more of me not being an artist

A few days ago I shared some of my sketchbook photos in this post.  When I asked if you wanted to see a few more some of you said yes.  So here are a few more.  These are definitely not all of the pages but they represent a good cross section.

Remember that my theme began on the first few pages: "Tell me..."  "How do you feel today?"  The pages that followed provided possible answers.

I love sunflowers because they are unusual and bright.

I love coffee, too.  Damn you Starbucks!!

I don't know.  I really don't.

I love books, too. Books are to me like chocolate is to....everyone else.

Love dogs.  I know this is news to you.  Big secret I've been keeping.  BIG SECRET.

I love...teeth?  Whatever.

I especially love music.  Music is everything good in the world.

Eyeballs are easy to draw.

Egypt is such an interesting place.  Kinda glad I'm not there right now, though.

This is my little stick people flash mob.

My mom painted this.  She's not really a dark person - her personality is quite bright and cheery.  The coolest thing about this page is that I wrote on it with a pencil so when you look at it dead on you can't see the writing.  However, if you tilt it you can see the writing very well.  I'm easily amused.

I miss rotary phones.  They remind me of my Grams.

It's been ages since I saw anything in a theatre.  The last thing was actually Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ballet.  It was nice. 
The last play I was in was Private Lives by Noel Coward.  I played Sybil.

This is the last page in the book. 

Because that's how I feel most days.

Which is your favorite?
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p is for puppy

It's no secret that I love a puppy.  Puppies are one of the best things in life.  I was looking at puppy photos of Phoenix and Laura recently and I came across this little gem.  It's one of my favorites of Phoenix. 

I've told the story before, but I'll give you the abridged version.  We had a geranium in the garden that was about 1.5 feet tall and full of flowers.  It was huge.  A few weeks after she came to live with us we were outside with her.  We turned our backs for approximately three seconds and turned back to find our tiny three pound puppy sitting in the middle of a very flat and very chewed geranium.  Notice the little piece of flower in her mouth.  She looks so innocent.  And yet...

"What flower, Mommy?"

It seems history is destined to repeat itself.  Little chubby baby Laura liked a salad, too.  Since Phoenix had long since destroyed any trace of flowers in the garden long before Laura arrived, she just resorted to chewing up huge chunks of grass.  You just cannot look away from a hungry, chewy puppy. Notice the grass in her mouth and innocent look...just like older sister.

"I'm innocent, Mommy."

I love my furbabies.

i am NOT an artist

I cannot stress that point enough.  Hear me, people - I have no artistic ability whatsoever.  Please keep that in mind as we go forward into this post.

It all started when I recieved a little unexpected package in the mail one day.  It seems my friend and fellow blogger Jen entered me into The Sketchbook Project.  I was surprised and very excited! 

For those of you who don't know, The Sketchbook Project is held by the Brooklyn Art Library and provides an opportunity for anyone in the world to have a sketchbook full of their original artwork in a tour around the United States.  First you order a sketchbook, then fill it with whatever type(s) of art you wish and then you send it back to them to be included in the tour.  FUN!

My envelope included the rules card...

So I know what to do with my soon-to-be masterpiece.

...my Brooklyn Art Library card...

With my name on it and everything!

...and my little potential-filled sketchbook.  Isn't he cute?  I loved him at first sight.

Hello little guy!

Look at all of those blank pages!  Gotta do something about that.

So many pages, so little time.

The rules say that you can do anything to the book as long as it's the same size when you send it back and you send back the actual book and not a whole different one.  So the first thing I did was cover it.

Yes, that's wallpaper. Yes, it's textured.  Yes it is.

I wanted to keep it simple on the outside.  Next I decided on a theme.  I'm not sure what it is with me and having things wrapped up in a theme, but there you go.

My idea has the book beginning with a question...

With that question out there, I thought I'd provide a few possible answers.  That's where the theme thing ends - the rest of the book is like me (and most of my posts): RANDOM.

I decided that I'd share my sketchbook experience with my mom and the Bear.  I started with a little mommy tribute.


