The Creative Notebook

and how much I like to be outside at night.  My dad has a fire pit and we have lots of bonfires in the summer.  We’ll find just about any occasion to have one, and we’ll even have them just for.   I love to sit there in the chill of the night and watch the flames dance.  I love the conversation and company.  Of course, I never remember to journal about it.  He lives outside the city limits just enough that it’s legal for him to have a real fire pit.  I live in the city limits and can’t do that, but I was thinking about haunting freecycle and craigslist in search of an outdoor fireplace someone might be ready to part with.  Wouldn’t that be a great place to unwind and write?  I love the ones that remind me of big ole  gourds. 

At least until I can afford that hot tub or pool I’m dreaming of.   Ahem………not that those will ever happen, but I can dream can’t I?

Sometimes I feel out of place here in my home town.  The people around me don’t seem to understand my need to create.  They look at my altered books like I’m nuts.  They tell they’d never have time to keep a journal(and I could rant on that one for hours because they have time to spend two hours in front of a tv, don’t they?)  So where are all the creative people hiding?  I read online about meetup and writing groups and journaling groups and I’m so envious.

Maybe if I hung a sign in my my yard, like this fancy Address Plaque, advertising for creative friends I’d find some then?  Probably not.  The neighbors would chalk it up to the eccentric daycare lady who’s always home and will probably some day have 5 cats and talk to her plants in the back yard. 

 It worked well for Emily Carr, and she had a monkey, too.  And a spinning wheel.  And I do love to spin my own fiber for my art.

But that’s o.k.  At least I’ll have a record of my craziness in my journals and art and maybe I’ll teach my cats to journal too.  (If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m allergic to cats.)  But I’d have garden journaling, for the plants.  That’s something.

I’ve been thinking of journaling in unusual contexts lately.  I know people who keep garden journals, but what about wildlife journals, or entries in your journal about your pets?  With all the controversy right now about pet food and pet supplies, especially if you’ve been affected, there would be lots to write about and a journal might actually benefit you and your pet.

I know people who are bird watchers.  I did my college internship at the Audubon Society’s regional office and a journal would be perfect for this hobby.  You could record when you went, what the weather was like, pictures of the birds you saw and information about them.  And it would make a great reference if you wanted to write a book later.  Journaling is so versatile, I could find a reason to write about anything!