Welcome to my s~A(R)T~urday linky party – today: Changes & Progress
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.
~ Andy Warhol ~
Y
es, they should! And they are – I think – slowly making progress. I initiated changes as promised in my previous post last Saturday. I started with tidying the kitchen. i.e. getting rid of stuff populating counter spaces where it doesn’t belong. Just because something gets used once a week does not mean that it may live out in the open every day. Off into the cabinet you go – toaster oven.
- When there is cluttered counter-top space – I don’t want to cook.
- When my email inbox is about to explode – I don’t want to write or photo edit.
- And when my creative corner is buried in supplies – I don’t want to paint.
Cluttered spaces have this inhibiting effect on me. Do you know what I am talking about? I don’t think I am alone with this.
Seems to me that I have had this forever. And I mean ‘forever’. I can remember this one scene, my dad and I were on vacation together in Denmark. Having just had lunch we were standing in the kitchen, sorting dishes and he asked ‘if we wanted to go for walk on the beach to see if we could find some amber‘ to which I replied – ‘sure, but I first need to finish here in the kitchen‘.
Please don’t ask me why this particular scene stuck in my head for over 25 years, I don’t know. Back then I didn’t think of myself as being particularly tidy. Heck, I know for sure that I still am not.
So, why did I first have to finish a.k.a. cleaning and tidying the kitchen?
- Maybe I didn’t want the fish bones to smell through the whole house when we returned from the nice sea breeze.
- Or maybe I didn’t want the bones and left overs to get stuck like a crust on the plates.
- Or maybe, you know, deep down, I didn’t want to go for a walk on the beach
- – hahaha – I know, fat chance of that!
Seriously though, I like to think that I wanted to finish the task I was working on first; to give a fresh and clean start to everything that was to follow. Having a clean kitchen equaled a clean mind to enjoy the walk on the beach with my dad. Although, funnily enough, I do not remember this particular walk on the beach with him, yet many others.
This behavior back then is actually in a way exactly what I am doing now. I am cleansing my body, to be able to enjoy more what is to come.
Sounds a little spiritual, huh? Yeah, I thought so. Well, who knows, maybe that is my path, too, I don’t know. For now I am quite happy with what I am doing at this point.
So, what am I doing? Right now it is a body cleanse by eradicating all foods that I may potentially be sensitive to, e.g. gluten and dairy, or possibly had eaten too much of in today’s normal diet, think about sugar for example. Look up Whole30 or Paleo and you will quickly find what I am talking about. Since Monday I have been cutting out carbs, sugar, dairy, soy, legumes to name a few and it has been less challenging than I thought. Of course, I happen to love salad and veggies and they have been a big part of my diet all the time. However, part my previous ‘diet’ was also wine with dinner or our weekly cocktail night with cheese crackers. That, my dear readers, is a whole different story. A no no at least for the next two weeks, well, maybe I’ll extend it to the 30 days, I don’t know yet.
This far I feel great. I know, it has not even been a week, so I won’t call anything a success (or defeat) yet. But some of my observations of this week are that I slept a lot and had a bit more energy and was less ‘moody’. Of course, any or all of this may have also to do with the fact that work-work for once was not as stressful as usual. I don’t know, but I am keeping a close eye on changes and progress and I am writing it in my journal, remember – DayOne.
Still, I readily admit that I am definitely missing my glass of red wine at night. And I am also pretty sure that I will be missing our weekend breakfast English muffins. But it’s o.k. I can do this. And, who would have thought, my husband is actually joining me 90 % of the time. I didn’t ask him to, he volunteered. Thanks for the support, David!
Anyway, that’s it from the food / body front for today.
As far as my virtual life goes, I have started ‘unsubscribing’ and thus decluttering my inbox(es). I am still reading and commenting on blogs, but not writing here, except for – now. I also started working on my iPhone. Yup, a phone needs to be decluttered, too (nothing is safe in this household anymore!). Have you ever looked at how many apps you have on yours? I did. And I wished I hadn’t. 164 is my current count, what is yours? Time for some tidying, me thinks.
On the art front, I almost don’t want to share what I painted. But I figured we’re friends here, right? So… I have been doing a lot of sketching every evening of the week a little. Just practicing. Sketching faces, hands and figures in different poses. David says I am making a lot of progress, but he is a little biased. I don’t think those sketches are ready for the world to see. But the illustrations below – aren’t those cute kitties? I wanted them a little stylized, kind of the cat I drew here, plus of course the added watercolor. But the first one looks a bit like a gremlin, no? I liked the gremlins movie. Have you seen it?
So, that was my week, pretty much. Now tell (or show) me about yours. And don’t forget to enjoy the weekend. Bike riding season is starting!
Much love,
*** Here is where I link up today. ***
Please help me spread the word about my Saturday Art Linkup and grab my badge below:
Why don’t you join me along my journey and follow me on 
