Changing Perspectives

There are periods in your life where change is all around you. In fact, when you stop and think about it, there are probably very few times when nothing is changing. But this weekend made me realize that in addition to things changing, your perspective must change to accept it all. For the most part, I am liking my new perspectives.

Some of the changes in perspective are very big - like the cottage, which continues to evolve into the full-time home it will be one day. The ongoing changes that are turning it from a rustic cottage we grew used to over 16 years to a more comfortable house are definitely changing my perspective about it - and to the good.

The picture of our front door is a good symbol for the new perspective, since we didn't have one before - a front door that is. We didn't have a peak over the door, we didn't have stone steps or a retaining wall and we didn't have a garage. Instead, we had a not-so-gentle slope from where we parked the car to the side porch door. We also didn't have a foundation under the cottage, so the rain and melting snow ran down our not-so-gentle slope and under our cottage. Not a good thing for a home - hence the retaining wall, steps, etc. Hopefully, we can convince Mother Nature to change her perspective too.

On a smaller scale was my trip to the R.U.G. hook-in in Barrie on Saturday. Rather than stay in the city on Friday nite and drive up to Barrie on Saturday, I drove south to Barrie from the cottage on Saturday morning. It was a stupendous trip! There was very little traffic, and what traffic there was moved at the speed limit. As I wound past those incredible masses of Georgian Shield that mark the north, I would go past lakes that were covered in morning mist, looking like so many ghosts emerging from the water. All the low lands shared this cool morning phenomenon. And I had a front row seat. I arrived at my destination feeling elated, not tense from a terrible drive north. (Many of those who made the trek north were stuck for 25 minutes - and the highway was closed - because of another accident.)

Changing perspective was, in fact, a topic at the hook-in. One of the hosting branches made their presentation on how their group interpreted the same pattern. We must have seen 25 examples of different colour pallettes, hooking styles, floral treatments, sizes of piece, types of finishing. Everyone's perspective on the same pattern was a wonderful presentation for those presenting and those watching.

On an even smaller scale, I realized that my current project is also changing my perspective. I have started a name sign for friends' third child, Lindsay, born last week. I decided to try to use the old wool blankets that I bought at the Teachers' weekend, since they were perfect colours for this project. I was a bit skeptical, since they seem so big and thick in blanket form, but once cut into strips, they hook beautifully. And they give an antique look and feel to this baby gift, which I am determined to finish this week.

Perhaps I am being a bit too introspective about connecting all these things, but I did realize that if you stop changing perspectives, things could become pretty boring pretty quickly. I know that it will take time to adjust to the big-scale changes in perspective. Turning our cottage into a home that feels like ours will be a work in progress for some time. Once we are there full time, that new perpective of leaving from there to go wherever will only feel strange for a while. And I think I will enjoy getting used to it.

As far as the small changes like hooking in old blankets, I think the litttle changes are the easiest to try, embrace and enjoy.
Here's to changing perspectives - and the freshness that they bring.