Buddy, I HOPE so!

 

Laid Up

What's a person to do when they sprain both ankles at the same time?

Why, pass the time coloring, of course. Oh ... and watching a Hallmark Christmas love story movie.

Weird fact: I don't even know how I managed to sprain my ankles!

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I filled the shapes with Crayola colored pencils. Then intensified the colors and brightened the image up a bit in my photo editing program.

This mandala is from the Flowers Mandala Coloring Book. 

Ruff Park Magnolias - 2

 Morning meditation reminder:

Look for the Small Wonders

Amen

Update: This picture won FAN PHOTO OF THE DAY in my photography group!

A Sluggish Morning

I give myself this life advice: 

"Go slow to go fast."

There are times when if I try to get things done too quickly I metaphorically (and literally) trip over my own feet, run into walls, stumble down the stairs, make mistakes, or just have to do the thing again. 

That's what's going on today. 

It's not a big deal. If I slow down a little, I can accomplish a lot more with a whole lot less frustration.

And maybe even notice some roses to smell. 

I'm retired. I get to take my time, right?

This Morning's Sunrise

Now that the sunrise is after 7:30 am, I have much better odds of seeing it than in summer. I rolled a seven this morning!

Soon after the sun was up, I ran across this quotation:

It's going to be a good weekend!

 

Autumn Sunset

Last night's sunset was spectacular! The cloudy skies emphasized the entire light spectrum.

Between the houses:

Over the wetlands

Oh, my! I love living in Oregon!

Simple Pleasures #28 - Scented Wax Melts

 I use them every morning as I get ready for the day ahead.

All the fragrance of a lovely candle without the concern of a flame.

Simple Pleasures #22 - Afternoon Light

... through the bedroom window.

The colors are saturated.

The objects on the bookshelf glow.

Back to School

Well, sort of. 

Dale says that every new project deserves a new notebook. I'm starting a new project.

Today I played with school supplies and art supplies to gear up for it. Here's what I came up with:

I'd planned to purchase a fancy 3-ring binder as a reward for completing a task I really didn't want to do. But I went to three stores and couldn't find what I was looking for. The Back-to-School supplies are not all set out yet. I was sure a binder geared to a middle school girl was going to be ideal for me. But no such-a luck-a. I came home empty-handed.

Then I looked online. I found one with a great cover design, but $14 seemed like too much for a flimsy vinyl/plastic floppy binder.

So I slept on the decision.

This morning while putting something away in my Studio, I remembered that I have some used plain white binders stored away. I'm glad they weren't playing hide-n-seek. I was able to locate one right away.

Then I dug through (and reorganized) my bin of gift bags. I thought I might have one that could fill the bill of making good cover art. I picked one similar in size and shape to this red bag. But the one I used is covered in hearts, of course.

I pulled out a fresh pack of binder paper (because of course I have extra that I bought at a thrift store months ago). I also pulled out some writing implements. 

Then I got crafty ... cutting the bag apart ... trimming it to size ... adding stickers to cover up holes where the gift bag handles were connected ... adding many more heart stickers that had some shades of purple ... tucking the resulting "artwork" into the clear sleeves on the front, back, and spine of the binder.

Last, I pulled all the bits together. In the end, I was pretty proud of myself for using up more of my stash rather than buying something new. Plus ... you know I can barely resist an art project.

The project has to do with using this Live Your Values card deck to help reaffirm my values, then do a bit of journaling. This exercise goes along with a project I call Many Small Dreams. 

Moving to Oregon. Dale's stroke. Surviving the pandemic. Having a new grandchild. Trying to find ways to connect within my community. All these changes in the last four-and-a-half years rocked my world. I've never been one to chase one BIG DREAM. But I do have many small hopes and dreams. I'd like to move them from concept into something practical, then fulfill them in my retirement. 

My expectation is that this exercise of contemplation and journaling will bring these many small dreams into focus and have them align closely with the values I hold dear. I plan to keep moving forward through my life with intention.

A Lovely Day

Most mornings I wake up with some kind of earworm (song) in my head. Yesterday it was this:

Lovely Day by Bill Withers

I decided it was a good day to pay attention to the Lovely Moments that presented themselves, and take photos:

The aroma of a fresh bar of soap

My lowest fasting glucose reading in months

When my daily haiku practically writes itself. 

A bright, warm, red sweatshirt on a chilly, grey, rainy morning

Enjoying the puzzle I put together yesterday (a dedicated blog post on this coming)

Sewing linings in these 5 little-girl purses Jodie and I crocheted for Bags of Love.  I'm delighted with how these came out! (a dedicated blog post on this coming)

Stacks of freshly laundered towels and underwear.

