Plunge.

Remember that scene at the beginning of Mary Poppins where the weathervane changes directions?  The admiral dutifully discharges his cannon and everyone has to run around trying to collect their valluables so they don't crash onto the floor, and then all those horrible and boring looking nannies are swept away? 

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me just refresh your memory:

(And by the way, how many days would I like to Mary Poppins my three year old and reply, "first of all, I would like to make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything."  Take THAT, 816 whys before breakfast.)

There was a change in the winds, and the world was turned upside down for the better.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is a change in the winds coming here in our home.  I'm drawn to very different things these days than I have ever been in the past.  I feel the urge to make and create in ways I've never experienced before. 

It started innocently enough with making my own baby food three years ago. 

Then I began to see the light and we put cloth diapers on our baby boy.

Then there was a little food revolution that has me making my own bread and carefully reading the labels on products.

I'm simplifying.  And by simplifying, I mean making things one thousand times more complicated than they used to be.  {And hopefully, one thousand times better.}

It's very gratifying, all this self-sufficiency.  It's making me itch to create and produce and design; to leave my fingerprints (and, moreoftenthannot, Casey's too) on our home and life. 

I bought herbs.  Me.  The one who makes plants scream and throw their hands in front of their faces to protect themselves: get away!  We saw what you did to the Daylilly!  Murder! For the record, they are currently growing happily in the backyard, thankyouverymuch.  (Okay, full disclosure: I killed one.  One!  It was the runt of the litter, and positively asking for it with its sassy mouth.)

I have this fabric sitting in our dining room.  I love it, because it's yellow and yellow reminds me of happiness.

 

 

But it's just fabric.  A blank canvas, waiting for someone to shape it into something.  A year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of buying fabric.  Who me?  Make something?  Out of nothing?!  Not when I could buy it, premade, from any one of these fabulous stores!

Still, here it sits.  Expectant.

And me without a sewing machine.  As Dorothy would say, what would you do with a sewing machine if you had one?  To which I would answer...
                                                ... 
                                                      ...
                                                           ...... I have no idea......

But, a year ago, my camera intimidated the crap out of me, too. {Didja see those pictures up there?  I took those!} A year ago, I thought I was going to break my baby if I put him in cloth diapers.  {He's never yet had so much as diaper rash.} Two months ago, I'd only used my bread machine once and couldn't concieve of baking a loaf people could actually eat. {We haven't purchased store bread since June.}

We can learn and move forward, or we can sit still and gather dust.  And I don't like me no dust.

There is a change in the winds, a change in me and the way I'm thinking about our life and home and family.  Prepackaged just isn't cutting it anymore. 

It's exciting.  And challenging.  And a little scary.  The status quo has got to go (catchy, right?  Hey-Hey! Ho-Ho! Can't you just see the signs and protesters now?).

We're taking the plunge.  I'm not sure yet where it's going to lead us.  Maybe nowhere... maybe not. 

That's the neat thing about a change in the winds.