If you have been following my personal blog, you probably know I have been working through The Artist’s Way for the past couple of months. It’s been a great experience for me, and I am looking forward to the rest of what I discover about myself. In fact, I am planning to read most, if not all, of her books over the next several months/years/however long it takes to get through them.

Anyway, as I was reading this week’s chapter, it asked about what we lacked growing up, and for some reason “art supplies” popped into my head. Now, I didn’t have any real interest in visual arts growing up. It wasn’t an area that I felt like I had any talent in, and so I endured art class, rather than enjoying it. And I never asked for art supplies, beyond crayons and coloring books. And, yes, I always colored in the lines. And then, once I wrote that, I realized that I don’t buy art supplies for my kids either, beyond….coloring books and crayons. And I had to wonder, am I putting door locks on creativity for them that I don’t see because they don’t have the tools to express it?

And I am thinking that a trip to A.C. Moore maybe in order, just for some basics, yk? Nothing expensive, nothing trendy, just some decent pencils and paints and such. For them, yk? And maybe also for me.

Or anything else for that matter! I’m thinking about knitting. And I am planning knitting, but I am not actually knitting. I’m doing other stuff instead: working, cleaning, shopping, camping, roller coaster riding, reading, sleeping. I know we all have times like that, but I will be both glad and sad when the weather gets too cold to enjoy being outside. Sad, because I will miss being out and doing stuff, but glad because I can have an excuse to sit on my apple bottoms and finish up a few things. But not just yet please. Let me have one more month to play outside before we have to move it all indoors!

This past weekend, I went up to Anson County to visit my Aunt and the rest of my “up there” family. I had a great time, as I always do. This trip held the added adventure of going to Carowinds with my cousins, and if you didn’t see my facebook photo of the Intimidator, let me just tell you that it is HUGE and I rode it TWICE. With my eyes closed, yes, but the point is, I got on the darn thing. TWICE. Muhahahahaha.

But that adventure is not the one I will remember the longest, I think. There was a another, much smaller but very significant thing that happened there. Aunt worked on Saturday, and I was there at the house alone. I was out on the porch, writing in my journal that morning, and for the very first time in my life, I heard the sound a hummingbird makes when it hovers. I seriously never knew why they were called hummingbirds until this weekend. And that made me realize how very much I dislike living around people and the noise they make.

See, Aunt’s house sits at the end of a driveway that’s about a half a mile long and curves through the woods. My cousins driveway is even longer, and her house overlooks a lake. And I was thinking to myself how nice it would be to live in a place like that, and hear the sounds of nature every day, where the sound of a car is an exception and not the norm.

The thing is, I like the low country. I’m a flat lander. I like to visit the rolling hills and an occasion glimpse of mountain is nice, but I prefer to live where it’s flat. Which brings me to that Charleston realtor. See, Charleston is flat but I am sure there are areas near there that are secluded and quiet, the kinds of places where you can hear hummingbirds, and the kinds of houses that have big porches where you can sit and knit and drink coffee while you drink in all those wonderful natural sights and sounds.

I was at Micheal’s not too long ago, drooling over the K & Co scrapbooks. Aren’t they just the prettiest things? I’ve always loved her stuff. Well, I assume it’s a her, but you never know, I guess. I was also looking at some embellishments. I know I have plenty, but I don’t have NEW stuff, ykwim? In the world of scrapping, my supplies could probably be most accurately described as ancient, even though only 5 or so real people years have passed since I last scrapped. Actually, it may have been longer than that. The last one I actually finished was from my Texas trip to visit the clone when she was 15. She’s, ah…. 22 now.

Here’s today’s question: where do you guys find awesome craft coupons? I am in need of a couple of scrapbooks, and the ones I like are just plain spendy! I have plenty of paper and notions, old as the may be, but all my books are full, and besides, I want new ones for new projects. I found a few goodies at Be Frugal, including this: Fabric.com Coupons and the ever faithful Michaels Coupons.

Okay, so tell me: where do you like to shop, what do you look for, and where do you find coupons. If you know of awesome deals that aren’t strictly craft related, well, I’m open to that too!

It’s the first brush with a hurricane this season. Are you ready? I’ve got my Clapotis pattern printed in case the power goes out. Though I am not sure how I will manage to knit a large shawl without airconditioning, LOL! The spa cover is in place. Oh wait. I don’t have a spa. But perhaps Earl will drop on in my yard for me.

I’m trying to finish up my computer work, too, but that’s going a little slow. And I am worrying already about the drive to work tomorrow. Since I missed yesterday for a mammogram and funeral, calling out isn’t really a feasible option. The good news is that it looks so far like the worst of it will miss us. I hate to wish a hurricane on anyone else, but I always breathe a little sigh of relief when we get a pass. Of course, there are also times when we are told it’s gonna be a pass and then we take the full force of it. Isabelle, anyone?

Anyway, I’ve about done what I can do, and now we wait. I have yarn and a wind-up lantern. What else could I possibly need?