ABC Wednesday - T is for Table loom

Time again for ABC Wednesday - the challenge being to find something for the letter of the week.

This week we are focusing on T. I thought it appropriate that, since last week I used sheep, that this week I use Table loom. One leads to the other!

I have used different varieties of looms, but this size is really nice to work with.

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Affirmation for the Week - X

This week's affirmation letter is X and I decided to focus on eXplore!

I was playing with papers and paperweaving - enjoying the eXploring.

There is so much to explore and discover - this week I want to start December with creating a wish list of creative, spiritual, physical, social and intellectual eXplorations for 2010.

A new decade, a new outlook.

I will turn 58 in early January and as I near the 60 mark (yikes!), I know I will need a lot of positive eXplorations to keep me focused and creative.

This coming month I should also reach the 200th post for my blog for which I want to plan something special! Stay tuned.

ATCs

I am so enjoying the creating of ATCs for ATCsforAll. The swaps are fun and I have received such wonderful cards in return.

This week I have finished the Christmas cards.

I am also working on funky birds. My first one is below! (My first real critic - my husband thought it was a fish! lol)

I have signed up for quite a few more swaps - that will keep me challenged and busy!

This is also the First day of Advent -Hope .

May we all have a joyous holiday season filled with hope, joy and love!

Shadow Shot Sunday

This week has been a cloudy, rainy one - with few good shadows. It has also been a busy one. Today we spent until after 3 at our church's luncheon/bazaar. So I chased shadows inside!

Be sure to check out the other great shadow chasers at Hey Harriet! - a great place to share your shadows. Once you are bitten with this bug, you won't see shadows the same way!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Today at Jamie Ridler Studio, Jamie asks us:

What step do you wish to take?

As I thought about this question, I realized that I had been taking many tiny steps this year, often nervously - starting this blog, taking part in ATC swaps, trying to lose weight and get healthy, among other things.

It has not always been a steady uphill climb - many times it was a step forward and 2 back.

But I do see myself now moving forward and I feel it is time to step out with more confidence and embrace that which I want to achieve:

*more art

*daily writing

*daily movement

So here is to bigger, bolder steps! There is so much to see, do, create! I want to study more, find a mentor, create daily.

The bigggest step I wish to take will come in the New Year - to open an Etsy shop! There I said it - now I am committed!!

Be sure to check out the other wish makers and give them your support here. As Jamie says:

"You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. Support wishes by visiting other participants. There is great power in wishing together."

ABC Wednesday - S is for Sheep Shearing

Here we are again - sharing our take on the letter S for ABC Wednesday.

There are so many possibilities - but I had to settle on sheep shearing! Our trip to the Fergus Scottish Festival was a wonderful event and the sheep shearing was amazing. I talked with the shearer after - a very interesting man. I also came away with the part of the sheepskin that was not really wanted. I will be using it with my Grade 3s during out Pioneer unit - for carding, spinning and weaving!

It is a very fast process! I was impressed.

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

AEDM - almost! and an affirmation

Creating every day this month was my goal and until this past week I was achieving it, even though I usually only posted once a week at AEDM.

This past week I read blogs, got ideas and did planning - in my breaks from marking and report cards! At least I was thinking art!

I have finally sketched out my next project after I finish my ABCs of affirmations (W for this week).

I have seen several bloggers who focus on different artists and use their style to create journal pages. What a great idea. I plan to start an Alphabet of Art and Artists starting in January. Each week will be a focus on different techniques and/or artists. Should be fun and a learning curve for me!


W  Affirmation

W is for watch and wait and so many things that I couldn't settle on just one! So the collage grew from one word to many words and pictures. I needed to just play today and I did. This week though the word I will focus on will be WRITE . I need to get back to the morning papers and journalling daily.
I am still working on ATC challenges through ATCsforAll - a great site for those who enjoy swaps. It is like Christmas every time I receive a new package of cards. I am presently working on a Christmas Tree swap. Not sure yet how I will decorate the trees butI had fun with different styles of trees and backgrounds.

Shadow Shot Sunday

The days this week have mostly been glorious for November. Hard to believe Christmas is in a month!

Chasing shadows is enjoyable and I don't have to go far to find some.

(This one was taken a month or so ago but I couldn't resist posting it - I love the textures in the wood)

Be sure to check out the other great shadow chasers here.

Connections

As I skimmed this chapter on Connections in Martha Beck's "The Joy Diet" , it really made me assess connections I have made both in the past and the present.



Throughout my life I have moved around - at one point I listed over 30 different places I have lived in. When I was in public school I became more and more anxious with each move. But, eventually in my 20's I realized that there was a great opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences.

The hardest move was when I remarried 7 years ago and moved to my present home. I had lived in the previous place for 19 years - saw my children grow up here, was involved with the church and school and had a teaching job I loved. I had many friends and was connected to that place.

When I moved it took a long time to feel connected, to obtain a teaching job, to feel that it was home. There are still times I miss the connections of the past. Even though I still talk with old friends, it is just not the same. I am slowly making new connections, but they are different, as I am a different person in this place, at this time.

I have new connections with step-children and step grandchildren. I have different connections with the local church. My greatest connection is with my husband.
My children don't need me as much and so that connection has changed. The loss of my mom though was the biggest lost connection. ( here is a photo of my mom and my oldest at her birthday - we are all huggers and touchers - and this so represents the connection we all have)

I am making new and different connections with the blogging community. I am also reconnecting with art.
Life is about change, about connecting, about learning and growing. Hopefully I can continue to do all that!

Wishcast Wednesday

Once again Jamie, of Jamie Ridler Studios, asks us a very penetrating question:

What do you wish to embrace?
With the holiday season quickly approaching, I wish to embrace this Christmas season with wonder, joy and creativity.
Last year’s holiday was the first without my Mom and I felt adrift, just going through the motions for my family. I know my Mom would not like that Christmas was mechanical. I didn’t even get into the baking, which was her speciality and which I had taken over for many years.

