sometimes mondays | 3.2.20 …

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sunrise, as I type, is soft, gentle, quiet; just a whiff of pink color tinges the edges of the horizon…it’s quiet, only the steady rhythm of the clock’s tick tick tick and the clump of the keys on the keyboard as I punch, can be heard. As I am not a typist, frequently I have to pause, correct. Over the years I’ve unknowingly learned placement of a few keys, a very few. I cannot type you without looking at my hands and the keyboard; when I don’t I always, without fail, type oyu . I wonder why my brain doesn’t stop me? Hmmm…

This morning I share the fruits of 29 consecutive days in February capturing memories into the making of scrapbook layouts. I’m not sure how the dates of the collage were left off but the month begins in the upper left corner and reads across. I told stories of my great grand nephews, Chris and Elias; my parents; my birthday weekend at Bethany Beach DE with friends; of friendships; my favorite place on earth: Sisters Oregon; an ’80s trip to Austria; a couple seasonal (December 2019) and sky/weather stories. My favorite layout is the second in the 3rd row of clouds.

I always enjoy LOAD and am also happy when it’s over. I like to think that I’ll keep the momentum going but I don’t. My brain tells me it’s time to pause, take a break, refresh and get ready for the next session – 31 days in May! … Maybe during the break I will learn how to type y-o-u !

Cheers~

thursday 3|2. 27. 20 …

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1 – I am reading a delightful book on clouds… and learning sooo much. Fascinating! Today’s very windy, cloudy morning is an added bonus. As is oft said “ the sky’s a study “ and for sure, today it is! I awoke to stratocumulus* clouds, fueled by winds, moving rapidly, tinged with pink colored by the sun’s rays . (*today’s new word ;-))

2 – I have a new iPhone XR. It’s different and learning how to turn it on, swipe whichever way to get to apps, etc is somewhat of a challenge. I had my former phone, a 6+ for 5-6 years with the push button. Habits are hard to make…and to break.

3 – I share a little unraveled wednesday, too. Block #12 is slowly coming along…I pick it up most times when watching the news or am joining Thursday Stitching friends ~ today, I won’t be. The color of the block in progress is a light blue…almost looks gray in the photo.

Such is the way it is on this last February Thursday. Today we’re getting a preview of March’s winds. Linking up with Carole and friends.

Cheers~

one little word | 2/20 …

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Good morning or afternoon or evening ~ or whenever you read this. Fifteen years and counting, 365 days out of the year, I begin my morning sitting at the dining table in the Great Room (as I dub it – the addition, kitchen/eating area, we built 15 years ago). This morning I’m in my craft room where my computer is located; my tea mug is close at hand and I am journaling via the keyboard rather than by pen in hand. Just as I was retiring last night, I realized that today was the last Tuesday and I had not drafted today’s post. Ah yes! Guess that habit – my 2020 one little word – hasn’t taken hold, yet!

This month, my focus has been on visiting my routines and tiny habits – the things I do consciously, intentionally or out of habit. For example: I’ve dubbed my mornings as MSQT – morning solitude and quiet time. I go downstairs to the Great Room, make tea and set the table with my journal/s/, pens, AM good reads and planner/s.* This past month, I added to my routine the practice of taking a minimum of 350 steps as tea water brews (in my new electric cordless kettle, just sayin’). This is a tiny habit that’s easy to implement: I can simply walk briskly around the perimeter of the Great Room and get my body movin’. Win Win!

Tiny Habits is also the title of a  new book published the end of 2019. BJ Fogg, the author has been studying habits for several decades and has narrowed the formation of new habits to the tiniest cue, e.g., you tie a desired behavior to something you already do. In my example, I want to be a little more active in the morning, get a jump start on my daily step count, so I tied walking with flipping the switch of the electric kettle.

BJ offered a free 10 sessions ‘ online class to the book’s purchasers; I joined and have been attending the ‘class’ this month. The interaction between BJ and class participants via text chat has been illuminating.  Today is our 7th session.

How is life with your word proceeding ? Please do share in the comments and if you’ve written a post, please also include the link in the comments.*

Looking forward to reading the stories of your February love affair with your 2020 one little word. And now, it’s time for me to hit publish, go downstairs and walk my 350 steps as water boils for my second cuppa tea.

