Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

This past month my creative outlet was writing, I took part in  NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I actually wrote 50,000 words! I wrote every day and am determined to kep going.
I also participated in PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and I generated 30 picture book ideas. There are several ideas I aim to expand and write a script.

I definitely discovered that the more you write, the more you improve. I also found, the more I wrote, the more I wanted to keep on writing.


Books Read
The other thing I have been doing is reading, especially the past 2 weeks.
By far the best book I have read recently was

" The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion
I laughed at many parts - even had to read several to my husband. The main character has Asperger's- Don is  a quirky character, a scientist, who you come to care about. It is a very heartwarming story though.

 


 Also read:

"The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom

"Home for  Christmas" by Cally Taylor

"Hatty Big Sky"  by Kirby Larson

"The Christmas Shoppe" by Melody Carson



December
This month, I plan to continue writing, reading but also work on more art. There will be lots of Christmas activities to take part in.

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

The focus this past week has been on writing. I am right on track with NaNoWriMo. I have written almost 18,000 words in the past 10 days and am so enjoying the process.

I am also reading romance books - for reference - as I am working on a romance. I have read the 5 books that are out now of the Sullivan series by Bella Andre. Very hot, and very easy, enjoyable read.

Dina Wakeley Course
We are very fortunate to have an excellent art studio in Cambridge - not only for the supplies but for the excellent courses and drop-ins. (Art House Studio)
Friday night I took the Colour course by Dina Wakeley and had a blast. It was such fun to create with a great group of women. Dina was a wonderful teacher.
Here are 2 of the pieces I created:

(still have to finish this one)


Love Notes
I am taken part in a 3 week postcard swap called "Love Notes" This is the first card to be sent:

(gelli print background of course)


 Linking up with

Creative Every Day

Inspire Me Monday

Glue It Tuesday

Gelli Print Party (Carolyn Dube)

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

I have had another break from blogging, partly from work on some writing projects and a need to really decide where I wanted the blog to go and what projects I really wanted to focus on.

The writing has been enjoyable. Friday I joined in with NaNoWriMo - with plans to write a novel in a month. So far I am on track. This has been a secret dream for a long time and I plan to achieve this goal.

I have been creating a bit, mostly ATCs.  I have several courses I need to focus on this month and hopefully will have some pieces to show next week,

Watercolour
I have been enjoying my watercolour course. This week we looked at layering - something I always thought was difficult but found fascinating, if a bit challenging.

ATCs
I completed several cards for swaps:

Fall/winter

This week I have not done as much reading as I had hoped, but did finish a book that I received in a giveaway from Goodreads.

"Morven and the Horse Clan" by Luanne Armstrong
This is a YA novel and was enjoyable. A good look at early prehistoric clans and how horses may have been introduced. The character of Morven was interesting - an outsider who felt lonely and unwanted. Teens could ident with her.

I am still reading "Three Day Road" and am caught up in the story as it moves from WWI France to Canada's north. A very powerful story. I aim to finish it this week as I have so many others to read.

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

This past week I was able to work on a few challenges. Here are a few:

Collage
I created a quick  collage of vintage faces for Inspiration Avenue (Faces) and Collage Obsession (Vintage).

Watercolour
I created a 5 x 7 autumn scene for a swap, finishing it by stamping leaves with acrylic paint.

Zen Card

Books

I have started reading "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden. It is quite a fascinating read, but one that you do not rush.
I plan to read a book by Alice Munro who just won the Nobel Prize for Literature.



As well, Linking up with

Creative Every Day

Inspire Me Monday

Glue It Tuesday

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

Yesterday I held my second teacher yard sale and once again did not have many teachers attend. But I was determined to clear my house of as much as possible, so in the end, 2 carloads went to Goodwill, there are several boxes for the school where I will be volunteering and bags of posters and papers that went out with the garbage or recycling.
There is still much to do to reclaim our house - I aim to use this month to declutter and reorganize in a big way.

Watercolour
This past week I started a watercolour course that will run for 6 weeks.
Our first session was a chance to create a still-life with watercolours and India. ink. I had never used the ink with watercolour before but I ended up liking the effect. Our instructor encouraged us to practice every day (haven't started yet)

(a closeup of the flowers)


Collages
At Paper Traders the life word for this month was "Forgive". The challenge as well was to use a flower.
Once I found the quote, I knew I had to have several flowers growing. (I used gelli papers for all parts.)

