Focus....Focus, dude...

The title of this post is a line from Finding Nemo. I feel it is appropriate to my life at the moment. Well, maybe, my life most of the time... I am trying to get my mind and life back in focus, after a crazy start of the school year, adding Calligraphy Classes to my weekly schedule, as well as a few other events.

(I have started and stopped this post so often I think I will proof read it and post it no matter what.)

I am still busy with Postcrossing. I had my 50th Postcard arrive at it's destination! Kind of a milestone of sorts. Here are a few cards I have received lately:

I have been taking a Calligraphy class for the past 2 1/2 months. I kind of jumped into the middle of a year long course, starting session 3 of 4. Oh well, it was an interesting learning curve the first few weeks.

Our "final" project for Session 3 was designing a card that we could reproduce and use. My first attempt was a Thank You card I can use in my classroom. I had my original reduced and printed on card stock. Then I added color with watercolor paints.

My second attempt was more elaborate, a birth announcement. The week of our last assignment, my "daughter"(see story) had her first child, Rowan Ian. So I am now a Grandma.

I was able to go out and visit the little family last week. Holding the precious, sweet baby boy was quite an experience for me. Not only see see this adorable little bundle just snuggle down, comfortable and content. But also to see the radiant, poised young lady who gave him life. Wow! I can't find words to describe the awe I feel at how she has grown up...

I wanted to try to draw Rowan, but I am chicken. I don't feel comfortable drawing more than a childlike version for my 3rd graders to see. So I took a hint from Lyric Kinard, and transferred major lines by tracing a photograph.

My first attempt, I outlined in pen. I don't like the look. So I tried watercolor pencils. I like that one better.


top: 2nd attempt, bottom: first attempt.

So, as you can see I really need to find a focus, or maybe a few less things to focus on. I have felt like I have lost it on this blog. Or maybe I just stick with my original plan for this blog and bounce around with what interests me.

I leave you with several photos of Rowan and all his other Grandmas.

Ivette's Mom, Maritza.

Jeremy's Mom, Cheryl.

Rowan's GREAT Grandma!

A More Simple Way of Life???

 Though I am usually one of the first to look at new technology to enhance or support my teaching, I am also the one that threatens, at least once a year, to pack up and move to Pennsylvania, to an Amish community, disavowing any form of technology. (that would be after an extremely frustrating day with things not working , usually someone elses computer.) I am all for the use of technology in a variety of ways. Though I don't trust it either. I know that sounds funny, but I have seen too many issues that have become disasters in the making.

Lately, I have had good reason to distrust technology, as back-ups have gone haywire. I have spent a large part of the summer, recovering data from one dead hard drive. Then staring a various older backups and the recovered data to try to piece together so I have everything back in one place.

All of this has put me in one of those "I want to be Amish" moods. Especially as I sift through the contacts and addresses that are on my phone -seems to be an update from my work computer, and the older addresses from a back-up. This is, or was, the last straw for me. I hadn't updated my ancient Halmark Address Book in about 15 years! So that was no help either.


My recent feelings toward my computers!!!!

As with all good projects, one thing leads to a completely different project. I decided I need a physical back-up to my hard drive when it comes to addresses and phone numbers. So off I go hunting for an address book. A REAL, honest to goodness, paper based address book, like my old one. This  was not an easy task. Then, to contact anyone I know I can get a hold of via Facebook, email or text to double check all their info. I am glad I am doing this, as I have learned a few people moved without telling me...

My sad, neglected, very out of date address book (left) beside it's replacement (right).

A few reflections of my recently acquired pursuits, shows this thought as well.

• Postcrossing - sending and receiving postcards via "snail mail"
• Fountain Pens - writing long hand
• Writing Letters to friends and family (instead of email...) - a long forgotten, missed activity
• Calligraphy Class - penmanship actually mattered
• A REAL Address book - yes, I will still have one on my computer, but the hard copy is my most up to date.

Can you see what I see? I have started to move away from technology. Back to a slower, more thoughtful form of communication?



My quiet spot to sketch and write.

So what have I taken away from all of this? Technology is good -- But --- Sometimes the Simple Life is better.Find a quiet place to spend a few minutes writing a quick note, a chatty postcard, or longer missive. It will make you and the recipient smile. We all need to take a few minutes to enjoy a slower life.

Love My Mailbox...most of the time

I really do love my mailbox, most of the time. I still don't like the days there are nothing but bills, political ads, and or junk mail greeting me. Nor do I like having to put less than happy things back in the mailbox to leave my house - you know what I mean, checks to pay a bill... Having to write letters or cards of sympathy would also go in that list of non-happy mailbox contents. Unfortunately, that was my unhappy lot in life earlier this week.

My best friend lost her mom on Saturday night after a short fight with an infection that left her kidneys and liver not working. She died peacefully in her sleep with her family around her. No one can ask for more.
Barbara had been a part of our lives for much of the past 20 years, as we have been a part of her daughter and son-in-law's lives. She was such a wonderful lady. Always one for a competitive game of scrabble, a loud and raucous game of Texas Washers, or a quiet quest to finish a particularly challenging jigsaw puzzle.