An acrylic paint version of mommy and me

 Remember how my theme was "How do you feel today?"  The possible answers that were on the above page were:

"...that you miss your mother?"
"...that motherhood is a precious gift?"
"...that your children are everything?"

Then I started thinking about space.  Yeah.

Spacey.  That's me.  And this is oil pastels.

The answers to the question on this page were:

"...isolated?"
"...the want to explore?"
"...sunny?"
"...spaced out?"

Then I realized it was getting late.  So I did this page.


I love a clock.  At least I didn't do melting Dali clocks.  Round pencil clocks are more me.


The answers on this one were:

"...late?"
"...rushed?"
"...as though time is precious?"
"...like time is dragging by?
"...older?"
"...timeless?"
"...guilty because you don't have more time to spend?"
"...as though you're out of time?"
"...that time heals all wounds?"

My mom did a few of the pages, like this one.

These were abstracts in acrylic.  They capture my "how do you feel" perfectly.

The answers on these two pages were:

"...that life is a fun, fast spinning ride and you hope it never ends?"
"...as though the world is going by so fast that everything is a blur?"
"...that you wish you were running through a meadow?"

Gosh this post has gotten long!  I wasn't going to share all of the pages of the book, but I had a few more. 

Do you want to see more?

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oh my word!

I’ve been trying to do that thing that everyone has been doing where they choose a word for the year. You know, where you theme your year based on one word that sums up what you’d like to focus on that year – something that will help you change for the better the things about your life that you may not love.

I’ve thought and thought.

And thought.

And thought.

I was having trouble getting everything to fit just one word. I thought about drive and goal, but I think I really have plenty of those. Too much sometimes. I find myself missing the journey between now and the goal.

Then I tried rest, relax, de-stress. I don’t really need to do those things any more than I already do either. I’m pretty good at treating myself well when I need to. Strike two.

I thought simplify was a really great word for me…buuuuut then I realized that even if I managed to simplify everything, it may be neater but it doesn’t really help me focus on being a better me.

Fiddlesticks.

I even considered “adelante” which means “onward” or “forward, to the front of the line,” but that just seemed too pushy. Okay for a business slogan, not really okay for someone who needs to slow down and focus inward.

THEN IT HIT ME.

I’ve used my word three times already in this post: focus. I need more focus.

I’m so fortunate that my life is full of wonderful things – great friends, fun and fulfilling hobbies, family. I’ve spent the last few years trying my hand at many, many things. I’ve had time to myself to read, practice hobbies, rest, write. I’ve exercised, experimented with my diet, health and ayurveda, spent time with my animals, traveled and learned to cook.

So now I think it’s time to focus my attention and my efforts on perfecting a few of those things. I want to try to learn Spanish – because I’ve had that on my “to do” list for years. I want to cut out more of the superfluous stuff and purify what I accomplish.

I need to FOCUS.

I feel so much better now that I’ve chosen my word – or rather, my word finally chose me. It’s something I can say over and over again to myself and it will never be any less potent. I hope this is the key to becoming a better me.

To keep myself honest, I’m going to try to make updates about how I’m putting my shiney new word to work. I may not do it every week, but I’ll check in from time to time with a focus update.

Have you chosen your 2011 word? If not, what would you choose?

On the ferry across the English Channel to Calais

Check out all of the other "Oh" posts at Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday.

odds and ends 13

So many things. Can’t think. Brain clogged. Brain dump imminent.

I am so behind with things on my “ooo…ooo…I should blog about that” list. I haven’t even told you about Thanksgiving yet! I also need to tell you my word for 2011. Gosh. So behind. I’m sorry I’ve neglected you. I hope we can still be friends.

Right now I’m just going to write things that come in to my head so I can post something already.

First of all, I finally finished my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project and sent it off in the nick of time. (That’s it at the top of the post.) I’ll tell you all about that later. Just know that I thought I had it all under very good time control….until the night before. It was a close one. It’s done and gone though and I’m so glad that I did it. Very exciting!

