The kaleidoscope of creativity

"Give a mouse a highchair..."

"Look, Oma," she says, handing the mouse a piece of popcorn. Her IKEA mice and goats hang from my drawer pulls. Kinsey nibbles on popped kernels between feeding her dolls.

Our granddaughter's play reminds me of how free-flowing the days were when our kids were little.

No wonder our children think outside the box. We rarely watched TV: we galloped through the neighborhood pizza store or fire station on our field trips, glided past possibilities in our boatload of imagination. We padded through the world, flipping through pages of library books and we stalked adventures as if on cat paws.

Everything in sight was fair game. An item did not just "do" its original function. Anything could serve whatever purpose we dreamed up in the moment. When we put it away, we left its ideas behind and started our next adventure. It wasn't quite Pippi Longstocking, but some days probably came close to her nutty household.

#3 grade pine soffit boards

This year, whether clearing our space or opening the doors of imagination with K, I'm catching glimpses of past creativity.

• Jars of kitchen spices, sniffed, to determine a menu = letting our noses decide how supper should taste.
• Screw-in hooks and metal drywalling corners from the hardware store that made affordable curtain rods (that lace valence stretched across 2 rooms). 
• Stale rice dumped into a huge Tupperware, set in the middle of a blue tarp = an indoor sandbox for rainy Seattle days. 
• Baking science and math curriculum = the kitchen chemistry lab of measuring cups,  the amalgamation of ingredients, oven light on to observe fusion as cookies melted and rose ...) 
• #3 grade pine soffit as 8" floorboards = 20 years of decor satisfaction, even if my dad mentioned that "Grandpa wouldn't use this in a barn" while we were nailing it down.
• Hiring the Paris diplomat's daughter as babysitter ("Please speak only French to the children," when they hadn't heard a word of French before.) Spanish Muzzy - the kids remember how to count three apricots in Spanish to this day.
• Children's magazines as core curriculum: Zoobooks for geography, botany, and zoology curriculum. Ladybug and Cricket magazines as literature. National Geographic Kids as social studies, geography, art, and photography.
  
• Year-end educational testing to see how our homeschoolers measured up to state standards = play dates with a bit of paperwork between. (Yeah, our kids were pretty relaxed during tests.)
• Funeral wreaths tossed into a pile by cemetery maintenance workers, stripped and reused for pinecone wreaths at Christmas. Pinecones also gathered on our walks through the cemetery. (Okay, so my m-i-l thought that was a slightly gruesome robbery. Love you MomK - and weren't the wreaths pretty?)

What's in your hands today? How can you look at resources differently? 

Oh - this just popped into my head because my coaching session today helped me rethink a few of my own assumptions. My mind is churning and sorting. 

I'm a coach as well as being coached. Contact me if you could use a free hour of coaching to talk through a stalemate or look at things a new way. I need a few more clients for the next certification level. Thanks!

Read more:

*My heart exults in the Lord. 1 Samuel 2:1 NEV

*I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them. Ezekiel 20:12

*Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10 ESV

*Abide in my love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9,11 ESV

Moravian Prayer: As we awaken to a new year, let our first thought be a song of praise to our Father in heaven. For your gift of life, we thank you from the depths of our hearts and we boldly call upon you, Lord, to lead us safely through our time on earth. In Jesus' name we pray. 

Praise God, praise God, praise God. We love you, we honor you, we sing to you praises of joy. Praise God, praise God, praise God. Your mercy, compassion, and grace are our strength and anchor. Hear our songs, O Lord. Amen.

Space saver

Most of us have access to more space than we realize. I love looking at space-saving storage and design. We used to tour RVs to see how livable small spaces could be. But I also love creating space where none seems to exist.

We're downsizing in preparation for moving away. Moving from our 2750+ house into 1000 square feet (into the 1000' basement that was storing our excess stuff!) It's plenty of space if we don't take everything with us. We'll let others stay there while we're gone.

"Oh, don't worry," my Mom assures me as we sell off and give away our things. "Should you ever come back and need to refurnish, I have enough for both of us. China. Silver. Furniture." That's made me smile.

Today I revisited a space I expanded. It functioned as a passageway, but now it's a living space. How did that happen?

At the university, a huge concrete and glass foyer was created to connect several classroom buildings. There was not a lick of furniture in it. Everyone used the too-hot-in-summer or freezing-cold-in-winter space as a hallway, but no one lingered. Occasionally, maintenance would drag some tables in for a reception and take them away after the event was over.

However, I needed a place to hang out with alumni on campus. The Caf could get too noisy and my office was too small to meet for group chats. One day it stuck me: "What about our empty plaza?" Could furniture and a rug stabilize the perceived temperature and invite people in?

The business manager graciously let me furnish the plaza. "Please don't put junk in it," he warned.

Meanwhile, our friends Arlyn and Sharon Nelson were downsizing their parents' estate. Sharon's dad was an alum of NU, and they cheerfully donated a gorgeous cream-colored leather suite (a Lazyboy, an armchair, and a sofa). We posted a plaque in her dad's honor.

The same week, W and I drove past a "free" beige leather sofa at the side of the road in Redmond. We pulled over to look. The sofa was solidly built, though the center cushion was ripped. Big deal.

We tossed it in the back of our truck, I bought $10 of upholstery fabric, recovered the cushion, and made toss pillows with the scraps. Then we added it to the new lounge.

I unrolled a rug we picked up on Freecycle and plopped a heavy oak table (another freebee) in the middle. I brought leftover blankets for winter meetings, and placed a slate tile and some pebbles on the table. I hoped creativity would draw students into the unwelcoming space. Anyone can play with stones, after all.

It was amazing! Within 10 minutes, students were sprawled on the sofas, arranging the stones, and conversation was flying. Six years later, the sofas may be worn but they're still beautiful. A student peer told me, "My little niece was playing with those stones last week!" Yes, people still sit, chat, and snooze in Dickey Plaza. Strangely, I never hear comments about the temperature.

Last weekend, I similarly got to arrange existing furniture and accessories in a Street-of-Dreams style home. It had been left unfinished, in a hurry, and wasn't pulled together. We set up 2 new areas for conversation in the enormous upper hallway and warmed up the rooms with accessories from throughout the house and garage. What fun! There's a lot more to be done. (Maybe I'll get to play again when we get back after summer. Those silk kimonos stuffed into a box in the office? They look like wall hangings for the hallways to me!)

From Real Simple

Do you rework and beautify a space by showing up? 

• Do you leave memories of a lovely conversation?
• Do you rearrange the furniture?
• Do people know more about Jesus by the time you move away?
• Do you clean up and leave places more orderly?
• Are items assembled, repaired, or put in working order?
• Do you leave new ideas floating around?
• Do people feel loved after they've met with you?

Read more:
*All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6,8 (NLT)

*He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 (NLT)

*Christ says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Luke 21:33 (NLT)Paul wrote: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

Moravian Prayer: Almighty God, when we are bogged down by the petty matters of life, give us perspective. Remind us that our real home is with you and we will worship and enjoy you in the heavenly kingdom forever!

We pray to you, Lord, for justice and peace. Help us always to walk humbly with you and in a right relationship with all your children. Amen.