Cheers~

*Yes, I have more than one planner; that’s a story for another post … and mark your calendar: Tuesday March 31 is the next OLW update! Apologies for no linkup party this month… I need to understand how the feature works. I’m sure it’s easier than their instructions and it’s past time to hit publish.

 

a space of my own …

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As you, my blog friends/readers know, this month I am participating in LOAD: Layout A Day. This is my 10th anniversary for doing the February session. LOAD comes around three times a year: Feb, May and Oct plus a week in August. I joined because I had a lifetime of stories to tell about my life’s journey and the time – I retired January 2010. Most of those years, I did make 28 or 29 LOs (layouts) in February; thus far this session, I’m on track.* Many of my life stories I’ve also shared over the years via blogging.

My intention/goal this year – 2020 – is to build on the momentum from this month’s LOAD. I want to exhaust my memory/daily life banks – to get those stories written down and published as:

  • blog posts
  • scrapbook layouts/albums
  • printed books

Today, I thought I’d share my Ode to LOAD 220 Day 18 layout. Below is the text from the layout tho’ I think it’s readable in the photo too (but why have to work at it?)… And now, after I publish this post, it’s time to create today’s LOAD. My plan is to share all the layouts using the Collect app Monday  March 2.

Have a great weekend! See you Monday!

Cheers~

*Text of layout

Every morning I read and write. One of my AM reads is Sarah Ban Breathnach’s 2019 revised and updated Simple Abundance .

Today’s entry invites, encourages us, women, to find, create, and secure our own individual space to create – be it: a room, a studio, her bed, an iPad,  “staring at a blank wall,”or a piece of paper and a pen.

My space/place is my paper journal  and a pen or pencil:

• some times it is bound and ,

• sometimes, it happens to be a piece of whatever paper is available… ; and

• sometimes it is my iPad and pencil or keyboard.

• sometimes it is a photo with a caption or not.

• sometimes it is a memory brought to surface via a tune/melody; time of day; day of month; month of the year; or a quote.

It matters little. Whatever the incentive , I am transported to a place/space in my mind/memory that brings me joy, encouragement, sustenance , love, promise, calmness, gratitude.

Perhaps it is serendipity that today’s LOAD prompt invites us to share our private, safe, creative spaces ~ where we discover/experience/enjoy :

• calm, quiet, peace, rejuvenation, communion, insight, encouragement, gratitude,

• remember with warm heart memories of loved ones and places, dreams ~ some realized, others, still on the menu…and even those abandoned for whatever reason ~ most likely because it wasn’t the time.

unraveled wednesday | 2.19.20 …

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Hello! Yes, I’m still around… I took a break from blogging; not meaning to but it happened. There just weren’t enough hours in my days and I had a groaning board agenda or perhaps I’m just not too organized. Whatever, my days have been full; I can’t quite believe a week has come and gone. Time flies…

  • On Valentine’s Day, I finished the second tree quilt block for Australia and off they’ll go tomorrow. Wahoo!
  • Monday we got a new microwave oven. Wahoo!
  • I have kept up with LOAD (making a scrapbook layout a day).Wahoo!
  • I started what I think will be the last big block on my log cabin 9-patch lap quilt and then I’ll decide the next size blocks I’ll make. Wahoo!
  • I am finishing Fever … later than I planned but I expect to do so before Feb 25.

Time for me to hit publish and go fix dinner…Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday | 2.12.20…

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~ nearly sunrise/ 6:55 am ~

6:55 am: I turned on my phone and discovered a txt message from friend K…we had a lot of fun with MeMojis – hers is too much like her! Looks, animations, just perfect. I have yet to create mine …. but I want one! Ahhh, just another item for my someday maybe list. I should live so long!

After that unexpected and much treasured treat, I prepared to microwave water for my morning cuppa tea and set my place for MSQT.  I picked up the phone again to search for today’s focus on Ali Edwards’ Pieces of Us photo – capture and got distracted by Google’s news clips, in particular two articles: 1- a review from Consumer Research on the “best microwave ovens and 2 – an article from nbcnews.com , “Are Audiobooks for You?”

The audiobooks’ article provides a brief history of the talking book, beginning with Edison’s  1877 phonograph record to today’s offerings… and a list of five books to start an audio book reading journey. Some books on the list I’ve read; one I might and one I’m pretty sure I won’t, ever.  A while back, I shared a goodreads  article that weighed in on the question: Is listening to an audiobook the same as reading the print version? What say ye?

Why microwave ovens? Long story short: March 2019 I bought a new oven (after much consternation) only to have it begin to freak out in the past week. Bottom line: the oven is not serviceable. Mais oui (but of course)! Some manufacturing flaw in newer-made versions of the original model I had (that had also lasted 14 years after multi use daily!) GE will honor the warranty and reimburse me after I jump a few hurdles: produce receipt (I have) and wait 6-8 weeks for a reimbursement check, minus depreciation. So, sometime in the next 72 hours we go get another new oven; we use the oven a lot!

In the stitching arena, I’ve made more progress on the Log Cabin/9 Patch lap quilt : One more block to make and one to finish – approximately 70 rows of garter stitch … and then on to the next phase, joining the blocks and knitting medium and small ones. I’d planned to finish my second Tree Quilt Block for Australia this afternoon – after a hair appointment and very.quick.trip to the grocery store for bananas – but those plans were waylaid by unexpected company.

It is now after 6 pm, later than planned and I’m finally finishing what I started early this morning: this blog post! Time to move on to the other items on my agenda, especially my scrapbook layout for today’s LOAD.

Joining Kat and friends for unraveled wednesday!

Cheers~

unraveled wednesday | 2.5.20…

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Yesterday was Alexa’s* day to attend to some household chores. She did pretty well with ticking off tasks but ended the day with a few leftovers, so this morning after MSQT, she:

  • rolled up her sleeves, cleaned the frig …
  • washed salad greens for this evening’s dinner…
  • made out the grocery list, tho’ she’s not sure when she’s going to shop or perhaps try home delivery again?

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Knitting and reading thus far this week have been catch as catch can, especially with the addition of LOAD 220. She’s starting a new block – the yellow on the needle. And right after she (Alexa) publishes this post, she’s going to make/finish** the second quilt tree block for Australia.

Joining Kat and friends for unraveled wednesday!

Cheers~

*this is just a spoof on the Amazon echo home device.

**and well, she ran into a little problem with photos not downloading so she just spent  an hour+ on the phone with Apple Support!

weekending into monday |2.3.20…

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In 1985, my mother and I went to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to see The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.  On Saturday, I saw the current  performance with a friend, my niece and my sister, in a local movie house, at the Metropolitan’s Opera Live in HD series. Before the opera began, I managed to knit about 3 stitches on the 9 Patch Log Cabin. During the  Super Bowl I finished one block and started  another!

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The performance did not disappoint! The Met Live in HD is about as close to being there as can be! If you’re an opera fan, this is the next best thing.

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Today we were greeted with a preview of Spring. Not warm enough – at least for me – to go coatless or short sleeved but certainly a breath of fresh air. Blue skies were made a study by all the jet contrails. I took this picture at the church where our quilting group meets – it’s quite close to BWI Airport and there was a lot of  air traffic at 10:30 am.

And now I’ve got to get to work on today’s LOAD (Layout a Day); this session’s theme is Magic, inspired by Harry Potter books (which I’ve never read – but maybe I should ’cause I’m currently fresh outta inspiration) … I have til 12 PM Pacific Standard Time to get something posted…

Cheers~

currently | 1.31.20 …

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today marked the resumption of the winter session of Journal Club; we’ve been on break since before Christmas and Fridays are just not the same when we don’t meet. each 10 weeks’ session we choose an animal spirit guide; this session’s guide  is turtle.  since I’m  a novice in this arena, I always have to look up the symbolism/meaning.  I think this is possibly a good mascot for my 2020 word habit. time will tell.

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wednesday afternoon, i went to see just mercy, the movie. if you participated in the Read with Us online book discussion, i think you’ll find the movie, as the book, riveting and difficult (emotionally) to watch. i found the movie well done and agree with this Washington Post’s movie critic review.

tomorrow brings

  • february…
  • LOAD 220, 29 days of making a scrapbook layout a day…
  • Porgy and Bess, the Metropolitan Opera’s performance, simulcast in HD around the world. i will be watching at a local movie theater; we truly have the best seats in the house.

have a great weekend.

cheers~