I also created 2 autumn collages for different challenges:

ATCs
This past week I created a set of zen pumpkins

Books Read:
I read 2 books this week, although I am trying to finish several.

"The Snow Globe" by Sheila Roberts  A light read with an interesting idea at its heart.

"Penelope: Terror in the Harbour" by Sharon McKay  A YA book about the explosion in the Halifax harbour in 1917.
(I am going to read more YA and picture books as I am working on my writing. and these are the 2 genres I am most interested in)



Linking up with

Paper Traders

Creative Every Day

Inspire Me Monday

Gelli Print Party at Carolyn Dube's blog

Glue It Tuesday

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

This has been an interesting week.  3 days with no phone, internet and TV, followed by a 2 day weekend  of art classes.

We finally got our services back Friday night. The good news was that I got 3 books read:

"Broken Wings" by Carla Stewart

"The Recipe Box" by Sandra Lee

"The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp

I enjoyed them all.


The courses this weekend were excellent and taught by Donna Downey (yes! that Donna Downey!).
There is a wonderful art studio- the Art House Studio - in Cambridge that I only recently discovered and it is wonderful.

Saturday's class was a Mixed Media class where we produced a 12 page mixed media book and learned new techniques.. Loved it!

Sunday's class was an acrylic abstract course where we completed 3 small canvases. Again I loved it and learned new techniques,

(This was my favourite canvas of the 3)

Fall Tree of  Intentions
For the past two years I have created a tree of fall intentions, to guide me through the fall months, to focus on what intentions I have for the coming season.
My intentions fall under six areas: Creative, Healthy living, Retirement, Spiritual, Social and Intellectual. It becomes a very visual focus for the season ahead.

ATCs
I also created some ATCs this week:

(I had a few other larger pieces for a trade but did not scan them.)


Linking with

Creative Every Day

Inspire Me Monday

Glue It Tuesday

Day 5 - September Daily Blogging

Karissa of "A Fresh Start on a Budget" is hosting an interesting challenge - blogging every day in September, by responding to prompts

Today's question: What is your favorite book? Why?

As someone who loves to read, and usually has several books on the go, this is a challenging question. There are so many books I have loved, for different reasons.
The only problem with reading quickly, is that you are finished too soon!

I have just finished reading a trio of books I loved.

"Ragged Company" by Richard Wagamese
An excellent read about how 4 homeless people's lives are changed by winning a lottery.
This book is the "One Book One Community" for our region.

"How the Light Gets In"  by Louise Penny
This is book 9 of her Inspector Gamache mystery series and it keeps getting better.

"The Silver Star"  by Jeanette Wells
Two sisters are left by their mother and move across country to live with their uncle.

But there are so many other books I have enjoyed. I use Goodreads now to keep track of my books. I try to take part in book challenges, but sometimes these limit what I want to read. I never know what mood I will be in and what book I will want to read next.
I try to read both fiction and non-fiction and usually have several of both on the go.
But I collect books - and have a huge TBR (to be read!) pile. But hopefully now I will have more time to catch up and read.


Some of the books I am reading for a healthier makeover.

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

It has been a long while since I have participated in Monday's book sharing. School seems to have overriden many things - even reading. Looking back over the past few months, I found that I hadn't read as much as I would have liked.
The book challenges I took part in for 2012 were partly met - they did push me to read more and to keep a better record of my reading.
I have set new goals for my reading and taken on 4 challenges. Check them out here.

I decided as this was the last day of 2013, that I would list my favourite reads of 2012:

Top 10 Favourite Adult Fiction Books

Jan.  Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Mar.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Mar. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
May  The Island  by Elin Hilderbrand
Jul.  The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
Aug.  When God was a Rabbit  by Sarah Winman
Sept. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Sept.  The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Oct. Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson
Dec. A Week of Winter by Maeve Binchy

Top 10 Favourite YA Fiction

Feb.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (read all 3 but the ist was my fav.)
Apr.  WONDER  by R. J. Palacio
May  Bifocal  by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters
Jun.  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Jul.  Divergent and Insurgent   by Veronica Roth
Jul. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Aug. One for the Murphy's by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Aug. The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
Aug. See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
Aug. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

As  I looked over my books read,  I realized that I had not read many non-fiction will have to change that in 2013!. Here are my top 5 choices:

Non-Fiction
Jan. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Apr. Zeitoun by Eggers
Jun. Bite of the Mango byMariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland
Jul. Fatty Legs byChristy Jordan Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
Aug. 32 Third Graders and 1 Class Bunny by Philip Done

I read many picture books through the year with my class and reread several chapter books to them as well. My favourites:
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
many books by Patricia Polaccco


There are so many books to read. My lists and my piles to be read keep growing. I am still "hold a book in my hand" reader - I need to feel the pages and be able to highlight and write in it if needed. E-readers just don't get me excited at all. But I do read on-line previews from Stenhouse and did read a number of those last year. I hope to do more this year.

