A 'stash' is defined as a secret store of something. You can also refer to it as a cache, hoard, stockpile, accumulation, collection, or reserve. These terms can be applied to just about anything that you can amass in quantity. Including fabric. Although, as someone who does, in fact, have a rather substantial stash, I prefer to think of it differently. When referring to my personal stash, I like to use the following quote:
'THE STASH is your 'home base, your security, your legacy.'
(Some poor souls think it's a nagging reminder of what you haven't done yet...)
WE, on the other hand, prefer to regard your PRECIOUS STASH as your Potential for Creativity!'
~Lindy, The Silver Needle Newlsetter, 5.12.09
Perfect description. :D My stash is indeed a glorious thing to behold.
About a week ago, I posted my Anti-Journal and in that post I talked a tiny bit about the Stash Game. Twice a year, the women (there have been a couple of men, but mostly it is women) of SewingMamas participate in what we call 'The Stash Game'. It is completely voluntary and we all work on the honor system and what we call 'Sew N Show' to report our stuff for the game part of it. We collect points based on the yardage we sew and things that we use (elastic, buttons, etc - these are commonly called notions). We can also accrue points for fabric that we sell or give away/donate. Although, I'm not sure that anyone banks a whole lot of points for giving away fabric, most of us are pretty dang attached to our stashes. LOL And, there are prizes to be won as well.
I find it to be a good time to make things like pajamas and clothes for the next coming season and things like that. And, with two nearly grown children, it goes thru a fair amount of my stocked up fabric stash as well. Which banks me some point. :D This is the first stash game in my nearly 7 years on the site that I have actually participated for more than a week (hello! Not exactly a commitment minded individual here.) I have participated a couple of days here and there in the past, but always started. Never finished. We just submitted our week #1 totals to the 'StashGoddess' and haven't found out where we are in the rankings yet. But for the first week, I logged some serious sewing time and that added up to a grand total of 218 points, which translates to 22.5 yards of fabric sewn, equaling 3 tops, a nightgown, a dress, and a scarf for the youngest, 6 pairs of pajama shorts for the oldest, and 5 pairs of pajama leggings for me.
Now that I have those basics out of the way, it has been going to bit slower as far as the sewing goes. But, I'm excited to see what I end up with at the end of it all. So far, I am well on my way to completing my goal of sewing thru 200 yards of fabric by the end of this year. And that is exciting to me. :D Trust me. 200 yards will barely make a dent. But I will have accomplished something I set out to do and that is well worth it to me.
I will update here as soon as I know how week #1 pans out - where I stand in the rankings, etc. And I will continue to post updates as the game goes on.
Showing posts with label Word of the Year 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word of the Year 2014. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #4
HA! Canvas #4 is finished many, MANY days EARLY!!! It helps that I started working on it while I was working on Canvas #3. What can I say, gesso takes a long ass time to dry.
This time around the challenge was issued to Let it Drip. And there was a audible sigh heard 'round the world when I read those words. If anyone remembers the non-success I had with the whole free form watercolors thing from Anti-Journal Week 2, you will understand why I sighed. LOL Again, time to (wo)man up and embrace the adventure. :D I did, however, go about the whole 'drip' thing in a different way this time around.
I really like her. Her wild, pink hair, the dripping 'rain', etc. The only thing I'm not super fond of is the words. I like them, I'm don't love them. I wish that the pictures showed more true to the actual painting. She's really pretty. LOL
Anyway, there's my Canvas #4. Finished. DAYS ahead of schedule. :D If you would like to join in the 50 Canvases Challenge with me and the others that are participating, just check out the post on Wonderstrange for details.
I can't wait to see what's next!
This time around the challenge was issued to Let it Drip. And there was a audible sigh heard 'round the world when I read those words. If anyone remembers the non-success I had with the whole free form watercolors thing from Anti-Journal Week 2, you will understand why I sighed. LOL Again, time to (wo)man up and embrace the adventure. :D I did, however, go about the whole 'drip' thing in a different way this time around.
I really like her. Her wild, pink hair, the dripping 'rain', etc. The only thing I'm not super fond of is the words. I like them, I'm don't love them. I wish that the pictures showed more true to the actual painting. She's really pretty. LOL
Anyway, there's my Canvas #4. Finished. DAYS ahead of schedule. :D If you would like to join in the 50 Canvases Challenge with me and the others that are participating, just check out the post on Wonderstrange for details.