Scrabble!!!

Texas Washers - Barabara showing the youngsters how it is played.

Happy Birthdays....

Barbara and much of her family, including my husband and I.

Babara's family is our "Foster Family." We travel and celebrate almost every occasion with them. I really felt I needed to write a note to each of her descendants. Therefore, I spent Sunday and Monday making cards and write personal notes to each of her kids and grand kids along with their families. Sympathy is really not an easy emotion to express. No word choice seems good enough. I did find a few websites that contained some wonderful examples. Reading through the ideas on these pages helped my come up with at least a few words. (Sympathy note ideas and Sympathy Sayings.) I hope will bring some support or comfort to each the recipients. I ended up drafting a basic letter and used this to guide my words to each individual.

The card I made for each family was my take on a card I found on the Cricut Message Boards, made by djackson1952. The bird and branch are from Home Decor. I am sorry I cannot remember what I ended up for the sizes. I believe the Bird was 3" and the branch was 2". I embossed the white paper with Cuttlebug - Divine Swirls. I dug through all my flowers to find small ones appropriate for the branches. I added dots of liquid pearl in the center.

Can you see I tried practicing my calligraphy (yep, taking a class) on the Paper Source envelopes.

I hope they will find some comfort in this small token of my love for them and their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

We will miss Barbara. She was a very special part of our lives.

Love My Mailbox

Over the years, our mailboxes seem to transitioned in function. Once we used these funny little tin boxes to bring us news, and greetings. We sent cards and letters, sometimes packages making connections with the outside world. Now, it just seems to ask for our money, and help fill our recycle bins with unwanted ads and offers.

I love opening my mailbox. I am sure you are all thinking I am nuts. But I really am enjoying that little funky little lock box a lot more now that I have done a few things to make it a happier part of my daily life.

First, as mentioned in previous posts, I joined Postcrossing back in April. So far I have had 34 postcards make it to their destinations across the globe. I have received 28 from a wide variety of countries. The most interesting places to date have to be Estonia and Belarus. There have been cards from grandmothers, single moms, and college students. But it really made my heart smile to receive one from a 12 year old the other day. Wow! A 12-year old interested in snail mail!!!! There is hope that snail mail won't completely die out.

Some of the postcards I have received:

Second, I have been making a concerted effort to write notes and letters to friends and family, instead of sending a quick email. As I started sitting down to write the first letters I was reminded of how much fun I used to think it was to write a letter. This was really made evident to me as I started to dig through the overflowing baskets of stationary and envelopes I have collected over the years. One of the first letters I sent was to a friend I see often. We usually communicate via email in between times together, but I found some paper I knew she would like and wrote a short note filling her in on some news I had for her. I received a wonderful thank you from her. It made us both have a better day. I encourage you to pick up pen and paper to write a note to someone. It doesn't have to be long or eloquent. Just from you, in your own hand, and from your heart.

Hope you have a happy Mailbox soon.



The Olympics and Some Ink

If you are like me, you have been caught up in the Olympics. As a former competitive swimmer, I spend my time watching the races in the pool. My husband is excited as he gets to watch the BMX races for the second time. He is an old BMXer himself. As a member of the BMX Hall of Fame and one of the first generation racers, he is proud to see the sport now accepted in worldwide circles.

I sat and sketched in my journal some of the highlights of the Opening Ceremonies. I tried to pick out a few of the events that stood out to me. I am not sure that some of the flags I drew are accurate or even actually representative of a country...(more the concept).

Not long after starting my Visual Journal, I began to read about using Fountain Pens to sketch with. Naturally I had to try this out. I now own several different pens. Of course then I had to play with inks. I found a great sampling program at Goulet Pens. Each month they send their "Ink Drop" - 5 small vials of inks. Each month there is a theme around which the inks are chosen. The July Ink Drop theme was the Olympic Rings. Last week Brian Goulet announced the start up of a monthly Ink Drop contest.

The rules:

You can submit any kind of writing or artwork.

It can be an ink review, a poem, a watercolor wash, a sketch, or even get all scientific with chromatography... it just has to be ink on paper.

I asked my friends to give me words they think of when they think of the Olympics, or the colors of the Olympic Rings. These words I sorted by number of letters so that I could see what I had to work with. Then I began writing choosing words at random that would fit the space I had. I am happy to say that I used every word we came up with and I think I only repeated 2 words anywhere on the  page.

Here is my entry:

 

Please visit Goulet Pen and then click on "July 2012" to view my work and that of my "competitors." And make sure you vote. Voting Form (July Ink Drop Contest)Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog...even though I am not so consistent. I know it is hard to keep your attention when there is a Gold Medal race to watch somewhere.

Back in the Real World, part 1

(The original sentence stated in was July 12th ) ...Good Morning. It is the 30 of July and I am still trying to figure out where June and most of July have run off to. Though I know perfectly well that it was the end of the school year followed by a family vacation that wiped that month off the calendar ( I have loads f pictures to share - so will break this into several posts). Between Report Cards, end of the year paperwork, closing up a classroom for the summer (so summer school can use it) and several end of the year events that I am in charge of planning June 1 - 13th ran by way too quickly.

