Here We Go...

Hello friends and family!

I figured I would write this first post to get started, and then I will try to post some pictures, a house tour and some before-and-after DIY projects later this week. I will try to keep this brief because, while I am an English person, I find that I am a much better blog-reader when there are lots of pictures (so I will sprinkle in a few here).

Nora sends her love

To begin, we're here in Ohio, and things are moving along. We are pretty well settled into our home (we finally made it out of the dorms! But we loved it while it lasted), and I really like it so far. I have been working hard on my thesis, and although I missed the August deadline for graduation, I am almost finished and will definitely graduate in December! Only four years and two grad date changes later, and I will finally be done! Rick and I are going to have some celebrating to do! And thankfully we'll get to be home to rejoice with friends and family as well. :) We're looking forward to it!

The amazing view from my desk

As for this blog, I have been thinking about and anticipating it for some time now, and I am incredibly excited to start another new little adventure. My vision for this is for it to be a way to keep friends and family updated with what we're doing as well as for me to share some of my projects and ideas. I love to re-purpose old items, find treasures at garage sales (barn sales here! I love it!), and create somethings from nothings. I feel like I have a creative energy that inspires me, and while I can express some of that by writing, I have kept the active side of it at bay a bit until I could finish my degree. So now that the end is in sight, I'm eager to see where this leads.

The road by our house

Finally, I want to address the title I chose. For a long time I couldn't think of a title that fit my vision. I wanted something that expressed creativity but that didn't imply any particular medium. And I also wanted to draw from the fact that this is a new phase in our lives and a new adventure in a different part of the country. So I landed on "Clever Ohio." Clever because I like its varied definitions (from Merriam Webster Online):  a) "skillful ... in using the hands or body," b) "mentally quick and resourceful," c) "marked by ingenuity," d) "good," and e) "easy to use or handle." The projects I love most are inexpensive but quality and innovative but simple, and I think "clever" covers that well. And Ohio is fairly obvious. :) We live in a beautiful and inspiring place.

Our backyard at sunset

So here is a blog about new things.

-Shelley