I’ve been a bum lately. I’ve done nothing particularly productive and it’s finally pushed me over the edge. I woke up a few days ago and sprang into action. I got back to exercise, journaling, core training (all of which I typically do every day). I updated my daily schedule (which I need for the structure). I got back to my hobbies – I at least got organized and poised to get back to it. I feel so much better. I’m generally very busy all of the time doing something productive. I do have my moments of rest now and then but I feel better if I’m doing and now I feel better. *whew* I’m glad we had this talk.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this on the blog before but I write down every single thing I eat. Every single thing, every single day. I put it in a spreadsheet that counts calories, protein, water intake, etc. If I don’t, I overeat or don’t eat at all. At the very least I don’t eat enough of something, usually protein. It keeps me honest because when I do it I include every single indulgence, including everything I drink. I find it very informative, interesting and sometimes shocking. Still, I have done it every day for years. I know it sounds obsessive but I can’t be the only person who does this…can I? Anyone? Anyway, I’ll probably always do it, because it works for me. Do you have any habits that help you keep your diet healthy (or at least intact)?

Well, that’s it for this post. Thanks for stopping by. Do come back soon when, hopefully, my post will be coherent. It’s on my new daily schedule.

n is for netherlands

It's been ages since I linked to Alphabe-Thursday and I've missed it!  Although I've noticed that it seems in my absence that it's turned into Alphabe-Wednesday as it's 10 minutes until it'sThursday and there are already 35 links.  But I digress.  I'm glad to be back.

Anyway, my N is the Netherlands.  I went there in November and I have yet to share any photos, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to do just that. 

There's a nice little stream through Valkenburg.  I love that a woman in a red coat walked onto the bridge before this shot.

I call this photo "Stream in Valkenburg and Woman with Red Coat."

We were there for kerstmarkt...that's the Christmas market for all you non-Dutch speakers.  Yeah.  Multilingual over here on the blog.  Yeah.

They really go all out on the Christmas decor for the market de kirst.

Cute little Dutch streets.  Gotta love them.  YOU HAVE TO.

No seriously, you really do have to.

More of this stream...from a different angle.

I love the signs.  Although, if you think you can just be a stupid tourist who only speaks English and get by because "oh, the menues are probably in English, too" or "I'm sure someone in here speaks English" then you will starve in Holland.  Here me, people. 

I will pass on the verse mosselen.  Thanks, though.

Pretty sure this was a church or something but I was pretty busy being friggin' cold so I didn't get a chance to check. Looks like a church to me, though.  So....it's a church.

Do those trees remind anyone else of that one in the Harry Potter movie that tries to kill you when you park a car in it?

You can climb some stairs from the main street in Valkenburg to the Valkenburg Castle.  This is what you see if you look up as you climb. 

But don't, because you might  fall and kill yourself on the stone steps like I almost did.

This is the view of the town from the top.

Here is the castle from the town below.

I love the cozy streets.

I also love the buildings.  I've very loving when it comes to the Netherlands.

Those candy-striped awnings were part of the Italian restaurant where we finally gained sustenance even though we thought we might die in the streets of Valkenburg because we didn't speak Dutch, French or German ate.

That pasta was SO good.  I was starving, but it really was quality food.  When we walked into the place I thought the food would be sub-par at best.  Boy was I ever wrong.  Makes me want to learn Dutch.

I don't know why but my love of photographing bicycles is overshadowed only by my love of photographing signs.  Behold:

Okay, maybe "behold" was a strong word for this photo.

Here's a big Christmas tree.  (What?  It's late.  I'm out of interesting things to say.  Just look at the photo.)

We had such a good time in the Netherlands.  I think I'll reflect on it as I gaze at this photo of the stream.

2011 - some stuff therein

My friend Kat admits in this post that she has talked about things of last year a week too late.  Yeah.  I'm even later than her.  Do I care?  Will that stop me from doing the meme that she did with some questions and whatnot?  NO.  Here I go. 

