I’m so glad I was finally able to get away for a Creative Retreat last week.  It’s been over four years since the last one, so it was way overdue!  I had my first Creative Retreat in 2018 and it was a special experience.  Other than blog conferences, I had never taken time away from home and work specifically for creative and professional growth, study, rest, and rejuvenation.   In early 2018, we had just moved to Minnesota, I was transitioning my business from furniture refinishing and selling antiques to whatever was next, and I had some big things to think about and questions about the future of my creative work to answer.  I came home with clarity and a renewed enthusiasm for my work.  Since then, I’ve taken a few Creative Retreats and learned that I need about one a year to clear the cobwebs, brainstorm, and gain a bit

I will admit that my job isn’t a normal one.  I often say to my boys, “I know it doesn’t look like I’m working, but this is what my work looks like today.”  Sometimes it’s painting.  Sometimes it’s doodling in a notebook, working on ideas or designs.  Sometimes it’s doing photo shoots or editing photos.  Sometimes it’s playing on social media.  It’s working in the garden, it’s organizing, it’s hanging wallpaper, it’s building something, making something, writing something.  It’s working on a computer.  It’s working on my phone.  It’s recording a podcast.  It’s reading.  And, to make it even more complicated, my hobbies and business are so intertwined that even I sometimes can’t tell when I’m doing something for the fun of it or because I’m being paid to do it.  Because you (those who read my blog) have a front-row seat to this unusual occupation, I thought I would