Rock Painting to Spread Smiles

Have you seen the news lately? So much anger. So much hatred. So much violence. Stupidity. Ignorance. It has exploded since the pandemic began. My theory is that people were shut up in their homes, took social distancing to mean all forms of contact, loneliness crept in, and when the doors started opening - people lost their ever-lovin' minds! Just my theory, mind you. Seems fitting though. For example. People forgot how to drive in the town we live in. They didn't know how to use blinkers before, but now they forgot what the lines on the roads mean too. Or that red lights mean STOP. I thought they were a little crazy when we first moved here, but in the past month that level has reached the roof. 

So how do I cope with all this? 

For me personally, I have been pouring my spare time into working puzzles. My mom sends them. When I finish them, I trade them with others around town. Okay, some of them I trade. It can be a little annoying to others here though. I work them on the dinner table, which means I have to keep covering them for meals. Still trying to figure out how to work them without getting in the way of our daily routines.

I also read a lot. I have quite the reading list laid out for me. It fuels my imagination, which helps me escape the reality. 

My current book list includes:

The Monster's Legacy by Andre Norton (Currently reading)

Witnesses to War by Michael Leapman

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories NOT for the Nervous

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Writing has slowed down. I finished writing a non-fiction book and my first children's story. I've started the second children's book , but haven't been working on it as much as I should. My illustrator is working on the pictures. They are beautiful! I can't wait to get it published. I really had fun with it and my goal is that it will be helpful for others. 

I have a new hobby though. Can you guess by the title what that might be? Yep! Painting rocks. I had no idea it was such a popular thing these days. Having tried it myself, I can see why. I told my husband today, it is like therapy. Coming up with creative designs. Attempting to put them on a rock. Then add your clear coat to seal the deal. But the best part is hiding them. You never know who will find them. Or who's day you will brighten with them! I need to get some more acrylic paints. I have seen them at the Dollar Tree recently.

My toddler has even helped me paint some of them. We get out the supplies together and go to smearing paint in ways that look beautiful together.

It gives me a good way to bond with my little darling. Together, we are spreading kindness and smiles.