tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50558016712887573972024-02-23T12:07:39.386-08:00CM Shaw StudiosCM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-39380425751181578472020-12-01T16:46:00.000-08:002020-12-01T16:46:11.881-08:00The 12 Days of ECHO; Giving Back in 2020<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> Hi There. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have missed you all. But today, I have finally something to share again. My kids and I were talking about things we were grateful for on Thanksgiving and we decided that it has actually been a pretty good year for us. We know this is not the case for most of the world, so we thought we'd do a little giving back. We saw the most wonderful 12 Days of Christmas display at the Dallas Arboretum over the holiday weekend and we thought, "<i>What if we gave a different item each day to a food pantry?</i>" So that's what we will be doing between today and Dec 12. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On the <u>First Day of ECHO</u> my anonymous friend gave to me...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Warm Winter Stockings! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOERTf4JNDK7QPBNzP6273htG_oj1fniiw2AakA4MeaxioBgcsEbETE6Y5S7p6bKRIPxtL6P-pp8aLIR_h_QAxzqac7ELo532fJw7hVESDL79TMxhv0rXkeF1D4EwdM8dn2kvl_6LrajVv/s2048/IMG_3608.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOERTf4JNDK7QPBNzP6273htG_oj1fniiw2AakA4MeaxioBgcsEbETE6Y5S7p6bKRIPxtL6P-pp8aLIR_h_QAxzqac7ELo532fJw7hVESDL79TMxhv0rXkeF1D4EwdM8dn2kvl_6LrajVv/w300-h400/IMG_3608.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(well, socks are a bit more practical, but didn't sound as good. You understand)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is a much cooler video that #2 made for her YouTube channel that explains our little plan</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bvYwOLx5T7I" width="320" youtube-src-id="bvYwOLx5T7I"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">See, giving is fun and easy!</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is the full list of dates and highlighted items, if you are interested. If you are not interested, this is where you can go "What a sweet idea. Next!" and move on to something more your style. I have totally had that year. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 2</u> Box Drinks /Juice Boxes, Pancake Syrup, or Jelly</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 3</u> Laundry Detergent or </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Dishwashing Liquid,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 4</u> Hand or Body Lotion</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 5</u> New or gently used men's/boy's coats in Sm or Med sizes, or warm children's clothing</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 6</u> Eggs and/or Margarine, or Salsa, or Other Condiments</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 7</u> Razors and/or Shaving Cream</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 8</u> Headphones/Earbuds or Kids Books (Gr. 3 or Higher)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 9</u> Canned Meat. Canned Pasta, and/or Canned Tomatoes</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec.10</u> Cleaning Supplies, (ie: Disinfecting Spray, Clorox Wipes,Toilet Cleaner)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec.11</u> Rice (Boxed or bagged)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><u>Dec. 12</u> Coloring Books and Colored Pencils or OTC cold/flu/pain Medication</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's not the sexiest list, but it will help people. And we wanted to keep the costs fairly low, so anyone could feel like they could participate. There were so many years when a bag of rice and a can of tomatoes was all I could afford to donate. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you want to play 12 Days of ECHO with us, buy something (or somethings) off the list. It doesn't matter what day. That is all just a snappy gimmick. Bring it to my front porch and stick it in the box labeled "12 Days of ECHO". Or call me and say "Hey, come get my stuff." And I will. Unless you live far from me. Then I won't. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But you could always donate money to ECHO directly, if you are far. Or even if you are near, but don't want to leave your house this season. <u><b><a href="https://www.echo-inc.org/sample-page-2/donating-money">Here</a></b></u> is that link. Seriously though, no pressure. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is the full wish list from ECHO: This one is for kid's Christmas Toys</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0IIuQv6B_UOimdbYaD5ZQ1Xa-zEaF4iILOGkHYNOCQSpdJiQ-Uzb0-wG7rnDPbMLe8gVtHyRGtFlKXdlDMMct43w0DX-P7h9xo_AClA7gjn3C41ndiZ6MZQVwhtUzUPFNDNN9qZw1pqP/s1334/Screenshot+2020-11-30+at+9.42.51+AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0IIuQv6B_UOimdbYaD5ZQ1Xa-zEaF4iILOGkHYNOCQSpdJiQ-Uzb0-wG7rnDPbMLe8gVtHyRGtFlKXdlDMMct43w0DX-P7h9xo_AClA7gjn3C41ndiZ6MZQVwhtUzUPFNDNN9qZw1pqP/w360-h640/Screenshot+2020-11-30+at+9.42.51+AM.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><span style="font-family: arial;">List Two is the more basic things. Most of our list comes from here:</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVg5chZbsplMx9zeCXgGim0-jWH7RTtxVUlrtb6ofXaXD4FKdvatJZ9lDWBIliZOYRh6_e99DmdpQWD88FwC5OYKFY1AQgTsfRhSUa3gazBDFxvvVhfNDwgCPKutK0rL39PT6uSG2XyMC/s1334/Screenshot+2020-11-30+at+9.43.46+AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVg5chZbsplMx9zeCXgGim0-jWH7RTtxVUlrtb6ofXaXD4FKdvatJZ9lDWBIliZOYRh6_e99DmdpQWD88FwC5OYKFY1AQgTsfRhSUa3gazBDFxvvVhfNDwgCPKutK0rL39PT6uSG2XyMC/w360-h640/Screenshot+2020-11-30+at+9.43.46+AM.jpeg" width="360" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">We will be dropping off all the donations on <u>Dec 14</u>, so be sure to contact me before then if you need a pick up</span></b></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Happy First Day of Christmas Y'all. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Talk to you soon,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CM Shaw</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-40710395231873647352019-01-11T06:40:00.000-08:002019-01-11T06:40:02.076-08:00How thinking like an artist helped a 6th grade friendship<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the things I have been working on lately is drawing realism. This means I try to make my drawings look identical to the image I am looking at. Sometimes I do this well, and other times I do not, but one of the tricks to succeeding in this medium is the idea of drawing what you actually see, not what you think you see.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, if I am looking at a leaf, I need to see that the ridges that show depth are really viewed as variations in color. The deeper parts are darker colors. There is usually a lighter band that shows the crest of the ridge. The rest of the leaf is a gradient of darker to lighter color, depending on where the light source is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This seems very straight forward, but in reality, you have to use a lot of mental control to even be able to see what is going on. Your mind </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">always</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> has an opinion about what it thinks it sees. You will start drawing and your mind will say "You need to make that a paisley shape." So you start drawing a paisley shape only to realize when you look at the leaf again, that it doesn't curve like a paisley or have a rounded end like a paisley, or even have a central motif like a paisley. So you sigh and get out your eraser and start over again, this time ignoring any suggestions that come from any non-visual data banks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You would think you would only need to have this experience once. But I actually have to shut down a huge section of my brain every single time I draw anything by sight. The brain <i>always</i> wants to tell you what you think you see. It's like the most invasive back seat driver ever. But just like anything else, the more you practice shutting it down and starting it back up, the easier it gets to ignore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had this same principle apply in the most random way last month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My youngest is in 6th grade this year. And she was talking about her new "trans" friend. What? You have a friend who is <i>transgender</i> in 6th grade? I have to admit. I flipped out a bit. I try to be a very open minded person, but transgender is HARD for me. Fortunately I have been practicing not expressing my opinions the second I have them for several years now, and have gotten very good at keeping things to myself, at least until I can get to a safe location to vent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I smiled and in my best fake happy mommy voice said "That's nice honey" and walked upstairs before I let the tidal wave of thoughts cloud my judgement. I went through the expected "How can a child know these things in 6th grade?" and "What is wrong with this kid's parents?" I think it was about the thought, "Why has everything gotten so crazy?" when I realized I was being a total jerk. And massively overreacting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of days later, when my kid was talking about her friend again I said, "Sweetie can I talk to you for a sec?" My kid eyed me dubiously for a minute, then walked slowly towards me. Once she sat down I started with, "I want to talk to you about your friend." She looked a bit nervous and slightly nauseous. I continued, "I haven't quite come to terms with how to deal with people being transgender yet." She was now looking very concerned and fully nauseous. "I think it is amazing that you are comfortable being this person's friend, even though you guys are different. I think you should be friends. That said, I may be a little weird when you talk about them. So I just wanted to be clear. I think this friendship is a good idea. Please continue, even if I am giving off really strange vibes." She looked at me super relieved and said, "Mom, I am so relieved! I thought you were gonna tell me I couldn't be friends with her." This was the point when I realized I needed to start seeing what was there instead of what I thought I was seeing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the next week, I watched my daughter as she video chatted over shared homework with this child. I reminded myself to look with curiosity, rather than judgement. And as I practiced withholding my own bias, something interesting happened. As I looked at the screen, I saw a child who did indeed have some problems. But I also saw a child laughing and having fun with my daughter. I saw two children interacting like children should, telling jokes and gossiping about what happened at school and discussing Sponge Bob and occasionally focusing on their homework. And it hit me like a brick. I don't need to make sense of the world's problems. I just need to help MY world be a better place. And right now my daughter is doing just that, by being a fun friend for this child. That's all most of us want. For someone to accept us and be nice to us as we are right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the most powerful lesson I learned in 2018. To see what is actually in front of me instead of what I think is in front of me. I had no idea that it would make me a better person as well as a better artist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-11187673683984297282018-11-29T14:06:00.000-08:002018-11-29T14:06:22.730-08:00Fear as a Marker<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had something fascinating happen last night. I had to drive a bit to take one of my kids to cotillion in another part of town. And it was far enough, that I decided to just wait in some nearby shop until the class was over. About 2 blocks away, I found a Whole Foods with a coffee shop. Perfect! I don't drink coffee, but I do eat chocolate croissants and Whole Foods has those. So I got my croissant and settled in to write in my journal for the hour and a half I had to wait. Not a shabby way to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After about 10 or 15 minutes, I noticed a young man sitting near me drawing on a napkin. This wasn't just any old doodle. It was a fully developed piece with lots of detail, shading, complex forms and depth. So, being me (I am the girl who talks to you if you sit next to me on the plane for the whole flight, if the conversation is good. #sorrynotsorry), I started a conversation with him about art. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Guys, it turned out to be magical! This kid, or rather, young man (he told me he was 27), has already seen so much more of the hard side of life than I have, but he had this deep quiet passion and desire about him that made me want to explore it a little bit. . So we talked about what it takes to be an artist, in both public and private ways. We talked about places to gain skills online. We talked about how to choose what kind of art life you want and how to get there. We talked about keeping your art as a secret for yourself to relax vs. making it a career and a gift to the world. We talked about how to thicken your skin and change your mindset, so you can actually bear the vulnerability that comes with putting your creations out into the world. And we talked about a hundred other things that would make this post way too long, so you all will just have to wonder and be jealous you weren't there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But there was one thing that resonated, as I talked with this young man perched on the edge of his life, something I have been meaning to share with you guys for a long time. The idea of "Fear being a marker."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"CM, what are you talking about?" You say. "Fear? How can fear be useful? I hate fear. It makes me feel incapable and inadequate. It makes me avoid things and people and experiences. It makes me not want to do things I really want to do."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes. Fear does wreak havoc on inspiration and aspiration. It does creep in and undermine what you are trying to become. It unlaces your sense of well being, so you find yourself tripping all over something you thought you were comfortable with. Oh yes, Fear is the Great Inhibitor. But have you ever wondered where it comes from? This horrifying preoccupation with all the dark outcomes of our ambition?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, and just for clarification's sake, I am not talking about the kind of fear you feel when you are in a dangerous situation. Fear that you are going to be trapped in a landslid is a survival mechanism that needs to be obeyed. If you feel like you are actually unsafe, get the heck out of there! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now before we get into all the feelings, we need to talk about something else. This is where things get a little tricky. To follow this part, it helps if you believe that there really are good and bad forces playing out somehow in the world. Since we cannot see these powers directly, only their influence, it safe to assume that they are functioning in some other realm or dimension or whatever. It must take a lot of energy to influence us here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I want you to remember the last time you were preparing to do something your soul wanted, like choosing a college or a profession or a spouse. Or even just making the decision to make a positive change or add something you really love to your life. Do you remember being pounded with doubts and fears about that thing? Did you have a massive amount of backlash emotionally about your hoped-for choice?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About 10 years ago, I really wanted to learn to belly dance. I had to fight off so much fear! As I was driving to the first class...the most basic class they offered at the studio...I was crying because I was so afraid that all the other people in the class would be 23 yr old hard bodies. And that they would look at my 38 yr old post pardem body and make me feel horrible about myself. I had to listen to "Are We Humans or Are We Dancers?" by the Killers on repeat the whole way there to ward off a panic attack. It was crazy. I am a super positive, not easily intimidated, self assured person and I was <i>terrified</i> to walk into that class by the time I got there. Those feelings were intense. And not of me. They must have cost an enormous amount of energy from somewhere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the kind of experience I am talking about. You deal with it regularly when you are an artist, which is why I brought it up with my new friend. But it haunts all of us. It is a huge part of the human condition, this intense, debilitating fear and self doubt showing up as we make the choices that will light our souls and determine who we become. And all that energy and influence is coming from somewhere. It costs someone (or something) handsomely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if these feelings or fear and inadequacy are darkness trying to prevent you from achieving all the good things, (growth, peace, service, wonder, delight, freedom, knowledge, love, etc) and if these fearful feelings intensify the closer you get to walking the path you most want to be on, doesn't it make you wonder why darkness is trying so hard? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Darkness is working so hard, because you being happy and fulfilled is the opposite of what it wants! It wants you to fail, to miss opportunities to become more, to always believe that you are not capable or talented or lovable. Darkness cultivates despair. It is truly the opposite of joy and light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what do you do when these intense feelings start to pound you? You simply turn the tables and use the power of darkness against itself. Turn the fear on its head by recognizing that something nasty thinks that this would be a great experience for you and is expending enormous amounts of energy to prevent it from happening. Look at your fears, this obscuring of what you want, as a giant arrow pointing in the exact direction you should run in. <i><b><u>RUN! Not walk, run!</u></b> </i>If fear wants you to stop, then you should push with everything you have straight towards whatever all this negative energy is trying to obscure. And then hold on for all you're worth. Both to your positive mindset and your desired objective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fear does not stop just because you made one decision. Fear stays there, lingering in the shadows, hoping you'll embrace it again. It waits for the day you are tired or sad. Darkness never gives up. It must become a habit to push through it. You must keep doing the thing you love, creating a meaningful life, fighting against these dark thoughts and feelings. Over and over and over again. If you cave to the fear one day, get some sleep and pound against it the next time. It never takes less effort, but gradually, you get better at seeing through the fear to what you love. The more times you push through the fear, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">the more times you use use that "arrow," the less terrifying it becomes. Refuse to let fear make your choices and determine your destiny. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5HFxW4gHpx08sc7dCPV09nCiUGmLknAcQFK4Lc0tqgVHr7_mS-87BIJpyFpuSuyKdYljKTwo6l7QuUEcqjn5W44ysuCUBReObGZ0fhK5SwKTzdtKTxrkfjzVRBIrLPMMGktDvMlO1CML/s1600/DSCN9850+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5HFxW4gHpx08sc7dCPV09nCiUGmLknAcQFK4Lc0tqgVHr7_mS-87BIJpyFpuSuyKdYljKTwo6l7QuUEcqjn5W44ysuCUBReObGZ0fhK5SwKTzdtKTxrkfjzVRBIrLPMMGktDvMlO1CML/s640/DSCN9850+bright.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And one day Fear will come at you with it's worst, and you won't be afraid. You will walk straight towards it with no hesitation, brushing it aside like a curtain across a doorway. And as you cross that threshold, you might even discover a strange sense of gratitude that Fear made the best path to follow so much easier to see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And that, my friend, is a powerful way to live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-60739490743336431002018-11-16T10:56:00.000-08:002018-11-16T10:56:54.300-08:00Art and Nature in Colored Pencil<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So this week, I started yet another art adventure. I signed up for a class online through JeanneOliver.com . The one I am taking is called "Art and Nature in Colored Pencil" and it is taught by Kelly Hoernig. So far I am pretty impressed. There is an interactive Facebook board for the students to post what they are working on for critic, instructor input, etc. It is such an easy to use interface. And I love having a built in excuse to go walking to look for leaves and then to be able to justify spend the next two hours drawing them. I started with this still life, before I read any of the directions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My youngest added the feather after I finished drawing for the day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is my version of this vignette:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdKqw9NuzSXGZtt0oVNW4vQNr-GdR9xm5GaWNW_gMggr0oPfa_qPlsiDPn7hIMkjlhgKGSfl5-C5robA6w_5T-KTBzOhZY7i31XqcQu3twQDd9H1hjulX3lUzKBSaoDNMqH2KPInsMdsr/s1600/DSCN0174+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdKqw9NuzSXGZtt0oVNW4vQNr-GdR9xm5GaWNW_gMggr0oPfa_qPlsiDPn7hIMkjlhgKGSfl5-C5robA6w_5T-KTBzOhZY7i31XqcQu3twQDd9H1hjulX3lUzKBSaoDNMqH2KPInsMdsr/s640/DSCN0174+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love the clam shell. I am on the fence about the marbles. I like the veining on the leaf a lot. I hate the shadows and the key. But I figure, it's not too bad considering I hadn't used these pencils before, I had no direction, and I hadn't drawn photo-realism in 5 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So after this point, the course directions opened and I actually watched the video tutorials provided by the instructor. She encourages a layered approach, letting soft layers of color build up. Very funny, if you know me. I go all bold all the time. So I suppose I will learn a lot. Here is attempt #1 at subtle color layering. The leaf was lighter colored when it was fresh. I promise I am not that lame.:<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDgCW0hyphenhyphenIUwUN7jiEzbtKgqZinGVjYxR6GIfx2ECIdKWL3jE2KDNTx4pJs2eqINZGShRmGFaCnRw2ImtdFNwWCsaLTMD0QWjJOJfcyuiH2BELI7kcY9TvxJ8nMEPQfubg1kjbVNJcvqax/s1600/DSCN9840+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDgCW0hyphenhyphenIUwUN7jiEzbtKgqZinGVjYxR6GIfx2ECIdKWL3jE2KDNTx4pJs2eqINZGShRmGFaCnRw2ImtdFNwWCsaLTMD0QWjJOJfcyuiH2BELI7kcY9TvxJ8nMEPQfubg1kjbVNJcvqax/s640/DSCN9840+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a better view. Sorry about the weird angle.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4HkeHkhdvmRtLK9Vi3KbfvWgswim1ii9iHedErJ-323B1CSl5At4-JNAPNNjS07WXWoZVbhzBV9NiZZwTijxzVE9UQdPQZTS5hSk3fj80LJPecOejuB7c5o92Ecfn5KMsen2_9uIu2d1/s1600/DSCN9839+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4HkeHkhdvmRtLK9Vi3KbfvWgswim1ii9iHedErJ-323B1CSl5At4-JNAPNNjS07WXWoZVbhzBV9NiZZwTijxzVE9UQdPQZTS5hSk3fj80LJPecOejuB7c5o92Ecfn5KMsen2_9uIu2d1/s640/DSCN9839+bright.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love how the shadows play such a subtle but powerful role in the whole piece. For some reason, it has never occurred to me to pay attention to shadows before. I was also pretty happy with the color layering. I wish I could figure out how to make the color a little more intense. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our next lesson asked us to add an artistic implement to our leaf composition. The hard texture was harder for me to render, for some reason:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdx_YRwJBtfyyhsxQT6Xz-FpokEmpDMypvUdai0kaptE_dNhQicACZ39bqY_IRCb2a985djGGszVkj8dzC-BidlDgjpb_dEOb2bE4IcqEJb8K3uqPhyphenhyphenMCoQn0du4z3qFEtYg5khMXEdRG/s1600/DSCN9835+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdx_YRwJBtfyyhsxQT6Xz-FpokEmpDMypvUdai0kaptE_dNhQicACZ39bqY_IRCb2a985djGGszVkj8dzC-BidlDgjpb_dEOb2bE4IcqEJb8K3uqPhyphenhyphenMCoQn0du4z3qFEtYg5khMXEdRG/s640/DSCN9835+bright.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zLy4PtF9iKsDBwqCa4VyTVBePgsankSNAkT2aKh3T_WW0H2h-zEeFjEBzit3JsnzWOVaof9K4eWJwr0-6E2SdckTsMBGsLQlQQVpN9r1Nuz_fSmgBYdB4L18FO6gvja1Rl3v1zjVr2rc/s1600/DSCN9836+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zLy4PtF9iKsDBwqCa4VyTVBePgsankSNAkT2aKh3T_WW0H2h-zEeFjEBzit3JsnzWOVaof9K4eWJwr0-6E2SdckTsMBGsLQlQQVpN9r1Nuz_fSmgBYdB4L18FO6gvja1Rl3v1zjVr2rc/s640/DSCN9836+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0476cdjjhP7bHUByb0Ztd97E0Mp5uBDEItuHbY9Afc_SORotRF42kDmdv0IyiNnDaH_908YCtnRYrpanlgqMFCqDQxqY2Gf-a_IqSHXjxc5jZIDT-S0DKBaHmKhIi4BE-iy_UM1zFPIt/s1600/DSCN9837+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0476cdjjhP7bHUByb0Ztd97E0Mp5uBDEItuHbY9Afc_SORotRF42kDmdv0IyiNnDaH_908YCtnRYrpanlgqMFCqDQxqY2Gf-a_IqSHXjxc5jZIDT-S0DKBaHmKhIi4BE-iy_UM1zFPIt/s640/DSCN9837+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am pretty happy with the results. But things are still a bit paler than I am comfortable with. And I need to spend a bit more time drawing smooth, hard shiny things. I think using a straight edge to draw my pencil sides may also be a major improvement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, that's what I've been doing artistically this week. What are you all up to? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking any classes or learning any new mediums?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-69995551898266048632018-10-25T08:29:00.000-07:002018-10-25T08:29:28.151-07:00A Return to Fine Art<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a bit of a confession to make. I have been sneaking around a bit behind your backs. I promise it was totally unintentional, but it happened nonetheless. I have been making art and not sharing it with you all. I know, I know. I wanted to share it, I swear! But there was just no time during the 2017-2018 school year. I was psyched that I could squeeze in time to create at all. And shooting pictures and writing blog posts actually takes quite a bit of time. Especially if you are as anal as I can be. Sigh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any case, I have decided to "come clean" and share with you all the things I have been doing to keep my creative soul alive. (Besides getting all the crap out of my studio and paint other people's cabinets. Those don't count.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In February this year, I had a bit of a meltdown. I had been telling myself for the last 4 years that I would go back to art once the house was done. When I started this conversation with myself, I thought all the projects I had in mind would take 6 mos. Haaahhaaahahahaa!!! So naive and optimistic...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 years later, much further along, but not done yet, I kinda flipped out. I called a friend who has known me for a long time and cried on the phone until she asked, "Well is there something arty you could do now? Maybe something small and not too involved?" and this made me think for a sec. I remembered a thought I been kicking around in my Morning Pages recently. I wanted to copy Miss Mustard Seed's idea of painting 100 meadows. But I wanted to draw, not paint. And I had been trying to think of what I would be interested enough to do 100 studies of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remembered when I used to draw as a child, I would always draw horses. And while I had looked at anatomical sketches of horses now and again, there were many details in my horses that could use a lot of work. So I got off the phone, pulled out my sadly abandoned sketchbook, and started drawing. I drew for an hour, from 2-3pm 5 days a week, from February until June. And then life took over again. But I got through 20 studies, most based off photos, so I could work on my realism. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a few of the better ones, I think they are in chronological order:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are all on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cmshawstudios/">Instagram</a>, if you want to read my thoughts about the experience and ideas I gained from each piece. And I think I have most of the inspiration pictures plus the sketches <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/fruitbatmax/100-horses-and-their-inspirations/">here</a> on Pinterest. (I just looked and it seems that my baby has been adding a few things as well. She shares my account. The squirrel "dancing to Thriller" comes to mind) It was so cool how much I learned. I have every intention of going back and finishing out the remaining 80 horses, but I may switch mediums to do it. And I may draw the same horse several times, because I have two bigger finished pieces I want to do, a large painting and a light-on-dark pastel, both working from other inspiration pieces I have been meaning to get to for years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since returning home from my adventures this summer, I haven't gone back to drawing horses, but I have started another project I have wanted to do for many years. One perk of having DK work for Congress is a free parking spot downtown, a block from the National Mall. And one perk of having your oldest child go to college is a bunch of free time and mental space. So I have been going to the National Gallery of Art every Wednesday and doing Master's Studies. I mostly do compositional studies in 3 weights of graphite, but this week I started a color study using colored pencil as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And since I am a complete novice at this, I looked up "How to do Master's Studies" on Google and found this really great 2 hr. video tutorial by Noah Bradly. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfF-P70V2Q">Here is the link</a>. (I watched the video in early September, but didn't think to question my source until I looked him up yesterday. Apparently the guy is this major fantasy artist for Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering. He doesn't come across in the tutorial as a fantasy artist at all. I was actually kinda shocked.) It was the perfect thing to get me started. But it is <i>really</i> long. I actually watched the first hour on compositional studies, then went back weeks later to watch the rest on color studies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has completely blown my mind how much I have learned by doing this. It's like I start to draw and then I see things that make me feel like the artist is whispering things into my ear. Tricks he played on his patron. Statements he wanted to make, but couldn't be open about. Secrets he left to see if anyone was really paying attention. It is freaking magical. Every week I walk out full of wonder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few of my studies and links to the inspiration pieces. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week 1: <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46590.html">"The Sacrament of the Last Supper" by Salvador Dali</a> and <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.159645.html">"Entablature" by Roy Lichtenstein</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week 3: <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.129865.html">"Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still Upon Gibeon" by John Martin</a></span></div>