I cannot complain too much though, we did manage to add a few Disney days in to the first half of the month - The best being, our pass holder preview of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in Disney's California Adventure. All I can say is WOW!!!! No expense was spared to make both of these additions absolutely amazing. I would love to be a Disney buyer for the antiques and fixtures that they scatter around the interiors of their period pieces. Here are a few pictures from the preview and subsequent visits.



Along with new decor around Buena Vista Street, there are a variety of "face characters" (characters you can talk to and interact with) that are not Disney film or cartoon characters, but period characters, to add to the atmosphere of the 1920's street corner.


Then there is the family vacation. We headed to Florida to see a few things before climbing on Disney's Fantasy (their latest cruise ship) for a week in the western Caribbean. I know we are big Disney people but we had to hit the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter while in Orlando. Way too big a fan of the books to miss that opportunity. Wow. Just watched one of the movies again and stopped at one of the Hogsmead scenes. The park was amazingly accurate to the movie set. Nicely done. Butter Beer was delicious! But a hint to anyone who hasn't gone yet --- go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch and get the BB there, rather than stand in the VERY long lines outside at the "wagons".

Butter Beer foam mustache.

 We also visited Kennedy Space Center. Probably more for us "old" guys that can remember the first men orbiting..... and walking on the moon etc. than for the younger ones that were with us. Though I am sure the rockets, launch pads and buildings were interesting to them.



6 foot "watch dog" security system around Cape Canaveral.

The cruise was wonderful. Disney's newest ship is beautiful. Though bigger than the original ships, with more cast members and guests on board, it really did not feel crowded. Here are a few photos of the ship...



Artwork is found all around the ship. This was at the landing between two floors in the forward staircase.


We visited Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands -

Costa Maya, Mexico -



Leaf Cutter Ants, carrying their leafy finds back to the nest.

Cozumel, Mexico -

And of course, Castaway Cay (Disney's Island, in the Bahamas) -



Adult beach, off the beaten path.



The inlet we went kayaking in. It is only a few feet deep. Clear, blue water. Lots of things to see down below - including a ray, conch, upside down jellys, and two six-foot nurse sharks.

 
Castaway is a beautiful little island. Since only those sailing with Disney are on the island it makes it all the more special. There are beaches for families, adults, and teens. Rent bikes, hike, snorkel, para sail, or tour the island on a glass bottom boat.

So sad to have to say good-bye to the ship and come back to reality ---but it was fun. I will share some of my Visual Journal pages in another post.

As an Elementary School Teacher I love this time of year, when I can make a big to do list and actually get some of it done ---and if I am really good ---- get some crafty stuff done too. But then there are days I wake up and think I am on VACATION, why am I working so hard??????? Then I have a mental battle between the organized and the lazy sides of my brain. Which one will I listen to today?

Do you ever have those days? I find myself thinking this almost everyday this summer. Unfortunately, my summer is winding down, as we start planning for Professional Development days... and my new class. But until then I am planning to play a bit. Tomorrow is a quilting sewing day. YEAH.

A Gift of Zentangle Therapy

Recently I have been coming across some wonderful stories of inspiration and healing that are related to the Art of Zentangle. Many are heartbreaking and yet heartwarming at the same time. It has made me continue to reflect on the benefits of Zentangle and other art/craft pursuits in my own life. As a teacher, though I love my job, it can be stressful and mentally taxing at times. Art and Zentangle specifically can be such a relief from that part of my job.



A tangled card I made to go with my gift.


One of my colleagues has announced that she is retiring this year. She has had a tough year, both at work and in her personal life. Today is our District Retirement Party. I cannot wait to give her the gift I purchased for her – A Zentangle Kit – for her very own. I have added a list of inspirational and instructional websites she might find useful. I hope she will find the same relaxation and calming effect as she explores Zentangles as I have.



Zentangle Kit - This is how I got started.

 Here is the list I put together:

http://www.zentangle.com/
- the originators of Zentangle
- Good newsletter
http://zentangle.blogspot.com/
- Originators blog

http://lifeimitatesdoodles.blogspot.com/
- ideas and inspiration

http://tanglepatterns.com/
- collection of tangles, and how to do them
- also collects inspirational stories about Zentangle and therapy/healing

http://www.openseedarts.blogspot.com/
- Carole Ohl is a wonderful artist
- Great examples, inspiration
http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/
- weekly challenge
- New Challenge each Monday
- Good way to learn a new tangle or practice one you know
- Look at what everyone posts for their “entry” in the challenge for inspiration

http://ptrish40-zekesden.blogspot.ca/
- fun uses of tangles in other art
http://www.amarylliscreations.com/zentangleharmony/
- does a weekly “round up” of Zentangle info
- New each Friday
- Look here for ideas, inspiration

http://jennifervanpelt.com/2012/05/13/how-i-got-into-zentangle/
- Jennifer's story is quite an inspiration
- Her work is gorgeous

http://www.softexpressions.com/
- website for local shop that carries Zentangle materials
- offers classes – see website for info