Cat Michaels, Writer
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6 ways you can turn a creation station into your happy place

2/28/2022

16 Comments

 
After two years holed up at home (thanks, Covid), I'm sprucing up my writing room. My creation station isn’t fancy or budget-breaking, but it works for me. I repurpose furniture. Surround myself with tech gadgets, old-timey treasures, and stuff that makes me happy and productive.
 
Hey, want to see where I'm writing my rom com? Perhaps you'll find an idea for your creation station, too. Don’t be shy! Come on in and have a look around at my writing room. 

​
Six ways you can turn a creation station into your happy place ~ catmichaelswriter.com

​1. Ace Your Space
If a trainstation is where the train stops, what's a workstation? 
—Author Unknown
 
You don't need to spend tons of money on your creation station. I repurpose whatever I have on hand for an eclectic mix that brings me joy.
​
My writing room is a converted guest bedroom in our cozy yellow cottage. The room is anchored by the 20-yo, L-shaped desk my employer provided when I worked remotely in a high-tech firm. 
6 ways you can turn a creation station into your happy place catmichaelswriter.com
Cat's Creation Station

A 1960s maple hutch picked up at an estate sale displays family photos and stuffies that remind me of my children’s book characters. The cabinet's double doors hide messy computer cables, printer paper and office supplies.

I cover my walls with whatever suits my fancy:
  • A sampler I made during one long winter back in the day when I had more patience
  • Portraits of my grandmother and great-aunt as children, taken by my great-grandfather, a photographer in Washington, more than 130 years ago​​
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Repurposed 1960s hutch
Six ways you can turn your creation station into your happy productive place ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Sampler, family photos from the late 1800s



2.  Tools of the Trade
​

Thank you, paper clips,
for not being like staples that can't commit
. 

— Jimmy Fallon



Wherever your space, splurge as much as you can to fill it with tools of your trade. ​I love my trusty 2013 MacBook Pro. It's paired with dual screen monitors, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse that make book formatting, graphics and editing a breeze.

Best, I can take my creation station anywhere just by unplugging my laptop. 

Six ways you can turn your creation station into your happy productive place ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Mountainside creation station - Marion, NC

​Having an ergonomic work station is super-important.
catmichaelswriter.com
Years ago, I developed a repetitive motion injury from long hours of writing. I'm better now after therapy and torturous steroid injections. That's why I have a customized ergonomic keyboard tray to keep me pain-free. An inexpensive bamboo stand from Amazon raises my monitor to the proper height to prevent neck and shoulder strain.



3.  Playlist
​

Music brings a warm glow to my vision,
thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering. 

-- Haruki Murakami

Can you work when it's quiet? I can't. I need sound. Soft background music. Nothing loud. Never distracting song lyrics.

Orchestral movie scores make up my playlists. Scores from composers like John Williams, James Horner and Michael Giacchino over YouTube and Apple Music pump me up every time.

4.  Room with a View
​

There’s a world out there. Open a window, and it’s there.
— Robin Williams
​
Six ways you can turn your creation station into your happy productive place ~ catmichaelswriter.com

​


​Tall windows fill my creation station with light
and glimpses of the world outside.
​

When I want a break from writing,
all I need to do
is look up to ...

….keep an eye on the weather

…. watch my garden in all its seasons 

… enjoy the parade of kids biking, running, and skipping down the sidewalk
​
​… wave at Marvin, our friendly mail carrier 

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Mail carrier Marvin
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Cat's winter garden view

5.  Play Time
​
​The supreme accomplishment
is to blur the line between work and play.
 

—Arnold Toynbee
​
​Gotta have a playful creation station or else work is, well, too much like work.

My collection of happy things started decades ago when Mama gifted me a Star Trek action figure. Since then, I've added more.
Picture
Action figures from outer space
Picture
Disney characters

An old-timey printer's tray rescued from a salvage yard
is filled with print blocks from back in the day and teeny treasures from Mama's stash.

They're paired with Great-grandma Belle, who watches me from her horse and buggy.
Love that she was a 'modern' woman in the late 1800s, who drove her own carriage!
Six ways you can turn your creation station into your happy productive place ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Top to Bottom: Great-Grandma looks down on old-timey printer's tray

​6.  People Who Need People
​

Stages of working from home:

Yay I get to work from home.
It would be nice to talk to people.

I hope that pigeon sits in the window today.


– Mark Agee

Six ways you can turn your creation station into your happy productive place ~ catmichaelswriter.comBookcase/workout station
As much as you love your creation station and its flexibility, you'll want to find ways to connect with other humans. My creation station does just that.

Like most of the world,
I felt lonely and isolated during Covid.

I’m grateful for
the Zooms, Meets
and Facebook Rooms
that kept me connected
​with family and friends.

Hooray for virtual workout classes
(and my bookcase
​ for doubling as an exercise station)!


The writing road 
is
long and bumpy,

and
my creation station
keeps me going
​
whenever
I
feel
stuck.
Picture
Thanks for your company on my writing journey!


​Over to You
​
It doesn't matter if you work in a palace or a broom closet.