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Week 4: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.576.html">"The Maas at Dordrect" by Aelbert Cuyp</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week 6: <a href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.43723.html">Christ Cleansing The Temple" by El Greco</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week 8: <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/72409506485277980/">"Woman With a Large Toque and Mandolin" by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Sorry, this one is to a Pinterest link, because the other options were so annoying)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want my insights, you're gonna have to email me or ping me below or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cm.shaw.5">Facebook</a> with questions about a specific piece, because each week I go down there is just super loaded with info. And there is just too much to share all of it with you in this one post. Maybe I will talk about it in posts to come, but frankly, I feel like each week tells me what that weeks' post is supposed to be about and I just do that. At this point, I am just really happy to be able to post weekly again. I missed it so badly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, sorry I didn't tell you before, But now you know. Plus, it gave me something totally different to talk about today than basements and missionaries and church and being nice. So yay for that too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you guys have any happy secrets in your back pocket? You can tell me in the comments below. I'd love to hear how you are keeping your creative soul alive in spite of all the commotion of life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-26308107389434779712018-10-18T13:19:00.000-07:002018-10-18T13:38:07.392-07:00How To Overcome Your Own Judgments<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I want to play a little game. Pretend for a moment that you and I are neighbors. Now pretend that a new family just moved into the neighborhood and I am describing one of our new neighbors. Apparently he speaks fluent Spanish, loves the "Dark Knight" Batman movies, thinks Tom Hardy is the greatest actor ever, loves rice, dislikes classical music and isn't a fan of dogs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Poor Harper.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5D_8m2lyH6MM4TG2UE0RRE7AhZkFSWD0cy9osfUVvAzVYHCVq4id7cMunqq1qCDxHFiAYR0m_dW8GpETlJotnovlh-YmkANK3KfGfxNtodaOfW3AbPYfAe5WlXR7Ez-8aMUqyImB66zr/s1600/Harper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1600" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5D_8m2lyH6MM4TG2UE0RRE7AhZkFSWD0cy9osfUVvAzVYHCVq4id7cMunqq1qCDxHFiAYR0m_dW8GpETlJotnovlh-YmkANK3KfGfxNtodaOfW3AbPYfAe5WlXR7Ez-8aMUqyImB66zr/s640/Harper.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you have an image in your head of what he looks like? How he dresses? What he talks about? Do you want to get to know him?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What if I told you he also likes to run and is quite good at tennis. And that he was on the Ultimate Frisbee team at his high school. Does he look the same in your mind? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Picture him. I promise there is a point to this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What if I added that he graduated from the hardest public high school in the country last year and started </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">as a Junior </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">at a really good college due to the amount of AP credits he rocked? We are talking 5's in everything. And then I told you that he's already been accepted to a top tier medical school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does that change the way he looks in your mind? Or the way you think about him? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Picture him again. What does he look like? Is it different than before? How different? Just a little? Completely? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Do you want to be his friend more before or after I told you how smart and successful he is? Does med school make him more or less attractive?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And what if I continued by sharing that I have known him for 4 years and each year he has grown kinder and wiser? Especially during a period in life when most people become more selfish and short sighted. Does that change who you expect him to be? How he looks?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would you like to see a picture of our "new neighbor"?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does he look like you expected? Is he the age you expected? The ethnicity you thought? Can you see the qualities I described in him? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of them are actually true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Were you surprised? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Were you expecting someone Indian? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did your mental picture of the person I was talking about shift as I added different details? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why do think this happens?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The answer is simple. We all judge people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Shocking, I know!</i> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used the "J" word! Gasp! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For shame, right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually, judgement is hardwired into us. You can't help it. When you see something, anything, your brain brings forward previous experiences with that kind of thing. It shows you things you've read and heard and seen. Judging the people and circumstances around us helps us adapt to our world. I am sure there are a bunch of studies out there showing some primal connection between survival and judging the things in our environment. As humans, we can't help it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's why it is ridiculous to expect people to <u>not</u> judge each other. It's inevitable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What we need to do instead, is to realize that we <u>will</u> judge, and then teach ourselves to pull that judgement back, take in more current information, and then reevaluate our opinion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does that sound like a lot of work? Well, I'll be honest with you. At first it takes some effort. But keep reading if you want to learn how to do it. With a little practice, you can get really fast. And what do you get for your effort? I can't answer exactly for you, because I don't know your life, where you live, who you interact with, etc. But learning how to retract my own judgment has given me a ton of new friendships, and deeper friendships than I could have had before I started doing it. It has brought me more peace, as I learned to read the people around me, rather than relying on the "stock" information my brain provided. This helps me to relax and feel more comfortable with people who aren't "like me." It has made me curious instead of afraid. It has made me less fearful and more open. And that alone, I think, is worth the effort in this age of fear and distrust.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So...after all that talking, we're going to practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can feel your enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Come on! It's more like a game, than a tooth extraction,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I promise</i>. Just try it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I'm going to show you two more pictures. I want you to look at each picture and pay attention to the thoughts your brain hands you about each person. You can take a second and go get a paper to write down your thoughts, if you want. Or not. We'll wait. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, everybody ready? Here's the first picture.: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLPdFoXhGEAXBw45vjrx0KLE0Sa-1JZxhpblsAILEcPBEqlrTRyhZP3DRaI6UuLG9RfLKlDXVS3FrqiUlQwqM7CDVS1dMzxkORt06rvYIWlyDJf49y0yYOFo23I8Jw36hCW8rkpPub8HN/s1600/John.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1348" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLPdFoXhGEAXBw45vjrx0KLE0Sa-1JZxhpblsAILEcPBEqlrTRyhZP3DRaI6UuLG9RfLKlDXVS3FrqiUlQwqM7CDVS1dMzxkORt06rvYIWlyDJf49y0yYOFo23I8Jw36hCW8rkpPub8HN/s640/John.jpg" width="594" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are your first thoughts as you look at this picture? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is his temperament?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is he like someone you know? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would you feel comfortable sitting next to him on an airplane...or would you talk to him, if you are like me and actually enjoy talking to the people who sit next to you? (Yes, I am totally <i>that </i>girl.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does his age affect whether or not you would talk to him?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Could you be friends with this person?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would you want him to be your neighbor? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, what did you think? Were you surprised by any of your thoughts or answers? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those thoughts were your brain judging this man. All of your thoughts about him (unless you know him personally) were from your past experience, bias, education, media exposure and assumptions coming forward from the data banks of your brain. You have no way of determining if any of it is fact or fiction. Which is fine, actually. The important thing is to practice recognizing that these kinds of thoughts always show up. They are especially binding and powerful during a first impression.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In truth, he is a stranger. You have never met him. You know nothing about him or what he is like. And what you do think you know, could be completely inaccurate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, let's try it again. Look at him again. But this time, ignore your judgement opinions and just look at him until all those things are gone, and all you see is a person in front of you.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDzcfK4fGeqS0x-9uNy4Sqo3e7cwWVRJ-6eFr93zu72PYUTWQ5dGio8ThBSOGN8kfzc94gokVj_BaXV9wGU4zYaythOct6cQNFZdvtdtWK4XiEgzrzXqDWN92zNArETrOEKx2xfms1Clq/s1600/John.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1348" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDzcfK4fGeqS0x-9uNy4Sqo3e7cwWVRJ-6eFr93zu72PYUTWQ5dGio8ThBSOGN8kfzc94gokVj_BaXV9wGU4zYaythOct6cQNFZdvtdtWK4XiEgzrzXqDWN92zNArETrOEKx2xfms1Clq/s640/John.jpg" width="594" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look until you don't see a white man, or an old man, or a nice man. Look until you see just a man. This might take a sec. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ok, now you are ready to let <i>HIM</i> tell you who he is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well you would be if we were on the street somewhere or at school or my house or something. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually, I am going to tell you who he is, in a sec, because I know him and you don't. But when you meet someone new, or talk to someone you don't know very well, it's important to hold back your thoughts until <i>THEY</i> give you a context to work in. Assume you like them or that you have something in common with them until they prove you wrong. Assume they are interesting and that they are a good person, regardless of what they look like or what they are wearing, until they say or do something that conflicts with that. And you might even consider giving them the benefit of the doubt more than once, because I am a much different person when I get up than I am later in the day. Most people like me much better after 9 am. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you always start with the assumption that the person you are interacting with or sharing space with is a good person, you will be right most of the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(There are, sadly, always exceptions to this, so if you are worried that someone may hurt you, then trust that. I am not talking about laughing in the face of danger, here. Rather, I am suggesting you step out of your comfort zone. But if you seriously think that white van may pull over and kidnap you, then run away, please! Quickly!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, so here's the skinny on the man in the above picture:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He's 76 this year. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He had a stroke in January.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is still a practicing doctor with a specialty in Radiation Oncology. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He paid for medical school partly by working summers as a wilderness ranger on horseback in the Grand Tetons and partly by selling Fuller brushes door to door.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He pays for the groceries of the person behind him in the check out line. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He "collects" sleeping bags. At one time, he had about 30. Seriously. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has major issues with authority. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is the only person in his neighborhood with a golf cart sporting seat belts. (This has to do with the the trait above. It's a great story. Ask me sometime.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is loud. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He will buy your drink at 7-11 any day and is on a first name basis with most of the cashiers at most of the Circle-K's and 7-11s in the city he lives in because he drinks so much soda. And because he likes people. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is insanely organized. Insanely. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is fun.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is impatient.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He can fix just about anything.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He can be rude and overbearing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He talks as much as I do.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He needs a hearing aid, but doesn't like to wear his.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has been everywhere. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He loves the Hallmark Channel. I am not lying about this.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He is my dad. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK that was fun. Let's try it again. Here's another picture. And yes, this one is a new picture. Now remember, let your ideas about this person come forward. OK, Go!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJXSTxKr52S7tPPdgT_V5SzDwgQHFLx4_oa2BoLrAcfbRzdtNfTTT6AR2QX85gGVWx-Nk8sv6Wk85uQoLPlXAnpmyvqrEokdfV1sQZuI_Y8cjXhpOi_ZK3WlKl-PoyBoWFKRh2Z5JzP-e/s1600/Melissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="1600" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJXSTxKr52S7tPPdgT_V5SzDwgQHFLx4_oa2BoLrAcfbRzdtNfTTT6AR2QX85gGVWx-Nk8sv6Wk85uQoLPlXAnpmyvqrEokdfV1sQZuI_Y8cjXhpOi_ZK3WlKl-PoyBoWFKRh2Z5JzP-e/s640/Melissa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is your first impression? And remember to be honest here. It's ok. This is practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Who is she? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What is she like? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you want to sit next to her on a plane? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you want to be her neighbor?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you want to be her friend?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once again, your answers will be massively affected by your previous experience, other people you have known, things you've read and seen on TV and online, for good or ill. Get them all to the front. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, now forget them all and look again, until you see a person, a young woman:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO36huPU3VGASIdNQI9Uy8NLNJA7GizyYTcIyW3_OzrIlrgI_8b5f2EhCvg8g6HJ3_mzn6nqSfkYij_TKDfAXkEto5Dwbw8QMVNp0xc5eoyeZttG-jRSM0N-_yRg8timA4UmEbsU1Gk1CW/s1600/Melissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="1600" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO36huPU3VGASIdNQI9Uy8NLNJA7GizyYTcIyW3_OzrIlrgI_8b5f2EhCvg8g6HJ3_mzn6nqSfkYij_TKDfAXkEto5Dwbw8QMVNp0xc5eoyeZttG-jRSM0N-_yRg8timA4UmEbsU1Gk1CW/s640/Melissa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once again, she is a stranger. You have never met her. You have no idea what she's like. Get yourself to a place where you are curious what she will reveal about herself, if she were to start talking to you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are you there? Shall I tell you about my cute friend? Actually, she and her mother came up with a list of things they wanted you all to know about her.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She directs the music at the beginning and ending of our church women's meeting.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She keeps her room tidy, because she prefers it that way.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She takes fashion very seriously.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She sets her outfit for the next day out every night before she goes to bed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She helps her mother run an in-home daycare.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is almost always happy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She loves to color in adult coloring books.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She sees the good in everything.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She loves movies and older TV shows like "I Love Lucy", "Facts of Life", "Brady Bunch", and "the Golden Girls".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She can be stubborn. Especially regarding her Diet Coke. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is a very loyal friend.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She graduated from one of the larger, more rigorous high schools in the area. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is 33 yrs old. Apparently she's found the Fountain of Youth. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She has played baseball for 27 yrs and is currently on a young adult team.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is very organized. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She loves to dance to oldies as well as the latest popular music.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is deeply devoted to her faith and loves to see her "Church Family" each Sunday.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So do you guys think you can go and do this on your own? Can you recognize your own judgments, and then tell them to chill out, until the person you are dealing with has given you a little more info? I am totally sure you can do this. You just have to remember to think about it. And who knows? Maybe your new best friend will wind up being someone you didn't even know you could like! That would be the coolest, right? I would love to hear any experiences you have from trying this in real life. So please feel free to share in the comments below. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well that's certainly more than enough for now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks for wading through all that with me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-69553827957630607312018-10-14T13:39:00.000-07:002018-10-14T13:39:19.866-07:00The Purpose of Organized Religion-at least for me<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This last week was very church-y for me. This was for a variety of reasons, involving my recent assignment to be the ward (congregation) choir director, my kids getting old enough to ask me hard questions about our faith, and it being one of the two General Conferences my church holds annually. For those who don't know a lot about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), we get to stay home and watch church on TV twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. I highly recommend watching church in PJ's in your living room, if you can find a way to make it meaningful and keep yourself from getting <i>too</i> comfy and falling asleep. Anyway, there are five 2 hr sessions over the course of one weekend, during which various Church leaders each talk about a Gospel subject of their choice. It is wonderful, but that is one big mental and spiritual download, Whew! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So with all that going on, I found myself thinking about church a lot this week. Not so much church, as in "the teachings about God through the scriptures", but rather the physical and practical church...Sunday School and Mass and Youth Groups...the human/"going to the chapel" side of Church. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of my kids recently asked me, "Mom, if I can connect with God when I pray, and I try to be a good person everyday, why do I have to go to church?" I have been asking myself and thinking about this question for the better part of my life. Over time, I gradually gained a variety of insights and experiences that felt like an answer and have just moved forward and kept attending with those things in mind. But this week, I got An Answer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, before all of you check out because this is a "church post" (which it is, and please feel free to bail if you are so inclined.), understand that I try to write in a way that appeals, or is at least accessible to anyone who believes in a positive force in the Universe. So while these thoughts are couched in my faith, you might keep reading and see if they can help your own journey to find the Goodness in this life. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKX-PKwOhTuiuP06vHWCDlB0jo6GkJ2k5Ul1ctCVbcJAWnqetsxUlAWjj5tQ2VCElUZCZrbnA4mAdO4th6DJW22SLtTxmY36f-dfz9__IFT1v7cVxgL2Qt2bzcvaefxrk9mpVZ-K_S6Aa/s1600/IMG_6678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKX-PKwOhTuiuP06vHWCDlB0jo6GkJ2k5Ul1ctCVbcJAWnqetsxUlAWjj5tQ2VCElUZCZrbnA4mAdO4th6DJW22SLtTxmY36f-dfz9__IFT1v7cVxgL2Qt2bzcvaefxrk9mpVZ-K_S6Aa/s640/IMG_6678.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My Answer happened while I was sitting in a chair staring at the wall, petting my dog and not writing in the journal open in my lap. I started thinking, "Why would God council us all to go to church? What could His purpose there be?" And I tried to imagine what Church would be like without all our human stupidity coming into play, imagining what purpose an infinitely wise and kind God would have in giving that instruction to gather and worship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I say "my Answer happened" what I mean is one second I was asking the question, without having a clue what the answer was, and the next second I had a full, rich understanding deep in my soul of the answer, like I had known and tested this new information so thoroughly there was no point in thinking anything else. It was just wisdom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God simply started by reminding me of the conversation between Christ and one of the many learned community leaders, where the man asks Jesus, "Master, which is the great commandment in the Law</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (referring to the entire Torah)" Christ answers, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."</span> (Matthew 22:35-40)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These two ideas are supposed to be the absolute center of a Christian's life, to love God and love our fellow man. "Great!" I thought. "But what does that have to do with church?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This question is exactly why we all have the opinion we do about organized religion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">God patiently continued by showing me that His intention is for a person to gather with other people who believe the same things about God. The point being to share the insights and experiences and enlightenment they have found in an effort to help give each other comfort, hope, and clarity. This group provides the potential to become friends and the opportunity to serve. It builds a community of people who will challenge each other and help each other and guide each other and push each other. Love your God. Love your fellow man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was completely stupefied by the beauty and simplicity of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">this power of this idea</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the accessibility of it. By the wisdom of it. By the hope and compassion and humanity it opened my mind to. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just sat and felt the elegance and truth of it coursing through me for several minutes.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> And I'll be honest, I was a lot humbled by it. I have gone to Church almost every week of my </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>entire</b></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> life, and this had never even occurred to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I look, I can see these two ideas, "Love god, Love your fellow man", woven into the seams and bricks of all the major religions I am familiar with. But I think it gets obscured by the "Thou shalts" and "Thou shalt nots" that are so much easier to measure. It gets lost in our self doubt and our fears and our bad experiences. It is forgotten in our boredom, and our selfishness, and our haste to get on with things. It gets lost in shocking news stories of egregious behavior of religious leaders in this time and ages past. It gets lost in the cries of anger and pain as we forget that we are human, in our animal moments. But it is there, just the same. Waiting in the sun to be seen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think there are many who <i>do</i> understand this connection between church worship and the Two Great Commandments. And I rejoice that I am <i>finally</i> among their ranks. I have always tried to look for the person sitting alone in a pew, because when I was younger, it was often me alone. I often share my spiritual ideas and experiences, because I enjoy sharing with others and because I have a hard time keeping my ideas to myself. But somehow, the fact that doing these things<u> <i>is the point</i></u> makes it all so much more meaningful. Church becomes the place where it is easy to like our Savior. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is so lovely to think of a community of people acting and speaking with an eye toward the well being of each other. Oh wait. Isn't that how heaven is described? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I bet, with a ton of mindfulness, we could do it here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Love your God, Love you neighbor. </span></div>
