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5 Quotes on Creativity and the July Giveaway!

by Cathy Baker

A quote often says more than an entire essay. It’s a morsel, rich with perspective, cutting through all the fluff. For this reason, we’re bringing our July series to a close with five favorite quotes on creativity.

 

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” -Frank Capra
“It is better to create than to be learned, creating is the true essence of life.” 
-Barthold Georg Niebuhr
“The writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master—something that at times strangely wills and works for itself.” -Charlotte Bronte
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” -Erich Fromm
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” -Maya Angelou

Something for You


It’s hard to beat a cup of Starbucks brew (cold brew, that is — my new favorite!) so simply share your favorite quote from above in the comment section below. Your name will be included in the random drawing taking place this Friday morning for a Starbucks gift card. A cup of coffee or tea is waiting to be handcrafted just for you by your local barista.

A Pete Townshend Fave and May Giveaway!

by Cathy Baker

Today’s Artist Date may seem a bit odd for some but let’s encourage one another to skirt about our sense of ease and dare to explore what lies just beyond the next corner.

Save the Date(s):
It’s your choice! Choose one or both dates. Who knows? You may find yourself giggling like a nine-year old or being as contemplative as an eighty-year-old. These age-defined insights are eager to emerge so grab your purse/wallet and let’s head to the nearest cafe or coffee shop.

Pete Townshend

You’re Invited:
“Write a letter from your nine-year-old self to you. Expect resistance to this date. Overcome your resistance by bribing yourself. Take yourself out to a fancy cafe. Order the most decadent dessert on the menu. Take one scrumptious bite, and then take out your notebook and start writing. Tell yourself you can finish your treat when you have finished writing your letter. Pete Townshend of The Who named this date among his favorite Artist’s Way tools. You might find that, too.” -Julia Cameron, “The Miracle of the Artist’s Date.” 

or…

www.huffingtonpost.com

“Write a letter from you at eighty. Take yourself to your favorite coffee shop. Order a chocolate shake. Take pen to page and write yourself a loving letter full of praise and encouragement. Tell yourself you’re doing well. Applaud your accomplishments. Your eighty-year-old self is proud of you. Drink up your shake.” -Julia Cameron, “The Miracle of the Artist’s Date.”

Which did you choose? I’d love to know! I plan to do both exercises but will begin with the latter exercise as I believe our older selves have much wisdom to share.


This month’s drawing goes hand-in-hand with our Save the Date theme. Simply leave a comment sharing which date resonated most with you and your name will be included in a random drawing on Monday, June 1st, for your favorite cup o’ brew from Starbucks.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

 

Simple {Meaningful} Ways to Celebrate CHRISTmas…Day 1

by Cathy Baker

Welcome to the first day of our Christmas series! 

If you’re searching for a place to find one simple way to bring more meaning to your Christmas season, I hope you’ll find it here.

Each idea in this series will be brief. Some may relate to you more than others. That’s okay! If it doesn’t relate, feel free to forward it to someone else.


{ Day 1 }

Many cashiers will find themselves weary from a hectic Black Friday weekend. Be extra patient today. A kind smile will encourage them more than you know. 

**If your budget allows, consider purchasing a handful of $5.00 Starbucks or Dunkin Donut gift cards to share with cashiers and other people God will place on your radar this holiday season.

Who have you shown an extra dose of grace to this morning? Share it here!

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Baking With the Best Ingredient in Mind

Encouragement Wrapped in a Bow

by Cathy Baker

Remember this post from 2008?

  • Starbucks has the Pumpkin Spice Latte
  • The Beacon has the Hash-A-Plenty
  • My late grandmother, Elsie Knighton, had her egg custard pie

Like those “signature” dishes, my other grandmother, aka “Ma-Ma”, was well known for her pound cake in Fairforest,
SC, back in the day. For as long as I can remember, she baked at
least one pound cake a week. She sliced it into thirds, wrapped each section in
wax paper and added one last shiny wrap before delivering her thirds to the sick, lonely, and elderly. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t pay close attention to either grandmother’s mad cooking skills. In fact, years ago, I bought a rubber stamp that said, Don’t worry. I didn’t bake it myself, in hopes of putting the recipient’s mind at ease. I saw no hope in sight until I received my shiny red Kitchen-Aid mixer. It revved up my baking engine as well as my interest to find my own “signature something.” You know, the kind of recipe that comes to mind as quickly as your firstborn’s name.

I’ve tried several pound cake recipes (including MaMa’s)
only to have the pans sabotage my efforts. Yes, it was the pan. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

However, I’m confident that a day is coming when I’ll say goodbye to the rubber stamp and say hello to a tag that reads, Baked with Love, by Cathy.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Update!
My “Signature Something” baked in vintage Pyrex

Score! I may have discovered my signature something this weekend—pumpkin bread with a brown sugar glaze. The only obstacle? The glaze is so yummilicious you’ll want to ditch the drizzle and smother your bread like it’s a blanket. Brian called it “the kind of dish that makes you want to scrape the plate clean.”

And yet—where both grandmother’s were concerned—their signature somethings were far more than a delight to the palate. Each cake and every pie was baked with one thing in mind: other people, the best ingredient of all.

 
Do you have a signature something? A go-to dish that you share with others? I’d love to hear about it and if you’d like to share the recipe, I’d be honored to include it on my blog in the near future, along with my signature something. 

Whatever you do,  
work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your
reward. 
You are serving the Lord Christ. 
Colossians 3:23, 24

A Week in Pictures

I’m sharing a few favorite pics, mainly because I love them, but also because I’m under the weather, thanks to a multitude of dusty totes being carried from our attic, through the house, and into storage. Gotta love a roof job! Turns out, even if you get three shots a week for allergies, you’re still not immune. Sigh. I couldn’t write a normal post if I tried.

So, here goes with some of my favorite pics from the past week or two:

One of Piper’s favorite things to do when she comes to visit is to play Brian’s mandolin. As you can see, she holds the flat pick just right and plucks away like Brian shows her. My only regret in this picture is that you can’t see the new curl that’s cropped up. A-dorable! 

It’s a paci in motion! This little apple didn’t fall from the tree. Lucky for Zach, I don’t have pictures handy from his toddler days where the proof of his love for the pacifier was plastered in a red rash on top of his upper lip. (You do know that’s why parents keep embarrassing pictures of their children, right? This, and their wedding rehearsal slide show.)
Bye-bye Rupert! Our Lhasa is heading to the vet for some special pampering in their TLC boarding section for a few days while our roof is replaced. It’s apparently a very noisy job that would spook Rup for sure — especially if when I escape to Starbucks.

I pray you have a very blessed week. We have much to be thankful for…such as friends and family who take a few moments out of their hectic week to stop by and read my posts.

Thank you!

 

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