Looking for Inspiration

I'm sitting at the kitchen island finishing a cup of tea (Earl Gray from the Empress in Canada) looking for inspiration to unleash some writer's block.

There is a lot to be excited about with these halcyon days of summer, kids starting school (all of them; full time...I won't put an exclamation point on that so I don't seem too excited lest you think me a bad mom), all 18 chickens are still alive and doing well (except one teeny runt) and we have all the boxes unpacked and are just left with the fun things to do after moving.

So why can't I find inspiration in all of it? It seems that I have too much rolling around in my brain and don't know where to begin. I hope this doesn't mean that I'm not growing...the reason I started blogging in the first place. Am I at a crossroads or a standstill? Do I need adventure or rest?

Well, I will just focus on the things I'm super excited about for today:

My large cast iron pot on the stove, empty now but waiting for me to cook Beuf Bourguignon (sp? and too lazy to remove myself from the chair). It was a gift from my sweet mother-in-law and I'm very excited and inspired to cook.

The flowers on the deck outside. Sunflowers and Dahlias;Petunias, Impatiens and spikey purple flowers that are not Lavendar or Salvia. When the sun filters through them on its descent, they glow and it makes me stop in my tracks.

So many things...visiting family, kids that love each other, friends who are driving all the way to the boonies to have dinner with me...and... if I had a dollar for all the blessings I can count.

Well, I feel better. Maybe popping the cork on a few inspiring things, will allow other concrete thoughts to take shape and percolate to the top of my tired brain.

What about you? What do you do to get inspired to: cook, clean, organize, write, read, teach, nurture, rest, play...?

I love your comments... BTW the photo is just one I really love, but it has nothing to do with anyone's birthday that I know of. If it's yours though, Happy Birthday!