50 bookmarks I finished sewing, also for Bags of Love.  (a dedicated blog post on this coming)

The beautiful Oregon afternoon with bright sun, blue skies, puffy clouds and kids playing soccer. Lovely after the morning rain! Photo taken through my Studio window.

Crisp clean sheets to snuggle into at night.

It really is the little things!!!

I ended the day with a huge sense of well-being. I'm convinced that there are pleasant details around me all the time. I often notice one or two and showcase them here on my blog ... like the late afternoon lighting up my fruit punch.

Now and then, it's "lovely" to consciously look for these moments and either take an actual photo, or make a "memory snapshot" where you stop to look at the scene and place it in long-term memory ... or maybe even write about it in a journal.

I highly recommend this exercise to pull more happiness and loveliness into your day.

Today's Phrase

 Let's be part of the courageous, the steadfast, and the just.

A Walk in the Woods

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep..."

Back in early December, Dale and I needed a break from feeling sick, so took a chance on a Tuesday Travels outing. We visited this Eugene open area, Edgewood Park.

It was tricky to find. Our GPS kept taking us up residential streets with no place to park, and no park entrances. We doubted we were required to go through someone's back yard. So we drove around until we found this very steep hill that ended in a small cul-de-sac. We parked, pulled on the emergency break, and wondered into this damp hilltop wonderland.

A dirt path follows the circumference of the hilltop. It has a couple side trails leading to those neighborhoods the GPS had us trolling. The trees are tall and fairly dense. Dale went on ahead of me.

It's gentle and quiet there among the tall trees, the creeping ivy, the whispered December wind. Lovely. Peaceful. Earthbound.

As we left the forest we came across this small woodcraft shelter. Ah! This is exactly the kind of place little Margaret's soul could be happy for hours on end as a child. I imagine hiding in plain site, dry leaves for a mattress, a Nancy Drew Mystery in hand, snuggled in among my wood nymph relatives.

A Little Bit o' Paradise

 

Come Fly with Me

Every year, on the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I take time to reflect and plan. I reflect in writing on the year gone by, remembering lessons learned, "wins," things in myself that could use some updating. I plan by picking my "Word of the Year," by deciding on a main focus for the coming year, and by making lists. My main list is "23 in 2023," a list of goals to reach for.

I happened upon this image today. I'm not only the pilot for 2023, I'm the navigator.

I think I'll fly through the week with this in mind.

Reminders (to Myself)

 Merry Christmas, my friends.

Meditation Stacks

 

Rock snowmen?  Rockmen?

At Sorrel Pond

Throwback Thursday: Autumn Favorites

#throwbackthursday

Flash Craft: Painted Sprigs

You may recall that my primary creative intention for 2022 is to make what I call Flash Crafts. If I see a project that catches my attention, I will drop whatever I'm doing and make that project within five days. A Flash Craft!

Earlier this week, I saw a TikTok  video of an artist painting some pretty and colorful sprigs of leaves. I can't quite tell if it's created on a canvas, or if it's a cake decoration. But it seemed like something I could attempt.

The original video shows the stems being drawn, then the leaves beginning as a line of dots along the stem. The dots are then smudged out with a finger to create the leaf shape. 

My canvas was much smaller than the original. I used 5" x 7" pieces of watercolor paper as the base. With a pencil, I drew a circle that's 4-1/2" in diameter. Then I free-formed the stems. Once I liked the shape, I inked over them with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie.

I tried a number of techniques to make the leaves. First, I tried smudging with my fingertip. But the scale was far too small for that to work. Then I tried a couple different sizes and shapes of paintbrushes. That was somewhat better, but still not great. Finally, I used my dotting tool to put down the drop of paint, then drag it into a pointy leaf shape.

In my first attempt, I used bright colors similar to the original video. They're OK. But I thought I'd try something else. I chose some pastel colors for the next attempt, and liked them much better. I got better with the leaf shape the more I practiced.

I'm sticking with "progress, not perfection" this time.

I'm proud of myself for stopping my regular activities and making myself try this Flash Craft. For me, getting started is the hardest part. Once started, my entire focus shifts, time ceases, and I'm in the flow of creating. It's meditative. The entire process only took a couple hours from set-up to clean-up.

I'm not entirely sure how I'll use my sprigs, but I'm leaning toward turning them into greeting cards.