I can't wait to see what's next!
50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #3
So, I learned a few things about myself with this third canvas. The challenge was to do something dimensional. Sarah's example is AMAZING. Mine, not so much. I like it. I don't love it. I may work on it some more. Maybe. I'm just not a huge fan of it. I was, however, a huge fan of using up some of the 'stuff' I have laying around here. That was awesome. Destashing feels great sometimes. And, BONUS, I have completed 3 canvases :D
It needs more of something. I've haven't figured out what yet. I'm thinking some black paint and maybe some glitter. Hell, everything's better with black paint and glitter. Pretty sure I might just be seeing what that does for me tomorrow. Yep. Pretty dang sure.
Anyway, if you would care to join in on the 50 Canvases in 2014 Challenge, you can check out the details HERE on the Wonderstrange blog. And I will definitely be posting the end result of my alterations to Canvas #3 when it is finished. ;)
It needs more of something. I've haven't figured out what yet. I'm thinking some black paint and maybe some glitter. Hell, everything's better with black paint and glitter. Pretty sure I might just be seeing what that does for me tomorrow. Yep. Pretty dang sure.
Anyway, if you would care to join in on the 50 Canvases in 2014 Challenge, you can check out the details HERE on the Wonderstrange blog. And I will definitely be posting the end result of my alterations to Canvas #3 when it is finished. ;)
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Anti-Journal Week 3
((I typed out an entire blog post and this stupid f'n site DELETED the entire thing. GRRRR!))
It was difficult for me to decide what to post tonight because I have about 4 blog posts that I need to type out and get on here. I decided to start with what is relatively the beginning and get that out of the way. LOL (And, yes, I am just as bad at journaling with pen and paper as I am at this. I can just type way faster than I can write so this is actually easier.)
First of all, Kids Clothes Week was an EPIC fail for me. I was not feeling well for most of the week, so I managed to get a grand total of 1 thing finished. I am, however, currently participating in the Stash Game over at Sewing Mamas and am working my way toward my goal of 200 yards of fabric GONE by the end of this year. But more on that later. :D
Week 3's Anti-Journal was difficult for me. Sarah, the Wonderous Wonderstrumpet of Wonderstrange, posted a Master List of prompts for us to choose from and anyone that really knows me knows that A) I am not super great at choosing for myself and 2) I do not respond to change well. However, in the spirit of this year of Adventures, I decided to embrace it and just go for it. Sarah's Chronicles journal spread for Week 3 is awesome. And she posted a video about making journals that's worth a watch. ;)
Week 3's Anti-Journal
I really like creating these multiple page journal spreads. It lets me to include more that what the normal 2 facing pages would allow for.
Inside that envelope is ephemera from the trip to Tennessee that the girls and I took last year on Spring Break.
Two more drawings from the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 list. #15 Ninja Banana and #61 A Shark Ate My Homework. And a cute little smiley moon guy :D
For my artwork this week, I chose to create some Found Poetry. I used to do this kind of thing all the time. In fact, it's probably my favorite thing that I create. It's always dark, usually twisted, and soul cleansing.
The poem reads:
They call him Candyman murdering eater of souls
unwavering dead eyes and black gloved hand
slab of onyx on porcelain
white angel screaming
dancing through veins like a real ballerina
breathing with a hatchet blade stuck in the throat
tender white neck
lightly kissed on the forehead
agonizing sighs but I love you would shatter his skull
up all night
hearing bones crack screams peeling wallpaper
cry cry cry gushing tears bloodred on the carpet
Don't make me go back there
sit right here in the dark
spinning my broken shame in the moonlight
And I tried to take a picture of this cute Jane Austen card that I put in here, but it turned out all blurry. LOL
So, that's my week 3, and I'm really pretty pleased with it. As usual, following thru and just going with things in the spirit of adventure has taught me a lot this week. About myself and what I can accomplish when I follow thru. :D
((The first f'n post was better. I HATE this thing right now.))
It was difficult for me to decide what to post tonight because I have about 4 blog posts that I need to type out and get on here. I decided to start with what is relatively the beginning and get that out of the way. LOL (And, yes, I am just as bad at journaling with pen and paper as I am at this. I can just type way faster than I can write so this is actually easier.)
