trimmed with fur trim and tied one to the other with vintage shoelaces!!! You'll have to trust me, they are adorable! {As it'll probably be Christmas before I find and install the disk so I can once again use my digital camera to show you, LOL!}

After leaving the "Tis The Season" shop and determining how it got it's name, as I felt the emptiness in my wallet, we travelled some back roads, thirstily drinking in the scenery. It was just what my heart needed, to be surrounded by God's beauty and seeing and soaking in a simplier way of life. We passed a few Amish friend's in their buggies and like little kids we enjoyed waving and stopping a second or two to say, "Hello!" I swear I could live that lifestyle without any regrets. Later in the afternoon, we stopped at the "Der Dutchman" in Walnut Creek, dined on a wonderful Amish buffet of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh creamed style corn, cornbread biscuits, a small salad, and peach cobbler for dessert. The view inside the restaurant was just as gorgeous as we sat close to a row of windows overlooking the scenic hillside outside. There was a mural painted on the wall behind the buffet that was painted by a local artist that I felt I could look at forever. It simply seemed to pull at my soul and was so realistic I felt I could just step into it and be beside a gently winding creek where an Amish boy was fishing surrounded by the hillsides and fields a plenty. Definately, breath-takingly beautiful!

After our dinner, we took a walk to sit in the gazebo behind the restarant when I spotted a sign that spoke a bit more to my heart. A simple little ornate arrow and one single work, "Bookbindery" and my passion for books, reading them, and creating them came crashing back to me. I felt as if it a whisper from God telling me that I'm once again on the right pathway --- something I haven't felt for quite a long while. When we walked back from sitting and soaking in the view, I couldn't resist looking back at that quaint little sign with a sigh of relief and smile that seemed to come from my soul. Of course, I whispered, "Thank you."

Next, we made our to the Carlisle Gift Shop. You cannot go to a Der Dutchman restaurant without at least one brief visit there. Their selection is always fresh and amazing, and is there a a better way to pamper oneself than to surround yourself with things you love? Stacks of Heritage lace, quilts, teapots and teacups, home and garden decor, bath products such as soaps and lotions, pottery filled every nook and cranny! I found myself drawn to a couple barrels filled with seashells, starfish, and other gifts from the sea, such as coral and had to purchase a few to add to our rear deck surrounding the jacuzzi. I've been attempting to create my own spa-like atmosphere there and avoid the beach theme, but a few scattered shells here and there amongst an ornate pot of lavender and other flowers cannot hurt, can it?

Yesterday, I found myself feeling like a stranger within my own home. How, you may ask? It occurred while I attempting to make dinner for us consisting of Pepper Rustica. Now, I'm certainly no stranger to cooking but I couldn't for the life of me seemed to get my act together. It began while boiling the italian sausage and realizing awhile later that I hadn't set the timer on the stove so I had no idea how long these had been on boiling. After sticking a fork in them to test for doneness, I drained and began slicing them into thinner pieces to pan fry the remainder of the way. Only after adding the onion and green pepper, did I remember to drain the fat from them once again and how do you make a pasta dish without a large pot of boiling water? Yep, I forgot that, too. Anyways, after a few remedies and time, Don and I had a wonderful dinner. {smiles} I noticed feeling that way awhile later when attempting to do some cleaning. I had to second guess where certain supplies were kept and remember laughing at myself and thinking, "Gee! Has it really been that long?" LOL! Perhaps, I shouldn't share that with you, but hey! I'm human afterall and what fun is life if we can't laugh at ourself once in a while?

Today, I spent my time on the computer once agian browsing art blogs, etsy, some of my favorite message boards. I've yet to visit any of my online groups. I'm not exactly certain why but I know I really don't feel like attempting to explain any of these things to my friends. I know that's probably crazy, but here, on my own blog, I feel a sense of some sort of anonymousity, where no excuses are needed and I can be free to simply be ME. I'm certain that in time, I'll be ready once again to join in. Anyways, back to soaking in art. It was just the ticket I needed to get my mind to considering creating it. I've had the urge but no time to create it and then, there is this lingering fear that has me asking myself, "what if I can't?" What if it's like the "stranger in the kitchen" feeling I experienced yesterday and nothing I touch comes out right? I know how paralyzing that fear can become, if I let it and I also know that just like cooking in my own kitchen, it'll come back. I just need to familiarize myself with it all over again..... so what did I do? Ordered me a vintage image CD from http://www.enchantedmercantile.com/ So, here's to "creating art" once again, inspiration is brewing!