I actually succeeded in making something crafty from Pinterest!

About seven years ago or so, I helped start a crafting group with my friend Oliver Lucky. It was called the Crafty Bitches and consisted of the two of us and a mutual friend. As the Crafty Bitches, we would get together on Sundays (we tried to meet consistently every week, but then we’d fall off the wagon) and enjoy a day of eating, drinking and crafting.

While it was certainly a blast, the problems were plentiful and quite obvious. We were not that great at crafting — even though we had big dreams, we seemed to fall a little short talent-wise. We didn’t always have all of the supplies we needed and often had no clue how to go about actually making some of the things we wanted to try. We also drank a lot of wine when we crafted and our ambition tended to crumble. We once decided to mainline six consecutive hours of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge instead of learning how to mosaic a stepping stone.

Sparkles and Shines…

I really meant to take down all of my holiday decorations last weekend. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do after the first of January? You take down all the sparkling lights and stockings and stash them away again until next December. I know that’s the way it works — I do it faithfully every year. But this January I’m having trouble. I look at the strings of lights glimmering, the lit-up stars twinkling lazily below them, and  just can’t bear to do it.

I don’t know what’s making it so much harder this year. Maybe it’s because last summer came and went too quickly, and with this gray and dismal weather, it’s nice to have some cheerfulness around. The lights brighten up the house and make the long dark nights a little cozier.

Maybe I can compromise…I’ll pack away the wreaths and my little wooden Santas, and even all of my cinnamon-scented pine cones, but I’m keeping the lights up. They will be my winter night lights — helping me believe that even though I’ve got months to go until summer, I’m pretty sure I can make it.