First of all, Kids Clothes Week was an EPIC fail for me. I was not feeling well for most of the week, so I managed to get a grand total of 1 thing finished. I am, however, currently participating in the Stash Game over at Sewing Mamas and am working my way toward my goal of 200 yards of fabric GONE by the end of this year. But more on that later. :D
Week 3's Anti-Journal was difficult for me. Sarah, the Wonderous Wonderstrumpet of Wonderstrange, posted a Master List of prompts for us to choose from and anyone that really knows me knows that A) I am not super great at choosing for myself and 2) I do not respond to change well. However, in the spirit of this year of Adventures, I decided to embrace it and just go for it. Sarah's Chronicles journal spread for Week 3 is awesome. And she posted a video about making journals that's worth a watch. ;)
Week 3's Anti-Journal
I really like creating these multiple page journal spreads. It lets me to include more that what the normal 2 facing pages would allow for.
Inside that envelope is ephemera from the trip to Tennessee that the girls and I took last year on Spring Break.
Two more drawings from the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 list. #15 Ninja Banana and #61 A Shark Ate My Homework. And a cute little smiley moon guy :D
For my artwork this week, I chose to create some Found Poetry. I used to do this kind of thing all the time. In fact, it's probably my favorite thing that I create. It's always dark, usually twisted, and soul cleansing.
The poem reads:
They call him Candyman murdering eater of souls
unwavering dead eyes and black gloved hand
slab of onyx on porcelain
white angel screaming
dancing through veins like a real ballerina
breathing with a hatchet blade stuck in the throat
tender white neck
lightly kissed on the forehead
agonizing sighs but I love you would shatter his skull
up all night
hearing bones crack screams peeling wallpaper
cry cry cry gushing tears bloodred on the carpet
Don't make me go back there
sit right here in the dark
spinning my broken shame in the moonlight
And I tried to take a picture of this cute Jane Austen card that I put in here, but it turned out all blurry. LOL
So, that's my week 3, and I'm really pretty pleased with it. As usual, following thru and just going with things in the spirit of adventure has taught me a lot this week. About myself and what I can accomplish when I follow thru. :D
((The first f'n post was better. I HATE this thing right now.))
Sunday, January 26, 2014
50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #2
Oddly enough, I'm not super great on the follow thru when it comes to things like running commitments that have no necessary deadlines or don't absolutely have to be done. I have so much going on that if it is not an absolute must do, I just never manage to stick with it. Which brings me to the WHOO HOO! of it all.
Say it with me -- I FINISHED MY SECOND CANVAS OF THE 50! Unh Huh! That's right!
Anyway, enough of that. LOL For the second week, Sarah (the Wonderstrumpet) challenged us to use something that we have never used before for this week's canvas. You can check out the original post over at the Wonderstrange blog. While you're over there, check out some of the other awesomeness going on. Ann made a cute little crochet headband. The canvas Sarah made for week 3 is AWWWWWWWEEEEESOME! Every single week Ann lists a new way to decorate your house with all the amazing artwork you create. Etc. Seriously, these amazing artists are working their tales off sharing what they know and challenging everyone to be their creative best. As well as operating their own businesses and taking care of their families. They ROCK so hard.
Back to the canvas showing!
This week, for the challenge, I used something I had never used before. Taking inspiration from Sarah's circus family canvas, I used duct tape and tiny trim tapes to mask off sections of the canvas I had prepped with a coat of matte white acrylic. I've never used tape in my painting before and found out that there is a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps I just didn't use the right one, but there was A TON of 'cleaning up' around the edges that I had to do after it had dried because the paint had bled under the edges of the tape. So, using it for stripes that don't need exact definition, probably okay. Using it for crisp, defined lines, not so much. LOL Whatevs. I survived.
And I LOVE my little Goth girl! Especially her little ear :D
The text on the left is a verse from the song 'American Pie' by Don Mclean. I have always loved that song, even with it being 9 minutes and a million verses long. It gives me goosebumps and makes me tear up every single time I listen to it. So, I spent about 9 hours searching thru pages of text for the words to one of the verses (and using cut out letters to make the words that the pages didn't have). It was truly a labor of love and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.
I know the pictures aren't super great (she doesn't look that 'harsh' in real life LOL) but I can't figure out how to make them any different. LOL And, honestly, I get to look at the real thing every day, so I'm good with that.