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Maybe that's what I will start praying for next. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-67579150229104689772018-10-05T11:44:00.003-07:002018-10-05T11:44:38.869-07:00Digging Out the Studio Week 11ish: Last Week With the Sisters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If I remember correctly, this week started with a panic attack. Most of which had nothing to do with the basement and everything to do with me leaving town for 3 weeks on 3 different trips, all of which had to be planned and finalized by me. I am sure that several of you are aces when it comes to travel logistics when you are going to Hawaii for a week with just your husband, then coming home for 3 days, then driving your college student across the country, and then driving back across the country a different way with your girlfriend, ultimately arriving home the day before school starts. But I am not great at that kind of things. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, it made me cry. So much so, that I called one of my best friends for back up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is married to a former army colonel, and moved about a billion times in her younger life. She is a pro at dealing with "stuff" when you are up against a deadline. She gave me some of the most practical advice I have ever gotten in my life. "Accept that you are leaving and this project is over for now. Put post-it notes on everything so you remember what you were doing with it and put it away. And for heaven's sake! Quit feeling sorry for yourself. You are running away to Hawaii for a week!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I dried my tears, got out my Post-its, and started making decisions. I "post-it'd" every single pile or item sitting on my tables. It took an entire afternoon, and I was wiped out when I was done, but I did feel better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can see a few of my post its here and there. By the time I was done, there were little yellow papers everywhere.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgC5dB8w-vWEM0FeyLQvmpORur2VUYbmxGbUl5fullqPnZECEaXKhT3bL3MeaYlcaIfwcV1wH25JHWO2m3DZstD0RgjztUVDLO9Z4Eg1pLYlw4euKBEBd7xP_LNlKqb5JBymVeDKDEJkO/s1600/IMG_8872+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgC5dB8w-vWEM0FeyLQvmpORur2VUYbmxGbUl5fullqPnZECEaXKhT3bL3MeaYlcaIfwcV1wH25JHWO2m3DZstD0RgjztUVDLO9Z4Eg1pLYlw4euKBEBd7xP_LNlKqb5JBymVeDKDEJkO/s640/IMG_8872+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJX4xGV5LwrORz3Ua2GmleUSLkZpYHQeyc4lF46-vgt7VU6knG5RKFKb1TpvmnaizFajcS28es1xNUR-JSboQBYdwjXwV70ORLDuj96c7XHBepVeN2W8j7vouSEKLPYbTHrDgowqRYiT-/s1600/IMG_8858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1296" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJX4xGV5LwrORz3Ua2GmleUSLkZpYHQeyc4lF46-vgt7VU6knG5RKFKb1TpvmnaizFajcS28es1xNUR-JSboQBYdwjXwV70ORLDuj96c7XHBepVeN2W8j7vouSEKLPYbTHrDgowqRYiT-/s640/IMG_8858.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Funny thing. By the time the sisters got there that Wednesday, These tables were almost empty. Once the post-it notes were there, I could go downstairs and just start doing whatever the post-it said, without really having to think about it. I could talk on the phone and deal with things. I could watch a movie (sort of) and deal with things. I could come downstairs for 5 minutes and just follow the directions on the post its. It was magic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things remaining on the table was a can of Venetian Plaster that I had used to cover the paneling next to my fireplace. It was partly dried out, but still flexible. Sister Anderson had given it up for dead, but I knew better. Partly dried out is kind of like being "mostly dead." You are still partly alive. Thank you Miracle Max. So I added some water and put it back on the table. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Anderson was fascinated by and completely dubious about this. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnjMHAhceKYltfTxtipyE8mMScYo4leD1sddFLqWlh6K-nt8JHOv3o5j-VtuQYqzXYQG2ZAmPJ-XrT4ICOR-pbjWCsZjwCH9pkoc-kBUTB5-bfN6qLJ1KpOmJAtU6jhkv2zrYWHDn1fZt/s1600/41239087_314867665969049_8101730654510645248_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnjMHAhceKYltfTxtipyE8mMScYo4leD1sddFLqWlh6K-nt8JHOv3o5j-VtuQYqzXYQG2ZAmPJ-XrT4ICOR-pbjWCsZjwCH9pkoc-kBUTB5-bfN6qLJ1KpOmJAtU6jhkv2zrYWHDn1fZt/s640/41239087_314867665969049_8101730654510645248_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After it set for a while, she decided to try stirring it. I let her move the chunks around for a while and then shewed her away. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">About once an hour she went and checked that plaster, to see if it was stir-able yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">She stirred. And waited.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYELnQeznr14Ms07fnqu2ndz0s2isloYT9v75kBmoD1Y-_T8J74HAa-DLGm5oqd2__KzCH_iyYJEgyuJLyngbg6ZDK3C150879nVnbQck1afr-AbRsZkMc6_EH374r8rtNvCLxZ4jOxQ66/s1600/41131402_2202151513384241_4650191121790533632_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYELnQeznr14Ms07fnqu2ndz0s2isloYT9v75kBmoD1Y-_T8J74HAa-DLGm5oqd2__KzCH_iyYJEgyuJLyngbg6ZDK3C150879nVnbQck1afr-AbRsZkMc6_EH374r8rtNvCLxZ4jOxQ66/s640/41131402_2202151513384241_4650191121790533632_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> And she stirred. And waited.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4t-GOvboh5hQJy1D_WPg42fJGosPiZgTNqRAGTGf8_GRchD_mavZ4nTusILrI8i3aKXep4sJQl2Ojr2KXwujpbpa3rfT0bYITS33w-blIJiT2MsR5OggdbuUktoAShvqDgqna6IjzJ2Z/s1600/41177748_248575479137601_4751107726371717120_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4t-GOvboh5hQJy1D_WPg42fJGosPiZgTNqRAGTGf8_GRchD_mavZ4nTusILrI8i3aKXep4sJQl2Ojr2KXwujpbpa3rfT0bYITS33w-blIJiT2MsR5OggdbuUktoAShvqDgqna6IjzJ2Z/s640/41177748_248575479137601_4751107726371717120_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And eventually, it actually became liquid again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So at least there is one happy ending to this story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While Sister Anderson was stirring, Sister Kleven was getting down with my bag of cassette tapes. Her job was to match cassettes to cases and put them all in the nylon carrying case we still have from Al's high school years. See it over there to the right? And yes, just for the record, I <i>was</i> a teenager in the 80's. Cassette tapes, big hair and all. I still miss the big hair and spiral perms, with their accompanying clouds of AquaNet. Good times. Good times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For some reason, this job made Sister Kleven super happy. Apparently she has a nostalgic spot in her heart for cassettes. I suppose this makes sense as I <i>am</i> plenty old enough to be her mother. Sigh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Sister Anderson wasn't stirring, I put her to work dealing with the leftover bags of screws. I think we figured out what to do with them, and then I think I changed my mind. She was very patient, but secretly annoyed at me I think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's the original plan, notice the smile:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's the new plan, notice the lack of looking at me (and the photo bomber in both pics):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next, we tackled the pile of broken down boxes in the playroom. This pile had gotten quite large during the cleaning up process. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love giving 20 somethings sharp tools, don't you? This girl got crazy with the box cutter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And this girl looks cute even when she has to clean up after her companion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once I <strike>pinned her down and wrestled</strike> got the box cutter out of Sister Anderson's hand, we had the space and focus to tackle straightening the misplaced star on the wall. You can read about how the stars got on the wall <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/09/digging-out-studio-week-8-whipping.html">here</a> and <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/09/digging-out-studio-week-5because-i-cant.html">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After much consulting, we all agreed when the "right" location for the star was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMKamMosH5VvY0Txxv51wMa4TxXCriNW2G3PSla-E0mSQ8WeKGgihyphenhyphentlcMJkBmik0N59amv_0ShZA7lRSTxPOSDyIYFAekxP_0j65nACy7CqUaB9rnUczvcp-qf_whn2kMAlrHI0NQ8-f/s1600/41068554_828765457247649_3979203361982382080_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMKamMosH5VvY0Txxv51wMa4TxXCriNW2G3PSla-E0mSQ8WeKGgihyphenhyphentlcMJkBmik0N59amv_0ShZA7lRSTxPOSDyIYFAekxP_0j65nACy7CqUaB9rnUczvcp-qf_whn2kMAlrHI0NQ8-f/s640/41068554_828765457247649_3979203361982382080_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Sisters moved the Command hook. And put the star back up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RuJAwdiyQa0NSt9cFUEGoFAr4yy4hlmXTDmApgx_Y-Em3S0F464DXURgggK4e2x4HBrz5_rn8CJliSsRQKYQAjvcvH_0CFJ7G1P8Lao4pLVg4jY8K33-s385MDAZjy6TFtWFQfEJroy0/s1600/40994699_263210120968986_7944090691729096704_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RuJAwdiyQa0NSt9cFUEGoFAr4yy4hlmXTDmApgx_Y-Em3S0F464DXURgggK4e2x4HBrz5_rn8CJliSsRQKYQAjvcvH_0CFJ7G1P8Lao4pLVg4jY8K33-s385MDAZjy6TFtWFQfEJroy0/s640/40994699_263210120968986_7944090691729096704_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And there was much rejoicing. To be honest, I think the Sisters would have snuck over here in the night and fixed it in the dark, if I hadn't let them do it this time. It was bugging both of them to know it was in the wrong place. #designOCD</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In honor of all of their efforts, my youngest painted Sister Anderson and Sister Kleven each a mini canvas with the first initial of their last name. It was so cute. They were delighted, as she had asked them each what their favorite color was and had used those colors in the composition. Along with the canvases were homemade Warm Fuzzies in coordinating colors. If you haven't even made pom poms at home. You should. It's super fun, if kind of messy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOQ46jS2wIUJnZWcfz0vp-CpUGm-b67UTWllnyPnY1-fkc-6pM7YYoj5j2FLiCfUc8OaqKicF95IRbzUUUlqzdCU5S0LmJM6z8eTdcCQbRJPwCKAxaiHqmy50B5wyP-1DgF1F2gqFXZSv/s1600/41078792_2153397291653994_233980571221491712_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOQ46jS2wIUJnZWcfz0vp-CpUGm-b67UTWllnyPnY1-fkc-6pM7YYoj5j2FLiCfUc8OaqKicF95IRbzUUUlqzdCU5S0LmJM6z8eTdcCQbRJPwCKAxaiHqmy50B5wyP-1DgF1F2gqFXZSv/s640/41078792_2153397291653994_233980571221491712_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, once we got the stars up, it was time to put the basement away until I got home from my many adventures and had time to get back to it. I've been home for over a month now, and it still waits for me, patiently, Post-it directions sitting quietly on their piles. In the mean time, the studio is totally useful. I cut a board for a project on my saw the other day. DK was totally impressed by just how accessible it was. And that man is hard to impress. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See? Even Sister Kleven is giving this job the "finished, at least for now" Thumbs Up. I have no idea what Sister Anderson is thinking. But she looks hungry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvodW4faBf3XdKwOS150v5S1qTMLl1uy_DzVsH4rcmPSPmkBvBkH75CX8_rT26av9hjQQXScWZNtQcGCEyHRgtbyWS2hwPpWR9g9yE2YDV9Vkuk9eSeokeW3bEQmexBgHBCv3XoxM5iD3r/s1600/41183017_2170591533221650_488914153281421312_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvodW4faBf3XdKwOS150v5S1qTMLl1uy_DzVsH4rcmPSPmkBvBkH75CX8_rT26av9hjQQXScWZNtQcGCEyHRgtbyWS2hwPpWR9g9yE2YDV9Vkuk9eSeokeW3bEQmexBgHBCv3XoxM5iD3r/s640/41183017_2170591533221650_488914153281421312_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we all headed upstairs for ice cream.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZF4gxgcqrLp8pL-hk_UxDFXbtir_2Lq22DlH1O5ZKdnWSK0U4cXTTut726b36tngFRe5GHOu8pvepoopIN3XwCBzCua_6XbZ1KZOzLzPHLr9h8T830RBPPAQKhNb1BD4WQbeBVb2Qciwz/s1600/41185021_1900928429996234_6135291848110899200_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZF4gxgcqrLp8pL-hk_UxDFXbtir_2Lq22DlH1O5ZKdnWSK0U4cXTTut726b36tngFRe5GHOu8pvepoopIN3XwCBzCua_6XbZ1KZOzLzPHLr9h8T830RBPPAQKhNb1BD4WQbeBVb2Qciwz/s640/41185021_1900928429996234_6135291848110899200_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the requisite selfie of a job well done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b>Epilogue: </b></u>Since these photos were taken, Sister Anderson had been transferred twice. The first time, she was going to train and brand new companion's VISA for the country she was called to came through, so she went there, instead of coming here. (Sometimes missionaries, like Sister Anderson, get called to countries where they have extended VISA waits. Sister Anderson was called to serve in Turkey. But came here to the Washington DC South Mission to wait out her VISA and still be actively working.) So Sister Anderson became part of another trio with Sister Kleven and a brand new missionary, Sister Young. Sister Anderson was here for one more transfer and then found out her mission has been changed to Bulgaria, once she gets a VISA, due to political unrest in Turkey. She is currently serving in another area of this mission, ironically in the same ward as my cousin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Kleven is still in Burke. She has been here for 10 months now, and she and Sister Young came over for dinner on Monday. Both are doing well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's all I've got for you today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-87008486243559093602018-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:002018-09-27T13:18:25.175-07:00Digging the Studio Out Week 9: Moving Furniture and Building the Saw<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have decided that I am not a reliable source when it comes to numbering my posts from a long series. The photo trail tells me it's week 9, but I already wrote a post <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/07/week-10-whole-hog-day-1.html">about Week 10</a> and these pics are from the same week. In any case, it was a busy week and I got a ton done. So for the sake of me not having to renumber everything, this will be Week 9. And next week we will skip to Week 11. You guys all totally know what I am talking about, right? Me neither.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this was the week I really decided to tackle the deeper mess. My kids were all at camp all day everyday, so I put up my big folding tables and put <i><b>everything</b></i> out on them. It was so cathartic to see it all NOT in my studio. There is something about seeing something in a different location. It changes from "that blob over there" into something you actually see. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A lot of this week was spent organizing this stuff into coherent groupings, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so I could see what I had and figure out where and how to store it.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the end of the week, I had things in decently organized piles. It was so random, you guys. I really do have a little bit of everything. And a whole bunch of stuff that I needed to get rid of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most surprising things was that I had rarely used anything that anyone who was moving had given me. And with all the military families in the area, there are always people moving. And I always think I can make use of stuff. So I take it. I had extra tiles, craft kits, various types of paint, lumber, you name it. Most of it was at least 5 years old, a lot of it closer to 8 or 10 yrs, and I had never even touched it. So much for "perfectly good," right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out it all went. Along with a ton of projects that I don't really want enough to finish. They just aren't "me" or I have changed focus or I never really liked them that much to begin with. I just gave myself permission to keep anything I really wanted to work on and made myself get rid of anything that I didn't want to finish enough to put it on the calendar. And I felt so free after it was gone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was about this point that the Sisters showed up for the week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you guys are wondering, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">yes, Blackberry Ginger Ale is the bomb, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">yes, Sister missionaries do make everything more fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was tired of sorting by they time they got there, so I decided it was time </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to use </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">their muscles and move furniture around in the studio. This is how things started: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a lot of trial and error, we decided to move the plastic shelving across from the saw, to slide the large wooden workbench down as far as possible towards my drawing table, and to move the fluorescent light fixture on a completely different diagonal over the table.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We kept a gap between the table and the wall so I can </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hang stuff to dry on the boards and clips. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the biggest change we made, and the project that kept the Sisters busy </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for the brunt of their time there, came from my garage. My wonderful dad had bought me a stand for my miter saw last Christmas. It was still in its box, taking up valuable parking space. We decided <i>It Was Time</i>. (7 months in the garage is actually pretty fast for me. <i>Sigh</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing we had to do was get it into the house and down the steps: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think we only slipped once. And Sister Kleven was being supportive and filmed the whole thing, being careful to laugh into her elbow so we couldn't hear her. That stand was so much heavier than I thought it would be! Sheesh! But Sister Anderson was a champ, carrying the load from the bottom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got it in the studio and they started unpacking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They found the directions at the very end, because, of course</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I opened the box upside down.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZJR6wxT6IkNG6ZCPnoE4ZKJzMi3Vptf9eAWCZ6feRNDBYRDy20LvBabkqSsYysC18DSKRM6WEbNw8w6YLgNFU-7GOsRR61LZ8DWOnpIlE-Q4nBNeG8ulYuOUvsiwapQYQHpCFJDzCpqp/s1600/IMG_8887+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZJR6wxT6IkNG6ZCPnoE4ZKJzMi3Vptf9eAWCZ6feRNDBYRDy20LvBabkqSsYysC18DSKRM6WEbNw8w6YLgNFU-7GOsRR61LZ8DWOnpIlE-Q4nBNeG8ulYuOUvsiwapQYQHpCFJDzCpqp/s640/IMG_8887+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made them check to be sure we had all the pieces before they started. It took a while, but I have gotten in the middle of a building project too many times, and not had all the piece I need to finish. So maddening!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was trickier than we thought, but little by little, the stand came together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is the finished product:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66BF-lCASrhqXwuxNGbvn4AO6YFqS2RQy66Ecs5iDigYc6HEPOytb3K3aSBkLsK6JdRjFj-0GqW6IjoGC1UQ2iVS_PCWnQ81yNZl2V443aKS_6Kc5v-KOZUmNeEdtk7ftAsIlEv3nr5y8/s1600/IMG_8889+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66BF-lCASrhqXwuxNGbvn4AO6YFqS2RQy66Ecs5iDigYc6HEPOytb3K3aSBkLsK6JdRjFj-0GqW6IjoGC1UQ2iVS_PCWnQ81yNZl2V443aKS_6Kc5v-KOZUmNeEdtk7ftAsIlEv3nr5y8/s640/IMG_8889+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>My precious!</i> I love this so much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My saw is so much easier to use in the middle of the room on the stand. Before, the poor thing was useless, squashed into the corner. Can you even find it here? Tell me how I was going to cut anything like that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdchc_9DO_KFDi8wDI6MFF9iLwWCuafOQuOWbe3RKc4syEcVmv_GWk-L9Vdawm7SMsypusmO6ki2P692oPrHMfIVMPd908SBhQB5HAsirRD0sfA_kaYcBF1YdZegU8dHpb93IyEyTJqalb/s1600/IMG_8863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdchc_9DO_KFDi8wDI6MFF9iLwWCuafOQuOWbe3RKc4syEcVmv_GWk-L9Vdawm7SMsypusmO6ki2P692oPrHMfIVMPd908SBhQB5HAsirRD0sfA_kaYcBF1YdZegU8dHpb93IyEyTJqalb/s640/IMG_8863.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sisters had to go at this point. But <i>I</i> still had two kid free days. So I kept working.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvdZQzDEgclsd1no9I8BffoLkBuBLQNWr2fLUtc57Wv-gWcWYLWqwm9e6qvxL5tMk03IGnpc3ft3KKigz3seREVEbgw9JrDsMSDEkPFt6lgRNJ24HeG0YjF5Z-19FnmSxJevZa3We1q_w/s1600/IMG_8867+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvdZQzDEgclsd1no9I8BffoLkBuBLQNWr2fLUtc57Wv-gWcWYLWqwm9e6qvxL5tMk03IGnpc3ft3KKigz3seREVEbgw9JrDsMSDEkPFt6lgRNJ24HeG0YjF5Z-19FnmSxJevZa3We1q_w/s640/IMG_8867+bright.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At some point, I realized that this blank wall was a peg board. Duh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I went to WalMart and with the addition of a few hooks and dowels,</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXvkUewJuulEonYmHwP3pjm-F-Yi6DHUsWgYC8YsRsw-MMHab9f614EAohHnkxmtck4JFhZcGKR7WDh7vFzP03zWITWUgkyYqNxWgdECoC8FMrhVEcCNMlvbCBIFoy7rsDB49xl0k2dxr/s1600/IMG_8892+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXvkUewJuulEonYmHwP3pjm-F-Yi6DHUsWgYC8YsRsw-MMHab9f614EAohHnkxmtck4JFhZcGKR7WDh7vFzP03zWITWUgkyYqNxWgdECoC8FMrhVEcCNMlvbCBIFoy7rsDB49xl0k2dxr/s640/IMG_8892+bright.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I turned it into the perfect home for my pretty papers that have been all bagged up for years. I went back for more hooks and added all my maps to the pile. It is one of my favorite parts of this renovation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The peg board hooks solved another problem for me. I have had these pieces of fence and banister for years. With my new hooks, they became usable! I started out with them under the shelves, but I decided that I wanted something else there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I just moved them above the shelves. And I LOVE the way they look!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z8TD7-A3buE2OAgXcKoK2ZbEuhgbg6a-yz228waHkr2jqfs-2NEgpPLTgetOmnSQC_qUUiSB429URgWW26OgaNGe3iVXMZXRrEE5ljKP0Pu1j3infOnXhQAkiJrt_7eHxTDm_wkgz8QU/s1600/IMG_8897+bright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z8TD7-A3buE2OAgXcKoK2ZbEuhgbg6a-yz228waHkr2jqfs-2NEgpPLTgetOmnSQC_qUUiSB429URgWW26OgaNGe3iVXMZXRrEE5ljKP0Pu1j3infOnXhQAkiJrt_7eHxTDm_wkgz8QU/s640/IMG_8897+bright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I fussed and moved things around for the rest of the week. I tried so many variations. I even found a home for my unsold book lamp. This was exciting, because it meant I could keep it. I really needed some light right in the middle of the space after I moved my ceiling light. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it was so much easier to work on with the debris out on the tables, instead of cluttering up the space I was trying to work on. By the end of that week, it had turned into a space that I loved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I haven't felt like that in years.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not done yet, and there were still two tables full of debris in the other room, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but I really felt like I turned a corner towards "success" during Week 9. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you guys ever just pulled <i>ALL THE THINGS</i> out and refused to put them back until you had made sense of them? I'd love to hear about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-14637428385360761452018-09-21T15:44:00.000-07:002018-09-21T15:44:03.063-07:00Digging Out The Studio Week 8: Whipping Things into Shape<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I usually feed the Sisters lunch when they come and help me. I rarely plan the meal before hand, and they have been very enthusiastic about whatever I manage to cobble together. This week they scored. We had pie for dessert. And at my house, no pie is complete without a little whipped cream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was a funny week. The sisters were feeling a bit silly. Maybe because it was mid summer, or because we had been doing this for so long. Maybe it was because I made them scrub cabinet doors the week before. Who knows. But Sister Anderson was very keen to show us her mad whipped cream skills. Apparently she has perfected a technique where she sprays a dollop of whipped cream on her arm and then flings it into her mouth by smacking her arms one on top of the other. I promise it looks more coherent than it sounds.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzzKFA5vKgJ3hXy-eva9109OiU7izUKFZwMYBfotZLUwSQNZLqgxB3PZG_nD2nOzQSfaYDOxVoQ9NToaJHGQuEBFaFy1ZRsC7nFfj-fmLgB6Hdf_0WAqmpK9mVGsIWZd01EUoRwGEktRw/s1600/IMG_8842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzzKFA5vKgJ3hXy-eva9109OiU7izUKFZwMYBfotZLUwSQNZLqgxB3PZG_nD2nOzQSfaYDOxVoQ9NToaJHGQuEBFaFy1ZRsC7nFfj-fmLgB6Hdf_0WAqmpK9mVGsIWZd01EUoRwGEktRw/s640/IMG_8842.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She did eventually get it in her mouth. And then she got the great idea that Sister Kleven should try to use her arm to fling the whipped cream into her (Sister Anderson's) mouth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Major hyjinx ensued. I do not think this was the first take.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrm4Qx9Cllgfgf9O0eftNNTVYOsNfN6y3Nw3LU78hCj82eUqgxRLyGgtenCLmDevUamHrM1rQYXsXd-85Acw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing like your companion "helping you" enjoy some whipped cream.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcLIfiani2eVJ2AY7tgRPh64ov9XJqi0n3-r_DKckif4bOxKoCvguDSjDa80Os5jbCfUlQ67R87JT4rPTHkbHNjEADupMhBTYz-mrapv2vk7gMFarjKuXxg7nsaapMb3Vlo1HD70Fjia3/s1600/IMG_8843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcLIfiani2eVJ2AY7tgRPh64ov9XJqi0n3-r_DKckif4bOxKoCvguDSjDa80Os5jbCfUlQ67R87JT4rPTHkbHNjEADupMhBTYz-mrapv2vk7gMFarjKuXxg7nsaapMb3Vlo1HD70Fjia3/s640/IMG_8843.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did eventually put the whipped cream back in the fridge and go downstairs to work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I looked at Week 8's pictures, it took me a sec to figure out what we did, because I have them doing two different things at the same time in two different places. This is a "no." </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Missionary companions must remain in the same room with each other and being in eyesight of each other is preferred. And these girls are far too obedient to break mission rules. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's when I realized that Sister Anderson was outside on my patio, not in the studio. Sister Kleven is right on the other side of the glass door in the playroom, sitting at the craft table, about 10 ft away and with full visual contact. Total compliance. We even cracked open the sliding glass door so we could talk back and forth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you are seeing above is Sister Anderson making one of my silly little dreams come true. A neighbor of mine had taken some trees down in their back yard, and I asked for a slice 2 inches thick to use as a base for a centerpiece for my dining room table. They brought me the requested slice, and it was perfect, except for one thing. It was only level on one side .The other side had a very distinct slope, making it worthless for the project I had intended it for. Sigh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few visits to Pinterest later, I found a great idea. (Check it out <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/10/8c/1e/108c1e1d73b6c52458fad58d206a49a8.jpg">here</a>.) Someone clever had drilled regularly spaced holes in a slice of wood and used it to store colored pencils. Brilliant! I wanted one immediately. So of course, the slab of wood sat in my studio for about two years. And that was after it sat in my dining room for a year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had already decided that the Sisters were going to finish the mending and craft projects that I wanted to do, but hadn't ever gotten to. So Sister Anderson got the wood slab, a piece of chalk, and the drill. If you look carefully, you can see the nice spiral she drew as a guide to help her drill in the right places. You gotta love detail oriented slave labor. And it turned out awesome! It has become one of my New Favorite Things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Kleven got a glue gun and all my things that needed to be re-glued. The only project I can remember off the top of my head was a Mardi Gras mask that needed to have its rhinestones reattached. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It turned out fabulously and I was not even surprised that Sister Kleven is a wiz with a glue gun. That girl has serious crafting skilz.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final project we worked on that day dealt with the stars that Sister Kleven has grown to know so well. (you can read more about them <a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/09/digging-out-studio-week-5because-i-cant.html">here</a>) We needed to hang them over the <a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/09/digging-out-studio-week-7-garage-spray.html">newly painted Mid Century sideboard</a>. I put Sister Kleven to work measuring the distance from the tip of the stars to when the Command hook would sit on the star's wire hanger so we knew how high to place the base for the Command hook. Look how sassy and accurate she is!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They make it look so easy. And I love that Sister Kleven is standing on an ottoman to be taller. I do have step stools in the studio, about 20 steps away. Then again, maybe I was being paranoid about the sideboard getting scratched. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you are not seeing in this picture is the comedy of errors that was the three of us on stools and tip toes, each holding up stars, trying to decide if they were in the right place or not. Sadly, there was no way to shoot that, since all of us were using all our hands and wits to hold things up and not fall over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The good news is we got all those stars on the wall. The bad news is that one of them was just a tiny bit off, so I didn't take a picture of the completed wall. I ended up moving it to the right place within the week, but didn't take a picture then either. You will just have to wait to see it until the room is done. Sorry. But take my word. It looks so much better than it did before we started all this. So much better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you all moving your projects forward this week? Or do you have mad whipped cream skills? Tell us all about it in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-15917132717167987652018-09-13T13:32:00.000-07:002018-09-13T13:32:17.555-07:00Digging Out the Studio Week 7: The Garage Spray Booth<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love looking at the folders of pictures as I start writing these posts. It's been long enough now that I forgot what was going on in my life, and it's amusing to remember all the billions of variables playing out and swirling around the studio clean up. Some weeks it actually makes me feel kind of incredible that I was able to keep moving this project forward, with all the other things happening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And during week 7, I wasn't able to keep it moving. We didn't even go into the studio actually, due to an even bigger project that fell into my lap. Well two projects, really. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you all remember the story I was telling you about the Mid Century Sideboard I had started cleaning up? If not, <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/09/digging-out-studio-week-5because-i-cant.html">check it out here</a>. It's about the top middle of the post. Go on. We'll wait...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I kept working on the sideboard for the next couple of days after the Sisters left. (They come over every Wednesday afternoon) Sometime that same weekend I finally finished all the prep work and decided to start painting it. This was a much more monumental decision than you would think, because I had decided to use a sprayer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sister gave me one when I flew out to Oregon to design her house about 2 years ago and I had never used it. It was still new in the box. I had been waiting for another, less favorite and irreplaceable piece of furniture to present itself as my "practice" piece. Alas, non had materialized. And the sideboard was ready and waiting. So I busted out my huge plastic drop cloth, stapled it to my deck and draped it across the lawn, read the directions on the sprayer box, moved the sideboard back outside, and got my spray on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was glorious! Such smooth, brush-less layers! And the sprayer was so easy to use. (I have <a href="https://www.lowes.com/pd/HomeRight-Finish-Max-Handheld-HVLP-Paint-Sprayer/1000271423?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA_ONLY-_-Paint-_-SosPaintSprayers-_-1000271423:HomeRight&CAWELAID=&kpid=1000271423&CAGPSPN=pla&k_clickID=b75a5053-e0ab-4b16-8116-80b4c0165123&gclid=CjwKCAjwlejcBRAdEiwAAbj6KRvj-Q63GvJFVb3ktP-8L4F7zbo93hr9Tjg85FPQ1oSBiCF9OTcl2BoC8f8QAvD_BwE">this one</a>, but I think my sister got it on Amazon.com). I spritzed and sprayed, being sure to keep the paint even and catch all the nooks and crannies. After a few passes, I realized that I could use this little machine competently. Which left just one thing to worry about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The paint I used, Benjamin Moore Advance, is oil based and therefore requires almost twice the drying time of latex or other, water-based paints. The one thing that could undo all my careful prep work, would be rain. And if you have ever lived in the Mid Atlantic in the summer, you know the only constant about the weather is that it can always rain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I checked the Doppler and checked the hourly forecast repeatedly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was good to go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or so I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had planned on bringing the sideboard back inside at the 4 hr mark, when the directions said it would be "dry to the touch." I had cleaned up the sprayer and settled in with my kids for a bit of binging on a few episodes of <i>The Great British Baking Show, </i>when I heard the rain. And it wasn't raining. It was pouring. Stupid Doppler.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My oldest and I bolted outside and had that thing in the house in about 4 minutes flat. But by that time, the damage was done. My beautiful, smooth, perfect finish was starting to run in rivers of white. The top had to be blotted dry, each touch of the towel taking paint and leaving blotches. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I dried it off, turned out the lights in the basement, and just walked back upstairs, because I was in shock that all my careful work had been so </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quickly</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">easily</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ruined. No Words.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And FYI, I totally recommend <i>the Great British Baking Show</i>, if you need to be distracted from having a project you've waited years to do get completely undone by rain that shouldn't have been there. I seriously forgot all about it, until I woke up the next morning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I woke up, two things occurred to me. First, I had used an oil based primer known for being tough as nails for the the base coat, so there should be no water damage to the wood since I dried the water off. And second, this was the only first of three coats of paint. I could sand it and smooth everything out, and due to the succeeding layers, no one would ever know what a disaster the first coat had been. Whew! What a difference a little sleep and watching a lot of baking shows can make.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say, I moved my spray booth out of the yard and into my garage. I hadn't done this initially, because it requires a ton of masking. And it takes over your entire garage until you are completely finished. And with the drying time of this particular paint being so long, I wanted to try everything else first. But there I was. So the plastic tarps went up everywhere and my car was banished to the driveway until further notice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this same time, a good friend of mine was moving. She had just bought a house she loved after living in a rental that she did not love for a way too long, and was keen to make the place "hers." After popping over there during the inspection, <i>because</i> <i>why would I wait until she actually owned the house like a normal person? Do you know how long escrow can take?</i>, I realized that she had ugly wood cabinets that she hated in her new kitchen and that I had a spray gun in my basement. It was the perfect combination for a really fun service project. Initially, I was hoping to paint the kitchen cabinet doors at her place, but when I had to move the spray booth to my garage anyway, it just became apparent that doing the spraying at my place made way more sense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enter the sister missionaries. (Oh come on. You knew I would get there eventually.) By the time they showed up Wednesday of Week 7, I had finished the sideboard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It turned out really well. And weeks and months later I am still geeking out about how great it looks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the sideboard out of the way, that left a stack of nasty brown cabinet doors taking up my garage space. I gave each of the girls a pair of rubber gloves, some scrubby sponges, and some cleaner. We put up a few funky folding tables and started degreasing and deep cleaning cabinet doors from the 1970's. Such fun! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tool they are using is called a "5 in 1". It's a painter's tool used to get crud out of creases and tight corners, super useful for removing caulk from the tub or windows, and perfect for getting off nasty chunks of who knows what from old cabinet doors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ironically, the previous Monday was the one day every six weeks, when the church office changes where the missionaries live and who they work with. This day is called "transfers". We all had a feeling that one of the three sisters was going to another area, so I gave them all a present at church the Sunday before transfers. And what did that present happen to be? Each girl got her own "5 in 1" of course! (well, theirs were "6 in 1's", if we're being technical. Their version had a brass plate </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on the handle base </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you can use like a hammer. So awesome!) I thought it was super appropriate to give a tool as a "thank you" to my handy little helpers. And this IS my favorite tool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a good thing I did too, because just as predicted, Sister Merritt got transferred. So sad, but totally how things work. Well, unless you are Sister Kleven. I think she was assigned to the "Burke, Virginia" Mission, while all the other missionaries here here were assigned to the "Washington DC South" mission. That girl has been here forever, with no sign of leaving. It's September. She got here in April, and she's still here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, cleaning. Then the sanding, because I couldn't use these girls as slave labor unless there were power tools involved, right? So we busted out the palm sander.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Sister Anderson checking for perfection. I am not even joking. I am super anal about smoothness, and even my standard wasn't high enough for her. We ended up giving her the two biggest, nastiest doors to work on, because she is <strike>totally OCD</strike> very focused and was taking forever with the cleaning and sanding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See what I mean? The girl is meticulous. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYkkRSIZC_suUgwSgLtCJVix8MLpiNJbXJ1dlpS5YcYJ-OYlH6ZcrIS0QclO6cQ3HEac0f-SQ7pJLycOIwy3DFwI6-LBE4KDEP-V54ba3-kfw90ao62QpP9VWAmaT71w_hNeulYv01dkv/s1600/IMG_8814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYkkRSIZC_suUgwSgLtCJVix8MLpiNJbXJ1dlpS5YcYJ-OYlH6ZcrIS0QclO6cQ3HEac0f-SQ7pJLycOIwy3DFwI6-LBE4KDEP-V54ba3-kfw90ao62QpP9VWAmaT71w_hNeulYv01dkv/s640/IMG_8814.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we've moved on to the palm sander, but look. It's still the same door! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Kleven had done 3 or 4 small ones by this point. And in Sister Anderson's defense, those two doors were smooth as a baby's butt when she was finally done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since she was so good with the details, I let Sister Anderson figure out how much water we need to mix into the primer, so it would work in the sprayer. And yes, I tried to send the girl's home once the cabinets were all clean and sanded, because I felt bad about making them work so hard, but they looked at me with sad eyes and said, "You mean we don't get to use the paint sprayer?" True story.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjQWC4NXaZsgn3znDVxG-yeNeBZRXMO2TEUo1cuPLpsxDS7yiUcjb55x1oAzF-jUxLoAGaRQQr7lbkI4TWi8mpq61TcS2osAIU6e_8V5SQRJtJS_UvTXKqgROjmrDtLLT0HNwTltzMixK/s1600/IMG_8816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjQWC4NXaZsgn3znDVxG-yeNeBZRXMO2TEUo1cuPLpsxDS7yiUcjb55x1oAzF-jUxLoAGaRQQr7lbkI4TWi8mpq61TcS2osAIU6e_8V5SQRJtJS_UvTXKqgROjmrDtLLT0HNwTltzMixK/s640/IMG_8816.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am telling you, this girl can rock any weird piece of safety equipment you make her wear.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wJuNCGG9KZPwmqdLLrEgRLyL3EvaO-FTvt5VK_hKZkFpbTl-ff_3WWopDYAO3W1F08ldiQ0V246kCG_JkKqFW8mepRIGjD_wQe_kPAnBHPuZr-ZnFkuZ4eghfNO0-1enr5VP_eZjDFVS/s1600/IMG_8817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7wJuNCGG9KZPwmqdLLrEgRLyL3EvaO-FTvt5VK_hKZkFpbTl-ff_3WWopDYAO3W1F08ldiQ0V246kCG_JkKqFW8mepRIGjD_wQe_kPAnBHPuZr-ZnFkuZ4eghfNO0-1enr5VP_eZjDFVS/s640/IMG_8817.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a little tutorial against the plastic, where they both had to practice, until it looked like they had the necessary spraying distance and layering patterns down, and then I let them at it for real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is Sister Kleven, showing us how it's done:</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyfrhYPBWGCuovH875inag7upGwz_y7Cf95YA_WRkzyUXd7A4akU5sOkgC3IN9reLGRQV7QNKNhPQRhU6Mogg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She really liked the paint sprayer. We may or may not have had to take it away from her, because she got the "Crazy Eyes."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCoSxA_zE-xQelqNsmjnUxPqffd3QpwNxsSwVeSiiuIy65SDBm-58qA_FAPVrSS6WRCac5j6iPIBnynvpOZbZsIbM3LrHrbk-3X5QSI5f4PuXnJm40VuM47KOeZtS4PVl2rQqCttSTirL/s1600/IMG_8819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCoSxA_zE-xQelqNsmjnUxPqffd3QpwNxsSwVeSiiuIy65SDBm-58qA_FAPVrSS6WRCac5j6iPIBnynvpOZbZsIbM3LrHrbk-3X5QSI5f4PuXnJm40VuM47KOeZtS4PVl2rQqCttSTirL/s640/IMG_8819.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since it was the primer coat, I wasn't too worried about things being perfect. But of course Sister Anderson was. And they both did such a nice job. Great work any day, but even better considering they were a pair of newbies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's how the cabinet doors turned out:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They sprayed until all the cabinet doors we had were primed, even the big, perfectly smooth ones. At this point I kicked them out, in spite of protests that they wanted to help clean out the paint sprayer. In all, I think they saved me about 5-6 hrs in cleaning and sanding, just by being two extra pairs of hands. Service hours anyone?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great job girls! And thanks so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any of you all have an adventure with a paint sprayer this week? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or have rain that shouldn't have been there ruin your plans? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to hear about it in the comments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-13892152443143217882018-09-06T10:16:00.000-07:002018-09-06T10:16:03.883-07:00Digging Out the Studio: Week 5...Because I Can't Count<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK guys, let me be honest with you. I am a total moron. As in, occasionally I do not connect my brain to the rest of my body. This most recently manifested itself when I logged in today and discovered that <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/08/digging-out-studio-week-6-finally-in.html">the last post</a> was <i>NOT</i> Week 6, it was Week 5. Which I should have realized when I looked at the post just before it, clearly labeled "Week 4". Sigh. Counting Marian, counting! 1-2-3-4-5. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my defense, I was pretty tired from all the driving and actually reasonably sick with coughing and laryngitis when I wrote it, so I have decided to cut myself a little slack and just have this week's post be called "Week 5", even though the events recorded actually transpired in Week 6. You all can roll with that, right? So here goes, Week "5":</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week was about moving stuff around in the studio to make it easier to access and to start thinking through the work spaces and storage areas I wanted to build, as outlined in <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html">my original plan</a>. Unfortunately, this was the state of things even after weeks of knocking stuff off my list, with help:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1gAK20AX6Xnd1L8f9VDbK3mvluLvKB3mnmAU44V5kzqoPJ_yaplOzx30WGmRBYApriGTk5iOgQJ8BhuQjV6zlScUkHIIQpZzCqDOM__76NfP0vJfJxboGKxWmObkcFKzgaGfNBpoJOvr/s1600/IMG_8784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1gAK20AX6Xnd1L8f9VDbK3mvluLvKB3mnmAU44V5kzqoPJ_yaplOzx30WGmRBYApriGTk5iOgQJ8BhuQjV6zlScUkHIIQpZzCqDOM__76NfP0vJfJxboGKxWmObkcFKzgaGfNBpoJOvr/s640/IMG_8784.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, dear friends, please note, I show you all these horrible photos of my chronic inability to stay organized in my creative space for two simple purposes. First, so you all can feel like you are such better people, or at least know that you are not alone. And second, so I can prove that I am actually accomplishing something while hanging out with these darling girls, whom I adore, for several hours every week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When they all showed up, I was in the middle of another major project. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because everyone knows it's always a great idea to start a <i>new</i> major project when you are right in the middle of another major project. DK loves it when I do this. No. No, he does not.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have to admit is </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IS</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a gorgeous piece of Mid Century furniture bliss, if you are into that sort of thing... which I very much happen to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the best part is, I got it off Craigslist for $80. No, there is not a 0 missing. I was blown away. The girl who sold it to me, had been kicking around selling it for weeks, but didn't really want to let it go. She bought it from the original owner and had used it for years and loved it. But they were remodeling their house and she just couldn't find the right space for it in the new design, and then her water main broke and there was water every where and she just needed something gone. So she posted it, for a song. I was there 3 hours later, as I had been stalking the site for just such a cabinet for months, but never found anything even close to what I could afford. I told her about being an artist and designer, and my unfortunate lack of budget, but how I was trying to make a teenage lounge for my kids in the basement and how she was the answer to my prayers. She was completely charmed and deliriously happy to the the solution. It was a total connecting of hearts moment. "happy sigh." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew this was truly an enlightened connection, when she suggested I refinish or paint it. Most people are super weird about you painting their stuff. I <i>NEVER</i> tell the original owners, when I buy wood furniture, that I have plans to paint it. I know antique dealers and vintage furniture dealers who refuse to sell stuff to people, if they know there are plans to change the original finish. And here she was, suggesting I do it. So amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So after living with the wood finish for year and hating it with my wall color, but loving the lines and the storage the piece offered, I finally took a deeper look at all the goo and scratches, etc., and I knew the time had come to paint it. This particular episode was me smoothing out the finish. Things had gotten a bit gummy when I sanded it with the palm sander, so I had pulled out the denatured alcohol to clean it all up and strip off the extra schmutz without hurting anything else. It worked like a charm, but took about a million times longer than my original estimate for just sanding. And it's the kind of thing that once you start, you just have to keep going. So I rubbed and scrubbed and the girls started organizing and moving stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My oldest had just graduated, but hadn't started her summer job yet. She and Sister Anderson volunteered to team up and take a crack at the tool and paint shelves.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vu1a4DrbYaFQObiwGMfnyQ_fMQGqvPRI_IOanpHvAQphCttCI267i-wDhMp6xGAkTSzcg0aoWJNqO1I3xfshL8cKbtfFBpU-qHWAI1RXKggQ-0VKnqZTjjTfSvZRqRPnjpd_udB9hpWf/s1600/IMG_8782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vu1a4DrbYaFQObiwGMfnyQ_fMQGqvPRI_IOanpHvAQphCttCI267i-wDhMp6xGAkTSzcg0aoWJNqO1I3xfshL8cKbtfFBpU-qHWAI1RXKggQ-0VKnqZTjjTfSvZRqRPnjpd_udB9hpWf/s640/IMG_8782.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNdONXoTBlbC70dUnMeHxmPOnVNEwFO3kttP6Kp39EVKt6U9R84ssKZi2t8Pai-xvFirqzli8qg7uSg0xueuU6-FVsdIh5a3-phd3IGp2fpdqQbOymXsPdxADXnIVOJaoR0BhLYO0d2VA/s1600/IMG_8783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNdONXoTBlbC70dUnMeHxmPOnVNEwFO3kttP6Kp39EVKt6U9R84ssKZi2t8Pai-xvFirqzli8qg7uSg0xueuU6-FVsdIh5a3-phd3IGp2fpdqQbOymXsPdxADXnIVOJaoR0BhLYO0d2VA/s640/IMG_8783.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They opened every single can of paint, stain, spackle, and you-name-it on those shelves to see if it was still usable. They mixed up the stuff that was still good, and threw away what was solid and dry. They rewound extension cords and refolded drop cloths. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QnCqM-3NZq_mMkHUBCK3JzIlN3t_wSRY2Vv5KSasa7MC3AC-8bsG8VauYMS7Mb2SvvJq8MQxTBNUGR8b7FuNppcyGKH_uurlIpgLC12cQ8LzFtFUtualih4YhA7nA1RBlDa7gCPhflsp/s1600/IMG_8790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QnCqM-3NZq_mMkHUBCK3JzIlN3t_wSRY2Vv5KSasa7MC3AC-8bsG8VauYMS7Mb2SvvJq8MQxTBNUGR8b7FuNppcyGKH_uurlIpgLC12cQ8LzFtFUtualih4YhA7nA1RBlDa7gCPhflsp/s640/IMG_8790.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When they were done, it looked amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And do you see what looks like a grey plastic suitcase, with boxes and tools sitting on it in the above photo? That is my Ryobi multi tool kit. I haven't been able to get it shut completely since I bought it 2 years ago. And these girls not only figured out how to shut it, they found a spot for it to live that wasn't in the center of the room. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(excuse me as I wipe away a little tear of joy.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JWxRJIHoumca5Y028Jf7DOhNdTS8AfWOkwpBCxHKRUn26SdkH4ek5dPqMMBkd7zqkUECC1z4qXpulQ613IFYUkZ4wGj-X9dgJAQ27cOIAQUmr0VApEQDCMTLU1wJ_Id10ZeQP5d-PHRZ/s1600/IMG_8794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JWxRJIHoumca5Y028Jf7DOhNdTS8AfWOkwpBCxHKRUn26SdkH4ek5dPqMMBkd7zqkUECC1z4qXpulQ613IFYUkZ4wGj-X9dgJAQ27cOIAQUmr0VApEQDCMTLU1wJ_Id10ZeQP5d-PHRZ/s640/IMG_8794.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ta-Dah! Just look at that order they made from my chaos. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when they were done with my shelves, there was still time left, so I put them to work organizing the drawers in the workbench just to the right of them. I almost feel bad about being such a slave driver. Almost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, Sister Kleven and Sister Merritt were busy with major projects of their own. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWbyeHwc7LbdBgovqKYQZwPEGodyn_kdbc-fHRE4EMSpt6doMXMjIE7ajaOC1x3pGnNtAo8Z1DU-M8Ahb0L87T-TY1krMk0Vn_22EHkiYsW4nbq3HHew1TddoZ7nISFu5tjf1NVHmgNZT/s1600/IMG_8784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWbyeHwc7LbdBgovqKYQZwPEGodyn_kdbc-fHRE4EMSpt6doMXMjIE7ajaOC1x3pGnNtAo8Z1DU-M8Ahb0L87T-TY1krMk0Vn_22EHkiYsW4nbq3HHew1TddoZ7nISFu5tjf1NVHmgNZT/s640/IMG_8784.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another look at the "before" pic of the frames area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their assignment was to organize my vintage frames so they didn't rub up against each other but also allow for space to walk between the shelves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They also "got" to move all my long skinny pieces of trim and wood to a different place in the studio, where they would be better supported and less in the way. In order to move the pile, they also had to move a bunch of bins, in fact the exact bins they had already dealt with in <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-2-bin-and-bins.html">this post</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a "Before" of that area:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpJICWiiwwit84Bxnu2E6Dt0K2imftxePCvM5hwemN166GZBOdPRdM0M149Zr6CORdTDdg9A-ZXVDAI9rMFiN6JCp2WC_5upEGRGveZPwX-qXbw1XUcXlxk1eWrtyJZuE_9zUM5hYVK5-/s1600/IMG_8387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpJICWiiwwit84Bxnu2E6Dt0K2imftxePCvM5hwemN166GZBOdPRdM0M149Zr6CORdTDdg9A-ZXVDAI9rMFiN6JCp2WC_5upEGRGveZPwX-qXbw1XUcXlxk1eWrtyJZuE_9zUM5hYVK5-/s640/IMG_8387.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one is from the very first pics I took before we had done anything, way back in April, so it doesn't really reflect where we started, but you can see the bins in the top, left hand corner, to the left of the white fan and just below the Christmas wreath. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is the pile of wood they had to move over there:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now keep in mind, I was outside <strike>rubbing my Precious with a diaper</strike> resurfacing my sideboard while all of this was going on. I only came in to check on them when I ran out of paper towels or something. One of the times I came in, I walked into this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RP6mSvDFzb54QReDtPgW8lO0Tw_Oz6oiIz0y_r7H3wLJcdeSoy-xkpMp2corsCwaS0CmR8WPIyMGtOjNiwanw8RUr7unGu1YJhhi3dMs5Rtl7Tj4Pj4O-we_vzYwIbs0Mav1ILa5PWBb/s1600/IMG_8789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RP6mSvDFzb54QReDtPgW8lO0Tw_Oz6oiIz0y_r7H3wLJcdeSoy-xkpMp2corsCwaS0CmR8WPIyMGtOjNiwanw8RUr7unGu1YJhhi3dMs5Rtl7Tj4Pj4O-we_vzYwIbs0Mav1ILa5PWBb/s640/IMG_8789.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm still not quite sure what that was about. Something about relocating bins and needing to move some of the Christmas boxes higher... And yes, Sister Kleven did start laughing hard enough to almost fall. Sister Merritt was already laughing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, in spite of the lack of step stool, they were able to make both areas look like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look how nicely arranged by size those frames are! And all the soft foamy paper between them! I am in heaven. But the most exciting thing by far is the fact the you can walk between the shelves!!!! I haven't been able to do that for 3 years! By the time they were done, I could walk all the way around and between each set of shelves, the way I had designed it 10 years ago. So amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now most people would think this was enough to ask of these girls, but not me! My oldest and Sister Anderson were still hard at work on the drawers when Sister Kleven and Sister Merritt finished moving stuff, so I put them on a project we had been avoiding for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Kleven reading the directions for the epoxy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way back in April, before Sister Merritt or Sister Anderson were even in Burke, and before this idea to clean the studio was even born, back when Sister Kleven was new to the area, she and her then companion came over to help me hang up some metal stars that I had been wanting to hang, but needed extra hands to do it. We learned two things that day. First, that Sister Kleven has enough self control to not swear when she drops a really heavy hammer squarely on her bare big toe (It was an exceptional example of self control I am still impressed by. The hammer fell about 4 ft and hit her toe really hard) Second, that the hanging bits that came on the stars were not going to work with the Command hangers I bought to hang them with. We needed to make new hangers, on metal stars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cue the copper wire and epoxy! I even had both on hand. I love that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love that Sister Merritt gets the same kind of happy/crazy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">look in her eyes that I do when you say the words "wire cutters".</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuXTlFDD43kLYnS-vSybSA5MuHMtudyt9R7Ddzf4QbJA_koO7mnGdqEaQB45bMfQchakA0T1HLeJucSvnzHuIKrbzBOt88latxxDWK2-lSy-KkV9yxq8ittbumQR1qOrv39kMeY8H4bhv/s1600/IMG_8793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuXTlFDD43kLYnS-vSybSA5MuHMtudyt9R7Ddzf4QbJA_koO7mnGdqEaQB45bMfQchakA0T1HLeJucSvnzHuIKrbzBOt88latxxDWK2-lSy-KkV9yxq8ittbumQR1qOrv39kMeY8H4bhv/s640/IMG_8793.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love this girl for the photos she lets me take of her. Gloves, glasses, you name it. She can rock them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New hangers were cut and epoxied, and left to dry on the craft table. And people were getting a bit loopy from over work and epoxy fumes.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was about this point, that we decided enough was enough, and headed upstairs for ice cream. What? You thought I was just gonna let them leave after all this work?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And my kid even offered to take a pic of all of us. This is one I will treasure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such fun darling people. I do adore them so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-64043161961708105242018-08-31T07:15:00.000-07:002018-08-31T07:15:48.437-07:00Digging Out the Studio Week 6: Finally in the studio<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sorry for the little month-long hiatus there. I had to stop blogging and cleaning and drive kid #1 all the way to the other side of the country for college and then get myself home. It's a big place, the United States. And Mt. Rushmore was totally worth the drive across Wyoming. You should stop in Laramie, WY, if you are ever in the neighborhood. I was pleasantly surprised. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">But that's not really what we are talking about today. Is it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So where were we? Ah yes, week 6, when we head into the actual studio. Finally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was the week we tackled the paint shelves. Sorry, I don't think I took a "before" of the paint shelves. But it looked a lot like the above pic. Same level of disarray, same type of shelves, just different contents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To be fair, I should tell you that this week's focus was decided because I went to Hobby Lobby with a friend and found the cutest metal locker baskets for 50% off. I walked away empty handed that day, because I knew the sale was going on for another week or so. And also, because I have a few personal rules about buying storage containers. The most important one is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Never buy a storage container, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">no matter how cute or cheap it is, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">until you know what you are storing in it </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and what size that pile is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even if it's on sale at Hobby Lobby </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">and you live 30 min away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trust me on this. I have several very cute storage items that I am currently not using because I have nothing suitable to store in them. Which make them, sadly, wasted enthusiasm. Alas. Plus, if you don't buy it then, and go home and get your measurements, then you get to go back to Hobby Lobby later and shop some more. Win-win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The paint shelves have been home to all kinds of things: chalk paint, wax, acrylic tubes, adhesives, photo albums, water bottles (I am one of those Mormons who hoards water in my basement for a "not so rainy day"), craft supplies, lamp bits, door knobs and hinges, and other crafty, hoarder treasures. We pulled it all off the shelves, dragged it into the playroom, and set to work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Anderson is now an expert at deciding whether a can of paint can be saved, or if it is dry beyond renewing. That poor girl has checked so many cans of paint for me. Week 6 was just the beginning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Kleven manned the adhesives, checking to see if they could still be used or if they were permanently sealed shut. I promise I did not make her sniff any glue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Merrit took care of the waxes and top coats, to see if they were still viable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here, Sister Merrit and Sister Anderson are exploring my gold wax. Professional art supplies are super fun. You can see the glop of wax on Sister Anderson's pointer finger. This wax turns metal or wood items gold, kind of like a paint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> We also tackled all the craft kits that the kids had forgetten they had for years. They were all sorted and evaluated for age appropriateness and to see if enough of the bits were still there to still be fun to use. There were so many stinking craft kits. So. Many. Birthday Parties. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also had to move a book lamp I had never put up for sale, due to the harp getting loose as the humidity ebbed and waned. Sister Kleven was entranced. A lamp? Made of Books? It was love at first sight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJK12PTV5xSalheX9WfTH4j0NCjGuVnJ2gdjQSi9iHlx6-mcFr9zDsUgu1t_CdPrBZwZZ_1xu_B3YASf4UadHehRO0qwAyuROqaReHwA06yg0Y2d5GUtLIeX6eYmqhMxi16FHllDnCQMg/s1600/lamp4+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1197" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJK12PTV5xSalheX9WfTH4j0NCjGuVnJ2gdjQSi9iHlx6-mcFr9zDsUgu1t_CdPrBZwZZ_1xu_B3YASf4UadHehRO0qwAyuROqaReHwA06yg0Y2d5GUtLIeX6eYmqhMxi16FHllDnCQMg/s640/lamp4+blog.jpg" width="478" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This one is actually the fraternal twin of the one I still have; it lives with my friend Margaret out at <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2013/10/asher-hill-farm-branches-source-for.html">Asher Hill Farms</a>. But it was such a good pic, I just went with it. Mine is only slightly different. After a lot of questions and a bit of wistful sighing, I realized I had all the pieces to make one for her. A "Classics" lamp. It is full of the Great Books in vintage covers, most of which feature gold lettering. I even had it already marked and stacked to drill into a lamp base. I just ran out of time like 5 years ago. (You can see the books stacked on the shelf in the first pic in this post.) So I am going to finish it and give it to her for Christmas. As much to give it a good home and get it out of the studio as to say thanks to this darling girl who has been helping me every week for 3 mos now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And don't worry, I have given meaningful things to each of these girls along the way. Sister Merrit got my vintage REAL desert army camo pants. Sister Anderson became best buddies with my oldest daughter and is getting a lot of nerdy NASA swag I have lying around. And I bought them all my favorite tool. But that is another story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ok, enough about presents for these girls. Do you guys wanna see the result of all this work? This is what things looked like when they all had to leave:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb__XGn6r4EnJX8_m2wxbwIzLzMs5E65YhpatiPtGsanJSRtSYthO2CgRIeuDvFP-nU4cWrk9ipH_QM2NZwpppULHj84Q79uciLQx1tJKwqy1_FtYq15OsN7LbJQgcVjb4lSnaDqbUkBIJ/s1600/IMG_8762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb__XGn6r4EnJX8_m2wxbwIzLzMs5E65YhpatiPtGsanJSRtSYthO2CgRIeuDvFP-nU4cWrk9ipH_QM2NZwpppULHj84Q79uciLQx1tJKwqy1_FtYq15OsN7LbJQgcVjb4lSnaDqbUkBIJ/s640/IMG_8762.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nice and tidy, all organized by category, just waiting to be put in their new homes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's what the shelves looked like when I was all done:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0byuvOFn1Lz9Wf_tXtktuejM8EBYk2CqjclW6XakTxumUaCshBc5dDNgv16FvkBmT9KbNTuXwllEQ1PbxWeztfQYOAD3IEoJrTH6VFFLMpwaaY6NmC_Aw_QSdPNtPBgTngZ_56OKSzq8/s1600/IMG_8763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0byuvOFn1Lz9Wf_tXtktuejM8EBYk2CqjclW6XakTxumUaCshBc5dDNgv16FvkBmT9KbNTuXwllEQ1PbxWeztfQYOAD3IEoJrTH6VFFLMpwaaY6NmC_Aw_QSdPNtPBgTngZ_56OKSzq8/s640/IMG_8763.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cue the angel voices! Can't you totally hear the "Ahhhh..."?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And here's a close up of those super cute metal locker baskets I was talking about. You didn't think I was going to just leave you hanging about those? Come on, we are better friends than that! They were perfect for my chalk paints and adhesives. I love how heavy duty they are. These baskets are <b><i>solid</i></b>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpby7tPJpd6Ymc-1MjNTn31btDQEQGahaXSdO4kVlPMvqMhWsaZNBM5ZxDICSeX78iAv14j1DqOm8Cd5n7yEqJsW28OhwOpFcxLd4e81x1RFHKP594ZTPKXuQmU2bTa9Ai57QJeEcr_WfG/s1600/IMG_8764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpby7tPJpd6Ymc-1MjNTn31btDQEQGahaXSdO4kVlPMvqMhWsaZNBM5ZxDICSeX78iAv14j1DqOm8Cd5n7yEqJsW28OhwOpFcxLd4e81x1RFHKP594ZTPKXuQmU2bTa9Ai57QJeEcr_WfG/s640/IMG_8764.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And here's a shot back across, so you can see what we got done. It's just a little bit farther back than the pic at the beginning:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YqhWF8VrGCeoqiZ1ro89JMbHbs4vuyRdAzNtOv2N4ZKdjw7a38VTbk1L7K8gVRlAnmhFOmbv9xICDl3xGujaA1bkTVBGiZKgRPoaECG31zmF0Jhhaxb5HdTMr5_AVZSm6Ox_lqrd-zm-/s1600/IMG_8765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YqhWF8VrGCeoqiZ1ro89JMbHbs4vuyRdAzNtOv2N4ZKdjw7a38VTbk1L7K8gVRlAnmhFOmbv9xICDl3xGujaA1bkTVBGiZKgRPoaECG31zmF0Jhhaxb5HdTMr5_AVZSm6Ox_lqrd-zm-/s640/IMG_8765.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I suppose that is kind of underwhelming. But to me it says "progress". And I promise we'll get to it all, eventually. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you missed the previous post about digging out the studio, here are the links:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">The Book That Started It All</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html">The Plan</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/dig-out-studio-week-1-motivation-not.html">Week 1</a> Meet the Help</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-2-bin-and-bins.html">Week 2</a> Bins and Bins of Fun</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-3-getting-crafty.html">Week 3</a> Getting Crafty</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/07/week-10-whole-hog-day-1.html">Week 10-I got too impatient to show you all where we <i>really</i> were</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/07/digging-out-studio-week-4-paper.html">Week 4</a> the Papers</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How are you guys doing with your projects? Are you chipping away at things? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sisters and I would love to hear about what you all are working on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-68808499367368764792018-07-18T07:06:00.000-07:002018-07-18T07:06:37.826-07:00Digging Out the Studio, Week 4: The Paper!!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is so weird to write a post about "Week 4", when actually for me it's Week "Umm, we've been doing this for a really long time now." In fact, it is a different month entirely. But that is how things go in the life of a stay at home mom during the end of the school year. And the Sisters are coming back tomorrow, so let's get going on this post, before more stuff happens and I get even farther behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, Week 4. This week was all about paperwork. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpexrH2G7L8zoo0g8FAeIQqRfikfQ6_WXFfY-PbPh1mqD0JYV3kMccuRJTu7_aO9mXm2HVitPJ-7_U88FXWAqpjT9SFN3ytKrxb6-EtmoB43MXtnvXuid0K1QEUlXqRLQ72cmf7F_ReVa/s1600/IMG_8802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="968" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpexrH2G7L8zoo0g8FAeIQqRfikfQ6_WXFfY-PbPh1mqD0JYV3kMccuRJTu7_aO9mXm2HVitPJ-7_U88FXWAqpjT9SFN3ytKrxb6-EtmoB43MXtnvXuid0K1QEUlXqRLQ72cmf7F_ReVa/s640/IMG_8802.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You know when you are having company come over and you need your dining room table, but you've been using it as a catch all for everything you didn't want to put away for the last 8 months, and so in a feverish cleaning panic, you decide it's a great idea to dump it all in a bag that you'll sort out later? Yeah. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were a few of those. Like 6. They had been there since 2006, I kid you not. Well each bag was probably a different year of debris, but we are talking more than 10 years ago. Sigh. I even had a huge box of stuff. On top of the 10 year old bags. So embarrassing. But better to admit there's a problem and get on the stick fixing it, right? And fix it we did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We busted out the power tools. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Come on! You know you would so much rather read a story that starts with a rip saw than with piles of papers to be sorted. So we totally did...start the story with a rip saw. And I have the pictures to prove it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QbT9HB5WAUxheHlUBTSdGq0OTbfQLGoUvNuiwWv7bL2mbyAi3x-ove6YMEhUDPZruP1BqKioxvzrtSdhoPwRQ6YdgHN-mhW89JEt-DtORSuOIjC38wlqY0Ji45ILFQQtg6tSle1YmV8T/s1600/IMG_8737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QbT9HB5WAUxheHlUBTSdGq0OTbfQLGoUvNuiwWv7bL2mbyAi3x-ove6YMEhUDPZruP1BqKioxvzrtSdhoPwRQ6YdgHN-mhW89JEt-DtORSuOIjC38wlqY0Ji45ILFQQtg6tSle1YmV8T/s640/IMG_8737.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once upon a time, there were three mild mannered sister missionaries. And they showed up at my house to do service. Little did they know that I would hand them a giant saw, give them a lecture about how not to cut off their own leg, and have them chop a pallet to bits!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Merrit stayed calm, cool, and collected, as always. She grew up with power tools and had developed an immunity to their charms. Hence, she did not go crazy or do anything photo worthy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Anderson, on the other hand, was super excited to wield the deadly tool! (Guys, she kills me with the cheerful smile. And the comfy dress. And the deadly saw. This kid is so <i>not</i> going to cut your leg off.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyB-iGxWncPTpdHLS8BrDVnr4mHVsjsEj0A1wAlESES94a4G_KTo757weeSTDp8ipBAC7PzDrgCk4FvJoi582MjZzIQUqY3QhabMMBNPfCZDd13buvC1NZp8GZSei0VhuLyRHKqElLilIz/s1600/IMG_8738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyB-iGxWncPTpdHLS8BrDVnr4mHVsjsEj0A1wAlESES94a4G_KTo757weeSTDp8ipBAC7PzDrgCk4FvJoi582MjZzIQUqY3QhabMMBNPfCZDd13buvC1NZp8GZSei0VhuLyRHKqElLilIz/s640/IMG_8738.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then there's Sister Kleven. A terror in the back yard! Ahhhhh!!!!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2Tf0hSfvA3dtoWrCLC8ulHJPDU4dyVjfekgeofck47bER2Rd9nGli5kEFf1Ri4KUx7iQwj6JR1mXKUn5PWMbBy8FTpM78jk1QmhmJeaXwrNNqg_avBHjgwbq3-Qd2sLgOBpwNt08pI2U/s1600/IMG_8739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2Tf0hSfvA3dtoWrCLC8ulHJPDU4dyVjfekgeofck47bER2Rd9nGli5kEFf1Ri4KUx7iQwj6JR1mXKUn5PWMbBy8FTpM78jk1QmhmJeaXwrNNqg_avBHjgwbq3-Qd2sLgOBpwNt08pI2U/s640/IMG_8739.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dresses are killing my story. It is so hard to strike fear in the hearts of the readers when you have the three nicest girls in the world who are spending their time acting like Jesus and wearing dresses as your main characters. The dresses did not, however, impede the pallet from being totally cut into little bits. Thanks so much ladies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once the pallet was <strike>given what for</strike> disposed of properly, we all decided we could go settle in and get on with the paper sorting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Look how eager they are. Such good volunteers.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC82PtSiUiXzrmcM3uotQ7MGnj-2Ona-lWPm-pN9kgYXIEDuUDPy6kIhMypG7v_sQozJuZIM_FjUXx3NohDMzU91OPkcuQaCA-YNK6ldhFNV7J7ojY06VkqUURrcoeRroXz0to1RSRYO1t/s1600/IMG_8740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="968" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC82PtSiUiXzrmcM3uotQ7MGnj-2Ona-lWPm-pN9kgYXIEDuUDPy6kIhMypG7v_sQozJuZIM_FjUXx3NohDMzU91OPkcuQaCA-YNK6ldhFNV7J7ojY06VkqUURrcoeRroXz0to1RSRYO1t/s640/IMG_8740.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everybody got their own sack to work through.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was so glad my kid ended up with the big box to sort. A ton of it was books and things from her childhood, so she could decide right on the spot what to keep and what to chuck. It would have taken weeks to get her to look through it if she hadn't been there when we did it. #simplegifts </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was interesting how the right person seemed to wind up with the right bag. My oldest got the box of her own stuff. Sister Merrit got the bag full of family history materials that I had forgotten I even owned. She had such a jolly time looking at various family members and then looking at me and my kid to see who we looked like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Kleven got the bag of small child pictures and crafts. She was in heaven and there was a lot of "Oh..so cute!" and "Oh...such a fun idea!" coming from her side of the table. She is all about kids and crafts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Anderson got the bag of bills and mortgage receipts from 2006. Bummer right? Not for this kid. She buckled right down and started putting things in stacks based on various categories I set up for her. She's all about order and details. Something I have remembered and planned for in the following weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And you guys are probably curious what bag I ended up with. Well, to be perfectly honest, I had to answer so many questions about what went where and "is this a keep or a chuck?" that they did all the work and I literally just supervised. And yes, I do feel a bit guilty about that. Then again, I had to deal with and put away all the papers once they were sorted, which did take me a week (or may be an on going thing that I haven't totally dealt with yet). So I suppose it's all good. In any case, they totally have my undying true love and devotion forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's what it looked like at the end:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5kwhj6-d7URDlnnZ1YGas4PWUJlvXXSJHBylWY6P5bdTUybPE3S4Q9j6_NBhYEhK-B9g9pltTi0YncgsJEV5yogWwtFbl8cLg55KrenW36RFHrLGOJSuSIB0GR2n5uVhbdpOdZkeieNJ/s1600/IMG_8744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5kwhj6-d7URDlnnZ1YGas4PWUJlvXXSJHBylWY6P5bdTUybPE3S4Q9j6_NBhYEhK-B9g9pltTi0YncgsJEV5yogWwtFbl8cLg55KrenW36RFHrLGOJSuSIB0GR2n5uVhbdpOdZkeieNJ/s640/IMG_8744.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Ta Da! So much less paper!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And see the glossy blue photo album on the table? That's my photo album from my freshman year of college. My best friend/college roommate/sister-in-law made it for me. They got me telling stories from when I was a freshman. Which led to Sister Anderson telling us all about her posse. And how they found each other, got through a bunch of stuff together, and then decided to go out into the world on missions to make the world a better place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She even had a scripture about it. (If you are faint-hearted when it comes to scriptures, skip to the end) It's from the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, and describes when a group of friends and brothers decide to go out into the world and see what good they can do individually, seeking and listening to what God asks them to, with little regard for their own preferences or comfort. Pretty brave stuff. Follow the finger to verse 13:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKH39EwPtwTrTiXmFcZteXtp0buLT9vMydn0USUbKxbe2JcSNu-jYDQL3_AOFkrhQ_wR-9ZiKyyUwQkN68mPbZR1gng2lci_Ks46dOU0xXogNkEX9APkPRZdt5n6P1ySUnvr4OSYhVLKeV/s1600/IMG_8746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKH39EwPtwTrTiXmFcZteXtp0buLT9vMydn0USUbKxbe2JcSNu-jYDQL3_AOFkrhQ_wR-9ZiKyyUwQkN68mPbZR1gng2lci_Ks46dOU0xXogNkEX9APkPRZdt5n6P1ySUnvr4OSYhVLKeV/s640/IMG_8746.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Man, that brings back memories. I am still friends with several of the people from that part of my life... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, sorry, I drifted back in time there for a sec. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mission. That was such a strange and hard and amazing time. So far away...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bet Sister Anderson never thought for a second when she was talking to those friends and got her call (That's what Mormon's call the location assignment you get from the Church headquarters for your mission) to Turkey - yes she's supposed to be in Turkey, but had VISA issues- that she's be spending Wednesdays cleaning out an art studio and using power tools. How funny to be part of someone else's mission story!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, we got those papers beaten back. I wish I could tell you that they are all completely dealt with... But if we were done with everything, what would we talk about? And we're not even close to done at week 4. So come back tomorrow to see if I wrote about week 5, kay? We actually go into the studio and attack it directly! So exciting! I know you can't wait, so I'll go get busy so I have time to tell you about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">PS. Here are the links to all the other exciting episodes of tackling the studio:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">The book that started things</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html">The Plan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/dig-out-studio-week-1-motivation-not.html">Week 1</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-2-bin-and-bins.html">Week 2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-3-getting-crafty.html">Week 3</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/07/week-10-whole-hog-day-1.html">Week 10- I know. I just couldn't wait to write about it</a></li>
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<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-14369994012993992752018-07-16T15:33:00.000-07:002018-07-16T15:33:49.449-07:00Week 10: The Whole Hog? Day 1<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok, I know it's supposed to be "paper week" and I am supposed to write about week 4, But I think we will have a pause in our regularly scheduled chronology, because I really want to post something, and it happens to actually be Week 10. So sorry about the breach in chronological etiquette. And for all of you here for the Sister Missionaries, have no fear, they will make an appearance on Wednesday. Unless I decide I need to write about week 4 and/or 5 tomorrow. Which I just might. In that case, they will be here tomorrow. But not really, as they only come on Wednesdays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In any case, this week I am working on the studio everyday because my kids are all having a jolly time at camp. So I figured since I have all this uninterrupted time for the first time in weeks, I'd tackle things with a vengeance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The goal this week is to take everything out of the studio, bit by bit, to go through it with an eye for seeing what to lose and what to keep, and then to put it all back in a way that makes </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">things </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">easy to use and find. And to make it look cooler. Such a huge goal. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc5puG-OvamYPkbQZjJGhtuRVXHZucdC6EnmZSJWD6-HTzxVWwaVPq1h6Py41Nf4gO_Ifcak64FLdCh0pMMrHoxM1MIHy5NSCIawGDughFM3JZCaQtRV99IjLoe_uRLre3FLXP-yJYKCe/s1600/IMG_8386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc5puG-OvamYPkbQZjJGhtuRVXHZucdC6EnmZSJWD6-HTzxVWwaVPq1h6Py41Nf4gO_Ifcak64FLdCh0pMMrHoxM1MIHy5NSCIawGDughFM3JZCaQtRV99IjLoe_uRLre3FLXP-yJYKCe/s640/IMG_8386.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest, I have been staring at the counters in my studio for weeks now, wondering exactly what to do with all the things scattered on them. There are just so many decisions to be made and so many little things that need dealing with. Combined with the kids being home all day and my spending the last 3 weeks painting a good friend's kitchen cabinet doors in my garage, it has been completely overwhelming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a bit more hand ringing, I decided I better go back to the book, literally. I pulled out my copy of <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Your-Home-Sort-Succeed/dp/0983372322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531767884&sr=8-1&keywords=sort+and+succeed&dpID=41xoWJH12jL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch">SORT and Succeed</a></u> again. For those of you just tuning in, this is an organizing book by Darla DeMorrow that I reviewed <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">here</a>, that kind of inspired the current <strike>muddle</strike> studio project. Nothing like professional help to stave off the panic attack. I read through all the stages again, and for some reason, the idea of a reward stuck in my head. My kids are at camp this week, so I have all day from 8:30 am-3:30 pm to work uninterrupted. At least that was my plan. After perusing the book again, I was reminded that working longer than 4 hours a pop is not recommended. So I decided that my reward for 4 hours of work was writing to you all about it for a couple of hours! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That may sound totally lame, but I have been dying to post all the stuff we have been doing, but just haven't had time. I have only posted through week 3, and it's really week 10. So I really want to catch up with myself. I may even get crazy and post every day this week. Shocking, I know!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After getting my <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Your-Home-Sort-Succeed/dp/0983372322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531767884&sr=8-1&keywords=sort+and+succeed&dpID=41xoWJH12jL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch">SORT and Succeed</a></u> pep talk (Demorrow really is a pleasant, encouraging author and coach) I marched myself back downstairs and got to work. As directed, I set my written goals for the day:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deal with the extra shelf se</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Set up sorting tables</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remove everything that has no home</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Decide if these items stay or go</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put bills away in bag for shredding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put away cooler</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check paint and find a home for labels, formulas or remove to trash</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Empty trash and replace bag</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(And I even made you guys a little video of my good intentions, but it isn't loading well. I will add it later, if I can find someone more technically savvy than me to help. Queue the teenagers. Alas, they are at camp.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started out strong with the extra shelves. I had a missing leg in this set, and another broken set of a similar shelving unit, and when I compared the two, the legs seemed like a match! So yay. The shelves are off to another family that just moved and can use them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next I set up my sorting table in the basement family room, so I'd have a little more room to decide what I was gonna do with stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seemed so spacious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After about 45 min, it looked like this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Qlx0OH9W2FYv9Z_ZzwQXnvzpW2SBdCjU0t7NQDrk1XpX53HsUsRPP6e4PNJL0A2j63GbpIKW0Aukwlf13qHVn5HZg7SeguhGdU2-jeRWXcWi4MsnptKA2PQPBARRG74XK9NHLNmRoC1Q/s1600/IMG_8858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1296" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Qlx0OH9W2FYv9Z_ZzwQXnvzpW2SBdCjU0t7NQDrk1XpX53HsUsRPP6e4PNJL0A2j63GbpIKW0Aukwlf13qHVn5HZg7SeguhGdU2-jeRWXcWi4MsnptKA2PQPBARRG74XK9NHLNmRoC1Q/s640/IMG_8858.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So depressing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am going to have to set up another table to actually be able to sort anything. Good thing I have another one. I suppose I could also just make my kids clean up their stuff on the craft table in the back ground and use that. Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The good news is that one corner of the studio looks like this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuQ00hyphenhyphenfT0NQ4I2qJ9UH0DP7QJ6nklgwdi76ZRWvYAeEHLRHzyzHQ6Vu3-Nx9InLsExpEJdnECNWiJRsmG51-YRn1ruFoR_JYQPNBEhgs5dUw-f371gZOyDg-DmK6IyZotCs_Tt_ifjh7/s1600/IMG_8859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuQ00hyphenhyphenfT0NQ4I2qJ9UH0DP7QJ6nklgwdi76ZRWvYAeEHLRHzyzHQ6Vu3-Nx9InLsExpEJdnECNWiJRsmG51-YRn1ruFoR_JYQPNBEhgs5dUw-f371gZOyDg-DmK6IyZotCs_Tt_ifjh7/s640/IMG_8859.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqszRF4rUknpcAyEbK_eihOsK3_8LG46Fi4B6CbGHKpqRy-uc1zlOefHmexH1Z7Fzu2ZdoQgMdNOlTuEDTqgt_qmEF0ATyuoDyJE1H0BxsQf-mmKsIa80Sk-ygCeguRCTPbu7E47oDijo7/s1600/IMG_8860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqszRF4rUknpcAyEbK_eihOsK3_8LG46Fi4B6CbGHKpqRy-uc1zlOefHmexH1Z7Fzu2ZdoQgMdNOlTuEDTqgt_qmEF0ATyuoDyJE1H0BxsQf-mmKsIa80Sk-ygCeguRCTPbu7E47oDijo7/s640/IMG_8860.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Definite progress. Especially when you remember I started here:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnsWZqMIMT2cWuCF8iUj-hBtr8GTcxktvg53VsVeRTNqydTvr7Y6SNC3Uoa4YpaE4GunEKRRACUD-dG4u-tEKow0tzmzfZYbbDsS_uZ0HhZGfkRu-1LAMSBEEWDz2eMe5FhBYX47j4XJK/s1600/IMG_8850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnsWZqMIMT2cWuCF8iUj-hBtr8GTcxktvg53VsVeRTNqydTvr7Y6SNC3Uoa4YpaE4GunEKRRACUD-dG4u-tEKow0tzmzfZYbbDsS_uZ0HhZGfkRu-1LAMSBEEWDz2eMe5FhBYX47j4XJK/s640/IMG_8850.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s57BzZRm-L_zhL96mcJqjf_UGwdSJEoOHy7Iurq_Ya84n266BOFfeQDYckREDtcPyoy6kcMiR8FuIFojeezyQV0VEXoDKjuUqSwcA5VJuzqm5SGQYUauiJkb3dxrVlfCOG4c_5ZnPXQO/s1600/IMG_8851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4s57BzZRm-L_zhL96mcJqjf_UGwdSJEoOHy7Iurq_Ya84n266BOFfeQDYckREDtcPyoy6kcMiR8FuIFojeezyQV0VEXoDKjuUqSwcA5VJuzqm5SGQYUauiJkb3dxrVlfCOG4c_5ZnPXQO/s640/IMG_8851.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept taking things out and finding pockets of space on the "sorting" table. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also put away the cooler and dealt with the dead paint cans that the Sisters sorted and checked or me during Week 5. Check and check off my goal list!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, I got down to just the furniture, at least in this little corner. So I did what any normal tired person would do, I started moving the supports for things and lifting the drawing table up on the pallet by myself. Always the best plan when you have no help and the table is heavy and a bit wobbly. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgx0Si_thKsNtfGrPd2FBAUh8cCwp1D68zXO2fmNs-bM7RwZH1UCFnk2Qex495ehNzjtY7UAgMt98AtwGqjZVsp7l3nWe_zkiTpYmqDbtOGOFms_BIG-k4IiBiaxH1lsKPqenzJQPCLhR/s1600/IMG_8861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1280" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgx0Si_thKsNtfGrPd2FBAUh8cCwp1D68zXO2fmNs-bM7RwZH1UCFnk2Qex495ehNzjtY7UAgMt98AtwGqjZVsp7l3nWe_zkiTpYmqDbtOGOFms_BIG-k4IiBiaxH1lsKPqenzJQPCLhR/s640/IMG_8861.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also moved the heavy plastic drawer set and turned over the cement board, almost knocking the wires on my gas water heater. Seriously, I think there is something wrong with me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This all happened because I started thinking about new ways to organize the space. And I wanted to see what it would look like if I put the "Fine Art" section (I have decided I need a Fine Art section) on the far right, near the hanging racks. I loved it for about 2 seconds and then started seeing problems. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest problem is that the table is high and the chair is low. I could get rid of the pallet and cement board, but it floods about 1/4 inch in the studio every so often, so I try to keep everything off the floor. Especially anything cardboard. And I really like hanging my works in progress on the "board wall" to dry, not that I've done that for years. But it was great when I did it in 2010. And if my table is there, will I still be able to reach the board wall? And what about the the matte board against the wall and where do I put my fine papers? And? And? And?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is about the time I turned around and saw this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJjHsm-h8Jf_ztP41aeuHjK6IcW9XaBMgNfC7PqaJTwcDt5Lc89GLVoWLX7K62rjm0_UENHyPys1NKy5TG-Gw9byAYP7B-RdprNZuFKjYK8JAqIB0drSEG-GPh3jAgXT9PnXuGYmcLAMv/s1600/IMG_8863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1280" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJjHsm-h8Jf_ztP41aeuHjK6IcW9XaBMgNfC7PqaJTwcDt5Lc89GLVoWLX7K62rjm0_UENHyPys1NKy5TG-Gw9byAYP7B-RdprNZuFKjYK8JAqIB0drSEG-GPh3jAgXT9PnXuGYmcLAMv/s640/IMG_8863.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And my head blew up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I walked out. And got some ice cream. Because we all know that ice cream solves everything. And while I was enjoying my snack, I looked at the clock my 4 hours were up. I felt magically excused from working any more. Especially since things weren't going anywhere good. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we'll see what happens tomorrow. I have big plans to go exercise first, so maybe the endorphins will help me unjumble all this. And just for the record,"Unjumble" is totally a word. I totally did not make it up right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-53469736355792197972018-06-27T07:23:00.000-07:002018-06-27T07:23:29.736-07:00Digging Out the Studio Week 3: Getting Crafty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week 3 was a whirlwind for me. I had just gotten back from my brother-in-law's wedding and I could feel a cold coming on. Things were going a little "End of the Year" berserk, so I almost cancelled. But the Sisters couldn't come any other day, so I just told them to come anyway and bluffed, like I had actually thought through what they were going to do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I walked into the studio and saw the bin of craft supplies that my kids use. You know the pictures that 3 year olds draw of the sun or spiders or octopuses, with 10,000 arms and legs coming off a messy circle? That was what this bin kinda resembled. "Great!" I thought with much relief, "I'll make them clean out the craft stuff," and proceeded to pull out anything remotely crafty that looked like a tornado had hit it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Kleven is particularly partial to crafts, so I put her in charge of the that crazy bin, as well as my ribbons that looked like they had been fighting amongst themselves since the Christmas onslaught. And can I tell you, this girl does not disappoint. Look at the order she brought to the battling ribbons! It's art, I say. Art!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUqScq5grRaXvBS5ZOKpv_ybPKMmVibc893qzLcHQ0AlbeGOWCXxwfv9WNWRMFoCZirGE2j8nPzGuNPvPA-3z8cskx7bCbjPxQRZhs9tkCffIKuP-BVfXrE_8BqBcdXbH5GyInAve9QnK/s1600/IMG_8704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUqScq5grRaXvBS5ZOKpv_ybPKMmVibc893qzLcHQ0AlbeGOWCXxwfv9WNWRMFoCZirGE2j8nPzGuNPvPA-3z8cskx7bCbjPxQRZhs9tkCffIKuP-BVfXrE_8BqBcdXbH5GyInAve9QnK/s640/IMG_8704.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this is the former octopus-like bin. Look at the order. Could you die? All those Ziploc bags in their tidy little rows. I never thought I'd consider Ziploc bags a thing of beauty, but there it is. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIvp8LUnlr79W5CZoTA9EiNCrNyw_qS8gsLHeo45kZK9Q-zIMMIVGoiqLehXtIWP5Hvk12oHHhSke3akC8iIXQzaYiw-_gm30xV1ltTsW2JJXsivTGWHbTNDLKhd-UksYXaQo4tQNve98/s1600/IMG_8803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIvp8LUnlr79W5CZoTA9EiNCrNyw_qS8gsLHeo45kZK9Q-zIMMIVGoiqLehXtIWP5Hvk12oHHhSke3akC8iIXQzaYiw-_gm30xV1ltTsW2JJXsivTGWHbTNDLKhd-UksYXaQo4tQNve98/s640/IMG_8803.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for Sister Merritt, well since she had so much fun with the screws and nuts and bolts the first time, I put her in charge of putting them in their new home. Wasn't that so thoughtful of me? Actually, she wasn't even annoyed. She muttered something about "personal vendetta" and jumped right in.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhfOFSGxhG9MRPLu8TSOwUfmzmOfID8ATKBwPHVKKx-iQ0Lkau_lrD4BPxyPjoyIqVF2Z9exFwR9ak04TCCOn-IDexC2iYy5sGzXZ3L0btwE0eBVSXVXaUjnzaJzyRDkBa64LMD4YnECU/s1600/IMG_8705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="968" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhfOFSGxhG9MRPLu8TSOwUfmzmOfID8ATKBwPHVKKx-iQ0Lkau_lrD4BPxyPjoyIqVF2Z9exFwR9ak04TCCOn-IDexC2iYy5sGzXZ3L0btwE0eBVSXVXaUjnzaJzyRDkBa64LMD4YnECU/s640/IMG_8705.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I have a confession to make. <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-2-bin-and-bins.html">Last time</a> I totally cheated. Sister Anderson's first week in our area, or even as a missionary, was Week 3. She was not even here for the modeling of the 80's clothes. But she heard about the cow print Guess? jeans and was jealous, so we pulled them out and let her play with the 80's too. Sister Merritt was actually the one trying things on, but we were laughing too hard to remember to take pics. But I ended up giving her the desert camo pants, so if you ask really nicely, she might model them for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, back to Sister Anderson. New missionaries are called "beans" as in "green beans." At least they were in my mission. I had forgotten what an entertaining blend of spunk, enthusiasm, and insecurity they can be. It was so fun to watch Sister Anderson wrap her brain around the fact the missionary work also included wearing 80's clothes and checking if all the markers worked or not. Yes, I did. I gave her this huge bin of mostly dead markers and made her draw with every single one to see if they still worked or not. Welcome to full time service sweetie!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4h3J2C_gcX9yqN-rdv0zHvxGhwxOPgI8EQCXdhFm6Y58VCUTPD6aPrU_1cRdEBWcvbEprcgljlBu_v5KCJK84YdRYgu_ySnLAD32PtMcDC60Gk4x2NBriIBDcjB6AFqzY83OpDKdGnm5/s1600/IMG_8706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4h3J2C_gcX9yqN-rdv0zHvxGhwxOPgI8EQCXdhFm6Y58VCUTPD6aPrU_1cRdEBWcvbEprcgljlBu_v5KCJK84YdRYgu_ySnLAD32PtMcDC60Gk4x2NBriIBDcjB6AFqzY83OpDKdGnm5/s640/IMG_8706.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sister Merritt finished wrestling with the nuts and bolts once and for all and asked if I had a pencil sharpener so she could tackle the pile of dull, unusable colored pencils next to the bin of mostly dead markers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do, but it is electric and upstairs and prone to overheating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After consulting with Sister Anderson, Sister Merritt decided it would be better to stay with her companions and asked for a knife. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A knife? Why yes, I have several. Take your pick</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So a delighted Sister Merritt settled in and happily whittled her way though my stack of dull pencils. She kept telling us how great it was to be whittling again and how it reminded her of camping in the wilds of Wyoming, where she's from. Friends, this girl is the real deal. No Glamping for her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They all got so much done so quickly. It was mind boggling. So we had a consult, to decide what to deal with the next week and how to proceed after that. After pursuing the studio again, we unanimously voted to tackle the papers next week. Brave souls, they are. So there we left off, headed into the dark waters of the unknown paperwork ahead. You'll have to come back for the next post to see if we survived. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PS: If you want to catch up on our little journey of discovery, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here are all the previous posts in the series</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">The Book That Started It All</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html">The Big Picture</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/dig-out-studio-week-1-motivation-not.html">Week 1</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/digging-out-studio-week-2-bin-and-bins.html">Week 2</a></span></div>
<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-32603459683307609872018-06-15T07:59:00.000-07:002018-06-15T07:59:52.915-07:00Digging Out the Studio, Week 2: Bin and Bins of Fun<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Welcome back to our nifty little series on digging out my art studio/storage room. If you are new here, thanks for clicking over. You can catch up with these posts:</span><br />
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<a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book that might just change things</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Plan</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/dig-out-studio-week-1-motivation-not.html">Week 1: Motivation and Missionaries</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In any case, our story continues with me getting a phone call. Normally I hate being called by surveys or businesses selling things or computer scammers, but this call was a little different. It was from the National Children's Center, asking if I had any donations. <i>Donations? Hmm... Let me think...What about the whole studio full of crap I don't want anymore? Can we donate that? We can!? Great!</i> So I booked a pickup in three days</span>. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do charities in the West or other parts of the country call you up out of the blue and ask if you want them to come to your house and pick up your stuff? There are a ton of them here that do. I think I am on the calling list of about 5 different charities, who will come and remove my problems...er, unwanted, gently used items about once a month. It's amazing. You just put it in your driveway, with the name of the charity or "donation" taped to the top of the pile, and when you get back from the grocery store or work or whatever, it has magically vaporized and you are left with a receipt that you can deduct from your taxes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Guys I have to be honest. I was feeling like the smartest girl ever. It was such a good feeling. And I have a spoiler for you...Things totally worked out and they took all my stuff and I lived happily ever after.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, not all my stuff. There is still plenty of crap in the studio that I haven't got to yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But they did take this pile:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you know what a bunch of those bins are filled with? VHS tapes! I know, right? I was so excited that someone can still use them. There was the whole collection of Disney movies like "The Emperor's New Grove" and "Mary Poppins" and "Bug's Life". And the classics from my kid's little days like "Elmo in Grouchland". Not to mention the more grown up classics like "Blast From the Past" (I'm not sure I ever actually watched that one after I bought it, but if you recall, there was a time when Brendan Frasier was actually worth looking at) and "October Sky" that no one remembers, but were fun back in the day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How sad to be old enough to really qualify for someone who can use the phrase "back in the day." Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, the people came while I was shopping and the VHS collection of my past was on it's way to some other fate than the trash heap! So crazy exciting. Especially since I have this reoccurring image of a world where all the trees are dead and black VHS film wraps around them like strangler vines. "Shudder." I am sure I am the only one who has that particular thought, but I did sleep better that night</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But VHS tapes were not the only thing that found a new life. The sisters and I started by taking everything out of those bins, before we filled them with VHS tapes. The tapes were previously taking up half of the drawer space in the giant dresser I have living next to the freezer in the studio. And I had no idea what was living in the bins. It had been a while, like 10 years, since I had opened them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Guys, can I just tell you how great these girls are to help me? They actually came back to help again! After I made them sort all those little screws <a href="https://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/06/dig-out-studio-week-1-motivation-not.html">last time</a>. So as a favor, I let them open bins containing who knows what and 80's and 90's ski clothing that mice had discovered. So nice of me. Fortunately, I was the one who opened that bin. I knew we had had mice and had gotten rid of them, so there was no hysterical screaming. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What the girls got to discover was rabbit pelts (I am an animal fur junkie. I am sorry if you are a card carrying PETA member. I just really like animals and having their fur makes me feel safe and close to them. #justbeinghonest) and all of my Easter decorations that I never use and forgot I had. Some of them were pretty cute, but hello...I FORGOT I had them. Buh bye! I did end up keeping the eggs daughter #1 and #2 got at the White House Easter Egg Rolls when they were each 3. They were so cute and I was so happy to be there. Some things we keep. Even Marie Kondo of <u>The Magic of Tidying Up</u> fame says "Keep the things that bring you joy." So those posters and eggs and pelts stayed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The real fun started when they found the bin of 80's clothing I had saved because I totally emote all over material things. There were a pair of military issue desert camo pants I got at <a href="https://www.smithandedwards.com/">Smith and Edwards</a>, a military surplus store in Ogden, UT that my grandpa and father go way back with. There was the designer periwinkle shirt and pant set I bought in a boutique in York, England, when I spent 3 weeks there after I graduated from high school in 1989, that I would still wear if it actually fit me. In the event I ever lose enough weight to get it on and do it justice, I will totally post pics here. There was a olive colored washable silk flight suit-like jump suit, right out of Top Gun that quickly became Sister Merritt's favorite thing. There was a cute pair of red Guess shorts and a few dresses my mom made for me, but the <i>Piece de Resistance </i>was definitely my prized and hoarded pair of cow print Guess jeans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love these jeans as much as the cow skull that hangs above my mantle and that was a gift from my father who bought it at the Phoenix swap meet from a lady who found it in the desert. I know. I know. I am super weird, bordering on creepy, but I love that thing for all i am worth. it says, "home" to me in the best way. The cow print Guess jeans are like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, they are Guess? and if you were a teenager in the 80's, you know that owning and wearing Guess clothing made you a better person. Misguided perhaps, but when I wore those jeans, I felt like the most popular, magnificent, and cool girl on the planet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, they are a size 28. And they actually fit me. They are material proof that I was once "hot". Want to see? I knew you would understand. I freaking love this picture. Brace yourself for some seriously big hair:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I cannot express to you how much I miss this version of my butt. Sigh. And yes, I am standing on the counter, right in front of the sink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And here are the same pants on Sister Anderson, Sister Missionary extraordinaire!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A nice touch, the "Vote for Pedro" shirt, so you are completely certain that she is Mormon. And look. They are BAGGY on her. Sigh. But nothing will diminish my love for those jeans. Good times, I tell you. Good times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So that was this week's edition of "Dig out CM Shaw's Studio". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How are you guys doing with your projects? Any progress? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if you are looking for some meaning in your life, I know a few girls...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-41168104986381862232018-06-04T09:14:00.000-07:002018-06-04T09:38:28.712-07:00Dig out the Studio, Week 1: Motivation not required, but Missionaries go a long way towards helping reach your goal. <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u><b>Warning, this post contains lots of pictures of a dirty basement.</b></u> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To prevent you from being overwhelmed, here is a picture of the azaleas blooming at the National Arboretum. It will give your eyes something pretty to look at, if the mess of my studio is just too much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just kidding. I know you all can handle a good mess. We just went to see the flowers the same week I started working on the studio and figured they might be a nice foil to my dirty basement. And just as an aside, If you find yourself in the Nation's Capital with nothing to do on a nice May afternoon, I would highly recommend the <a href="https://www.usna.usda.gov/">National Arboretum</a>. Here's another pic, including me:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So. Many. Blossoms. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this post isn't about flowers. It's about whether or not I can get all the garbage out of my studio and make it back into a functional space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So last post, we were getting motivated, right? Oh yeah. <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">The SORT and Succeed Method</a> says we don't need motivation to get all the stuff out of our <strike>hoarder's stash</strike> ...er...art studio. Well, the first week I actually put that theory to the test. I scheduled a time to work on the studio. And I invited a few friends I knew needed service hours over to help me, just to keep me from wimping out and "forgetting" to do it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I figured if I was going to talk about the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Your-Home-Sort-Succeed/dp/0983372322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528124955&sr=8-1&keywords=sort+and+succeed">SORT and Succeed book</a>, I had better actually try following that method. So I started with the first part of the acronym SORT, "Start with a written plan." My "Big Picture" plans are laid out <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-big-picture-where-studio-is-going.html">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After I wrote all that out, I went back to the book and realized I had totally missed the point. In Ch. 2, DeMarrow clearly states:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> "A project is an organizing job you can accomplish in one defined </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> If you think you'll need more than about 4 hours to solve your organizing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">project into some smaller projects." (pg. 22)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yeah...Apparently "I am going to clean all this crap out and be a completely different person and live happily ever after" does not exactly fit the definition given for "a project". I kept reading, hoping for her to throw me a bone and make this easy. My friends <i>were</i> going to be here in 20 min. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found my solution in Ch.3: "Start at the door." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brilliant! I'll start at the door! This is what it looked like near my door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I quickly wrote out "Throw away any trash near the door. Put away things that have places. Make places or plans for anything that does not have a place. Deal with everything within 3 feet of each side of the door." I finished writing just as the doorbell rang.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Sorry for the grainy pictures. My iPad doesn't love low light. There may be more than a few of these in this series of posts. Hopefully it just makes you feel like you are that much better a photographer. I am all about empowerment, you know.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is something I should tell you about my friends. While they <i><b>are</b></i> my friends, they are also serving as sister missionaries for my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know you may be scratching your head and thinking, "Aren't Mormon missionaries boys in suits on bikes?" Yes they are, but missionaries come in "girls with cars" form too! These kids give up 18 mos-2 yrs of their college life, paying their own way, to be volunteers, do service, and teaching about our church to anyone who will listen to them. It is such a good thing to do with yourself in that very self-focused time of your life.You can find out more about what full time missionaries do <a href="https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/missionary-program">here</a>) I don't know how exactly we decided it was a good idea for them to help me, but it got approved as "viable service", so they will be around for the next 6 weeks or so. Yay for me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While I was planning what we were going to do, I realized that if I had help, I needed to have projects for them to work on that didn't require me to make any decisions. So I looked around at what there was to be done. Here is what I found.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What 20 year old girl doesn't want to break down a pallet with a rip saw?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They made short work of that puppy. Now I can finally build that <a href="https://www.1001pallets.com/2013/01/pallet-easel/">easel</a> I have been thinking about for 5 years. (I swear, Pinterest is the <u>opposite</u> of free time.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*Dear Mission President and concerned parents reading this post: Please notice the protective eye-wear. Sister Kleven and Sister Merritt were very careful, listened attentively to my safety lecture about how not to cut off your leg with a rip saw, and both have previous experience with power tools* In fact, Sister Merritt said she grew up helping her dad do roofing projects in Wyoming. Woot! Some Girl Power there baby!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also got all my mixed-up bins of screw and nails and bolts sorted by size. True love and devotion, I tell you. And they did it all with those smiles you see there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I dealt with the area around the door! Check it out:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notice the distinct lack of debris, garbage, and things without a home. It worked like magic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So far so good, I think. I have to say though, as much as I like the SORT and Suceed method, I think my magic ingredient may be the sister missionaries. This is so much more fun with a bunch of well intentioned 20 year olds helping. And this was only week 1. Wait until you see what we got up to in Week 2.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are you guys de-junking anything?Have you read <u>SORT and Suceed</u> or any other interesting books on organizing lately? How is your "project" going? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let me know. The sisters and I would love to hear your story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-49065996025367819122018-05-23T11:29:00.002-07:002018-05-23T11:29:17.006-07:00The Big Picture: Where the studio is going<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Exciting things guys! I have been working on the studio. I am actually 3 weeks in. But I am not going to show you my progress quite yet. Because every good story needs to have the stage set. So this post is all about where I want to go and the space I am trying to create. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you recall waaaay back in 2013 (I love you if you still read this blog after all that time), I used to actually make things in my studio. <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2013/04/getting-ready-for-lucketts.html">Like this</a>. I know. After the pic from the last post <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-read-that-will-finally-inspire-me.html">here</a>, that seems like a very long time ago indeed. But that is really all I want, to have a functional space that I can make stuff in that can handle having stuff dumped on the floor. It doesn't need to be a pretty space, just a useful one. Let's just say I have no desire for a space that looks like the one <a href="https://www.houzz.com/photo/18245857-platte-park-2101-traditional-home-office-denver">in this pin</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">And since I told you all that I was going to talk about the </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Your-Home-SORT-SUCCEED-ebook/dp/B079BC6485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527099340&sr=8-1&keywords=sort+and+succeed" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">SORT and Succeed book</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">, I decided I would actually try following that method. So I started with the first part of the acronym SORT, "Start with a written plan."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Um...Yeah. Easier said than done. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They were talking about a small attainable goal, but since I'm me, and I tend to think big, I started with an overall vision for where I was going for the entire space. This is straight from my "Goals" notebook:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"I would like to have an efficiently organized art studio where I know where everything is, what I have, and with many clutter-free surfaces to work on.</i></span><br />