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

Camping


2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any resolutions because I almost never keep them. Same goes for this year.  But I did actually take better care of myself, read more and start several hobbies that I said I wanted to do.  That totally counts.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, beautiful cousin Katie gave birth to this sweet baby. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.


5. What countries did you visit?

Other than the UK and the US - Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Peru.


6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

A job.  Yes, people, that's right - I want to go back to work.  I know - crazy, right?  Well, I miss it.  There.  I've said it.


7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

There are too many to name, really.  It was a wonderful year for me.  There were also several dates that weren't that wonderful.  Some of them, in no particular order were:

November 22 (the day I found out my piano teacher couldn't teach me anymore - BAD)
November 25 (the day I cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner for 17 people - none of whom were American - GOOD)
November 26 (the day we left for our wonderful winter holiday)
May 29 (the day we left for Peru - one of the greatest experiences of my life)
July 15-17 (the three-day Bear and Paige birthday celebrate-a-thon)
July 14 (the day we got guide dog puppy, Laura)
November 19 (the day I passed piano exam #2)
July 7 (the day I passed my first piano exam)


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Doing a pretty darn good job raising my sweet guide dog puppy.  And I passed two piano exams!


9. What was your biggest failure?

Not learning Spanish for like the 40th year in a row, despite the fact that I both want and need to. 


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a few allergies but that was pretty much it for illness.  I smashed my left thumb in a door...REALLY HARD.  It was awful.  I didn't sprain my ankle, though, which is a pretty good year for me.


11. What was the best thing you bought?

Wow.  This is harder to pin down than I thought.  Hmm.  The first things that spring to mind relate to my hiking gear - I bought this shirt with thumb holes (I still adore that shirt) and my totally freakin' awesome hiking boots that are made of the stuff that saved my life in the Andes.  Literally. 


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I'd have to think to hard to come up with something to put here.  There are a lot of wonderful people out there, but when I answer a series of questions like this I usually just shoot from the hip and I'm sure I'd wish I had chosen someone else as soon as I chose someone. 


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I can't really put a name or anything specific on here but there is one person who I feel should be seriously reprimanded for their behavior, in relation to their job.  I was totally appalled by how I was treated.  It's no one I've ever blogged about and I probably will never mention the person again but they should really consider another line of work.  The end.


14. Where did most of your money go?

Travel. DEFINITELY TRAVEL.


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Travel.  And piano.  And Laura.  And seeing my parents. And life in general.


16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Prokofiev's Op 75 No 6.  What?  It's really good.  Here...see:

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier, same, same


18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercise, read, blog.


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Waiting. Playing it safe.


20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my family and most importantly, the Bear.  We had family gatherings, lots of food and presents and lots of making candy. 


21. Did you fall in love with 2010?

Yes.


22. What was your favorite TV program?

I don't really have one.  I don't watch television that much. 


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't hate anyone.  It's just too time-consuming and draining.  There are a few people who irked me, but nothing that warrants hate.


24. What was the best book you read?

Moby Dick.  Wanna know the NOT best book I read?  The Time Traveler's Wife.  Hated that book.


25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Prokofiev and Ligeti


26. What did you want and get?

I got almost everything I wanted.  The biggest thing was probably Laura.


27. What did you want and not get?

A food processor - and not one of those crappy ones.  I want the best food processor THEY MAKE.  Maybe that's why I didn't get one.


28. What was your favorite film of 2010?

Meh.  I don't know. 


29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I went on a wonderful date with the Bear. 


30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Being filthy rich. 


31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2010?

Comfort


32. What kept you sane?

The Bear.  And the fact that life is really good.


33. Who did you miss?

My parents, my friends Liz and Hank, Cool Whip.  I know Cool Whip isn't a person, but I'm still just a little bit in denial that they have none in Britain.


34. Who was the best new person you met?

My piano teacher



35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Make the most of the time you have because you never know what will happen tomorrow.  Don't play it safe - take chances.  It's never too late.  Hard work pays off.  Doing the "right" thing isn't always what it seems to be at first.  Volunteering is worth every minute.