New Year – new possibilities

On New Year’s Day, seems like so long ago now, we went on a walk.

We didn’t have a destination in mind. There was nothing on the agenda for that day whatsoever (my favourite kind of day with the ones l love so much).

Starting outside the garden gate- should we go left or right…

What if we walked down the Trans Canada Trail?- Sure, sounds good- we haven’t done that for a long time. Feels a little different so perhaps more interesting….

After a series of small, inconsequential decisions we found our way along the Salish Sea….that’s when I saw it at a distance…is that? is that our red blanket? Walking closer – yes, yes it is!

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I’m not sure that making memories happens in the ordinary day-to-day. Unless possibly making memories in that way is a culmination of those times when one looks back.
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​I think making memories happens in the unexpected, finding oneself in a place – and really seeing that place.​
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Over the holidays I took two teenage members of my family out for dinner.

I couldn’t get a reservation at the sushi place we all like, so I gave them the option: would you like to eat at my dining room table (after clearing it of our sewing machines, cutting mat and fabric – from an afternoon of making from my fabric stash), or we could bundle up and eat outside in the garden, or at my favourite table by the sea.

“Let’s do that!”

We brought blankets, seating pads, table cloths, and a lamp for the table.

The headlights from my car stayed on long enough for us to make our way down the mossy rocks to the table.

When we each sat down and set up our meal with improvised plates made from the takeout lids- we noticed: it was so dark.

And then, as we ate and talked and laughed and joked, we started noticing…..

The lights in the distance that none of us had ever seen before.

The sound of the waves.

The clanging of the masts of sailboats in the distance.

One person on the beach below doing something with the use of his flashlight, and because we couldn’t make out what it was he was doing, we made stories about it instead- everyone adding to the possibilities of this absurd, hilarious and increasingly scary tale.
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I have always loved spending time with teenagers. There is a knowing about what they have experienced so far and what they have assumed about the world and their future participation in it. I find it encouraging, exciting and delightful.
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​Sitting eating sushi by the ocean on the west coast of Canada in December is just wacky and unexpected enough to be a ton of fun.

We didn’t linger after our meal because our hands were getting so cold.
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​Living a creative life, following one’s curiosity and wondering “what if” in the company of people in your life who are up for it is life-giving to me.​
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I did feel as though we had made a fun memory together.
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The clouds were illuminated by the city lights, and as they moved apart, one could see beyond the darkness of the night, the first star appeared to us as we headed back up the hill to our car, warmer once we got out of the wind.

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When I went to throw our blankets and table cloths in the wash I thought that I was missing the red one. I looked at my photograph (not this one), decided that I didn’t see it and then thought- oh maybe I left it in the car…then I forgot about it.

Until the moment that we found ourselves walking past….

I love that I live in a place, where someone had nicely placed it on the bench or perhaps we had and that is where it had remained for 9 nights.

It was well past lunch time and we decided to see if we could get a table at the hotel by the water- in the pub.

Because it was not planned at all, and we got a table with us each facing the ocean views, it felt like the best table in the place.

We felt so fortunate and grateful for our good luck…plus I think that that joy came from something deeper than that– it came from a sense of serendipity – a sense that we had relaxed into something that let go of expectations of any kind on our day— and we were given this….I think that’s where the gratitude came from—

I know that these kinds of experiences are possible in a creative life—-and I want to make even more space for them in the year to come.

In the days since, I have been focussed on planning in my business, and in my life.

If you are interested in Creating More Connections through Creativity in your life, I have made a FREE guide for you 

Please pass this along to anyone you know who it might be helpful for—

I wish you peace on your path,

Lise-Lotte