What a great discussion we had yesterday! Thank you for your wise words and perspective. I am blessed with wonderful readers.

Oh boy, is it cold here! It’s 9:30 and it still ‘feels like’ -3°. It’s also quite windy. Needless to say, we’re going to hunker down here today, only venturing out to run the cars for a few minutes and get the mail.

That jigsaw puzzle I’m working on is hard! Jeanie mentioned that she did it last winter and she had issues with it, too. Yesterday, I sat at the table and though I did add some pieces here and there, I was stumped (I was also sort of out of it yesterday) so I walked away for a while. Don was upstairs recording, so I didn’t have the opportunity to do any work on the Beacon Hill. Today, I’ll be in the office/studio starting to prime the red room.

But I did sneak up there to play with my dolls for a bit.

Livvy and Zoe offering their thoughts on wallpaper samples. From their reaction, I don’t think either of these are on the table.

Okay, girls! I’ll keep looking!

I cannot express how much I love these dolls. They’ve brought such joy into my life. And the Blythe community on Instagram is pretty darned wonderful and supportive.

My thought for today: do whatever brings you joy. I worked in offices for years and I was very unhappy. I’ve temped, I’ve worked for a ‘biological media and reagents’ company – both in Detroit and in Philadelphia. I worked at an animal hospital. I worked as a receptionist. I did makeup for productions at the Philadelphia Opera Company. I worked 40 hours a week in an office and then worked an additional 30 hours doing theater. I did whatever I had to do to pay rent and put food on the table and for many, many years – well into my thirties – that’s all  I did. I couldn’t afford to indulge in anything other than the basic necessities. So I know what it’s like to live frugally, to sacrifice. And when I decided to freelance after we moved to the east coast, I was back doing fill-in work between coaching jobs. It isn’t an easy life, but it’s the life I chose –  that we chose – and I have absolutely no regrets.

Creativity – whether in my work in the theater or elsewhere – brings me joy. Collecting things I love brings me joy. Reading and books bring me joy. Looking around my house at the things Don and I have found and purchased – at the egg cups in the cubby, the Roseville in the china cabinets, the McCoy pottery everywhere, the books on shelves in the den and in the bedroom, the dollhouses, both newer and vintage, the dollhouses in progress in the office, Don’s guitars, his Big Boys on his desk, his speakers and microphones and other paraphernalia, his journals and notebooks, his awards, our mementos from the theater, paintings we love on the walls, the quilts I’ve made and the throws I’ve knitted and crocheted, Stella, my grandmother’s piano, my great-grandmother’s china, my dad’s Model T car made of lead, his paintings, my mom’s Shirley Temple doll, and the Blythe dolls – all of that brings me joy. It makes our house a home, it reflects just who Don and I are. I have no regrets about any of the things I love and collect for they tell a story. Minimalism has no appeal for me, though I certainly understand why others like it. But it’s not for me. I love vintage and used. I love color. And I love to collect things I am drawn to, that make me want to research them, to know more about them, to discover over time. In the end, it’s what I’m surrounded by that stimulates me.

I’m so grateful to be have had a career in the theater – something I’ve sustained over 40 years. To do what you love is priceless and I never take it for granted.

But to live a life of kindness and compassion – for other humans and for animals, bugs, birds, bees, trees, plants – all  living things, is my ultimate goal. And The Golden Rule is my guide.

I really went off on a tangent there, didn’t I?  Sometimes – quite often, in fact – writing a post brings clarity to who I am and what I believe and want in my life. Thanks, friends, for reading and caring enough to read this blog.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.