Sunday 26th January

Hello friends,

How are you doing? It has been a verrrrrry wet week here in Central Portugal. We had a glorious pocket of sunshine yesterday which helped fill up our batteries (literally and metaphorically), but otherwise it’s just dark and drizzly.

We have been busy working on the inside of the cabin, sheltering from the rain as we add the walls to the interior, and it has taken a lot of our time and energy this week which has meant that I haven’t done any drawing. Not a single squiggle.

I received an email in the midst of this busy week about a Portugese language course (something I’d really like to get onto), and it informed me that it was “quitters day”, the day in which most people have already abandoned their new years resolutions. And as my resolution is to build back my creativity and drawing practice, and after a busy week filled with drizzle and little inspiration, I’ve taken this notion of “quitters day” as a nudge to kindly do the opposite. Bear with me.

January and its wintery depths doesn’t really offer the best environment for building a brand new sparkly version of ourselves, pushing ourselves to become perfect, break old habits, build new ones, get up at 5am, workout, live off kale, save more money, give up the little things that make our lives joyful (ahem coffee, chocolate and wine) etc. Which is why I love the idea of having a guiding word for the year rather than a resolution, and as I’ve mentioned previously, mine is creativity. It feels more like an anchor when I’m a bit lost rather than an unkind demand to myself when all I’m wanting to do is curl up on the sofa with the cats and dogs (and maybe my sketchbook). Creativity can be thinking of creative ways to nourish myself, like the soup I just made from the last of the gardens sweet potatoes (which I did add some kale to btw, as its one of the only things still alive in the garden, and it was delicious too).

So this is a short and sweet sundaze papers, and I hope a little nudge to you that if January has already sucked the enthusiasm out of you, that those beautiful little dreams of yours are still worth pursuing. And maybe the best thing you can do for those dreams is spend the winter dreaming about them and nourishing the heck out of yourself ready for the springtime energy that is, though it doesn’t quite feel like it right now, just around the corner.

So much love,

Carissa

xxx