Wishing everyone a  Happy New Year!  May 2013 bring more  awesome books to be read
I

It's Monday! What are You reading?

It's been a couple of weeks since I participated. The last 2 weeks have been busy with school, so not as much reading as I did over the summer.

With school though, I have read all the books that I described here. These books were enjoyed by all the children (and myself!)

What I did read though was excellent:

"When God was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman

I was surprised by this but did enjoy it.



"The Castaways" by Elin Hilderbrand

I finally finished this. I enjoy her books  - more of a light read, but it did take me most of the summer to finish - too many other good books to read.

By far, the best book in a while was:
"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce

I admit I had tears at times but I LOVED it. A gentle but powerful book. Read it!


I have just started "The Beautiful Mystery" by Louise Penny

This is the newest book in the Inspector Gamache series and I am thoroughly enjoying it.( Even read til 12:30 last night as I could not sleep.)

I have so many books started but interrupted by books bought or recommended - will eventually get back to them.  Not sure what I will read after this one.

Be sure to check here and here for some great reads.

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

I have tried to read a variety of books this past week, from picture books to YA to fun reads for me.

This past week I read:

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

It had been billed as the next Hunger Games. I had lent it to a former student to read and get her opinion. She actually enjoyed it. So did I.  There is a sequel - to be out in a few months.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dagliesh
One of my favourite units in our grade 3 social studies curriculum is a look at early Native people. I had picked up this book at a yard sale and wanted to see if it was suitable. But the term "Indian" used throughout and some of the negative expressions made me uneasy. So it won't be used in my classroom.
The Stories Julian Tell by Ann Cameron

I picked this up as well and enjoyed the stories by Julian - especially on catalogue cats!

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand

A fun read for me. Interesting characters and how they interact.

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

Just finished this yesterday and really enjoyed it. It details the long marriage of Jack and Laurel Cooper and the weekly letters Jack wrote to his wife during their 40 years together, through the eyes of their children, quite a motley crew. There is even a website to upload your own Wednesday Letter.


I am still working on several teacher book clubs and these books take up some of time for reading:
Guiding Readers, The Daily Five, Guided Math, and now, Opening Minds. They have all been worthwhile reading.I will be continuing these books over the next few weeks.

Currently I am reading:

Notebook Know-How; Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner

Take Joy; A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft by Jane Yolen

The Breadwinner Tril0gy by Deborah Ellis

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Hotel on the corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford



Be sure to check out the great reads here and here.

Book Sharing

Several weeks ago I began to follow Multitudes on Monday. Each Monday I listed 10 things I was grateful for from the previous week. Many of those things were very personal and I did not reveal some. I am choosing now to create my gratitude list in a new journal and fill it with more personal and meaningful gratitudes.

In its place I want to share my reading for the year, as I finish a book or books for the book challenges listed on my sidebar.

In the first 2 weeks of January I have already read 5 books and enjoyed all of them.

Mystery and Suspense:

I discovered Louise Penny last year when her book "Bury Your Dead" was chosen as the "One Community One Book" for Waterloo Region. I read it, loved it and then read her next one "A Trick of the Light". As I learned more about her, I realized she had 5 other books in her series about Gamanche and the town of Three Pines.

I have now read the first 3 and am thoroughly enjoying the series. Just finished "Dead Cold" and "The Cruelest Month" over the weekend. Can't wait to read the next 2!

Each book involves a mysterious death in Three Pines, Quebec, which Gamanche and his team must solve. The townspeople are interesting and each book is building the relationships and the characters of all these people.

Books to Movie/ Off the Shelf:

While away, I read "Sarah's Key". It was excellent, yet very disturbing. The other explores a very dark chapter in France's history during World War II. The author De Rosnay, uses a back and forth, present to past, technique for this book. I can't wait to see the movie.

While at the airport, I bought another book by Tatiana De Rosnay - "A Secret Kept" and enjoyed it as well.

Non-Fiction

As part of our social justice book club, the book for January is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I read it while away and found it an excellent read. It was an informative history of the science of growing cells.