Yes, I was in the crosswalk.  And no, I hadn’t looked both ways before crossing.

I was a few minutes late, having stopped to talk with my handyman who had just shown up to install some trim in the downstairs bathroom.  Rushing across town, I hurriedly pulled into a spot across the street from the restaurant and waved to my friend who was waiting across the way.

The next thing I remember was seeing the hood of a white car.  I recognized that I’d been hit by said car but had no idea where it had come from.  A second later I had flipped 180 degrees and was face down on the ground searching for my glasses which, amazingly, were still on my face.  There were screams and a rush of people heading my way.  I made it to my feet noticing that my left foot was hurting.  The rest of me seemed ok.

Kind merchants found me a chair and offered me a dixie cup of water and treats from a plastic jack o’lantern.  Paramedics assessed me, a policeman questioned me.  The driver stroked my arm as he apologized for hitting me, offering up that he’d swerved as soon as he saw me.

The cop ran his name and discovered that the driver had a suspended license and multiple DUIs. He also suffered from cataracts. At the time he seemed dazed or drunk or high but thankfully he somehow snapped out of it soon enough to swerve when he finally saw me and only caught me with the front right side of his car, not straight on.  The cop thought I would have died if he hadn’t swerved.  I certainly would have been injured more severely.

As it is, I have some general aches and pains and a scraped and swollen left foot.  No broken bones even though it’s likely that the car actually ran over my foot.  It’s miraculous that I limped away so relatively unscathed.

After a week of replaying what happened and taking stock of what’s to come—near misses will make you do that—I  just wanted to say that I’m glad I’m still here.  Thanks for letting me share that.

Some things that caught my attention this week as I was icing, elevating and taking note of some exceptional sunsets.

Clever ceramic figures exploring cultural and language differences.

Good advice for creating something–“I squeeze a ball of yarn (tube of paint/head of lettuce/keys of a keyboard?) and see what it wants to be when it grows up.”

Learning to self-soothe.

Why aren’t there more women guiding toy companies?

A plus size article about plus sizes.

The dishy new fashion-focused memoir from Bergdorf Goodman’s Betty Halbreich. Here’s a little glimpse into her world–

Happy Weekend All–Stay Safe!

When we bought this house we thought it came with a built-in office desk. However, when we moved in we found that the (not built-in after all) desk was gone.  Since I’d already tossed my old (battered, ready-to-be-retired) desk, I was slightly disappointed—one more thing to buy!—but quickly realized that I could now pursue a walking/standing desk.

After doing some online research I decided to start with a “sit-stand” desk to see how much I’d really stand while working before investing in a treadmill. I then test-drove a few desks at Ergot Depot near the San Francisco Design Center. I ended up purchasing the Humanscale “Float” desk for three reasons:

• I already have a Humanscale desk chair that I love.
• I didn’t want to be dependent on the electrical component of other desks (you raise and lower the Float manually.)
• I liked the slimmer, sleeker profile of the desk.  (Form + Function!)

It took longer than expected for the desk to arrive—the company estimates three weeks, it was closer to six—but now that it’s here I’m really enjoying it. Especially if I’m doing research online, I find I don’t mind standing and I feel much better for not sitting all the time while I work.

Do you work at a standing or walking desk?  I’d be interested in hearing about your experience.

***

Here are some other new things that made my life better this week.

Now that we’re settled into our new home, I’d like to have a few folks over for dinner  and incorporate some of these dinner party tips.

Joan Rivers‘s funeral request had me laughing even after she was gone.

When it comes to creative projects, are you a “leaver-outer” or a “putter-inner?”

This cross-country photo project looks like it’s worth kickstarting.

Experience the power of a bookbook.

Classes at my pool/gym were so packed this week, you’d think it was January–which made me think about this post on working out.

It’s always a delight to see the young SYTYCD competitors “float” through the summer dance competition. Now that the season’s over, it’s hard to pick a favorite routine but I couldn’t resist the sheer joy conveyed in Zack and Valerie’s stair stepping tap number.

 Happy Weekend All!

Panelists included designer Jeff Schlarb of Green Couch Interior Design, architect Steven Sutro of Sutro Architects, artist Katina Huston and choreographer Alonzo King of  LINES ballet.  All of the panelists had interesting things to say, but I was especially taken with Mr. King.  Articulate and witty, he held forth like a preacher fired-up on a Sunday morning, telling us that the artist’s goal should be to “bring light into a world where there is so much despair and worry.”

Here’s a bit more of what he had to say along with some shots of creative light fixtures (raindrops! colored icicles! octopus! dinosaur fossils!) that caught my eye at Coup d’Etat.

On a creative lifestyle:  “Human beings are makers and doers.  There isn’t an on/off switch to creativity, it’s a way of living.”

On preparing to create: “I stop eating a certain way and spend much more time alone so that clarity can come to the fore.”

On originality: “When you’ve been doing this for a long time the idea of ‘authorship’ is a joke.  Everything that is discovered, created or invented exists already—you’re just excavating, waiting for secrets to be revealed.  And when you devote yourself to something, it reveals itself.”

On connecting with your audience: “A good messenger is not a showoff.  You want to make sure the message is clear.”

On challenging your audience: “If they’re giving up two hours of their time, you want to feed them well. The goal is to stir the heart or the mind, to touch them somewhere. But you also want to slap people a bit, help them come out of a stupor.”

On being tenacious: “If you’re putting out the effort now, things will improve in the future.”

On how difficult things can inform your work: “It doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, only what you become because of or in spite of it.”

Any favorite wisdom you’ve heard that helps shed light on the creative process?

For example, I returned home from Germany at midnight and flew out to Boise first thing the next morning for M.J.’s high school reunion. When I’d booked these back-to-back trips I had great intentions of packing for both before I left town, but I got busy tying up loose ends and. . .no second bag was packed.  Fortunately, I had adopted a pretty good travel mindset after ten days on the road and didn’t worry too much about packing for the second trip even with the quick turn-around. On the plane home from Europe I plotted out two outfits I’d need for official reunion events and quickly threw them and a few other casual items in a second suitcase before crashing into bed that night.  All my little travel necessities–toiletries, travel ipod, etc.–were easily transferred from one suitcase to another on my way out the door the next morning.

Packing for the second trip–even with little sleep and no prep–was a breeze!  The difference?  I wasn’t trying to extricate myself from my ongoing life.  Even when I didn’t have everything I needed–we ended up going off-roading (!) with my sister and her new boyfriend and a pair of outdoor shoes might have come in handy–it was No Big Deal.

Lesson learned? Get into a travel mindset as much as you can and keep moving.  Here’s author Danielle Krysa talking about how to get into a travel mindset without having to venture too far afield:

And here are some other things that inspired me while I’ve been moving and adventuring:

A chicklit writer learns how to play to her strengths.

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert shares  how to keep creating.

Weird Al gives a grammar lesson.

Comedian Jim Carrey gets serious about life choices.

And finally, whether you’re on the road or taking it easy at home this August, I’d recommend participating in blogger Susannah Conway’s August Break project. It’s a (free) directed photography exercise that encourages you to take a photo a day throughout the month of August to illustrate a specific prompt like “lunch” or “blue” or “memory.”  Then, if you’d like, you can post your photo to Instagram or Flickr and see the other ways that people have found to interpret the prompt. I participated last year and found that it was a great way to tour my world–and others.

Happy Weekend All!