The trick is to make the most of your space
​ and have fun with it,
Picture
Photo: Creative use of space, by Mari Mileham, Twitter - May 2021


​​Where's your workspace or home happy place?
***
What do you like most about it?
***
What tips do you have for making the most of a creation station?
***
I'm always looking for ways to make my space better, and I'd love to hear your ideas. 
Please share in the comment section. 

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16 Comments

Weather Outside is Frightful, but our Southern Snow Daze is Delightful, Y'all

2/2/2022

14 Comments

 
We rarely get more than a dusting of snow here in central North Carolina. When we do, we declare an unofficial holiday – Snow Daze! Excited kids play outside until dark. Parents shiver and watch. We head to bed early in exhausted delight after downing quarts of hot chocolate. And the snow melts the next day like it was never here.

Join me and see for yourself what a rare southern snow is like on this Snow Daze photo walk through my ‘hood.
Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Drone Photo: Favorite Neighbor

1.  Anticipation is keeping us waitin' ... 
​
Picture
Excitement builds days before.
​
Forecasts tease us with possible snowfall amounts and storm tracks.

Most times, the wintry weather misses us.

But once every year or so,
the predictions come true.

And just like that....
​Snow Daze mania takes over!

​

Folks in northern climes, who are used to snow falling all winter, think we're nuts. We ignore their eye rolls and revel in our frenzy. 

It starts with a mad dash to Harris Teeter and Food Lion for milk, bread and toilet paper. 
(Yep, those items run out quick. Nope, we don't really need them, but they're our winter weather security blanket.)
​
Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.comCat's Snow Daze stash
Then we dig out snow boots and that pair of warm mittens Grandma knitted for us last Christmas, hoping we remember where we stashed them.  

Parents hunt for shovels and ice melt. Kids pull out sleds and cardboard boxes. Anything to whoosh them down a snow-covered hill.
​

Me?
​I assemble my Snow Daze staples.​


2.  Twas the Night Before Snow Daze ....
Temperatures plunge. 
​
Breath plumes silver in frigid air.

There's an eerie nighttime sky,
dark clouds
ringing the moon.

Oh yeah.
We're sure now .....
​
snow is on the way!
Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Snow moon over the 'hood

When snow creeps in,
it's cold, dark, and past bedtime for most.

but.... 
my social media feeds still

explode!

It's snowing in southern Wake County!
First flakes in down town!
We got an inch already on the deck!
Anybody know if garbage pick up is cancelled for tomorrow?


Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Photo by George Mike Wilson: Chatham Street in the snow, Cary, NC

3. Ready, Set, SNOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!

Snow brings out the inner kid in all of us. 
I'm so excited,
I hardly sleep a wink.
Can't wait for my first glimpse of the white stuff in daylight. 
 
I'm up at dawn, camera ready,
​to catch the best light.

The storm has moved on,
but in its wake....
​
a brilliant sunrise.
Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Morning-after snow sky
 
​Our Covid-weary, winter world
is transformed and delicious,
dusted in white
​ like a cake
drenched with powdered sugar. 
Weather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Hidden garden path

It's not long
before 
we hear 
breakfasted, booted, and bundled kids
giving the freshly fallen snow
some lovin.'
Picture
Snow Daze wonder - photo by Favorite Neighbor

Nothing short of a winter wonderland!

Kids are ...

sledding

snow angel-ing

building snow people
​
​EVERYWHERE!
Snow Daze joy;  Photo by Favorite Neighbor

​Me?
​

I walk the hood, taking it all in
before dashing inside
​to throw chili fixin's in the crockpot for tonight's meal.
​
PictureWeather outside is frightful but our southern snow daze is delightful ya'll ~ catmichaelswriter.com
Crock Pot Chili

Later, I dig out my trusty shovel to attack the sidewalk and driveway. This is the first time we had to clear them in five winters! I don’t mind. Tackling this fuffly stuff is my favorite kind of winter cardio. A thin layer of ice adds enough resistance for strength training, too. Best, when I tire, Hub finishes the job.

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Cat Michaels' winter exercises


So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye

​Night falls.
Temperature drops.
Everyone reluctantly straggles inside
to warm up with chili or hot soups by the fire. 

Some Littles even stash bowls filled with snow
in their freezer
​to save for another day.

Good thing they do.
Next morning,
the snow melts away.
 
​We hope we don't have to wait
another five years
for our next Snow Daze!
Photo by George Mike Wilson: Downtown Cary, NC
Photo by George Mike Wilson: Arts Center, Cary, NC

Your Turn
Have you experienced a Snow Daze in your part of the world? What do enjoy most about it? If you don't live cold country, what would you like to do during a snowfall?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

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    Cat Michaels

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  • Welcome!
  • Cat's Books
    • Sweet T and the Turtle Team >
      • Just Between Sam and Me
    • Finding Fuzzy: A You-Decide Tale of a Lost Friend
    • Sweet T and the North Wind
    • The Magical Aquarium
  • Cat's Corner: Blogging About Books, Writing, and More
  • Meet Cat
  • FREE STUFF in the Kids' Zone
  • Contact Cat