It’s in the Air

Posted August 7, 2017 by Barbara Techel

How does nature do it? This subtle shift that begins to take place with the changing of seasons.

The light dances early in the morning in my Zen writing cottage with a different rhythm than earlier this summer. It almost looks as if it is a soft ripple of a wave cascading over my hardwood floor. I want to swim in its magic!

This photo above I saw on Facebook this morning, by one of my favorite local photographers Mary, and it made me catch my breath. Another indication that we are moving ever-so-gently toward autumn.

Fall…my most favorite time of the year! I truly wish there was a place on earth that was fall all year-long. Ah, but as I write this, it would likely take away the magic and the anticipation -two things I’m not willing to sacrifice.

Autumnal season…It conjures up in me the most delightful feeling – one I find hard to express in words – because fall is all about emotion for me.

I find myself wanting to listen to piano music. I want to declutter and organize and am thrilled to say my walk-in closet, plus jewelry and make-up has been freed of its staleness and the letting go of what no longer sparked joy. Many clothes and shoes I have tired of are headed to St. Vincent De Paul this week…to be loved by another. I wish them well.

I want to immerse myself in nature more with walks. My heart melts into a welcome slowing down around our chiminea as the geese have returned and begun their nightly honking and fly-overs.

This summer has been much about letting go for me and a time of embracing new possibilities. Opening and expanding which isn’t always easy work, but serving as a beautiful response in how I feel about my life.

And just like nature, we must allow our lives to flow without trying to control it, knowing that each season brings with it just what we need.

It’s in the air…and I welcome it all.

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Have Van Will Travel: I Married a Creative Genius!

Posted August 6, 2017 by Barbara Techel

It’s been awhile since I updated you on our Chevy Cargo Van we are converting to a camper – nicknamed The Vamper and Second Chance. As life usually goes, it has been a full one with John’s work schedule. So Sunday’s pending no other obligations is the only day he really gets to work on it.

But today was a big victory in completion of the most time consuming part of the project – storage!

The back end of the van as you can see from the photo, is what John custom built for storage. The dividers he painted an antique white since the space is small, this will help keep it bright and make it appear bigger also. Besides the plastic container storage if you look to the left and the right of the column of storage bins there is space on either side on the floor for storage, which is technically under my bed on the other side of that wall.

The open space on top right is where John’s bed will go and will run length wise of the long part of the van. And pending all keeps on schedule, that will be next week Sunday that he will build his bed.

Our drive-away awning tent that will attach to the side of the van for extra space and what will be our outdoor kitchen also arrived. We haven’t set it up yet, but here’s a photo of it from the website we ordered it from.

So it is exactly what it says…we can drive our van away and the tent will remain standing wherever we camp. But when attached to the side, we can have the side van doors open. And it is the Airbeam technology which means no poles to deal with – just pumps up in about five minutes…so the relaxing can happen much sooner!

My task this next week is to find and order a camping stove. Once the bed is done and the stove is here, we plan to take the Vamper on a test run outing! Yay! The kitchen inside the van still will need to be done, but at least now we can go and get in some R & R, which we think will help serve in designing the kitchen and the rest of the van.

It’s getting really exciting now…!!!

Past posts for Have Van Will Travel Journal

The Adventure Has Begun. New Home on Wheels. Who’d of Thunk?

The Conversion Begins

Inspector Approves of Phase One Conversion

She Gets a Name

First a Name and Now Mascots

Cozy Comfort

Flooring is In (video)

Cutting it Close

Slow and Steady Wins the Race (video)

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Decluttering and Organizing Led to Creative Abundance

Posted August 2, 2017 by Barbara Techel

Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive. Bryant H. McGill

I recently finished reading a book titled, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Organizing and Decluttering by Marie Kondo.

Before I finished reading the last chapter Monday evening I couldn’t help but stop and organize my leggings, tights, socks, bras and undies drawers in my closet. It’s all in the art of folding and tossing or donating what does not “spark joy” which is the title of Marie’s second book, and I just picked up on loan from my library yesterday afternoon. This new book shows many illustrations that Marie talks about in her first book.

There is truly something to the release and gaining of energy that one encounters when putting these practices into place. While I’ve purged and organized over the years and always feel a new abundance of energy when I do, Marie shares that her method will keep you from returning to declutter. Time will tell as I continue to make small steps toward doing more of my clothing, books, papers, etc. which I will tackle as I feel moved to and more so when winter arrives.

I share photos here of my leggings and socks drawers I did and will spare you my bra and undies drawer. 🙂 But seriously, because I don’t have an over abundance of either of those, that drawer is quite sparse as I’m pretty basic when it comes to those departments. To me, at this age, it’s all about comfort!

While Marie suggests in her “KonMari” method to tri-fold socks, I found that my wool socks are too thick for that and actually take up more room, so they are just folded in half. So you just have to experiment and do what feels right for you in certain categories of clothing.

But my point of writing about this today is really how beneficial this decluttering and organizing is to ones psyche and energy levels. I really believe there is something to this that if we live in a mess or over abundance of material things that no longer bring us joy, how that can clutter our mind and take up our precious energy – leaving no room for other areas of abundance to flow in.

Perhaps it is coincidence (though I don’t believe so!), but after doing those few drawers in my closet Monday evening, yesterday I had an amazing flow of creative ideas come to me that I’d not thought of before! While I was on a high from organizing those drawers I felt full up with abundance with this new flow of creativity. I don’t know about you, but when creative ideas hit, it feels absolutely magical to me!

And I couldn’t help but share the photo of the truck full of mums for this post as it speaks to me of the abundance of beauty we can find ourselves opening to when we learn to let go of what no longer serves us, or the time has truly come to let go and move on.

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