Focus on the Miracles

 

"Tiny Miracles" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

Hello, my darlings. I apologize for missing the entire month of April with my posts, but life has been going a hundred miles an hour lately and I'm still trying to get caught up.

In my last post, I talked about the craft fair I was making all those refrigerator magnets and other things for. Well, it was a gigantic FLOP. I made a whole $7. But, at least I tried.

Also, my granddaughter (who lives with me) turned 13. I am now officially raising a teenager. Somebody send help. She went from being my feisty little missy, to a full-blown hormonal bundle of disgust. Yay!!!

I started a new job this past month as well. After 11 years in the direct care service, I changed direction and went back to my roots. I am once again cleaning rooms in one of our nicer hotels. Okay, I'm not just cleaning rooms, I'm the Executive Housekeeping Manager. Yep, I'm the boss. Who'da thunk it???

Finally, my daughter and now son-in-law finally made it official and got married. It was a beautiful affair and my daughter and granddaughters looked gorgeous in their dresses. However, if anyone ever asks me about weddings again, I'm totally going to advocate for eloping. 

I've spent nearly two full months preparing for and going through some unbelievable changes. I could look at all the stress I've been through in the process, but I've actually been focusing on all the little miracles that I've been blessed to have witnessed. 

I believe that focusing on all the good things that have happened, rather than the bad, I'm making things easier on myself. Yes, there were some extremely stressful moments, but that's all they were--moments. The good moments far outweighed the bad.

Though I only made $7 on my first craft fair, I did make some money, and I got that first fair out of the way. My granddaughter turned 13 and turned into a typical moody teenager, but I'm getting to watch my grandbaby transform into a beautiful young woman right before my eyes. I started a new job later in life that comes with a lot more stress, but it's also a chance to set myself up for a more stable future. 

I spent an entire weekend living through the mood-swings and stresses of my daughter's wedding, but I also got to witness my little girl live out her dream of having the fairytale wedding. Even with everything that went wrong, it had a happy ending.

No matter what we go through in life, it's important to enjoy the brighter points. It's the little miracles that make life worth living. 

Until next time,
Miss Chris

I Unplugged for the Whole First-Half of the Month

 

"Handmade Beauty" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, my darlings. I can't believe it's almost the middle of March already. I took the entire first half of this month off from any writing. Not because I'm done writing but because I've been on a creative energy burst that has completely swallowed me alive.

In a few weeks, I'll be doing my first craft fair. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I'm in the process of making as much stuff as I can to try and sell. I'm afraid that I won't have enough to get me through the day, but at the same time, I'm afraid I won't sell anything and will end up bringing all this crap back home.

I do a lot of crafting, but my current crafty love is paper crafting. I make a lot of handmade gift tags and bookmarks. I've also made a bunch of refrigerator magnets that are all different and just gorgeous. 

My handmade bookmarks

My handmade refrigerator magnets

I've had a blast putting these together and have spent half of this month unplugged. Yes, I checked my email and stuff like that, but for the most part, I stepped away from the Internet and just let my brain run rampant. It's been so amazing.

I still have a lot of stuff I want to make. My biggest problem is that I have too many ideas and not enough hours in the day. I'm trying to focus on just a few products (the magnets, bookmarks, some gift tags, and a few greeting cards). If I try to make too many things, I'll burn myself out and won't get anything done.

I find it very relaxing to just sit and create little works of art while allowing my brain to wander off on its own. My hands and my brain seems to disconnect somehow and each one does its own thing. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not. 

We spend every day of our lives tied into our digital lives. Doing something that requires only the human aspect allows me to reconnect with a time long ago. And I highly recommend it to anyone who needs to...unplug.

Until next time,
Miss Chris

~~~~~~~~~

Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs three other blogs. Graves Publications, Library of the Mystic Realms, and Collected Keepsakes. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com  where she runs several publications. 

Christine is an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past. 

Be sure to sign up for the Graves Publications newsletter to stay up with all the latest news. 

Soft Music and Ambiance

 

"The Coffee Shop" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI

It's amazing what a little soft music and ambiance can do for the soul. I was sitting here trying to come up with something to write about and decided to jump onto YouTube for some soft music. I love videos that are just images with soft, instrumental music. I find it very relaxing.

I found one that showed an image of a cute little coffee shop (not the one pictured above) and some soft jazz. I love soft jazz. I thought, "Yep, this is the one". Little did I know I'd get swept up in the image itself and my mind would wander off into another dimension. 

As I stared at the picture, with what appeared to be a sweeping rain outside the windows, I got lost in a never-before-written story. In my mind, I ran that coffee shop and it was a cold and rainy night. A homeless gentleman entered the shop, simply to get out of the rain. There was something about him that told me he wasn't looking for a handout or was there to hurt me. He just wanted to get warm.

I offered him a cup of coffee and a muffin. Though at first, he declined, I convinced him to accept my offer. I told him to remove his wet coat and I'd throw it in the dryer (I'd, of course, live above the shop). I had some old clothes in the back room and found him a dry pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. 

I handed him the clothes, an old towel, and a bottle of hand soap. I showed him where the men's room was and let him go in and wash up. He explained that he couldn't pay me for the kindness, but I didn't care. I wasn't looking for any money, I just knew he needed someone to give him a chance.

When he came out of the restroom, he sat down and enjoyed his coffee and muffin. I poured him another cup and joined him. He told me his story. A veteran down on his luck, trying to find his way in society. I could hear the sadness in his voice.

I asked him what he did in the military and was surprised by his answer. He'd been a culinary specialist in the Navy. Then he told me what it was like cooking for hundreds of his fellow crewmen. I saw the gleam in his eye and the pride in his soul. 

He finished his coffee and thanked me for the muffin. I asked him where he'd be staying for the night and he said he was hoping I'd let him sleep in his car in my parking lot. I told him no. Instantly, his eyes dimmed and his shoulders dropped. 

He said he understood and thanked me for the coffee and muffin once again. As he stood to leave, I asked him to follow me out the back door. Out behind the coffee shop was a small building that had been converted into an apartment many years before. I'd often used it when family came to stay or if a friend just needed a place to sleep.

I let the gentleman know that there were pillows and blankets in the closet and the stuff to make coffee in the morning. He couldn't hide the shocked look on his face. He said he couldn't accept it as it was too much. I just smiled and reminded him that it was too wet and cold to sleep in a car. 

He finally accepted my offer and made his way to the apartment. I told him good night and locked up the shop. 

As I opened the next morning, the gentleman greeted me as he walked back from his car. He entered the shop and I poured him a cup of coffee. He smiled and thanked me, then asked me a curious question. He wanted to know what the pie of the day was. I'd never had a pie-of-the-day, but the idea sparked my attention. When I shared this piece of news with him, he offered to bake a couple of pies as payment for the room. I agreed.

The gentleman grabbed his coffee cup and headed for the kitchen area. As he rounded the corner...my cat jumped up on the desk and broke me out of my little trance. It was gone. The gentleman, the coffee shop, the pies...all gone. 

Oh well. It was all nothing more than a dream. Not a dream from sleep. Not a dream of success. Just a few moments in an image of a coffee shop filled with soft music and ambiance.

~~~~~~~~~~

Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs three other blogs. Graves Publications, Library of the Mystic Realms, and Collected Keepsakes. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com  where she runs several publications. 

Christine is an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past. 

Be sure to sign up for the Graves Publications newsletter to stay up with all the latest news.