If you want to join in the challenge (and I seriously think you should), check out Wonderstrange for the details. Sarah posts a new canvas post on Thursdays (Week 3 looks AWESOME, but it is going to be a 'break out of the box' challenge for sure. LOL). They post stuff every day of the week, so there's always something new. Look around, you're sure to find something to join in on. I promise. If you do join in one of the activities, be sure that you go back and post a link somewhere so that I can see it.
On to #3!
Say it with me -- I FINISHED MY SECOND CANVAS OF THE 50! Unh Huh! That's right!
Anyway, enough of that. LOL For the second week, Sarah (the Wonderstrumpet) challenged us to use something that we have never used before for this week's canvas. You can check out the original post over at the Wonderstrange blog. While you're over there, check out some of the other awesomeness going on. Ann made a cute little crochet headband. The canvas Sarah made for week 3 is AWWWWWWWEEEEESOME! Every single week Ann lists a new way to decorate your house with all the amazing artwork you create. Etc. Seriously, these amazing artists are working their tales off sharing what they know and challenging everyone to be their creative best. As well as operating their own businesses and taking care of their families. They ROCK so hard.
Back to the canvas showing!
This week, for the challenge, I used something I had never used before. Taking inspiration from Sarah's circus family canvas, I used duct tape and tiny trim tapes to mask off sections of the canvas I had prepped with a coat of matte white acrylic. I've never used tape in my painting before and found out that there is a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps I just didn't use the right one, but there was A TON of 'cleaning up' around the edges that I had to do after it had dried because the paint had bled under the edges of the tape. So, using it for stripes that don't need exact definition, probably okay. Using it for crisp, defined lines, not so much. LOL Whatevs. I survived.
And I LOVE my little Goth girl! Especially her little ear :D
The text on the left is a verse from the song 'American Pie' by Don Mclean. I have always loved that song, even with it being 9 minutes and a million verses long. It gives me goosebumps and makes me tear up every single time I listen to it. So, I spent about 9 hours searching thru pages of text for the words to one of the verses (and using cut out letters to make the words that the pages didn't have). It was truly a labor of love and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.
I know the pictures aren't super great (she doesn't look that 'harsh' in real life LOL) but I can't figure out how to make them any different. LOL And, honestly, I get to look at the real thing every day, so I'm good with that.
If you want to join in the challenge (and I seriously think you should), check out Wonderstrange for the details. Sarah posts a new canvas post on Thursdays (Week 3 looks AWESOME, but it is going to be a 'break out of the box' challenge for sure. LOL). They post stuff every day of the week, so there's always something new. Look around, you're sure to find something to join in on. I promise. If you do join in one of the activities, be sure that you go back and post a link somewhere so that I can see it.
On to #3!
Friday, January 24, 2014
HeART Swap for Valentine's Day: An Artist Collaboration on MotherHenna
At the beginning of the month, I signed up for a swap that I found out about on Facebook. You can read about the details on the MotherHenna blog. I've participated in this kind of swap before and I have always been pleased with the results. Admittedly, it has been a long time since I have been able to join in on one of these (I always seem to just miss out on the sign ups). But I am super excited about the returns on this one. It's an amazing group of artists and I just know that I will be pleased with what I receive. Anything created from the heart is always wonderful.
Originally, I had intended to write a blog post illustrating how I went from
this:
to this:
However, I managed to forget to take photos of the steps as I went along. So, all I have are the photos of the finished project. LOL
Each one is a mixed media masterpiece featuring watercolor and acrylic painting, text elements, lots of sparkle, and loads of added texture. I really love these a lot and I'm hoping that the other 19 artists are pleased with them as well. I know they will be because these were created with HeART. Which was the whole point of the project. :D
Aren't they pretty. Yes, I do believe they are.
There are 19 other artists that have signed up for the exchange. If you want to check out the MotherHenna blog and see some of the other artists' work, you can click to see the blog and then scroll down and you will see each artist listed with their blogs if available.
Kids Clothing Week starts next week and so I'm busy pulling patterns and fabrics for sewing up some great stuff for the girls. I also have the 2nd canvas for my 50 Canvases almost finished and plans for the 3rd one. Just wait and see. :D
Anti-Journal Week 2
Yes, I realize that the second week is not yet over. However, I'm pretty sure that my spread for this week is complete. So I'm posting this now.