So Mom, I wish to embrace this season, and to honour you and the season - to bake, decorate, create, listen to music, entertain - to just enjoy the season of Advent.

Remember there is great power in wishing together. Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

ABC Wednesday - R is for Rock Formations

This week at ABC Wednesday the letter of focus is R.


As we travel, rocks and rock formations are a favourite target for my camera. There is something about the colours, textures and design of these walls of rock that line the highways - both near Kingston, Ontario and in upper New York .

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Affirmation and ATCs

This week I am focusing on V - for visualize.

It also stands for Vitality, vim and vigour and vanquish! All great actions and positive affirmations.

My aim is to visualize where I would like to be health wise in 6 months. The measuring tape is a good motivator and symbol of change.

My husband and I have joined Weight Watchers and already I have lost 6 pounds! Woohoo!

This week I need to keep my goal clearly visualized!

I read an article by Alicia Snell in Zoomer magazine. She has lost over 170 pounds and runs marathons. There is an excellent article on her top 10 checklist to eating better. Check it out here.

AEDM

We are midway through AEDM - Art Every Day Month for November, through Leah of Creative Every Day.

I have not been creating as much this week although I had fun again with some ATCs.

I finished one set on Ancient Egypt.

I am working on several other sets. They are fairly quick and fun themes.

Photography is always fun - there are so many different memes to try your hand at - ABC Wednesday and Shadow Shot Sunday are two that I still participate in. I hope to return to several more as time permits!

Right now though, it is report card time. Assessments, marking and the writing ( actually all the report cards are done online!) take up a big chunk of time. Then it will be parent-teacher interviews.

Soon though it will be Christmas vacation - 2 weeks to unwind and enjoy the season.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Time again to share shadows! This past week we have experienced gorgeous fall weather! And today is the Santa Claus parade!

My yard is still yielding shadows:

Be sure to check out the other shadow chasers at Hey Harriet!

Laughter

This week's chapter of "The Joy Diet" focuses on "Laughter". I have not been consistent the last 2 weeks in carrying through on Martha Beck's prescriptions. I had mores success visiting other bloggers!

I really related to several other people, especially Laura who wondered where her laughter had gone. I know I don't laugh as often as I did when I was younger. And the deep belly laughs I used to experience are few and far between.

To laugh until you cry, to laugh so hard you find it hard to breathe. These times usually happen when I am so tired, I get giddy. Then anything can make me laugh. The laughter is then contagious. The feeling after these times is a sense of tired happiness. I miss those times!

I did try to list some of the favourite things that bring laughter:

*Playing games with my family (whenever we play Scategories, there is always lots of laughter!)

*Watching good comedy (Mrs. Doubtfire, Tootsie, Corner Gas)

*Hearing or reading a good joke or seeing something on Youtube.

*Watching kids at play.

I found some quotes that really speak to the value of laughter:

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." ~Yiddish Proverb

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." ~Woody Allen

"He who laughs, lasts." (Mary Pettibone Poole)

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing." (Michael Pritchard)

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." ~Yiddish Proverb

"The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day."
http://www.umm.edu/features/laughter.htm

I may not have increased my laughter this week, but I became more aware of how little I astually did laugh and how much I missed it! So, I plan to add that to my must do's in the coming weeks, to make it a daily habit.

Be sure to visit the other Joy Diet participants here.

Wishcast Wednesday

Today Jamie of Jamie Ridler Studio asks us the question:

What do you wish to dare?

I first thought of : "I dare you" and "double-dare you" - but this asks us to go deeper.

What do I dare? I dare to put me first - to seek creative and challenging outlets, to not be afraid to say I am an artist. I dare to do what I think will make me grow as an artist, as a creative.

I dare to say Yes to fullfilling my dreams!

Be sure to visit the other wishcasters here.

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day - a day of Remembrance, a day of support for all those who have taken part in defending Canada and the world - whether past or present.

LEST WE FORGET!!

I heard a statistic this weekend which was very disturbing - 400 veterans die every day! Soon there will be no living witness to the horrors of World War II.

If you have a chance watch "Two Minutes -A Pittance of Time" by Terry Kelly. It is a very moving tribute to the men and women who gave of themselves to protect their homelands.

Thank you to all those who have given much to protect all of us. You are all heroes!

ABC Wednesday - Q is for Quills

ABC Wednesday is once again here - the focus this week is Q.

This week I chose Q is for quills - as in porcupine quills.

Several years ago I took a Porcupine quill basketry course and created a small basket decorated with dyed porcupine quills. The result was lovely but I couldn't believe how long it actually took to make - 2 and a half days!

(The flower on top represents the trillium - Ontario's flower emblem.)

It is quite an art to create with quills and with a bit of practice, quite fun.

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Creating and Playing

November 1st began "Creative Every Day November". Just committing to it encouraged me to create every day and I actually did!

Posting every day though, just did not work this week. We were away from home for 2 days, and a lot was going on. So, here is a summary of some of the things I am working on:

1. Sketching - with Breeder's Cup this past weekend, I had fun trying to sketch horses. Each day I sketched different poses - I will continue with this for a while!

2. I worked on more ATCs for swaps at ATCsfor All. The Matisse-style collage were so fun and colourful. This may be my new favourite.

 

3. I had more fun with Zentangles - working on a larger piece.

4. More photography - shadows, skies, trees.

I did not read the Chapter for "The Joy Diet" on Play, but I did visit many bloggers who did. I loved Lawendula's description of working on this book as a "buffet" - just pick and chose what works for you!

The affirmation letter for this week is U - for understanding.

No collage yet.

Have a great week!