A Winding Path

Maybe it’s the work. Maybe it’s the strange weather. Maybe it’s what happens when you fall out of habit. Whatever. I let Econesting slide.

Blogging is a velvety, winding path. For me, keeping up with the demands of blogging must be inline with passion, for sale or why bother? Compromising doesn’t work. Enthusiasms shift and swirl, and passions take turns. I’m not swayed in my mission to share stylish green design through the eyes of a DIY heart. These things mattered five years ago when I started blogging and they still matter.

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I’m also a mom, and what I’ve learned from that role is that balancing on the path is the main act. Sometimes the path gets thrown off. Not necessarily off-kilter, or veering off-course...but, wound around in one direction.

I threw myself into my Moms Clean Air Force work. It was not because it was the right thing to do (which it was), but because I wanted to. Because it mattered more…more than design, more than going greener, even more than knitting. I know, my knitting friends are scratching their fair isle heads in disbelief.

Pollution matters because it burrows deep into the core of global warming. Global warming matters because our children deserve a healthy, just and sustainable planet. Period.

Now I’m working on restoring balance and winding my way back.

Thank you for hanging in there. Your kind notes about missing Econesting nudged me closer to breaking the cycle of not posting. My knitting friends have been the most vocal in my absence, and I promise not to disappoint those who choose to click needles over computer keys.

Enough about me, how are you? How do you find balance between the work you love and the things you love?

Photos via Freshome from the beautiful town of Jaujac, France which recently became part of an art installation designed by Marseille-based artist Gaëlle Villedary.

Two Coasts, Wild Air

Did I mention I recently spent a few weeks on Martha’s Vineyard? Probably not. I don’t like to advertise my comings and goings online until I’m safely tucked back into my nest.

Last year, I summed up my beachy vacation in one word…Unplugged. It was an introspective post that was transformative in its theme. When I returned from the beach last year I shared about being unplugged:

Slowing down allows for more reflection…
More reflection provides for more space.
..More space gives way to a different intention.
..Different intentions delve deeper.
..Delving deeper blows the lid off everything.

When I reread this, it struck me that this summer has been anything but unplugged…and that’s been OK too. Being plugged-in sometimes has its rewards. In this case, it took me to the other coast. Within days of swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, I flew to San Diego to attend the BlogHer Conference…and I briefly gazed at the Pacific.

Wild Air

What’s BlogHer? It is a spirited gathering of more than 6,000 bloggers (almost exclusively women) who came together to “discuss, inspire and connect with each other.” If you’ve been hanging out at Econesting, you’ve no doubt read that I am part of a team of bloggers who write for the Environmental Defense Fund’s Moms Clean Air Force. MCAF was a BlogHer sponsor. You can check out photos from the event here.

There’s been something else in the air this summer. I’m now working in more of an editorial role with the MCAF. Along with writing posts, I will be helping to manage the new website that is about to launch. I am very, very pleased about this. For me it combines two things I am most passionate about: the environment and family. Don't worry, I will continue to bring eco-friendly design ideas, DIY projects and thoughts about living a sustainable life.

Wild, huh? So that’s what I've been up to. Where have you been?

Credit: Free People

Unplugged: A Mid-Summer’s Reprieve

For the first time in three years, I have not written every day. When I left teaching in 2007, I stumbled into a few writing gigs and landed as a blogger. Discovering this newly creative habit has unleashed a gush of productivity from me. My first year out, and searching for reinvention (from teacher to whatever), writing everyday added a creative challenge to my work life. The self-imposed rhythm of writing everyday also provided some unexpected and truly amazing perks -- new friends from all corners of the world, as well as a few new ones discovered right in my own backyard. Lest I forget, writing has become a steady source of income also. All this growth sprang from my constant companion, my computer. Now, I am on an island with such beauty that it is difficult not to be moved to write. Coupled with the ocean breezes and the sunshine, the offerings of my family and friends become all the more evident. I can’t imagine a more satisfying reprieve. Computers and vacations don’t mix well. The Internet connection here is funky to say the least, and being plugged-in limits meaningful face-to face interactions.

Instead of downloading stockpiled posts like I have done in years past, I took a few weeks off. My main writing gigs (Care2 and Planet Green) seem to be surviving fine without a steady flow of posts from me. Actually, Care2 has reissued some of the oldies in my absence. You can read them here.

Since writing is now what I do and love, and a reprieve from the ordinary (and the computer) is always a good thing, I set myself adrift to see where and when I would reconnect with my readers before boarding the ferry back to my nest. I quickly discovered that a reprieve is not without stirrings and observations about work.

5 Things I’ve Learned From A Mid-Summer's Writing Reprieve

1. Slowing down allows for more reflection. 2. More reflection provides for more space. 3. More space gives way to a different intention. 4. Different intentions delve deeper. 5. Delving deeper blows the lid off everything.

I hope your life has also been enriched by a mid-summer’s reprieve.

Main photo: Ben Scott

Other photos: Osprey nest, friend Hilary and I (in the red hat), and my son unplugged.