I “filly-fart” around a lot.  There are several reasons for this phenomenon.  First, my medical condition has exacerbated my ADHD tendencies.  Second, because I am relegated to a wheelchair most of the time, I sit down a lot, and that posture usually occurs in front of my computer. The computer is like the ultimate sandbox for someone who has the attention span of a flea.  I get onto Pinterest, and before I know it, I’ve drilled down to China!

What I have discovered, though, is a growing fascination with fonts and calligraphy.  As an art major, I had to take a semester of calligraphy, and detested every moment!  It was difficult enough to form the letters correctly, but getting them all to slant at exactly the same angle…AARRGH!  How different this art form is today.  What is now referred to as calligraphy is a “free of any limitations” exercise, and letters are formed using botanical, zoological, architectural, and geometric elements, to name a few.

Free fonts are readily available, and they offer endless artistic possibilities. It is a wonderful outlet for me, since I am no longer able to write by hand (something I used to LOVE doing!) For instance, when I should have been painting her bedroom furniture, I flitted off and started working on a nameplate for Faith’s bedroom. I already had tall, skinny picture frame with (5) 4×6” mat cut-outs, so I went to an amazing website called dailydropcap.com.  It contains some of the most beautiful (and, in some cases, bizarre!) stylized representations of capital letters. I gathered the appropriate letters (it was hard to decide which ones to use), and “mounted” them, using Microsoft Publisher, on backgrounds culled from my collection of online fabric samples. I was so pleased with the results:

While I was messing around on Pinterest (looking for calligraphy sites), I found this quote, which made me stop and consider the possibilities of a future career!

Meanwhile, the furniture did get painted (not exactly on schedule, but close!).  Lee Ann picked up Faith’s bed and nightstand yesterday,

and dropped off the vanity & mirror, which will complete her bedroom suite. Then, it’s just a matter finishing Justin’s night table & dresser.   There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel!

I suppose I should mention that will all of this artistic activity occurring in my studio, there are still straggler Christmas decorations that have to be put away. Does anybody else look around, and find stray bows or snowflakes that have been hiding in plain sight?  My nativity set is still on display in the dining room, because when we were putting the decorations away, the box that it belongs in was nowhere to be found.  In years past, this half-done holiday un-decorating scenario would have driven me crazy.  Now, I think, “meh”!  The thought of gathering up the hangers-on decorations, and finding the correct boxes to put them in, leaves me tired and defeated, so they stay put.

As an aside, I love that little phrase “meh”. Every time I read it, I not only form the sound it makes in mind, but can also envision the shrug of the shoulders and the look of “whatever” that would surely accompany the “uh, not so much” sentiment those three letters convey.  (As a native New Yorker, there’s absolutely no question in my mind where that expression originated!)

Speaking of “work avoidance”, if I could meet any 2 people in the world, it would be Joanna and Chip Gaines, the hosts of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” show. They would be so much fun to share a bottle of wine with, or split a six-pack of beer with.  I would gladly move into one of their re-done homes, and probably not change a thing (which is an amazing statement from me, because  I am picky, picky, picky by nature, & a design snob, to boot!)  Joanna’s taste is so exquisite: classic, casually elegant, & timeless. I really admire the way this married couple works seamlessly together; one is the ying to the other’s yang.  And I adore glimpses of their life on the farm. Hopefully, they will weave more views of their family life into upcoming design segments.

I have to stop and cook dinner (even though there are about 40 things I would rather do!) And, in closing, I must share a quote I found online, that suits me just perfectly: