SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE

So sorry for the long lag between posts. It was my Hubby's fault. Apparently my computer acted up one time too many, and the next thing I knew, he had ordered me a new one. Some people get excited about things like that. I do not. It's only taken about 40 years for him to catch on, but he's finally glommed on to the fact that I learn differently than he does. He always wanted to be sitting at the helm, typing away at lightening speed, calling instructions out to me over his shoulder. Not only could I not see what he was doing, but anything I heard was going in one ear and straight out the other. Then there was the fact that every time he transferred stuff from one computer to the other, I either lost months worth of recipes I had typed into the computer, or ended up with duplicates, then triplicates, of every photo I had ever imported. So, every time he announced that he had bought me a new phone or computer, I cried. This time it was different. He actually let me sit at the computer, and gave me time to take notes that I can refer back to when I have forgotten how to find or do something. I learn by doing, and by repetition. Give me two or three years and I'll have this down pat! And he'll be shopping for my next one...

Anyhoo, a week or so ago we had a pretty adventurous day, at least by Covid-19 standards. First I had my weekly meet-up with my Muses, via Zoom rather than coffee shop (Aaach, more new technology!). Then I actually got to go for a car ride, which led to a bit of synchronicity. Squeee! It started with daughter Lex sending us a message saying she had sewn some masks for us, and if we'd like to come get them, she could leave them out on the porch for us. Since we had a big box of diapers we needed to give her, we said "Heck yeah, a porch swap would be great!" I knew that Calvin would be pretty sad that we couldn't come in and play with him, and was wishing I had a little surprise I could take to him. So, I went to dig around in Mima's Magic Closet and found a fantastic book full of pre-decorated pages that you pull out and fold into paper airplanes. Perfect!

Lex and Calvin came to the window when we got there, and when I held up that book and pointed to him, you should have seen his face light up. In fact, he started to run to the door to throw it open, and Lex had to grab him fast, and remind him that we can't be together right now. That was hard. Really, really hard. But, on the bright side, as we were driving back home I reached into the sack to pull out a mask, and discovered a new letter from my little pen pal was in there as well!

Shortly after I discovered it, I got a text from Lex saying "Calvin really loves his paper airplane book!", so the two things got me to thinking -- about paper airplanes, and about what I should paint on the next card I send back to Calvin. That's when synchronicity struck. Suddenly a memory floated up, of a class I took online with Danielle Donaldson a while back, called Wild Blue Yonder, where we painted skies full of clouds and suns and birds and paper airplanes! I dug around in my stash when I got home and, sure enough, there was a little painting, just the right size to turn into a post card for my favorite pen pal. How lucky was that?

This week I started another art class online. This is a monthly subscription class, where I get new lessons each month, so it ought to keep me busy for the duration of this pandemic, and beyond. It's being taught by one of my favorite artists, Lucy Brydon, who lives in Scotland. I sometimes wonder which I love more, the way she teaches, or the way she talks! So, I'm off to paint mushrooms now. Catcha later!

AND SO IT CONTINUES...

Long ago, when I had that very first brain fart -- about something I later came to call "seasonality" -- it was simply the realization that life was better when you made the most of its seasons. Back then we were still big-city-suburbanites, and  it was mostly about how I decorated my home and entertained, and that when I incorporated seasonal touches into these activities, I was much less likely to get bored with them, or with everything I owned, making me want to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff I really didn't need.

Then we migrated to the Texas Hill Country, and it turned into something else altogether. I started reading books like Animal Vegetable Miracle, The Good Life,  and A Reasonable Life, and I learned about the Slow Food and Farm to Table movements. Then "seasonality" became less about stuff, and more about how I gardened and what I ate, watching the seasons change outside my treehouse windows, and wondering what kind of world we were bequeathing our kids and grandkids.

Twenty five or so years down the line from that first light bulb moment, I am a much different person. I spend much less time entertaining and decorating, and my hubby has taken over the gardening. I still love to cook and eat what is in season and grown nearby, but mostly I spend my time playing with those grandkids, reading, journaling and occasionally, drawing or painting. Is it any surprise then, that Seasonality has followed me here as well?

I'm pretty sure that, back in December, I told you about grabbing this planner at Costco just because I needed one, then discovering that it was actually a mindfulness journal. But did I mention that a few days later, I was digging through my art shelves looking for something, and stumbled upon a book I had bought a couple of years ago, then forgot all about?

When synchronicity knocks, I listen, and it was clearly telling me I needed to use the techniques from that book to develop an artful journaling habit in the other one.

First step was to copy the yearly insert and paste it inside the cover, to remind me of my daily, weekly and monthly assignments.

My First Assignment

The Result

 I really did intend to follow their instructions, but then my hand, of its own accord, reached out and grabbed something that was laying nearby, and I knew that was the only image I needed to fill my altar -- the place I go every fall "to catch my breath".

Instead of New Years Resolutions, we were asked to make a vision board showing things we wanted more, or less, of in our lives in the year to come.

I had a lot of fun prepping my journal according to the No Excuses instructions -- adding things like envelopes for collecting collage fodder in, and sheets of water color paper on which to do our weekly "card peep" sketches. I spent so much time searching for the right colors of washi tape and envelopes to match, in seasonal colors (hmmmm...) that I ran out of time to finish all four of that month's card peeps.

So Wintery!

One of the many meditative coloring pages provided in my planner.

One of the No Excuses daily instructions was to track the weather, while my agenda had this handy little chart for tracking your mood each day. I ignored them both and turned that mood chart into a food chart, where I could track what was in season and available at the farmers' market.

My Beginning Assignment For February

The collage was supposed to be of lots of February-ish images torn from magazines, to use as inspiration. Again I disobeyed, and used my collection of colorful painted papers to pay homage to the first of the asparagus spears that were poking their heads up in my garden.

I actually managed to complete all four card peeks this month...and, of course,  they were all about seasonal things!

My Version Of A Love Letter To Myself

So, as I said, when synchronicity knocks, I listen! What was it telling me? Perhaps to slow down and pay attention? To spend more time on art and writing and sharing? To remember that life is better with Seasonality in it?

 I still don't know for sure. All I do know is, it's gonna be fun y'all!

WARP SPEED AHEAD

Time goes so slowly here in Texas during the hot months. You start to think they will never end. But then you get your first cold weather, sometime in late October, and suddenly it's warp speed ahead! When I started having doctor appointments and stuff I needed to keep track of spilling into the new year, I realized it was time to high-tail it to Target to get a new agenda for 2020. On our way there we stopped at Costco to pick up a few things, and that's where I spotted this.

I gave it a quick flip through. saw that there was actually room in there to do some sketching and journaling alongside the calendar stuff, and thought "Hey! Maybe this will help me get back into those daily sunrise habits that led me to blogging in the first place -- the ones that have kind of fizzled away over the years. Plus, it will save me a trip to Target!" So I bought it.

It wasn't until I got it home, and gave it a closer look, that I realized it was actually a "mindfulness" journal, all about learning to be present in the moment, instead of constantly focusing on what's ahead -- something else I used to be much better at.

In order to help us along the path of learning to stay present in the moment, they have a rotating set of tools, such as coloring exercises...

breathing exercises...

 art exercises...

 journaling exercises...

and more!

It got me to thinkin', maybe this little journal and I were meant to find each other.

MOTHER-DAUGHTER ADVENTURES

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

My daughter Lex and I have always enjoyed exploring and adventuring together. Right before she got married, we took a wonderful little trip to Charleston together, and she's been able to share my Lucky Star Art Camp obsession with me the last couple of years as well. Unfortunately, neither one of us will be attending this fall, since there will be a brand new baby girl in the house, and a spunky 3-year-old who will probably have his nose out of joint over all the attention she is getting. So, Lex decided that she and I really needed to do one last little get-away before she gets too far along to travel. I agreed whole-heartedly. The problem was, where to go? It needed to be fairly close by, but we already do most of the Hill Country hangouts on a regular basis. Lex mentioned Round Top, but I told her that, other than during their market weeks twice a year, there wasn't much to do or see. When last I was there, about 10 or 15 years ago, there was only one restaurant, Royer's, and there was Festival Hill, and that was about it! But then my old pal synchronicity stepped in, just to prove me wrong.

 
For one thing, Lisa at Lucky Star has taken to the road this year, doing one-day "pop-ups" at different homes around the country, to give people a taste of what Lucky Star is all about, and to spread the word. For another, Lucky Star's yoga guru, Tiffany, has been best friends with Amie -- one of the infamous Junk Gypsies -- for about 30 years, and has long believed that Lisa should collaborate  with them somehow. So when Lisa mentioned doing one last pop-up this  summer, if she could find the right location, Tiffany immediately said "Ooh, Ooh, I know the perfect place. The Junk Gypsies have just opened up Wander Inn on the same property in Round Top as their Junk Gypsy store, and it's fabulous. We have to do it there!" So they did, and the minute that Lisa posted the notice about it online, Lex texted me, saying "I know where we're going for our getaway!"

Today I will just share a few photos from the Junk Gypsy store. Having been a merchandiser in my previous life, well, they had me drooling before I'd even stepped through the door.

I dare you to walk out of there without buying a single thing! I'm usually pretty immune to shopping temptations, but they snagged me with this little color-mad beauty.

All my favorite colors, and the perfect thing to have draped across the end of my bed come fall. How could I resist?

Stay tuned - lots more Lucky-Gypsy collaborative goodness to come!

JUST WHAT I NEEDED, JUST WHEN I NEEDED IT

Well, we had a fairly fabulous weekend, filled with two movie dates, a Tiny Dinner Club meet up, and a birthday celebration with all the kiddos. And... I didn't think to take a single photo of anything. DOH! On the other hand, I did finally finish Frida II, and got plenty of pictures of her.

Although choosing collage over paint and pen takes ten times longer, and I have never really liked having sticky hands, there is something about it that calls to me. It's sort of like being on a treasure hunt, as you search for the perfect little scrap of paper with the perfect pattern and hue to fit in a particular little spot.

However, I must admit, finding those perfect pieces is getting harder and harder to do as my paper stash dwindles in size. I was just thinking it was way past time for me to take over the dining room for a week or two, to set up my paper-painting-mono-printing-assembly-line, when once again a little gift was dropped right into my lap!

I have long been a fan of a Scottish artist named Lucy Brydon, who utilizes hand-painted papers in her own work. A year or two ago I left a comment for her, saying something like "I don't suppose you ever considered teaching a class and sharing some of your techniques, huh?" Her reply? "Actually, I have been toying with the idea." Well, I forgot all about that conversation until just the other day, when this popped up in my feed -- an online workshop where Lucy and five other talented artists will be sharing their favorite techniques for making monoprints, as well as their favorite ways to utilize them!

Just what I needed, just when I needed it.

SYNCHRONICITY

Gotta love it!