Blogging

You'll be starting to notice a few changes around here. Gone is the old FIMBY and in it's place is what you see. (Of course if you're stumbling upon this post sometime in the future, say spring 2011, you're probably looking at something altogether different yet again).

This was not quite what I had wanted to present when unveiling my new blog theme. That statement is not at all a reflection of disappointment with all the work Damien has put in behind the scenes. I was just hoping to have more creative energy and personal time to get the look and feel "just right" and then publish it with much fanfare (my own to be sure).

But you know, life just doesn't work that way. And when I started to consider how long it would take me to get this space exactly as I envision it I started to get discouraged (I still am discouraged), so instead I decided to leap and fix it up as I go. Always a difficult thing for me to do.

house in process but still beautiful in the light

This blog is like my home. It's tidy but it's not finished yet. It's not everything I hope and plan for it to be. It's a work in progress, just like me.

I really enjoy publishing on this blog the simple, beautiful and put-together parts of my life. When real life is messy, tiring and sometimes disappointing this space is pretty, clean and well crafted.

But really, my life is just one giant work in progress. Full of projects, big and small, that are on the go:

• renovating our dining room
• learning to make homemade toothpaste
• educating our children
• de-cluttering the girl's room
• simplifying our household possessions
• making plans for a summer of hiking, camping and backpacking
• finishing the guest/sewing room
• becoming a better photographer
• re-organizing our blogs
• growing in my faith
• loving my family and friends
• writing blogs and (someday) book(s)

Some of these are discreet projects that yield a finished product though most are on-going, slow but steady wins the race type of endeavors. That's why I love writing blog posts and making this space look pretty and clean. It's one thing in my life I can wrap up and package. Done.

taking a break from a hike in process

But right now it's not done. It's simply another work in progress which is growing my patience. Have I mentioned before I don't like the difficult life work of becoming more patient?

After a whirlwind month of finding new tenants (not planned), being sick (not planned), winter camping and family visiting (planned) and Laurent's birthday (anticipated but not so much planned) I feel, having turned the corner into March, I can finally breathe deep again. And return, if only for a couple weeks till the next set of family arrives for a visit, to my normal at-home schedule.

But my routine isn't just going back to the way it was, it's changing and moving forward.

I don't usually pick words or themes for my months, creatively or otherwise, but I definitely have a word for this month.

Re-evaluate.

Funny thing is, I had a word for last March also that I arrived at after an equally difficult February (what is it with out-of-control Februaries anyway?). The word for March 2009 was re-group.

This year I'm not just pulling things back together though, I'm re-thinking and making adjustments based on new creative directions we're moving as family.

One of our big projects is the integration of ADVENTUREinPROGRESS and FIMBY. This is an exciting undertaking with far reaching potential if we're able to carry it through to what we've dreamed.

You need not worry about content changing here. I love this little space and love the freedom to share whatever I want about my life, the Fun In My Back Yard. What I'm sharing here won't change but hopefully the audience for this blog will grow and with it the potential for my writing to support our family's endeavors.

In light of this creative undertaking and other goals we hope to accomplish I find myself in a season of re-evaluating. Although this is my word for March I'm sure this process will continue through spring and beyond.

Change takes time.

Specifically here a few things I'm re-evaluating in my life:

• On-line "commitments".

I am encouraged by other mommy bloggers who are also thinking about the hours they spend on-line and re-evaluating how to better spend their precious time.

This is a difficult line to walk, especially if you are trying to build a name for yourself as a writer, crafter, photographer - whatever. My own purposes in blogging have moved beyond creative expression, though that remains a large part of it. I have professional goals and using the computer as a tool and connecting with an on-line network of people is an important part of this picture.

• Our stuff.

For years we've been trying simplify our lives and our belongings but now we want to take it a little further. Last month we tackled our dishes but we still have more to do in our kitchen. Q: If you only use an electric coffee maker (I use a small french press for myself) once every 6 months do you really need to own one?





But the big project for this month is to re-evaluate children's stuff. Clearing out the girl's room so my dad could paint in there was a real eye opener. Right now the goal is to get everyone (ahem Brienne) on board. Then we purge and put back together the room with hopefully a lot less clutter under the bed and in the closet.

• The garden.

With all the other creative work going on in my life right now I've had no desire to plan the garden; whereas I usually have spreadsheets and diagrams started by this time. I'm re-evaluating my gardening goals for this summer and deciding that this will be the year of mostly pretty perennials and I'll rely on our farm share and farmer's markets for our summer produce.

As it was, my harvest from last year was so pitiful I have no strong desire to repeat that failed endeavor. I'll still plant some easy crops like spring peas and summer must-haves like tomatoes but I'm going to mostly enjoy the perennials beds I've built in years past and spend time maintaining instead of building. Building gardens takes a lot of creative energy that I don't have to give this time 'round.

So that's where it's at. After a month of just trying to keep home and hearth together I'm ready this month to move forward in changes; mentally, creatively and spatially.

What changes are you making these days?

It's been a rainy week here in Maine. Ridiculous for February. I'm calling this the winter that wasn't. Now this may be good for some folks but not us. One of the reasons we love Maine is because of winter. We love snow and we especially love outdoor snow related adventures. So I am very thankful that the rain held off till this week because last weekend was our family's snow adventure highlight; our (2nd annual) winter backpacking trip.

I wouldn't of believed you if you'd told me a couple years ago that I'd be backpacking... in winter. Not only that I'd be going but that I would love it. Ah, the ways I have changed. And my parents along with. They're real troopers; buying backpacks, learning to enjoy tent camping and re-hydrated food all in the name of experiencing the outdoors together with the grandkids.

My own experiences from the weekend are reminiscent of last year's, except this year I didn't have the pre-trip exhaustion, tears and anxiety about the unknown. Without those negative elements it was an even better trip than last time. If these adventures keep improving like this I'm not going to want to come back home.

I spent a couple hours this weekend most of Saturday writing about our trip over at ADVENTUREinPROGRESS. I really encourage you to check out that post especially if you're seeking specific trip details in hopes of doing something similar with your family. I also spend some time in that post talking about being inspired to live according to our values. That's the stuff that gets me really excited.

Almost as excited as I get when I hike sunlit, wooded trails with family and friends up to mountain top, ocean view summits.

One of the highlights of the weekend was having our friends the Sifferman's and their dog Ronin along.

John Sifferman wrote an great summary of our time together, from his perspective, at his blog Physical Living. He even put together a video of us all sharing what we loved most about the trip and what camping means to us. If you have a soft spot in your heart for family togetherness or goofy kids (the video heavily features two of my kiddos) you'll want to check it out. You'll even see a mug shot or two of yours truly.

Our weekend was wonderful and inspirational in so many ways. We spent a lot of time talking about the kind of lives we want to live, as family units and in community. And I know that over the next couple months new changes and directions will unfold in our lives because of those conversations. Some of those will make it to this blog as I, in my everyday life, work out the living of our ideals.

One such change is starting to take shape already (and has been discussed for months, not just this weekend) and you can watch it happen for yourself over at ADVENTUREinPROGRESS. Damien and I are partners in every aspect of our lives and we intend to bring the synergy of that relationship into the blogosphere.

To that end we are working to change our two distinct blogs into a more collaborative effort. We are all about simple in our everyday lives and we're hoping to bring that life value into our on-line efforts. Stay tuned for more developments on that front (and others) in the coming months. Get all the views you can of FIMBY as it is now because it soon will have a new look and feel that better reflects our family's overall vision and purpose.

Creative energies and collaborations are so much fun!