finding my feet

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. -- Charles Kingsley

It's that part of the day when all the color is leaking out of the world--the sky and the snow are the same shivery blue. My mug of coffee invites my cold fingers... slowly becoming warmer fingers.

I'm in a better frame of mind than I was last post. This week I've been trying to find a balance between knitting and writing.

While I love having two huge creative endeavors to fill my days, it sometimes feels like there's a war in my brain. I'm knitting a new scarf, feeling sheepish for not writing. Or I'm working on my writing, sneaking glances at my yarn stash and itching with new plans.

But here at the end of the week, I'm starting to get the hang of it. At least, I've put in some serious writing hours, and I'm thrilled with the way this newest novel idea is growing. (More on that another time.) A luxurious, browsing trip to Barnes & Noble didn't hurt: there's nothing like time in a bookstore to refuel my urge to write.

I picked up some Moleskine journals there, and that alone will put me at my desk for a few hours. What is it about blank books? In particular, what is it about Moleskine journals? I usually visit their little kiosk and pat them all, wondering what I might fill them with. I love their sleek looks and their history: the notebook of Hemingway! Of Chatwin!

I confess, I pick them up because of Hemingway. It doesn't even make sense, because I always think I like Hemingway, and then I read him and remember I can't stand him. Maybe it's just the idea of him? Or maybe just his name, or perhaps the smell of words and Paris, that aura that hangs around him.

Second confession: I have no idea who Chatwin is.

So now I own these legendary little journals--yes, I like that they are legendary. Makes me think they can handle paragraphs from these epic novels I'm trying to write. Better yet, it makes me think that I can handle writing these paragraphs...

So, yes. I have been writing again.

I've done a lot of knitting, too, and turned out one of my favorite products yet: a gorgeously soft alpaca-wool hat. Yum. It's going to hurt to sell this one, I admit. It's soooo lovely! And my desk is covered in scraps of paper with new ideas for pillows, coffee cozies, blankets, hats... I could clone myself twice over and never run out of things to make.

It's funny the way they're related, writing and knitting. Crafting something from your own ideas and a few simple tools. Hoping it brings someone else warmth and joy. And hoping you can stick with it long enough to make something lasting, and good.