
I never planted paperwhites at Christmas time until about ten years ago. A good friend and I, both "semi-employed" and quite creative and full of vision, decided to make all kinds of things and sell them out of my home at a Holiday Open House. We made child-sized aprons, pillows, scented fire starters, and other items that would be good for gift-giving or decorating. Making these items was half the fun and we'd spend many days creating and sewing while our children attended the nearby Friends School.

My friend even made these wonderful star shaped crackers from scratch. Oh my!
But the stars of the Open House were the twenty-something pots of paperwhite narcissus, all at various stages of development (depending upon need) that were scattered around the first floor of my rented home. Can you imagine the wonderful scent? It really was glorious.
When I think about it now, we were kind of crazy. I'm not so sure that I'd do something quite so adventurous at this point in my life. What's amazing is that we sold a lot of things, made some Christmas dough of our own, and saw many of our good friends. Plus, it was a ton of fun.

I don't know what made me think of all this today. Maybe because I talked to this wonderfully creative friend today and she's going to be laid up for a bit, maybe because I no longer live near my closest friends, and maybe it's because I hope I'm not past the point of having that kind of fun :).
Real Simple Thought For Today:
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves". Viktor Frankl
I don't know who Viktor Frankl is, but this quote resonated with me. I've been thinking a lot about where my life is headed and I'm feeling a bit stagnant. I'm also feeling that time is going so quickly, especially now that the kids are older. It really flies once they're out of school.
So, here's a toast to all my friends (including all my blog friendsees), to fun, and to keeping the JOY in this holiday season.
xo,
D.