This week went a lot easier than last week. Trust me. Last week there was a lot of sitting and staring out the window while I tried to think of shit to add to the book. This week, much less sitting. Everything seemed to flow more smoothly and it was less of a struggle to come up with stuff for the prompts. (I don't have a ton of photos on hand, so those photo prompts get skipped a lot. LOL)
When Sarah (the WonderStrumpet of Wonderstrange) listed our prompts for the Chronicles Journal project it kinda made me cringe a little bit.
•Main Spread: Check out some art/mixed media/technique videos on YouTube and try one out.
•Journaling: Write about your experience with that technique, what you learned, what you want to learn, how you can apply it, etc.
•Photography: Take a picture of something you love. Alternatively print out a picture of something you love.
•Journaling: Write down a quote that resonates with you, makes you laugh, makes you think, does something to you emotionally. It can be completely random and have absolutely no context.
•Art/Photography: Think about skills you want to acquire. Work on it, even if it’s ugly and weird.
•DOODLE. Use ink. Trust yourself.
•Destash: Use something you’ve had for a while/something you’re hoarding
•Attach any ephemera/mementos that are making you happyp
•Optional Journal52 prompt: Somewhere, A Simple Place
(Again, I copied these directly from Wonderstrange.)
I mean, first of all, the whole watch a YouTube video on a new art technique and then try it out? Seriously? I'm kinda intimidated by the whole art video on YouTube thing. Then to write about the experience (more writing - sigh - ). And DOODLING. With INK! No f'n way! The ephemera/mementos part is cool because I always have a ton of shit lying around waiting for me to do something with it. And I can always stand a good destash. :D
But I hauled out the book anyway and got to work. Intimidation be damned.
The YouTube video I chose to watch was by Agnes Cecile (well, I watched several, but the one's I watched the most were by her). If you haven't watched any of her videos, I would strongly suggest doing so. The woman is an amazing artist and her style of painting is just so beautiful and so powerful. It is definitely unique and I really like it.
Again, more pages and tags and tape and stickers and a pocket stuffed with ephemera and a painting from 4 years ago and all kinds of added ness-y-ness. :D
This is one of the pages with all of it's additions completely folded out. It has the quotes and a painting and stuff taped down. And #5 on the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored list. World's Worst Tattoo. Say hello to the mascot for the Cracatoah Donkeys - The Bearded Donkey. LOL
(Yes, it has been pointed out to me that donkey hair stands straight up, like a zebra. I know this. Hello! World's Worst Tattoo! Duh!)
The main part of my anti-journal this week was a free form watercolor. I've never done anything like this before. And, while I think that it turned out okay, I probably will not be doing it again. I just didn't really like it that much. I do, however, really like the Dymo tape sticker that the oldest girlchild made for me while she was volunteering this week. Sometimes she's so sweet.
#62 on the 100 things list is the Ideal Dessert. It's a Brownie Cheesecake A La Mode with chocolate chip cookie resting on a bed of hot fudge. :D I also managed to include a page with the suggested song lyrics from Week 1's prompts. It has my doodle on it. In ink, no less.
I almost managed to get the entire spread in one photo. It's just missing the sheet that has the 100 Things drawing on it (it would be one more page out on the right). I think that if I had stood on a chair I could have managed it. But, I didn't. So it's not there. LOL
Well, that's it for this week's Anti-Journal. Apparently, it was a long, drawn out explanation. Hope that I haven't put anyone to sleep. :D If you want to join in the Chronicles Journal project (or any of the other fun stuff going on) just head over to Wonderstrange and check it out. The more the merrier!
This week went a lot easier than last week. Trust me. Last week there was a lot of sitting and staring out the window while I tried to think of shit to add to the book. This week, much less sitting. Everything seemed to flow more smoothly and it was less of a struggle to come up with stuff for the prompts. (I don't have a ton of photos on hand, so those photo prompts get skipped a lot. LOL)
When Sarah (the WonderStrumpet of Wonderstrange) listed our prompts for the Chronicles Journal project it kinda made me cringe a little bit.
•Main Spread: Check out some art/mixed media/technique videos on YouTube and try one out.
•Journaling: Write about your experience with that technique, what you learned, what you want to learn, how you can apply it, etc.
•Photography: Take a picture of something you love. Alternatively print out a picture of something you love.
•Journaling: Write down a quote that resonates with you, makes you laugh, makes you think, does something to you emotionally. It can be completely random and have absolutely no context.