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<li><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">drying space</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">work space</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">supplies space</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tools space</i></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">display space</i></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I would also like to have spaces to store mementos, Christmas and other holiday decor, camping supplies, rarely used tools and equipment, and food storage. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I would prefer if almost nothing sat directly on the floor.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I would prefer if almost everything was easily reachable, at least with a stool.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I want to touch and make the decision "keep or not?" for every item in the studio. No unopened boxes. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I am fine with a "storage room" look. It doesn't have to be fancy. Rough and Functional is probably better.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I want "like" things grouped together." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So that's where the project is headed. You guys will have to keep me on track!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is clear that I will not be finishing in May. But I think I will finish before the end of the summer. And since that is sooner than <i>Never</i>, I am pretty happy about that. I work on it weekly, on Wednesday afternoons for about 2-3 hours, and I have two <strike>slave laborers</strike> friends who come and help me every week. I pick a few things for us to tackle and put away. It isn't fast, but we get it done every time and usually end up laughing a lot. I am still sad I didn't take pictures last week. But that is a story for next time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In any case, things are moving in spite of the "end of the year" crush. So here's to SORTing and hopefully, succeeding. So far, so good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-51386479619921879412018-04-19T10:31:00.000-07:002018-04-19T10:33:58.290-07:00The Read That Will Finally Inspire Me?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think that inspiration is a function of timing, as well as energy. I have been inspired so many times to do so many things, but life has prevented them from coming to pass for some multitude of reasons. Most of the time, I just simply can't create the space for it in my schedule. Sometimes, it is derailed by extenuating circumstances. Sometimes, I am just not ready when the inspiration strikes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So inspiration leaves me. And the idea stays unrealized. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But sometimes, the circumstances are right. The timing is good, I have the interest and the energy and the money and the will. And those times are magic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have spent almost all of my free time for the last 4 years trying to finish all the design projects in my house. Getting rid of my debris has also been a part of that quest. I think I am on round 7-8 of major purging. In any case, I have read several books on the subjects of Decluttering, Organizing, Cleaning, and Simplifying. Most of them had useful information that may have made all the difference, had the time been right. But it never was. Until now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am ready to tackle the studio. Let me show you what that means.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can see, it has been years since I really addressed this space. Or really did anything in here, but pile crap on top of crap. And no, I do not think I need to seek help for my hoarding issues, despite what these photos may imply. I do think I cleaned it up after the last barn sale I ran in 2013, but that was what? 5 years ago? Yeah.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In any case, I recently had a bit of serendipity fall into my lap. A friend of mine from <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2013/08/return-from-havenor-was-it-heaven.html">Haven</a>, <a href="http://sort.heartworkorg.com/">Darla DeMorrow</a>, recently contacted me to see if I wanted to review her new book on organizing! Perfect timing, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you all know, it has been almost a year since I posted anything. (Note the reasons listed above. They explain my entire life) I almost turned her down. But something niggled inside and told me to think about it. So I did, for a hot second. I realized I had already been moving towards clearing out the studio. Why not do it for you guys to see? I will try to post every time I work on it. My goal is to finish the whole space before the end of May. I am dubious that I will be able to do that, but for now, that's my goal. So cross you fingers with me, Kay?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But let's get to the book review that's the catalyst for all this. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079BC6485/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1516975609&sr=8-1&keywords=organizing+your+home+with+sort+and+succeed&linkCode=sl1&tag=heartorgan-20&linkId=5f80a369b7e347d8e8522639b3a70247"><img alt="Organizing Your Home with SORT and SUCCEED: Five simple steps to stop clutter before it starts, save money and simplify your life (SORT and SUCCEED Organizing Solutions Series) by [DeMorrow, Darla]" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CKIqzAGSL.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079BC6485/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1516975609&sr=8-1&keywords=organizing+your+home+with+sort+and+succeed&linkCode=sl1&tag=heartorgan-20&linkId=5f80a369b7e347d8e8522639b3a70247">Organizing Your Home With SORT and Succeed by Darla DeMorrow</a> has two great advantages over any other organizing book I have ever read, before you even open the cover. First, it only takes about an hour to read the whole thing, cover to cover. And second, it is free if you have Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.com or $4.99 if you are just a non-joiner, like me. (In the name of disclosure, Darla gifted me with a digital copy to review. All opinions are obviously my own. So are any spelling errors, gaffing social faux pas, and heinous messes left untouched in this blog post.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had no idea what to expect when I started reading, so I just open the file and dug in. I was really curious to see what she had to say that I hadn't heard before. The first few chapters are background on how she thinks about the process of sorting and working through one's possessions (Darla is a <a href="http://sort.heartworkorg.com/">Professional Organizer in Philadelphia</a>) and how our brains think about stuff. I am actually fascinated by how the human mind works, so I was happy about these chapters. You can skip them and go right to process if you want.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I was surprised by a quote fairly early on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Organizing is only worth doing if something amazing is going to come of it, and amazing comes from relationships, not things."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This one stopped me right in my tracks. I had never thought about organizing like this. But the interesting thing for me was, I had given up blogging the last couple of years (sniff..) so I could make my home more conducive to people gathering. Hmm. That sounds a lot like building a space for relationships to bloom, doesn't it? So yeah, I was pretty much hooked from there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another thing that caught my attention was her statement,<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"You don't need motivation."</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I don't know about you, but I find this a bold statement based off previous experience. I have yet to experience organizing and sorting I didn't have to drag myself across coals to get through. And I am tired, after working on so many things for so long. But if she says I can do it and not need to drag myself through it, I am willing to give that kind of optimism a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final quote that sealed the deal for me was this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Minimalism and empty rooms aren't the goal. Peace is the goal."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dang girl, you had me at "empty rooms aren't the goal." I <i>LOVE</i> stuff. I love having a bunch of cool things to look at and memories to think about. But right now, I do not feel peaceful. I feel resentful that I have to spend so much time dealing with <i>All. The. Things</i>. Resentful that I don't have places for things, so I can't deal with them. Resentful that even though I am trying so hard and putting so much effort into making things nicer in my home, it never feels like I have done anything. I didn't realize it until I read that line, but <b><u>Peace <i>IS</i> the goal for me</u></b>. I don't know that I would have been able to put it that succinctly, but that describes perfectly what I have been working towards. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ok, so that's the philosophy that caught my attention. The system itself is described in Chapter 3, so if you are the impatient type (I usually am) and want to get right on it, then that is your starting point. Here is the whole system in a nutshell:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>tart with a Written Plan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>rganize into groups</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">R</span>educe Release and Reset</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>weak, enhance <b><u>and</u></b> then</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It sounds so simple. But I got a little stuck when I started thinking about what I would actually write down for my plan in <u>Step 1</u>. I think, "Get all the crap out of the studio and throw it away" may be a bit too general and a lot too aggressive. I will have to readdress that, when I am actually ready to start next month. Once again, I'll keep you up on how things go when I am really doing it. I have a feeling that once I am actually standing in the studio, making decisions about how to break things down into smaller tasks, that this step will feel a lot more natural than it does upstairs staring at a book on a computer screen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did, however, like her idea of starting with "the end in mind." It is kind of fun to think of my studio being functional again, with things put away and having counter space to actually create the New. It's been a long time since I've had that. And I found it deeply satisfying when I did. I would be willing to change to get that room back and keep it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Step 2</u> is where the real action starts. You can tell Darla has worked with real people because she recommends talking yourself through the sorting process. "This is a ____ and I need to do _____ with it" is a phrase that I have a feeling will become near and dear. I attach memories to objects like a champ, and I am hoping that defining what the thing actually is, may help me be more open to letting a bunch of things go. If it's a ratty, tired t-shirt, rather than a receptacle of my memories of my trip to the Yucatan, I am far more likely to say "Adios." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is also the step where Darla encourages you to: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Keep searching for things that make your heart sing".</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Um. Yes. I think you should sign me up for that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will totally keep going through <strike>this crap</strike> these boxes of stored possessions to find treasures that make my whole life better. Not that I self identify through stuff or anything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Step 3</u> is the "deal with it" phase. This is where you take it to the trash, to recycle bin, the thrift shop. I feel like I have been living in Stage 3 for years. But it does work. Life is always a bit brighter after I see the back of the donation truck. This is also the point when you can start to see where this effort is all heading. I haven't gotten even close to this in the studio, so I will, once again, have to let you all know how it goes when I get there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Step 4</u> starts once the room looks like a room again and you are putting your new systems to the test. If they aren't working out, you just try a little tweak here and there to smooth it out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Step 5,</u> Succeed and Celebrate. This is one I usually skip because A) I am very tired after dealing with all this crap, B) I usually spent all my money on stuff for the project, and C) I am trying not to kill my children as they have already messed things up again. (Well, at least in the past they did. Now they've grown up into perfect human teenagers. <i>Cough, cough</i>.) In any case, I have decided that my reward for duking it out with my studio is that I get to post about whatever I did that day. The posts will be very irregular, sorry about that, but that's where I am right now. Any time to post will be a hard fought miracle. I have missed talking to you all terribly, and I think having a focused story to tell you is just what I need right now to keep on moving and feeling happier in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite it's short length, 84 pages, Darla packs in a bunch of useful information like a prioritized list of what order to tackle to rooms in your house, if you plan on doing the whole thing, ideas of how to store things, and how to schedule time so you will actually show up to work. I only scratched the surface. Go read it. It's an hour and a max of $5 out of your life. And if you want, pick a room and post with me on Instagram or Facebook, whichever is your thing, as you work though it. Let's use #SORTwithCMShawStudios. Or you can simply comment here after each post and keep me up to date on your progress. I'll be here, in the studio, fantasizing about a more peaceful creative space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-45012739641864350032017-09-24T19:19:00.002-07:002017-09-24T19:22:00.015-07:00Kissing at the Right Time With the Right Reason<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have three daughters, two of which are full blown teenagers. They are gorgeous, charming girls, who love to do fun things with fun people. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJtwi4fROc-sd9S9oqSCNk84954d-C253N59L0-9e8ugtVYhf2hsUrU-VrrmxcGh_-ntfwC5dGjw7ccn6Xk7FY3afWmpW-l2Y-SLMJeg3WC4FtDcuurL2QPyvgAive0Nv-eQ6MljnVIp-/s1600/DSCN0462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJtwi4fROc-sd9S9oqSCNk84954d-C253N59L0-9e8ugtVYhf2hsUrU-VrrmxcGh_-ntfwC5dGjw7ccn6Xk7FY3afWmpW-l2Y-SLMJeg3WC4FtDcuurL2QPyvgAive0Nv-eQ6MljnVIp-/s320/DSCN0462.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which means only one thing to overprotective fathers everywhere....Boys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the boys have arrived at my house. Something I personally love, having no sons of my own. But with the arrival of boys, and driving, and high school, has also come the arrival of dating...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...and <i>kissing.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know, right? Are all you parents shuddering and all you teenagers grinning?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I fall into the "grinning" camp because I have always been a big fan of kissing boys. Plus, I am not so sure that I ever quit being a teenager in many ways. Oh well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the boys come and go and there are some dates here and there for the girls that happen to be 16, and a lot of wishful sighing on the part of the girls who are not 16 yet </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(My girls don't date one on one until they are 16...I'll tell you about that in another post)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. There have been plenty of fun moments and plenty of not fun, which is the way of young relationships. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One day the two teenagers walked up and asked me, "Mom, how do you know when it is OK to kiss a boy, and when it is time to stop?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I am a very open person when it comes to talking about sex or relationships, and I believe in telling the truth about these things as far as answering the specific question asked goes. But as I dug into my "Experience with this" file, I came up with a blank. This was a spot I never did "right". I took kissing too far...</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every. Single. Time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sigh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now before all of you get excited, or start calling my ecclesiastical leaders, we really are talking about <i>just </i>kissing here. This is totally a family show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But it definitely required me thinking up a better answer than "uuhhhhh..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I thought about it for the whole day. And after thinking about things for hours, I had an epiphany.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I realized that this conversation about kissing "right" should actually start with a conversation about dating "right." Or rather, dating for the right reasons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, dating was a collection of kisses from cute boys to make me feel better about myself. This was the opposite of the so-called "right" reasons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have always told my kids that the purpose of dating is to get to know someone better than you can just hanging out with them at school or at church. The emphasis here is on becoming better friends through having fun little adventures together and talking about different things than you would in a group or at school. It is an exercise in learning how to gradually reveal yourself to someone and build deeper trust a little at a time. And then to see, over time, if you have enough in common to build on. Sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't, but both parties grow through the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These kinds of dates always start from a feeling of "Wow! I think this person is great! I want to know more..." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The approach I favored, and one popular with most teens today is to look at a person and think, "Dang! That guy/girl is hot. I should totally ask them out." Now, while popular, this approach to dating will not help you get to know someone better. That's not the question you are asking them. The question you are asking with this approach is, "Can I have access to you physically?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shocking, right? But if you think about it, that is the truth. If you are focusing on what someone looks like and that's your motive to be with them, you have set yourself up to ignore the rest of them. You are only left with the physical, which, if we are being honest here, is really the sexual.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are dating someone to get to know them better, you will be friends first. You will build on that friendship gradually through shared experience and conversation over time. Eventually, it will feel right to try kissing them. If you are doing it right, these kisses should be sparing and meaningful. They should be light, funny, loving, and fun. They should flow from the trust and affection you have built between each other. The should fill you with a bubbly joy and make you both want to be better people for each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If they turn into something greedy, something dominant, something you can't get enough of, you have crossed over into sexuality.There is a reason it is known as "the Sex Drive." If the reason you want to go out with someone is so you can make out with them, all you are doing is indulging your sex drive. There is no relationship growth possible from this place. It is purely self-serving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So this is the answer I will give my girls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Ladies, date boys who intrigue you, who seem fun and funny and interested in who you are. Go and have funny little adventures here and there and talk and tease each other and tell jokes and stories. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And if the dates keep being fun, and if you find you keep having things to talk about and things to learn and teach each other, eventually a day will come that it just seems like a good idea to kiss. So do it, with the feeling and the intention of getting to know each other. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>If you find yourself kissing for a long time or only wanting to kiss or thinking of doing more than kissing, you are no longer building your relationship. You are indulging your sex drive. So stop for a while, maybe for a week or a month or however it takes to refocus on being sweet friends again. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And if you can't refocus, the break will give you a chance to calm down and decide whether this is the relationship you really want...or not</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope they listen. They could be so much happier than I was. And isn't that what every parent wants for their child? A happier life than they had?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well that's all I've got for today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-34243989859702212832016-10-18T07:14:00.002-07:002016-10-18T07:14:33.724-07:00Another Pumpkin Frolic<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been a busy fall so far. I am never prepared to the landslide that comes with the start of school. Are you? I have stopped deluding myself into thinking that I'm gonna have all this time when the kids are gone, but I am still amazed at how busy I am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, since I am trying to get my barn doors hung in my family room this week (you guys are gonna die when you see how good they look), and since I have been writing really serious stuff lately and that, done too often, is a buzz kill, I thought I'd do something lighter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm taking you with me to the pumpkin patch today.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNIjtDOorqiLSlZxwkkFHDzrEdbpKACYB08XBe1S4mr8Uflap5P0dZZCqvdb3e3t3DaUqanIbEACBMnnAJEYqt-dlMTS5ey9bidQKo7WC2jU8k96_ON5dTvarWKfHP3FHwbKj73xK3XzJ/s1600/DSCN0410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNIjtDOorqiLSlZxwkkFHDzrEdbpKACYB08XBe1S4mr8Uflap5P0dZZCqvdb3e3t3DaUqanIbEACBMnnAJEYqt-dlMTS5ey9bidQKo7WC2jU8k96_ON5dTvarWKfHP3FHwbKj73xK3XzJ/s640/DSCN0410.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are about 10 million pumpkins hiding in this picture. They are all behind the leaves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made our annual Columbus Day pilgrimage to <a href="http://www.frederick.com/index.php?action=sponsor&id=861">Mayne's Tree Farm</a> in Buckeystown MD last week. Why Columbus Day? Because the kids are out of school here, and DK is off work. And it's never crowded at the patch on a Monday. (I wrote a big long post all about this patch a few years ago. <a href="http://cmshawstudios.blogspot.com/2012/10/celebrating-columbus-day-at-maynes-tree.html">Here you go</a>, if you want to know all about Mayne's Tree Farm, either for pumpkins in the fall or Christmas trees in Nov-Dec.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my favorite of all our family traditions. We have been coming here for almost 20 years, despite the hour long drive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Pumpkins like these, can you blame us?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDxCH4XigZhfgpZqxp2iyrF2LRsSwTe0hqReQHA7giREPt1_VjfXQ1a7SrUwCcC4OCi3_soD72iiIGDVDnVs0RrYStLsB6DT8v3kGH43Q5ZAN7xmRIEcUeEM6_KVLUi0k4ILZ1njYEmD8/s1600/DSCN0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDxCH4XigZhfgpZqxp2iyrF2LRsSwTe0hqReQHA7giREPt1_VjfXQ1a7SrUwCcC4OCi3_soD72iiIGDVDnVs0RrYStLsB6DT8v3kGH43Q5ZAN7xmRIEcUeEM6_KVLUi0k4ILZ1njYEmD8/s640/DSCN0440.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4asP27v2gmn7T2rjlB0SEwJqZee9k8Q2XssxS1Kn8vRZBLWtncKzui8SYjUSmeuOxrltl_CwwQdw6S7LzGTr_e7VIcS_pgxcbhR_vTCI-v0u9Ys71TXXKCzDraqSsOe3c03zQlWc2mbq/s1600/DSCN0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4asP27v2gmn7T2rjlB0SEwJqZee9k8Q2XssxS1Kn8vRZBLWtncKzui8SYjUSmeuOxrltl_CwwQdw6S7LzGTr_e7VIcS_pgxcbhR_vTCI-v0u9Ys71TXXKCzDraqSsOe3c03zQlWc2mbq/s640/DSCN0429.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you guess which one I brought home? Here's a hint:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhUKE4-6hR4LLDcYIkp7ZttK2SyFKzuL8JfR4XXmlhVt4e4innXhDazvXiZG2suThwL-oLWLL_0X1brzK5GiQdTFBRB3KasD-Ut4S032XYC4I-lXtl_5WeCpHNOHbNJ8i9JKwT42WZAnI/s1600/DSCN9633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRhUKE4-6hR4LLDcYIkp7ZttK2SyFKzuL8JfR4XXmlhVt4e4innXhDazvXiZG2suThwL-oLWLL_0X1brzK5GiQdTFBRB3KasD-Ut4S032XYC4I-lXtl_5WeCpHNOHbNJ8i9JKwT42WZAnI/s640/DSCN9633.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that is the one I was originally going to bring home. It's the one I searched for and came out of the field with. It was <i>My Precious</i>. Until I set it down in the wheel barrow with the other ones that my family had chosen. Pink was not a great fit with the wheel barrow full of hunter orange.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I opted for the tiger striped one and the white one. Can't you picture a tiger face on that yellow and green striped pumpkin? And the white one is for eating after Halloween. Maybe pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mmmm. Pie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some reason, this was a particularly jokey year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#3 decided to wear fake glasses.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Gk-HfNAsxiuODcp731oSKlgzJynBxK6D4vrWi_WtlAgBGy5ZUz_HuH3LmbEuVahEjkkUlc-KRIwc6lDflO42lqphU7CtaAvbuk51BV766adw8y0ImQgf8P8gmtIYCVicoOShU7G2T_56/s1600/DSCN0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Gk-HfNAsxiuODcp731oSKlgzJynBxK6D4vrWi_WtlAgBGy5ZUz_HuH3LmbEuVahEjkkUlc-KRIwc6lDflO42lqphU7CtaAvbuk51BV766adw8y0ImQgf8P8gmtIYCVicoOShU7G2T_56/s640/DSCN0421.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go figure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it was an excellent day for sunbathing. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQECkJqS3xeHlMmP6FGFqXhBKw8EieYuXxatnPQeGPi6gYZrzfsLJKaB7-d6D0aI2e3Lv5ClTNFRKUXL4Zz8CR897qfF-MAiWPjfi5vQvUqc_tUA1pbAswR0ZaPcKBwpTgyJgBkwJ1rQQV/s1600/DSCN0434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQECkJqS3xeHlMmP6FGFqXhBKw8EieYuXxatnPQeGPi6gYZrzfsLJKaB7-d6D0aI2e3Lv5ClTNFRKUXL4Zz8CR897qfF-MAiWPjfi5vQvUqc_tUA1pbAswR0ZaPcKBwpTgyJgBkwJ1rQQV/s640/DSCN0434.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And being super-human with tractors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All ferocious tractor photos were taken by DK. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Especially this one. My camera doesn't do this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRw76Ivn7HYBcHWLvg0WYI13H3otWYNFN-cUvsoHXdQp-1Yw_JUCCLralAKOtBXdc2Z8mrrIyMKYj4QNQtUkyENxmU7K5uYVSlRU-KDt2YPUrjBzsSFaCm4rR4VsxftFc-euw3okB8dV2A/s1600/DSCN9669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRw76Ivn7HYBcHWLvg0WYI13H3otWYNFN-cUvsoHXdQp-1Yw_JUCCLralAKOtBXdc2Z8mrrIyMKYj4QNQtUkyENxmU7K5uYVSlRU-KDt2YPUrjBzsSFaCm4rR4VsxftFc-euw3okB8dV2A/s640/DSCN9669.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigh. Just look at that polarized sky. I am so glad he has a nicer camera than I do. I get to use his when I need it. #stealyourspousesbeststuff</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what else did we do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wrestled on giant bales of hay. They both fell off right after this.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzK5-S5ouhZLMbNm5c-ZSNmJUXsaQo6ewA5vcpG6iKd2a_g1miEdB1uvlPdG3ct2SEyemHjxGwey9Iuv1ApMSAnVgIrLXj5AiVjAQqFQVm1kAyXaO2Zepvpgd4KBujXXghYe3kUYoMxhZ/s1600/DSCN9672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzK5-S5ouhZLMbNm5c-ZSNmJUXsaQo6ewA5vcpG6iKd2a_g1miEdB1uvlPdG3ct2SEyemHjxGwey9Iuv1ApMSAnVgIrLXj5AiVjAQqFQVm1kAyXaO2Zepvpgd4KBujXXghYe3kUYoMxhZ/s640/DSCN9672.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then decided to have fun with gourds</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#1 realized this may the second to last time she gets to come here, as graduation from high school is starting to loom in the horizon. She spent a lot of time staring at things, creating memories to carry with her.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4JaNfjoG0KR55uaSQWW-hzhyphenhyphenFF0SQTdlCSarRsQCitVR9xFpucYl9YZ6ViT3z3ulhsPLrNIsH7UYdaD92EMzFF26VcHWAgnykTvhe8GOhnjIS-l4BBcNMYLaAKCUitJDFXdXgrAUxBxe/s1600/DSCN9663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4JaNfjoG0KR55uaSQWW-hzhyphenhyphenFF0SQTdlCSarRsQCitVR9xFpucYl9YZ6ViT3z3ulhsPLrNIsH7UYdaD92EMzFF26VcHWAgnykTvhe8GOhnjIS-l4BBcNMYLaAKCUitJDFXdXgrAUxBxe/s640/DSCN9663.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's always interesting to realize you really ARE going to be leaving home and going on your own great adventure.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4H_JetrjDVTtCauOQVy88BMYPZYG8-4bWVlglo7LXfcIziCC1vwdfKMltFIqcpty6P1JpQu_7jSQa3r5jIpp300QiHDXn6kcMjwIV7ue_8047c8RE2tKBbBJ2fiFVzxB4mkUGw0go-F5D/s1600/DSCN0447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4H_JetrjDVTtCauOQVy88BMYPZYG8-4bWVlglo7LXfcIziCC1vwdfKMltFIqcpty6P1JpQu_7jSQa3r5jIpp300QiHDXn6kcMjwIV7ue_8047c8RE2tKBbBJ2fiFVzxB4mkUGw0go-F5D/s640/DSCN0447.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She and #2 climbed through a hole and into the silos at some point, but I couldn't get her to give me her new iPhone long enough to download her pics shooting up through the silo roof. They are cool. I saw them last night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DK went and bought a gallon of the best apple cider known to mankind, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkANj7zbpjE7hbf6lJW6u0YPxng-3WGlHK2UW8aYGNc_SIbJf8QfVKXvIk_dlN4IXjecABz9ijDpKRVc0ffMbJ1KeX2SBrQO5wJdJozv6xsstePcegvvRt3llzZOJTf6dl91YAsE28CKFK/s1600/DSCN0446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkANj7zbpjE7hbf6lJW6u0YPxng-3WGlHK2UW8aYGNc_SIbJf8QfVKXvIk_dlN4IXjecABz9ijDpKRVc0ffMbJ1KeX2SBrQO5wJdJozv6xsstePcegvvRt3llzZOJTf6dl91YAsE28CKFK/s640/DSCN0446.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and then got back to it with his magic camera.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just walked around, happy. It was such a lovely day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When there are pumpkins everywhere and it's fall, even a bad hair day can't bring you down.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAwNz9j5vR4CVdWXk3_zDKIlNoRYE4_KO8XYTnmOyRT4JCpEHvYDOIxA6FcGt7HJ66XFrvazDcJKkUQg2qm2GVb3JLqbUNFVuSFUQyFlFlTLDLi3pyuryE8GAHMill-W8bvLIJpigW4Oa/s1600/DSCN0413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAwNz9j5vR4CVdWXk3_zDKIlNoRYE4_KO8XYTnmOyRT4JCpEHvYDOIxA6FcGt7HJ66XFrvazDcJKkUQg2qm2GVb3JLqbUNFVuSFUQyFlFlTLDLi3pyuryE8GAHMill-W8bvLIJpigW4Oa/s640/DSCN0413.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The morel of this story is GO OUTSIDE AND ENJOY THE FALL! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go on! It's so stinking fun! Even the 17 year old thinks so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Tell me how your family sneaks away for fun... I am always open </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to new ideas for running away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-17483089507106390482016-09-27T12:51:00.000-07:002016-09-27T12:51:14.352-07:00Goodbye to the Harlequin Table<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am sad today. I took a table that I painted a few years ago to the ReStore and donated it. This is a small thing, and something I do often, but today it made me cry. More than once.