I want to live in a world where...

there are lots of magical adventures
magic exists
creative folk have time and space to unfold and be their true beautiful selves
people enjoy themselves and make the most of their lives
where being old is cool
there is connection between human souls
people share and help each other
people cook and eat together
people create together

Monday Morning Last Day of September

I am holding out for a miracle, but so far if I manage to earn £5000 this month.  It will be a miracle.  Ah well.  It was worth a punt. 

And yet, there still might be a miracle sometime later today. Am always open to miracles.

I did a yoga day yesterday.  I  was lying in Savasana,  and I thought of the words Starry Starry Night.

I like them.  It may be the name of my shop. 

And I saw Lucy re her jewellery and I will be taking some of it, specially commissioned, to Call of the Wild Soul in Petaluma CA. 

I have yet to sew my scarves and create my own jewellery line.  But I have this week.

I am signing up to sell Neals Yard Stuff.  As, I love it, and its about hosting and gathering people together.  I think I will enjoy it.  And I want to learn how to sell without selling my soul. 

Also, I had a chat with Leonie about the TV show Fabulous Fashionistas.  And she is totally excited about the idea of the blog for How to Be a Cool Old Lady.  Only I had another better name to call it.  And Leonie liked it better.  So currently the working title is

"I'll Have What She's Having"  and its about style, happiness and reclaiming aging as a good thing, a time to have the best time of your life, and wise cool women. 

yes.  I like it. 

By the way, Lucy's jewellery which is really beautiful by the way,  has words in it.   In little tiny glass bottles, as well as other things like peacock feathers and matchsticks.... I have suggested

wild.  wild soul.  free.  yes. 

what other words would you wear?  OH  magic.  magic HAS to be in there....

Secret Salad Society.

It was brilliant. let me say.  I SO enjoyed the whole thing AGAIN.  I LOVE Secret Salad Society.

It was a feast of abundance.

God I am starting to loathe those noisy students next door.  They are in a band. For goodness sake.  And they think their house is a recording studio.  And they aren't even any good.

I need to go to bed, because I feel a bit peaky as I drank too much wine last night.

I need to sort out quite a lot of things actually.  But YOGA DAY tomorrow.  And then Monday.  That is a sort it all out sort of day.

I was going to write something about the sort it out stuff.  But I think its probably more important that I go to bed.

time and space

SO this morning I have mainly been musing on the idea of TIME and SPACE.  It started with thinking about what to put on my yoga flyer.  And Hub chipped in, with a whole new spin, which was something we had been discussing at another point.  That I need to combine all that I offer into some sort of wellness/  sort your life out / declutter / learn yoga and meditation / creativity thing.

And then I got slightly obsessed with the idea of TIME and SPACE.  which is what you get when you sort your life out, declutter, do yoga.

Some people might then want to make art.  Or cook.  Or spend more time with their family.

Whatever.

So I created a new flyer.  Its certainly not perfect.  In fact, following the very good advice from Charlie and Matt.

Its made fast and ugly.  But I need to anchor it before it floats away.  Am shrinking it down to these two words.

brewing up some interesting ideas

Rather excited by an idea that wasn't mine, but rings true with some nubs of ideas that have been floating around the back of my brain for a while.  Doing it with a lady I met here in blogland.  Not sure how it will all pan out.  But its a damn fine idea.  Creative with Money.  Not even my own name idea that one.  But hmm, that's a damn fine name for it. 

Somehow its about time, something kicked into reality.  There are these other ideas to do with somehow creating a coop business to buy the debt on my folks house and run a business which is profitable enough to support them and us in the cooperative.  Which maybe me and my brother.  I don't even know.  I WISH i had £100, 000.00.  RIGHT NOW.  But I don't.  Ha, not unless I sell the house I am living in.  AND even then.... I don't think it would rack up that much.   SO I am going to have to figure out a way to find it.  Borrow, loan, some sort of crazy financial deal that makes it all work.  Its got to be possible right.  And its such an amazing place that so much could be done.... I dunno, retreats, wildschools, concerts, camps..... what?! how?!  THere has to be a way. 

HOW HOW HOW.  ideas welcome.  see this board for inspiration

http://www.pinterest.com/moyra_scott/annesley-love/

OMG I am going to CALIFORNIA

I just bought the ticket.  I feel strangely calm.  NO I DON"T.  I don't quite believe I just did that.  OK man.  I did it.  I bought the damn ticket.  I am going.  I am a crazy lady.  I sure as hell need to bring in some money now!! ha ha! Maniacal Laugh!! ha ha!

F**ck it. Let me be TEN again. just for a little while

Not because I want to regress.  But because I am revisiting MOndo Beyondo.  I just realised its a bit difficult creating a life of your dreams if you forget what they are.  And indeed how far you have come anyway. 

I started this blog when my son was a baby and I had no job.  And no idea about what it was I was going to do.  I had some mummy friends (who I still love and will be out drinking wine and laughing with tomorrow) but no real tribe, that is, no one who knew I was a dreamer, an artist, a yogi, a person who gets stuff done. 

And now I am a 'principle collaborator' at People Who DO, I have delivered workshops to executives, art workshops to paying punters, I host community sales of kids stuff for charity, I host Likemind, I am on the staff at The Wild School, I have been on several art retreats, I have painted and collaged with Flora Bowley, Teesha Moore and Orly Avineri.  I have been to Ibiza and France a few times.  I am a Yoga teacher, fully qualified with a 500 hour certificate and all.  I have switched our savings into a more ethical savings account (triodos) and our day to day banking to the coop.  I have my own office/  studio in the house.  Bub's room is redecorated, he has his own built in bed and there is a guest bed in there, we have a sofa bed for guests, there is no damp in the living room wall... the washing machine is in an annex to the bath room.  we have a cupboard up in there.... we have a big rug in the sitting room and bub has a rug in his room..... these were all goals.  We have reduced our rubbish out put, we buy organic veg, and our gas and electricity are both from renewable energy. I have an organisational system in place.  I do GTD.  I have evernote in place and synced calendars, email and phone.  I run the Secret Salad Society - a pop up supper club.  I must remember what I have already done, and how far I have come.  My relationship with my husband has never been better, my son is at the school I wanted him to go to and he is really happy there.  My parents are renting out their holiday house and have moved into a brand new house, and its warm and they are happy

And yet.  No horsebox travelling.  No Goa trips.  No eco house fully paid for.  Am not earning much of my money as an artist.  My art workshop is not set up as a regular thing.  I could be wealthier in terms of, you know, paying off the mortgage and all.  I still want to go on one of Jim's yoga holidays.... I feel I still have yet to step into my own shoes.  or maybe I still have to create some shoes to step into.  Mainly I need more work, and to feel more established in my work.  I have a tendency to want to slip back into the known of - things like running playgroups, getting a job in a shop.  When I know I need to step up and into the future where I am an artist, a faciltator, and something as yet unknown that will be totally my field and generate good income for me and my family.  I dunno.  DIY art school maybe.  Or selling.  Generating income.  Exponential income.  Bigger stuff.  Bigger, Beyondo Mondo stuff. 

So I am revisiting the course.  I bought it on PDF.  Ages ago.  And so.  here we go.  Me aged 10.  I loved ABBA and spent a lot of time pretending to be ABBA.  I built fairy villages in the garden, made of leaves.  I think at about that age, i used to make radio shows on a cassette recorder.  I was the DJ, played records (which involved taping stuff of the real radio - I had this HUGE old fashioned radio in my bedroom that had used to belong to my Grandad).  I made dens.  I wrote diarys and drew pictures.  I was a bit obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Particularly the Long Winter.  I wrote a book about a post apocolyptic world where it was really really cold and we had to wear lots of clothes, and live in snow burrows.  I loved the idea of a gypsy caravan with lots of patchwork.  I loved cute cottages and imagined I would own one, and it would be called Bumble Bee cottage.  Or Appletree Cottage.  It too had a lot of patchwork in it.  And low ceilings. I think I quite liked the idea of living in a burrow, hobbit like, with round windows, oh, and lots of patchwork.  I loved nature, and pretty much knew all the wildflowers, grasses, trees and birds that could be found around and about me.  School was a breeze.  I liked Snoopy (though I never actually owned anything Snoopy myself) stripey socks... and i wore this big flat cap thing, which I called my cow pat hat, and I wore it everywhere.  My mum hated it. She kept buying me these sort of sailor caps instead, but I would have none of it.  I liked the Wombles and the whole idea of making good use of the things that we find.  I think they lived in a burrow as well, with the walls wallpapered with newspapers.  I liked that.  I made paper theatres, and crocheted a huge blanket.  I may be straying off the age of ten.  Its hard to remember exactly.  I was pretty productive.  I liked weaving!! I was pretty influenced by my mum I think.  I liked stuff she liked.  I cannot remember what i wanted to be, or do, other than live with lots of patchwork in cute burrown like places, own stuff that was Snoopy related, and be in ABBA.  OK enough of that. I think I had this self sufficiency type thing I wanted to do, you know to be able to survive, regardless.  Perhaps it was a proto 'offgrid' notion, where I would keep chickens, generate my own power and do a lot of patchwork.   I am off patchwork, and low ceilings or burrows, but I spose i do have a side that wants to live in a small place, have a woodburner and be pretty eco.  Maybe the ABBA thing is about singing?  hmm.