•Art/Photography: Think about skills you want to acquire. Work on it, even if it’s ugly and weird.
•DOODLE. Use ink. Trust yourself.
•Destash: Use something you’ve had for a while/something you’re hoarding
•Attach any ephemera/mementos that are making you happyp
•Optional Journal52 prompt: Somewhere, A Simple Place
(Again, I copied these directly from Wonderstrange.)
I mean, first of all, the whole watch a YouTube video on a new art technique and then try it out? Seriously? I'm kinda intimidated by the whole art video on YouTube thing. Then to write about the experience (more writing - sigh - ). And DOODLING. With INK! No f'n way! The ephemera/mementos part is cool because I always have a ton of shit lying around waiting for me to do something with it. And I can always stand a good destash. :D
But I hauled out the book anyway and got to work. Intimidation be damned.
The YouTube video I chose to watch was by Agnes Cecile (well, I watched several, but the one's I watched the most were by her). If you haven't watched any of her videos, I would strongly suggest doing so. The woman is an amazing artist and her style of painting is just so beautiful and so powerful. It is definitely unique and I really like it.
(Yes, it has been pointed out to me that donkey hair stands straight up, like a zebra. I know this. Hello! World's Worst Tattoo! Duh!)
Well, that's it for this week's Anti-Journal. Apparently, it was a long, drawn out explanation. Hope that I haven't put anyone to sleep. :D If you want to join in the Chronicles Journal project (or any of the other fun stuff going on) just head over to Wonderstrange and check it out. The more the merrier!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Anti-Journal Week 1
Okay, so for those of you that remember from this post I had decided to join in on the Art Journaling with the Anti-Journaler project. And, being a bit of an Anti-Journaler myself, I was slightly less enthusiastic about the way it would turn out. But, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it 1000% (or as much as I could spare at the time because I have been busy.) What I have ended up with is kind of a weird cross between an art journal and a scrapbook, and I am LOVING it.
For Week 1 Sarah (the WonderStrumpet herself) listed the following prompts/challenges -
•Main spread: Illustrate/collage/paint/otherwise artify something funny that you saw or read.
•Photography: When you catch yourself rolling your eyes at yourself, take a picture of that thing you’re doing – write a little explanation when you paste the picture in.
•Art/Photography/Journaling: Think of the most memorable thing that happened this week. If you have a picture of it, paste it in. If you can draw it, draw it. If you just want to write about it, do that!
•Journaling: List at least three things you accomplished this week.
•Journaling: What is your favorite song right now?
•Journaling: What are you excited about?
•Attach any momentos or ephemera that has caught your attention
•Destash: If you find yourself hoarding a supply, use it!
•Optional: Journal52 prompt: Up, up, and away
(I pulled these directly from the post on Wonderstrange)
Again, not being much of a journaler, I thought to myself 'Great, I'm supposed to write out a bunch of shit. (eyeroll) This will go well.' But, I decided to just roll with it and see what happened.
And I'm glad I did because I am so happy with the results.
I started out with this weird little painting in a watercolor field book. The paper is a lovely, white linen that is very highly textured. I love the edges of the pages, but the paper doesn't really hold up too well. Anyway, I thought at one time I *might* start a journal, but never did anything with it beyond this one painting (which wasn't all that super impressive. LOL) I've removed several of the pages to use for other projects (one of which I will be blogging about shortly), and now the book is barely hanging on. I thought it would be perfect for this project though.
I then decided to grab some pencils and some papers and some pens and some markers and some stickers and some tape and some stamps and a bunch of other stuff and turn it into this. :D (IDK why that f'n picture is so ginormous. Whatevs!) There's writing under all that stuff, I promise. I just covered it up with the added bits.
In addition to all the paper stuff and lists that I taped in there, I also defaced the original painting a little bit. The page off to the side is one that I taped to the side of the painting so that I could add more pages to the spread (I just added a couple to the one this week. Next week, I add waaaaaay more. LOL)
I also started the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored in there as well (yes, I know, I don't exactly draw like a pro. I don't really care.) I have #1 - Inanimate Objects in Glasses twice. One time with things like a refrigerator with glasses and toilet with glasses. The second time I put things like a hot wheels car inside of a glass. And the other thing I drew when I was bored was #29 - Grumpy Moon.
(And, yes, I blurred out that page on purpose. Hey, it's my journal and some stuff is just for me.)
