FRIDAY STIR FRY - In A Funk

https://morguefile.com

noun

1.    1.

NORTH AMERICAN

a state of depression.

"I sat absorbed in my own blue funk"

synonyms:

a (state of) depression, a bad mood, a low, the dumps, the doldrums, a blue funk "he was in a funk because his wife ran out on him"

Maybe I should re-name my Friday blog posts to "Always In A Funk". Seems to be the state of my life lately. It all started with the election. I know I shouldn't let it bother me so much, but REALLY??
What an absolute disaster.

And after that, I had a hard time writing for NaNo. I got behind in word count and gave up.

And, winter is coming. I HATE winter. (I know, I'm yelling a lot - can't help it).

And, I'm bored. With my knee pain, it is hard to do anything except go to work and come home. BORING.

I keep telling myself to do what I can. Write, scrapbook, read, catch up on Netflix. Thing is, when I sit down to do any of that, I end up staring into space and wishing I was somewhere doing something fun.

Yep, I'm definitely in a funk.

I know I'm not the only one. How do you get back on track when your motivation train derails??

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Creative Process

I made this. 

And yes, it's hand quilted. Every ... last ... stitch. It took four months and I have the calloused fingers to prove it. It is for my grandson Clark. 

My grandmother quilted. She would make at least two a year. It was more for protection against the cold Ozark winters instead of a show piece. That's not to say she wasn't proud of her handy work. I remember as a child, spending summers on my grandparent's farm and attending quilting bees with her. There were usually up to ten other women, all sitting around a square frame, stitching, gossiping, and exchanging recipes. At noon we would share a pot luck lunch. The younger children would then be put down for a nap. The older ones, including myself, could be found under the quilt frame playing with our dolls or trucks. When the quilt was finished it was given to a needy family with no thought of compensation. It's just what they did.

When she died, I inherited her frames. My ex mother-n-law quilted and so I would join her many afternoons next to grandma's quilting frame while we watched our soap operas. She embroidered tops for each grandchild. We quilted them and they received them on their wedding day. My son treasures his. So, it was just natural that I would make a quilt for his first born.

People were surprised I could do this. "You write and quilt?" 

"Yes, and work, and scrapbook." 

It makes you realize that not everybody has the 'creative' gene.

Let me know in the comments what you like to create.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - You May Not Know

Something you may not know about me. I like to scrapbook. I'm not one of those people who go to scrap-ins or whatever they're called. And I don't do it all the time. Just when I get a wild hair. And, don't tell anybody, but I'm kinda addicted to scrapbook supplies. A trip to Michaels is like crack cocaine for me.

I love looking at books about it. I get up early on Saturday mornings to watch Scrap Soup on PBS. I'm talking 7 a.m. folks. My pages never turn out that creative. But, I love trying.

So far I've done a book about a trip to Chicago with my son and his first wife; one for my son and his second wife's wedding; and currently I am working on one just about me. Places and things I've done and enjoyed. You know like concerts, sporting events, parties. Someday I want to do a family tree book.

Although my main passion is writing, scrap booking gets my creative juices flowing in a different way and actually helps with my writing. I know a lot of my writer friends like to take a walk to get a new perspective. I am limited in mobility, so I think this is the next best thing.  I take a memory walk.

What creative endeavors do you enjoy?