Priming the Pump

If you ever lived with a windmill outside your door you know what priming the pump means.  For those of you who think I've gone off the deep end...let me explain.  When a water pump dries up it must be primed or water added to get it flowing again.  The creative process is much like a moaning old pump...when the well runs dry it must be refilled with experiences, sights, sounds, tastes, and touch.  That's what my week in Toledo did for me...it replenished a drying up reservoir of imagination and creativity.  I came home ready to embrace my daily life with a new attitude. 

What did I do to prime my creative pump?  MJ and I nibbled on lemon poppy seed and orange burst muffins while gabbing between cups of Georgette's coffee in Maumee.  Where's the photo you ask?  I was so into the delicious muffin that I forgot to take out my camera. 

Maumee is a suburb of Toledo that is ever so charming.  It lacks the hoity-toity of Perrysburg which makes it even more quaint.  There's a nostalgia about the buildings....

street lamps....

and a night depository at a defunct bank.

But what got my attention more than anything was a sign swinging above heads...

What a jovial fellow, but who wouldn't be smiling when the smell of fresh-made pizza comes wafting out the door.

I should have been inspired to photograph so much more. Maumee was a battle setting for the War of 1812.  There are forts, landmarks, and old legends of Mad Anthony Wayne.  A river runs through the town adding that touch of romance that makes me sigh.  Another trip to Maumee is on my list of fall things to do and the next time I hope triple digits don't keep me from exploring the town as it should be.

As for the primed pump, every little bit helps and just sitting in a coffee shop with a Ten Thousand Villages shop in the back/front got the ball rolling.  What do you do to prime the pump of creativity when it begins to dry? 

Let's do tea tomorrow...shall we?