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBAobMPMyZIGy8rbC9lRknqMm8iPzK6TcOB7OLdU9K9z8rgf0n-OBiLtl5C0O4cdgjR3Jch1xT9QxUq4vVEEvCj67HkIB1tfufhegD_Q6cTL4ytvIF5yBkPb6UEhbse4V71zzqKCVjBP2/s1600/IMG_1937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBAobMPMyZIGy8rbC9lRknqMm8iPzK6TcOB7OLdU9K9z8rgf0n-OBiLtl5C0O4cdgjR3Jch1xT9QxUq4vVEEvCj67HkIB1tfufhegD_Q6cTL4ytvIF5yBkPb6UEhbse4V71zzqKCVjBP2/s640/IMG_1937.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am surprised by the depth of this reaction. It's a side table I spent $9.99 on at a thrift store about 3 years ago. I did spend a ton of time working on it. I perfected a whole new technique involving layers of chalk paint glazes. And it is a vintage Henrendon (High end furniture) piece, most likely from the late 60's or early 70's. But that's not it. I have donated a ton of really high end stuff that didn't sell and things I have painted before with nary a second glance, let alone soul tears. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And yet, this one stung, all the way to the core of me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdU4wVRPBPk4iW5n9g3h-ueol-_hnBeUTOMQKa9G-eEAOv_gMbsmzUkAg46ixDto6j5NOPLEWWUj49lDXfzb1EfXdoAgrN6jQtB0lsVj63ZUWswfUprJG7N4o0S_YQHSNSuS5LoSajJGkx/s1600/IMG_1940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdU4wVRPBPk4iW5n9g3h-ueol-_hnBeUTOMQKa9G-eEAOv_gMbsmzUkAg46ixDto6j5NOPLEWWUj49lDXfzb1EfXdoAgrN6jQtB0lsVj63ZUWswfUprJG7N4o0S_YQHSNSuS5LoSajJGkx/s640/IMG_1940.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I let my thoughts swirl, I heard things like: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But this one told me what it wanted to be." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I prayed about whether it was a good buy and felt strongly I should get it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So why didn't it sell? Why didn't it ever find a home?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I am so tried of getting all excited about things that never pan out. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3 years, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4 shows </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and no one wanted it when I worked so hard and did such excellent work."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I walked over to the dishes and opened the dishwasher to make one last attempt before the weekend to finish washing what was on the counter (something I have been attempting since Wednesday). It was empty, except for the water bottles that my daughter despises filling and putting in the sink. I pulled one out, to see if they were clean or dirty and realized she had put away and entire dishwasher full of dirty dishes. I crumpled to the floor and started weeping, certain that this was <i>so not</i> about the dishes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I prayed that I would be able to keep doing this mom thing, and that I would understand why God seemed to find my aspirations to succeed at something more meaningful to be unnecessary right now. I reminded Him how I had to quit running barn sales because I never made enough money to justify the enormous effort it took to conjure them into existence. I reminded Him that me doing barn sales and art was His idea, not mine. And I sat there, pleading for understanding and love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just then my dog, Harper, climbed up on me and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">feverishly </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">started licking my tears off my cheeks.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bZdzBHi2_UZu-p5VU0yWhlnC9pMwoXtl59msiLaRuEGUhU581vc2tkDWRvDInugTeM0qY2dD5BaQWDlzbqtr7kwJ80SK5kqxGTz-1qzPOyHXLRB-AFB0zQU1DXxtQMFssMD4PFhqhs_f/s1600/IMG_6224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bZdzBHi2_UZu-p5VU0yWhlnC9pMwoXtl59msiLaRuEGUhU581vc2tkDWRvDInugTeM0qY2dD5BaQWDlzbqtr7kwJ80SK5kqxGTz-1qzPOyHXLRB-AFB0zQU1DXxtQMFssMD4PFhqhs_f/s640/IMG_6224.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have never experienced this before, it is very wet, kind of gross, insanely distracting, and incredibly funny. Needless to say, my pity party was disrupted. Now, don't think I wasn't still bawling, oh no. I was just bawling and praying and laughing and trying not to dump my dog off my lap and trying to decided if I loved or hated being licked. It was a slurpy, drippy tangle of emotions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harper plopped right on my lap and kept trying to lick me while also turning around to find a comfortable place to sit or stand. And I felt this enormous wave of love from her. This sweet dog knew I was sad and was showering me with all the gifts she had to give. Her little licks, her attention, and her warm little body. So of course I started crying even harder as I saw her for the angel in my life that she is. Which made the dog lick more and me laugh more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the meantime, my taquitos were done. I put her on the floor and walked across the kitchen to take them out of the oven. Taquitos are a food of my soul. Straight dopamine there. I put them on top of the oven to cool and turned around to feel God say, "The barn sale was never about money for you. That was never the point. You have other things to do than paint furniture and that's what you'd still be doing if the money had followed." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then my mind was filled with the image of a woman finding my table at the ReStore and it being just the shape or size or color or price she had been hoping for. I could feel her delight and relief at discovering "just the right thing." And I understood that it was about me developing my skills and then sharing my blessings with others. That my barn sale years had been about <i><b>becoming</b></i> more more, not <i><b>making</b></i> more. And even I can't deny that I succeeded there. I am so much more than I was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tell you this story for many reasons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>First</u>, it's what's happening today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Second</u>, it will not be the last time God and I have this conversation. We have had it many times in the years since I quit doing shows and every time, I gain a little more faith in myself and a little more trust in where He may be taking my life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Third</u>, never underestimate how much you are loved. God sent me this little dog two years ago and she has blessed me in ways I could never have imagined. Allow yourself to embrace these types of experiences for the gifts from the universe that they are. Feel the love they are bringing you. <b>It is OK to feel loved. We are all worth all the love the Universe or God could every shower down upon us.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><u>Fourth</u>, it is OK to <u>not</u> get the answer you want. Today, God did not tell me that I will be a huge success in the blogging world. He did not tell me that my paintings and collages will sell as fast as I can make them, if and when I get to that part of my life. He simply had a little dog love on me and told me that my enormous efforts were not wasted. Then He showed me how I was doing good things for the world and my future. He gave me what I needed to get up and write today. It may not be enough tomorrow. But it is exactly right for today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before you get upset that He didn't tell you what you wanted to hear, think only about what you need today. I bet He will give you what you needed to stand up again and keep walking, at least today. And if you need more tomorrow, He will give you what you need for that day. Accept that what you need is enough. That you are already enough to make up the difference and keep moving forward. And try to see the angels hiding in little dogs, or fist fulls of dandelions from small children, or a timely phone call. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So today I will be a little sad. But that's OK, because tomorrow I will look at my emptier garage and see space to work on my barn doors. I will think about someone reading this post and it being just the right thing to keep them going through a tough spot. If that's you, know I send my love, my deepest sympathy and a full understanding of your frustration. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That said, you'll have to find your own little doggie angel. Harper stays with me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfYiJAFx0yPd_aaKIJRy26EWIvITeLB_vdRl94QUmL98xl-NNketlDUfYQTXty78HbI_GrZL7LxhDof-7FoCpF2NdGB7jtrM9dBezuJ8QyPKBkvGAIC8jy3hT4WeZu_5Ucbe01Nad70eA/s1600/IMG_6052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfYiJAFx0yPd_aaKIJRy26EWIvITeLB_vdRl94QUmL98xl-NNketlDUfYQTXty78HbI_GrZL7LxhDof-7FoCpF2NdGB7jtrM9dBezuJ8QyPKBkvGAIC8jy3hT4WeZu_5Ucbe01Nad70eA/s640/IMG_6052.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">PS: Upon closer inspection, I realized that the dishes were clean after all and I was spared digging through all the drawers and cabinets to find the "dirty" ones to rewash them. Whew.</span></div>
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<br />CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-35719813099533209192016-09-11T17:19:00.000-07:002016-09-11T17:19:53.009-07:00Ruins, Part 2: Building Off the Rubble<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have walked through the first week of my kids being back in school, and wearing my routines again for the first time since June, I have been wondering if it is time to change things up a little. Not making major changes, but little ones. Tweaks that change the trajectory, or rather, realign it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through the radical change involved with the children being home all the time vs. going to school, I have gradually forgotten what it was trying to accomplish. It has taken me a week of being back here, alone, to remember. And I have had to put the story back together using the echoes of what I was working on. There are clues all over, my journal entries, the scraps of fabric on the floor in the dining room. The bits of this and that stacked up in the studio, waiting to be put away or used again. It's all there, but it reminds me of the ruins I saw in Beaufort. Happy ruins, echoes of fun, or goals moving forward, or dreams becoming real. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFkn1a40dvii9we9SwnAInQ7Vzg9PKN0u6U9SGArUrFQ9MdnxvvyGu7Lg1WqpOcJzwSdgPoSbwbBBuFg-lN8ZE_zKEGP53nDuLaETC1mnnWyngyXpfEy6kd8zHh4X54IpTkRqxwhrjkaN/s1600/DSCN9863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFkn1a40dvii9we9SwnAInQ7Vzg9PKN0u6U9SGArUrFQ9MdnxvvyGu7Lg1WqpOcJzwSdgPoSbwbBBuFg-lN8ZE_zKEGP53nDuLaETC1mnnWyngyXpfEy6kd8zHh4X54IpTkRqxwhrjkaN/s640/DSCN9863.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I promised I'd show you all, so let's head back to where Rt.17 crosses </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with Rt 21, about 20 min north of Beaufort, South Carolina </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Or more specifically Old Sheldon Church Road.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii-3J_jIU3oppCCsEUT7YntbemPxdKdbXTqjmZd8q1t1YS2Xre1HPYz5m7YHr0d3J-W5Ro_ot8yuNka4PIRlPXDA6N98s9sHFN77xqyWN_2lP5Euu4lMutlGRYtGQIHoD7RZyEGjzw7Y6/s1600/DSCN0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii-3J_jIU3oppCCsEUT7YntbemPxdKdbXTqjmZd8q1t1YS2Xre1HPYz5m7YHr0d3J-W5Ro_ot8yuNka4PIRlPXDA6N98s9sHFN77xqyWN_2lP5Euu4lMutlGRYtGQIHoD7RZyEGjzw7Y6/s640/DSCN0053.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This is what you see if you look straight down the road, back towards freeway. The view isn't much different looking forward the other direction, although I think they were doing some road construction a little further down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took this shot because it reminded me so much how my life has looked lately. Path forward, with lots of stuff on either side, but nothing transparent or clear, except the road in front of me. I always expect to stop and look at something along the way, but in a forest like this, full of growth, it's hard to see anything until you are right on top of it. You have to get to "there" before you even know what or where "there' is. That has so been my year thus far. I have seen <i><b>nothing</b></i> coming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So you are driving along Old Sheldon Church Rd. and you happen to see the forest lighten up a bit on the right and "Boom!" there are the Old Sheldon Church ruins. But you can't park in front of them, just off the road. You have to look around a bit, and it's only then you notice the clearing on the other side of the road. Once again, my life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what a delight these ruins are! When you do see them. it makes you smile. See how the sun hits them just so, making them shine out from the grove of live oaks? It really is enchanting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a groovy one DK shot with his neat, "fancier than mine" camera:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I so love this pic. It is super weird, but you get a feel for the happy airiness this place gives off. It was a total shock. And I LOVE the pillars! Sigh. Wait till we get inside...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ferns growing out of the stone just kill me! It's like dreams I've had involving...well, let's not get into that here. Suffice it to say, I was smitten with the place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So smitten in fact, that we brought my brother and his family and my sister and my kids back to see it a couple of days later. but we'll talk about that in a minute. I want to show you guys something first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check this out. The color view. This is what it actually looked like that day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29xwBY9IRD7dVzOawK_Z6l-rX_UZOBNs6esULIM03rBrXzHP13SUk8I1G29bzal-WtJIg2gaQ8QDtZZcxgVF98RtyPT6VM2RthT8bXUTjQgKEY-uxjPONEhjkELP7l10_mTG9WEjBw-ST/s1600/DSCN0022+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29xwBY9IRD7dVzOawK_Z6l-rX_UZOBNs6esULIM03rBrXzHP13SUk8I1G29bzal-WtJIg2gaQ8QDtZZcxgVF98RtyPT6VM2RthT8bXUTjQgKEY-uxjPONEhjkELP7l10_mTG9WEjBw-ST/s640/DSCN0022+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the exact same shot, except taken in Black & White. I shot it with the same camera on a different setting in the exact same place and position, ten seconds after shooting the color one. Isn't it so strikingly different? Not bad or good, just a totally different interpretation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This perfectly illustrates what I am feeling, returning to my life. I have the same things in front of me, but something has shifted in the way I see things. I am looking at my "ruins" in a different way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let's play another little game. let's see what happens when we add people to the scenario. There was only one other person at the ruins when we saw it the first time. And she left pretty quickly, so we had it to ourselves for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Serene. Mystical. Old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you'd expect from ruins in the state you always hope to find them, abandoned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's see what happens when we add people:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_3ZeJasrEtpy0ji2CsK6WJPpKS9nsZhHywR6Ze_LF8RoA63L1M_aibQzTZkWH5UJz_Ku3ErUBBvYJfB3SbTTv-kzG2CsKUB8KJ5sxhxjlzA5m19ZL9aifM3rGHbVHEJretueCeUhnpS3/s1600/DSCN0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_3ZeJasrEtpy0ji2CsK6WJPpKS9nsZhHywR6Ze_LF8RoA63L1M_aibQzTZkWH5UJz_Ku3ErUBBvYJfB3SbTTv-kzG2CsKUB8KJ5sxhxjlzA5m19ZL9aifM3rGHbVHEJretueCeUhnpS3/s640/DSCN0038.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Isn't it shocking how it changes things? The people bring a story with them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You get a feeling of the past colliding with the present that I find so oddly invigorating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mean, just look at this pic. It fills your mind with questions. Why is the tree full of bricks? Why is that guy in sandals and a button down standing next to it? Why would he care? How could this be a favorite picture from this photo shoot? Blending the Past and the Now always creates a different story, my friends. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(And just for the record, this is my brother, the landscape architect, who was fascinated that bricking this tree had actually kept it alive for so long, which is what the mason was trying to do. And this is one of my favorite pics from the shoot because it captures exactly what he is like. And I absolutely adore him. I always have.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here the same tree, taken the first visit, without him. There is still a story full of questions and answers here, it is just completely different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have no idea where my new story will take me, or why I feel so empowered to deviate from what was before. But maybe it will be a better story. The break has given me some much needed perspective. In some projects I need to go deeper and further than I thought. In others, I need to back off a bit. And I think I will ask for some help. I have realized that though I really can do an enormous amount of work myself, sometimes it would be wiser to allow someone who can do it quicker, with less draw down to help or take over for me. (Hear that all you friends who are better at getting rid of clutter than I am? I will be calling you soon.) Sometimes you need help to take something all the way to "done."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we'll see what comes as I build off the echoes of what was before. I have to say though, I think this story ends "happily ever after", at least for a while. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you making changes you didn't expect this fall? Tell me about them. I'd love to hear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
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CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5055801671288757397.post-46536050873409339592016-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:002016-09-02T07:38:55.015-07:00The Pleasure of Ruins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XU40NzyNOju1mmdMRwrp_eTbalOCRpCK37NvTLp8dxQlied6Xg8QhZWR0iaXCvMF79B2y7vZOpwyjAywhnqRJA8CC2mK096CvHEE6ON19iE9Alv847inU_vUmxVMNBjcc9CQ0e8oqHeL/s1600/DSCN9879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XU40NzyNOju1mmdMRwrp_eTbalOCRpCK37NvTLp8dxQlied6Xg8QhZWR0iaXCvMF79B2y7vZOpwyjAywhnqRJA8CC2mK096CvHEE6ON19iE9Alv847inU_vUmxVMNBjcc9CQ0e8oqHeL/s640/DSCN9879.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is something about ruins that has always fascinated me. I was obsessed with the Pyramids and Chichen Itza and Maachu Picchu as a kid. If you had asked me where I wanted to travel when I grew up, every location would have been the site of famous ruins, Egypt, Greece, Pompeii. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't quite put my finger on why these sites are so engaging for me. I am not really a history buff, although I do find history interesting. But it's walking through the remains of a history almost gone where I get that jolt of excitement. It's like a drug for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So when DK and I took a slight detour from the family reunion that my family was having in Hilton Head SC, to go Beaufort SC to celebrate our 22nd anniversary, I was expecting a "normal" get away of dinner out, cute B&B, a little shopping and some photo shooting. At least until our inn keeper showed us the book of local attractions. There are THREE ruin sites within 30 min of Beaufort! An abandoned fort, <a href="http://www.fortfremont.org/">Fort Fremont</a>, and two churches, the <a href="http://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/3482">Chapel of Ease</a> and the <a href="http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/old-sheldon-church-in-sc/">Old Sheldon Church</a>. I tried to stay calm and present as we ate our lovely dinner, but it's hard for even the most delicious Fried Green Tomatoes and Dirty Rice and Flounder with fresh black bean salsa to compete with the prospect of going and mingling with abandoned buildings...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I decided to gently bring the subject of chucking all our plans and going on a photo safari to the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ruins instead</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me: "So, you know how we asked the inn keeper to push back breakfast until 9, so we could sleep in?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DK, suspiciously: "Yes..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me: "And you know how we were reading about those ruins?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DK, now nervously tapping his foot and bouncing his knee under the table: "Yes..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me: "What if we just go home after this and go to bed, and then get up at 5 or 5:30 and go shoot pics at the ruins before breakfast? Doesn't that sound like so much fun?!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This all comes out like one big long word, with no breaths in between. DK just stares at me like I have a frog climbing out of my mouth. An "early to bed early to rise" approach to celebrating his marital longevity is not what he had in mind at all. It is, in fact, quite the opposite of what he had in mind. He just keeps staring at me with his very effective poker face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me, trying desperately to be a reasonable human being: "Or....we could go to a movie and then sleep in. Is the new Star Trek playing?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whew. that was a close one. Score one for being able to Control the Obsession. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we look up the local movie theaters. Nothing. Not one movie of interest. Not even at the drive in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DK, casually: "You know we can't get to all those sites before breakfast and still be on time. And I am not getting up at 5am."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me, snapping to attention, hope surging: "So what if we just went to the two sites south of town before breakfast and then ate?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My heart is pounding at this point. I know that if I can get him to the two southern sites, he will go to the third one as well, just to have the whole set. And if he's talking logistics.....<i>Eee hee hee</i>! I might just have him!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DK, typing furiously on his cell: "The sun doesn't even rise until 6:50 am, so there's no point in getting up super early....But..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Me, interuppting, and almost spitting food all over myself: "We could totally get to the fort and the church on the same road and get back by 9 if we left by 6:30!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DK, looks up from his phone, sees how much I want this, and says: "Yeah, I think we could make that work. But we need some major bug spray."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh how I love that man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we drove around looking for an open drug store and found a Rite Aid that was open for 10 more minutes. And since it was the South, they had some pretty bullet proof bug spray options. We even snapped up our morning rations of Diet Coke and Coke Zero, so we didn't have to delay our adventure in the morning. We went back to the B&B, snuck them in the fridge, and went to sleep at some pitifully early hour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a gorgeous morning as we drove over swamp and estuary, great live oaks covered in Spanish Moss waving in the breeze as we passed by. DK had picked up a CD of Ravel's "Bolero" at a thrift shop earlier that week, and we decided that was the perfect music for this little adventure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the promised 20-30 minutes had elapsed, we were a good bit of the way down Land's End Road on St. Helena Island when we passed the Chapel of Ease ruins, a sign that we were very close to Fort Fremont, our ruin safari starting point. We saw the sign, pointing out that it was coming up, and then promptly drove right past the entrance. We had to go down a little bit more to turn around, but in that effort discovered this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A tree, in a pond, in a pasture, covered with egrets, at the end of Land's End Rd., St Helena's Island. Definitely something you don't see everyday. Unless you live there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a closer pic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">Bird photos by DK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So. Many. Birds. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It really was so freaking cool. Now add in the Bolero music, friends. I have it playing right now, snare drums setting the measured pace for the winding sensuous music, under a sky slowly turning pink. Ooo! Gives me the shivers..in a good way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Needless to say, we made it to the ruins of Fort Fremont about 2 min later. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Can you find DK? He's hiding, like Waldo, except in a photographic position.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3ykTqMi2UiMEAgbHt4VnKqINwZetPuZOO_vnfwGGpSaACLLom3aPzaoU8nrLEWaJ_WcEDDqzzC9mj7-yEvC-4sPuMmk-ZQlfAMUBp-eVnnf8ohhZXlUgbE5-zRT6y1SDdQP8-nRQZ_6s/s1600/DSCN9875+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3ykTqMi2UiMEAgbHt4VnKqINwZetPuZOO_vnfwGGpSaACLLom3aPzaoU8nrLEWaJ_WcEDDqzzC9mj7-yEvC-4sPuMmk-ZQlfAMUBp-eVnnf8ohhZXlUgbE5-zRT6y1SDdQP8-nRQZ_6s/s640/DSCN9875+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Does anyone else get all geeked out about who may have walked up those stairs? Were they young? old? in love? Living with sorrow? Too inexperienced to worry about much? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What kind of covering was on the cement? Was there a roof? Could they see the dolphins swimming by? Did they like the people they served with? Did they tell gross stories while keeping watch?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those pits were about 8-10 feet deep. The guns for the fort were retractable, so they would load them in the pit, then hoist them up to fire. Up, down, up, down. Sink all the Spanish ships, as this fort was build for the Spanish American War. I think it said they could reload in about 1 min. It was pretty cool stuff. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We walked all over that place, then got back in the car to our next destination, the Chapel of Ease. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This site had a definite feeling to it, unlike the Fort, which had been surprisingly neutral. A sense of sadness, like old regret, floated in the air here. It wasn't dark, just a touch melancholy. Some of the gravestones, especially those in the children's graveyard might explain that. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That said, I also felt a beautiful sense of stillness and peace while I wandered. And a sense of lives lived hard, but lived all the same.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Chapel of Ease was built to serve those who lived on St. Helena Island, so they didn't have to make the trek back to Beaufort to go to church on Sunday. I imagine it brought great relief to those who worshiped there. Remember, Beaufort was a 20-30 min drive at 50-60 mph. Imagine having to schlep yourself back to town on your one day off?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I need to do some more research about this mausoleum. It was so stylistically unique, almost to the point of being out of place.This piece reminds me of something Egyptian, like the Temple of Dendur at the Met in New York City. Maybe someone went there and decided it was the coolest thing ever?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I love that so much of the architecture is tabby, a building material similar to concrete, made from the prevalent local oyster shells. Talk about up-cycling!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can't you see the weddings here? Can't you hear the great sermons that give the congregation the hope they need to keep moving forward into another week? I could imagine the children running around the building while waiting for their parents to finish chatting with friends. This was a place that was filled with life, but the "for better or for worse" kind of the poor in the South.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eventually, it was time to leave. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Bolero" was all finished an we</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> had to get back for breakfast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And just in case you are wondering, we <u>did</u> go to the Old Sheldon Church ruins, but that's another post, for another day. You'll just have to stay tuned. And hope that school starts pretty soon, so I have time to write. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because I have so many great stories for you all. It has truly been a summer of wonders...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talk to you soon,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">CM Shaw</span></div>
CM Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430247178140870689noreply@blogger.com1