Solitary Pursuits

My inlaws came this weekend and we had such a fun day.

Mostly because we did absolutely nothing. It was a gorgeous day and we just sat out in the backyard all afternoon and talked. If you feel like you don't often take an afternoon to do nothing (not easy for me, I'll admit) - you really should.

Many hilarious topics came up over the course of the day (the Fiedlers are funny people), but my favorite one, believe it or not, was about golf.

I was asking my FIL about going to play golf at one of his regular courses, and if he ever felt weird getting paired (or quadded) up with strangers. From the outside looking in, I've always thought that this was an offputting characteristic of golf - that it couldn't be a solitary pursuit. You can't just go play a round of golf alone, unless your town has been beset by zombies and everyone else who use to golf is dead. Wait - undead.

It's even ODDER for a sport that makes you shush all the time. I mean really - you're going to make me shut up AND spend five hours with a stranger?

He said it wasn't awkward, and that very few times in his whole golfy life had he ever been matched up with people that he didn't like or that made it less fun.

I tried to explain how weird it seemed to me like this:

What if I got up on Saturday morning and walked into my stamp room to play and someone met me at the door and said "Hi Lydia - thanks for coming to stamp today - here's Frida, and she'll be with you all day."

No.

Just no.

It would be so awkward and weird!

And while I love to STAMP with other people - like at swaps or at convention, there's no way I can CREATE with other people. I absolutely cannot design in any condition other than complete solitude. I can only replicate.


Can any of you do the design part of your work in a group setting? Even in an art class I'm not designing, just learning. I'm fascinated to know if all of the creative process is truly a solitary pursuit or if I'm just a freak.

You know what's not a solitary pursuit?? The Stampin' Up! Catalog premiere I went to last night with 7600 of my closest friends!

It. Was. Awesome.

We were in theaters all across the country watching a live broadcast from a theater in Long Beach, CA. They introduced the new catalog, gave us peeks, did demonstrations, gave out prizes, and as we left WE GOT THE CATALOG! And it's amazing. I stayed up until nearly 2 AM last night poring over every page, putting flags on the has-to-haves and stifling squeals.

I'm about to go through it again. I can't wait until you can all see it!

We of course got a set from the catalog and I had to ink it up with our new In Colors, which are gorgeous.  They are Blackberry Bliss, Hey Honey, Tangelo Twist, Lost Lagoon and Mossy Meadow.

I won the ink prize patrol so I got to go home with Blackberry Bliss, Hey Honey and Tangelo Twist and I married them with our all attendee prize - the Work of Art stamp set. The second I laid my eyes on this set I knew what I was going to do with it - make a rainbow! I love the brushstroke look of the whole set, and this greeting is spectacular. The Blackberry Bliss, Hey Honey and Tangelo Twist are all stamped off once here, so you're seeing them at half strength. Tempting Turquoise is full strength and Old Olive is half strength.

You ARE a fabulous work of art, you know - fearfully and wonderfully made. :)

Loveyameanitbye.