I live with my local-guitar-teacher husband and two teens in a semi-rural area that has a lot of housing development but no public transit within walking distance.  And we have one vehicle.  We’ve managed to work out the logistics of this over the years, but today I needed to get out with no agenda, no errands, no one needing to go anywhere.

You see, I have spent the last two weeks immersed in the world of figuring out how to set up an Etsy shop and how to create listings.  I had felt the time was right for me to put my mind to the Etsy learning curve, and learn I did!  But my mind was is exhausted.  I was starting to get anxious and to lose sleep.  This just is not good.  I love creating, and I want to share my process and sell my creations to the world; but I also have a family (whom I love dearly) and a part-time tutoring business (which I love because I am privileged to be helping kids learn; plus they each are so much fun) to help support us.

So I told myself today, “Colleen, you need to go out for a few hours and get a change of scenery.  And you can’t run errands or browse thrift stores for more floral cotton vintage sheets!”  (I restrained myself from stopping at a Salvation Army store that I drove by)  Here is what I did.

First, I drove to a boat club where a small craft fair was being held.  I needed to get around other creative people and see some new things.  I met a fine artist there and totally admired all her beautiful and colourful paintings, especially the floral ones!  I bought this print from her (because, as you know if you’ve been reading my blog, I love colourful flowers in my crafting and drawing and painting!):

Second, I drove to a local oceanside beach (half hour drive) that I haven’t been to in awhile (I took the above photo on the boardwalk there).  I LOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEE the ocean!  I love walking the beaches, watching the waves, listening to the waves, feeling the sand (I didn’t do that today – too cold to go barefoot), looking at the different colours of the rocks, etc.  I even found a piece of clear seaglass there – I’ve never seen any at this particular beach, so I wasn’t even searching!  It was very refreshing and it cleared my mind.

Third, I went back to my van in the beach parking lot, and FELL ASLEEP.  I didn’t keep track of time (yessss!), but I must have slept for an hour or so.  It was so nice.  When I awoke, I did some reading; and then I decided I would like to take some fun photos.  I picked out some random items I had with me, and set them up.

Below is a book I checked out of the library, because I am obsessed with Bohemian / Gypsy / Hippie colourfulness these days:

Then a fun photo of my handmade bag against the weathered wood of the boardwalk:

Lining of my bag (photo taken boringly inside my van – but the lining makes me smile when I open my bag):

And last photo – yarn and crochet hook I had with me.  I was trying to work out a pattern today, but I couldn’t think it through clearly so I gave up.  Still, the colours are gorgeous!

Finally, after my photo session, I headed home.  I did have to stop at the grocery store and produce market, though; butter was on sale and we needed more vegetables.  Oh well, it was a great day out, and I feel so much better.

How about you?  How do you know when you’re getting burnt out?  What do you do about it?