Filling the Well (2)

I know it seems weird to 'live with' a cardboard cutout. But we're really just like everyone else. We even sport a minivan. And we always wear our seat belts.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

It's true, people. And you don't have go totally loco like Jack Nicholson in The Shining to know that working all the time, without giving yourself time for play, doesn't help anyone, you least of all. We. need. play. 

If you know me, you know that I almost never get to go out for my fun. So most of my play is here. In other words, you can do it too! Here's what's been filling my well this month:

• Music. I'm catching up on lost years, here, friends, and I'm currently loving, as in la-la-la-loving (my friend, Kelly T. came up with that and I love that too) SPOTIFY. Hello? Am I just so new to this that you've all had it for years and I was the only one who didn't know about it? I was always a big Pandora listener—and my husband and I both stand by the notion that Beck Radio is one of the best—and I still love it for finding songs to sing along to while I'm painting or driving. But Spotify is amazing for checking out all the music of a particular artist. Right now, I'm totally digging The Mountain Goats and Parsonfield. 
• Food. And not just ice cream. I'm obsessing over olive tapenade lately and have been using it instead of pizza sauce on homemade pizzas. Let me just tell you...it's food that inspires! I got my recipe from this pizza cookbook and holy hell! I just realized I can order the tapenade direct. Which means I can store it for a zombie apocalypse.  (Scratch that...they don't sell it anymore. Totally bummed)
• Art. I've been trying to make time to make art. I haven't really been in the mood to do it, but I've found that sometimes that's when I most need to create. So I've been dabbling in paints and papers and washi tape and colorful pens. And it's been really good. (Evidence of actually doing this below)

• Books. I love books. If books were a bicycle, I'd be one of the most in-shape people you ever met. As it is, my body is flabby but my mind is wildly entertained. This month, I read We Were Brothers (made me want to call my sister) by Barry Moser, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane  (made me want to be a nicer person) by Kate DiCamillo, The Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff (really made me want to be a nicer person), I am Having So Much Fun Here Without You (made me be nicer specifically to my husband) by Courtney Maum, and After You (was a great follow-up to Me Before You) by Jojo Moyes.  Still working in those recommended memoirs...thanks again!
• Entertainment. We don't watch a lot of television, so when we do, we really have to like it. I binge watched The Man in the High Castle early in the month and it was AMAZING. Very surreal and interesting. It's based on a book of the same name, and portrays the world as it would have been had Hitler won WWII. Crazy. On an equally depressing note, I love The Walking Dead. Just like clockwork, I'm excited to watch it every Sunday night. 
• My kids. Even though they are literally with me all the time, I still get a kick out of watching them play and learn. They teach me more than any book or lesson ever could. Right now, they are having this crazy fascination with Cabbage Patch Kids. Yes...those Cabbage Patch Kids. They are, quite honestly, a little bit obsessed, and it's been fun to embrace these throwback dolls (er, babies) as they're taken over by the next generation. 

I hope you guys are having your own fun out there. As Cyndi Lauper so eloquently sang, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-un". 

​XO...Danielle