The Rerouted Skytress

There are certain moments in life we remember, without a doubt, where we were when something significant happened. I was in Chattanooga when I heard Prince had died. I was in Las Vegas when the Cubs finally won the World Series. I was sitting on the couch in my friend Tara’s house, in Peachtree City, when she told me about Pinterest. What is Pinterest? I’d be more than happy to tell you. Pinterest is the slippery slope into the Devil’s living room.

For years, I was I collector of torn out magazine pages. If there was a recipe I liked….rrriiippp,…..I tore it out of the magazine for safe keeping. If there was a project I thought I might like to do….rrriiippp,…out of the magazine it came. If there was a gardening idea or outfit that I liked…..rrriiippp,…it was out of the magazine before it became yesterday’s news. Now because I am a neat-nick, I had all these torn-out pages nicely filed away for future reference for when I needed them. Sadly, most of these tattered pages never saw the light of day ever again. When Tara explained to me what Pinterest was, I became ecstatic. She explained I could go on this website and look up recipes, gardening ideas, fashion ideas, craft ideas,…whatever tickled my fancy…. and create a “board” to “pin” the ideas on. Later, I could go back on Pinterest and easily find my saved ideas. I could also get ideas from the Pinterest website to save. In addition, I could follow my friends boards and see what they were interested in. Instead of asking my friends for a recipe, I could go search their Pinterest board and retrieve it myself. I no longer had to tear pages out of magazines or quickly write a recipe down hoping I got all the ingredients and steps. I was hooked! I quickly became a Pinterest fanatic. I tossed all my files away and I never looked back. I have no idea who started Pinterest. But, I believe they should be awarded the Noble Peace Prize. We could even look on Pinterest to get ideas on where to place it in the recipient’s home. Or even get directions on how to build the perfect trophy case to display it in. The Pinterest ideas are limitless.

I remember the day I told my Skyter friend Wyll about Pinterest. We were sitting in the E-Concourse in Atlanta waiting for our plane. Wyll was telling me about the cookbook he was writing based on family recipes. I asked Wyll if he had ever heard of Pinterest. He had not. So, I took out my iPad and showed him how Pinterest worked. Weeks later, I was in the crew lounge when Wyll walked in. He looked at me, laughed, and told me I was the devil for showing him all about Pinterest. He was hooked on the website, too. Wyll is extremely creative. His house could be on the cover of Southern Living Magazine or Architectural Digest. I follow Wyll on Pinterest to see what fabulous ideas he is going to bring to fruition. Thankfully, Wyll posts pictures on his Facebook page. It is sheer enjoyment for me to look at his posts. Of course, after I look at Wyll’s pictures, I get inspired and go back on Pinterest to search more ideas. Yep, Pinterest is a slippery slope I am constantly sliding down.

Ron and I rarely looked at our phones or computers when we were with each other. This was extremely refreshing. However, Ron knew about my love for Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest came up in conversations all the time. Most days when I was on a layover, Ron would call and see how I was doing. More times than I can count, I told him I was doing great. Then I would usually add I was just perusing Pinterest. This would always make both of us laugh. When Ron was busy doing something around the house, I would occasionally take the opportunity to take a look-see at Pinterest. Inevitably, Ron would catch me. My Pinterest-loving smile would always give me away. In spite of this, Ron would smile back and innocently ask me if I was checking out Pinterest. Usually, my all-to-familiar response to him was, “I’m slipping down the slope AGAIN!” Without skipping a beat, he’d chuckle and say, “You’re funny”. I usually put my iPad away after he asked if I was on the website. Pinterest is fun for me. But, it definitely wasn’t more fun than Ron. Ron trumped Pinterest every time.

I am very fortunate that I have a designated art room in my house. I love to tinker in there either painting or using my Cricut machine to design items. When the pandemic started and we all began to quarantine, I spent a lot of time in my art room looking at Pinterest for creative inspiration. One day I saw something that peaked my interest. It was jewelry stamping. It looked easy. My mind was filled with all the lovely jewelry pieces I was going to make. So, I decided I would buy the recommended tools and start stamping. Early on, I learned there is a definite learning curve to jewelry stamping. Who knew hitting a letter on a silver piece could be so difficult and frustrating? There is also some obvious noise to stamping. My poor dog Finley is not a fan of this activity. Fortunately for both of us, I eventually went back flying and put my jewelry stamping items away. One day when I was on a layover, I was sliding down the slippery slope AGAIN. I instantly became intrigued with clay ornament stamping when I was scrolling through Pinterest. I spent hours on the website looking at clay stamped ornaments. I decided that night, I’m going to try my hand at clay ornament stamping. However, I need to get Christmas up around the house first. I, also, have a few Pinterest Christmas decorating ideas I want to tackle before I tackle the ornament stamping. Oh, and I have a few new Pinterest Christmas cookies I’m dying to bake. Darn you Pinterest! There aren’t enough days to fit it all in. If only I had seen the clay ornament stamping in March and April. As we know all-to-well, those months never seemed to end.

I must confess, I have had my fair share of Pinterest disasters. Apparently, so have many other Pinterest followers. There are actually “Pinterest fail” websites. People post their inspirational Pinterest pictures. Then they post pictures of their failed attempts at recreating the Pinterest item. I discovered these sites when my Easter Bunny bread rolls, …that appeared extremely simple to make,….turned out to be the hardest things to replicate. After seeing the bunny bread roll fail posts, I didn’t feel so bad. Mine looked much better than most. I laughed so hard at some of the pictures I felt instantly better. Albert Einstein had a quote that I shared with Ron once. Albert said, “A ship is always safe at shore. But, that is not what it is built for.” Ron loved this quote. I love the quote, too. I am built to create. If I fail, oh well. I know I have learned something in the process that is just as valuable. I create because my soul positively craves it. I can’t stay safely at the shore. No, I have to steer my creative ship out into the open waters and see where it takes me.

I am quick to say that Pinterest is the slippery slope into the Devil’s living room. I can get lost on the Pinterest website for hours. One idea starts me searching in multiple directions. Before I know it, I have gone happily astray on the website. In actuality though, Pinterest is a happy outlet for my creative side. It gives me great pleasure to see what others are doing in the world. All the creativity and inspiring ideas on the website are staggering. Pinterest has also been an inspiration for me in another way. Many times I read the sidebar about the person who’s post I’ve clicked on. Happily, I’ve discovered these people aren’t very different than me. This knowledge actually gave me the courage to start my blog. Yes, Pinterest has been a beautiful blessing I never knew I needed in my life. The more I think about Pinterest, the more I realize it’s not the Devil’s living room. No, it is my Heavenly living room. I can’t thank my best friend Tara enough for opening the door to this sanctuary for me. Although, I will definitely try to find something on Pinterest to quote, make or bake to try to express my gratitude towards her. You can be assured, though, it just won’t be those darn Pinterest Easter Bunny bread rolls!