I have a new computer, which I’ve been getting used to. One way I get used to things like new computers is to decorate them, which in this case means that I’ve chosen a lovely desktop image. Here it is:

It’s inspired my blog post for today, which is yet another round of imaginary Etsy shopping. At this point in the semester, all I’m doing is continually meeting with students and grading papers, so to be honest, I have nothing left in my head to write about. There’s simply nothing there, no ideas, no source of inspiration. Imaginary shopping is the best I can do. So here we go. I call this round of shopping “Into the Green,” and it’s inspired by the image above and the fact that it’s spring, although at the moment a cold and soggy one.

The first item I’m going to imaginary buy is this green vase by Suzanne’s Pottery Farm. Isn’t it beautiful? I’ll put it on a dresser or low table.

Then, I think perhaps this print called “Looking Forward” by Shirae. I like how the little girl is looking into the distance, into what I think is probably the sunset. I like how she’s holding her doll, exactly the way little girls do hold their dolls, and how the mushrooms match her dress.

I’ve fallen in love with this – is it a scarf or a necklace? – from The Faerie Market. I just love the pretty pinkish-reddish flower. I honestly don’t know what I would do with something like this, but it’s romantic and imaginative. Perhaps I would have one of my characters wear it. It’s the sort of thing Thea would wear, for instance.

Rowan DeVoe Arts gives us this photographic print called “Ophelia Siren Child.” This is the sort of image I might have over my desk, actually. It’s dreamy and inspiring. I don’t think of her as dead but as a sort of dreaming siren who is also Ophelia, in a watery womb, waiting to be reborn.

And finally, this is for us to wear if we want to be as romantic as all of these items, the vase and scarf and prints: a green gypsy skirt from Fashion Dress 6. I wouldn’t wear it like this, not with a tank top and flip-flops, which makes it look too ordinary, but with a filmy white blouse and ballet flats. It’s a skirt that deserves better, and needs to be twirled around in.

The next two weeks are going to be crazy, as I’ve written. I’m going to try to keep updating here, but my posts will be like this one. They’ll be about dreams rather than reality, because that’s how I’m sustaining myself right now.