almost

gee. you all know how to make a girl feel better. even when her finger is throbbing and black and blue and really, really ugly. your words of kindness and wishes for healing are so very much appreciated. it's like being wrapped up in a big blanket of caring. it is.

the stitches are almost out. the house painting is almost finished. and this month of march is almost a memory. almost, but not quite.

first, the finger. it's feeling much, much better. i've managed alright this week, with only nine fingers. dishes can be done with one hand. (there is a lot more wasted water, but it can be done.) washing my face was no problem at all. showering was not as hard as i had feared. my mother fed us a lot of dinners this week. (thanks, mom!) it's been alright. the hardest thing, i've found, about living with nine fingers: putting tights on a five-year-old girl. that was hard. she wore a lot of pants. (the sacrifices we make.)

the stitches are supposed to come out today. i'm pretty much avoiding that. putting it off until the last possible moment. working up my courage. yeah, that's it. i'm working up my courage.

the house painting is almost finished, too. one last little bit of hall left to be painted today and tomorrow. the whole space - it's practically all one room: the living room, dining room, entry area, even the hall - is now antique white. with white trim.

it's so light. and bright. and wonderful feeling. clean, spacious, ripe with possibility.

while we're on the subject of painting: in a sudden and surprising move, our guest room is getting some new paint this week, too. except that it's not going to be our guest room anymore. over the weekend, we moved the guest bed to the basement (also challenging with nine fingers), and we're turning the guest room into a, um, creative space. i feel shy even saying it here, so gigantically exciting does it feel to me. i've been hoping for this for a good while, but - very suddenly - it's happening! there's a lot of work to do, but i can't wait. i really, really can't wait.

incidentally, i was planning to paint this new creative space white. as in simple white. a perfect backdrop, i think, for all sorts of creative endeavors. the painter thinks it will make the room seem small. any thoughts on this subject from you, my creative friends?

and just so you know that my whole house isn't painted white, i offer you these photos of the also-recently-painted bathroom

and little girl's room.

a certain boy has pointed out that every single room in the house will have been painted except for his. oy. i guess i'll have to fix that. soon.

and finally, here we are at the tail end of this month of march. it's been a doozy, this month. with the painting and the plastering and the house all taken apart. and the finger. and both the birthday and the passing-on-day of my father, who died nine years ago. it's been a lot, these last few weeks. i can't say i'm sad to see the month go.

though that might be just a wee bit self-serving, since the month of april brings my birthday, a big trip, and some new beginnings. i can't wait.

Comments

[Tracy]

I think creative spaces are best white. Gives you room to make. I think. And also since if you are working with color, white reflects neutrally, and won't make your colors look differently than they would elsewere. Well, less different.

Loving all the color. Looking forward to April also. New beginnings.

[hrsj]

Emily- I don't even know where to begin! I'm so happy for your creative space though, that's fantastic, and wow, what a feeling!! ooh, now I'm wondering about your new beginnings! {and you better give us the heads up on your birthday!}

[cloth.paper.string]

oh my, your own space for making, for creating. this is so exciting, emily!! as for white, tracy summed it up nicely.

i can't wait to see what april brings for you, my friend!! and in the meantime, know that i love the fact that you have pussywillows in your newly painted space -- what better symbol of possibility, potential, of that which is new. perfect.

[martha]

So glad your finger is feeling better. yikes -you never realize how much you need EVERY finger until you don't have one...
the white looks fantastic! I don't think white can make anything look smaller.
and how exciting to have your own space-congrats!
xo

[Alicia A.]

A studio?! A studio! Yay for you, my artist friend.

I'm glad your finger is healing too.

[Nanette]

It's lovely here! Lucy doesn't appear to taken with it but I think it looks divine. It is nice to meet you via your blog!

[charlotte]

i agree with martha – i don't think it can make a space look small. quite the opposite in fact.

i'm minus a finger right now too partly – very strange indeed. hope you're better soon xx

[TD wool design]

here's to the "looking ahead" for you! a work space; good for you. i happen to like color, so i'd paint one wall with a saturated color, bright and cheery. that's just me. maybe you'll want to "feel" that space and then check with your creative side :) cheers!

[Michelle]

The white idea is probably best, but I would paint my space orange. Something vibrant and alive and fun.

Glad to hear you are on the mend!

[raina]

Your house looks gorgeous...I am starting on my 'creative' space when I get back from Spain in a few weeks...eeek! can't wait. Your rooms look absolutely lovely. And, the pussywillow image...beautiful.

[Sarah Jackson]

It looks beautiful! My house looked like that before we moved all of our stuff into it. Do you think anyone would notice if I got rid of everything? As for the room color, I'd maybe go with a paler color that you love or a softer white if the room is small. Then it's a great palette for whatever you decide to add.

I'm an April birthday too!

[Mariss]

Hooray for courage, new beginnings and a new studio! (Sorry about the anniversary about your dad's passing, though).

I say go with your gut on the color. You can always re-paint if you need to. Color can stimulate your creativity, make a room more cozy (not small!), and make you like it more. But if you want a blank canvas and think you may get sick of a specific color, or it will affect your work, then go with the white!

Either way, good luck :)

[miss chris]

oh Emily! All these spaces are wonderful. Thank you for sharing them. Congrats on the living room space -- it looks so fresh. And on the new studio -- how exciting!

I would lean towards a color for your studio... but something pale perhaps, just enough to provide a contrast to anything white you might hang up. Or, white walls and a pretty light blue ceiling?

[Jess]

Hi Emily,
Good luck getting those stitches out - it isn't as scary as you think! And then you can really start feeling better! That's so exciting to have a creative space - post some pictures of how it looks when you are done!

[erin]

oh yes...new beginnings!

[ani]

horray for a new month! it sounds like you have so much good stuff in store.

as you are a painter, i would probably go with white or else maybe a soft dove grey? that would be fairly neutral. but then again, i have a different color for every room in the house and am energized by the color. at least it's just paint and can always be changed!

[capello]

wow. you have FABULOUS windows!

that one summer i had a broken foot was horrible. i have great sympathy for a finger issue. yeouch.

[amisha]

so glad your finger is healing up emily. and your house is looking beautiful! i also think white makes a space look bigger rather than smaller, but i am a sucker for color :) xo