I’ve mentioned some of my sabbatical projects, including the online kindness classes I’m facilitating (Anonymous Kindness & Undivided Kindness right now), reading all of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels, and things like organizing my iTunes library. I have other projects, too, but enough about me, right?! Let’s talk about Melinda!

If you know Melinda, you are aware she has this creation itch and is always looking for ways to scratch it. When we are in Seattle, this is most visibly done through work on our house. Since we bought it and moved in back in 1998, she has transformed the place. The first time inside she envisioned a way to move stairs and create more space and better flow. I couldn’t conceptualize it but was smart enough to know just to trust her. In short, our house just keeps getting better and better. One of the best parts, she figures out ways to do things we can afford.

One of her friends here in Nantes, Nathalie, has asked Melinda to help her come up with some remodeling ideas for her kitchen. After she visited Nathalie’s house last week, I found Melinda at our dining room table busy drawing. She had put a table lamp under the table, which is made of glass, by the way, in order to be able to trace ideas from one page to another. A homemade light table, of course!

I took today’s photo earlier this afternoon inside a store in the center of Nantes that has become one of Melinda’s favorites. It’s a crafts store and Melinda likes it because she has started making bracelets and necklaces. I liked the rows and rows of these jars of beads and rather than succumb to the temptation of sticking my fingers in them while waiting for Melinda to finish, I took some pictures.

A profile of Melinda was created for our school’s new website. I think it captures her pretty well. Take a look.