This is the final spread with all of the additions - pages, tags, papers, a pocket, etc. It all folds up together nicely and lays neat inside the book. I did the same thing with this week's spread (and included even more stuff) and it all still lays just as nicely. When the oldest girlchild looked at it she was dutifully impressed by my scrapbook-y/journal-y ness.
Anyway, that's Week 1 of my Anti-Journal. If you want to join in, you can find info about the whole thing over at Wonderstrange. There's some pretty awesome stuff going on over there. And there are Mr Linky's Magic Widgets as well. :D
For Week 1 Sarah (the WonderStrumpet herself) listed the following prompts/challenges -
•Main spread: Illustrate/collage/paint/otherwise artify something funny that you saw or read.
•Photography: When you catch yourself rolling your eyes at yourself, take a picture of that thing you’re doing – write a little explanation when you paste the picture in.
•Art/Photography/Journaling: Think of the most memorable thing that happened this week. If you have a picture of it, paste it in. If you can draw it, draw it. If you just want to write about it, do that!
•Journaling: List at least three things you accomplished this week.
•Journaling: What is your favorite song right now?
•Journaling: What are you excited about?
•Attach any momentos or ephemera that has caught your attention
•Destash: If you find yourself hoarding a supply, use it!
•Optional: Journal52 prompt: Up, up, and away
(I pulled these directly from the post on Wonderstrange)
Again, not being much of a journaler, I thought to myself 'Great, I'm supposed to write out a bunch of shit. (eyeroll) This will go well.' But, I decided to just roll with it and see what happened.
And I'm glad I did because I am so happy with the results.
(And, yes, I blurred out that page on purpose. Hey, it's my journal and some stuff is just for me.)
This is the final spread with all of the additions - pages, tags, papers, a pocket, etc. It all folds up together nicely and lays neat inside the book. I did the same thing with this week's spread (and included even more stuff) and it all still lays just as nicely. When the oldest girlchild looked at it she was dutifully impressed by my scrapbook-y/journal-y ness.
Anyway, that's Week 1 of my Anti-Journal. If you want to join in, you can find info about the whole thing over at Wonderstrange. There's some pretty awesome stuff going on over there. And there are Mr Linky's Magic Widgets as well. :D
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Multicultural Festival 2014
As of this moment, right now, the girlchildren have missed several days of school due to weather conditions in our area. In this state, as in most, they are required to make up a certain number of days that they have missed if the school has not already built them into their calendar. Our school had built 2 days into their existing calendar, and they used those up before the year had even rolled over. (I say 'our school' instead of 'the district' because my girls go to a small, private school that is thru our church. So, they are not funded by the district and do not operate on the same schedule as the local public schools do.)
The good news is that the school board met and decided to work the make up days into the regular year, as opposed to extending the year so that they go longer. When they do that it means that we get to have 'dress down' make up days (normally it's all uniforms all the time), and they get to be FUN for everyone days (think field trips and stuff like that).
Their first make up day was assigned as attending the Multicultural Festival 2014 in our local area. It was 4 hours of performances and vendors and fun that we all got to enjoy together as a family. It started at noon with the first performance hitting the stage at 12:15. We got there about 11:50 so we had plenty of time to find seats.
The first performance was a group from a studio that teaches Middle Eastern dance. I tried to take pictures of them, but they ended up being all blurry and out of focus. So, no visual. Sorry. It was interesting to watch them because, while it was similar to belly dancing, it was completely different all at the same time. They used a lot of scarves and were in full length dresses (unlike the belly dancers we watched later, who were in traditional belly dance costumes).
Next, we watched the Falcon family perform traditional Indian dances from several different tribes in the upper Midwest.
This was the family's last year at the festival because they had decided to move back home to the reservation where their relatives currently live so that they can teach their children about the culture and their kids can grow up around their family. We were really glad that we got to see them before they left, because it was awesome to watch them perform. They explained their outfits and the different parts of the dance. Then, at the end, they brought anyone that wanted to go up onstage so that everyone could dance a round dance together. I couldn't have paid the girls enough to get on that stage.
After that were students from a Korean performance school in the area.
These girls were doing what they called a 'drum dance'.
This boy played the Korean harp. This was probably my favorite performance of the festival. He was probably only about 10 or 11 years old, but he played this massive instrument so amazingly well. It was a beautiful song, and I loved it.
And the girls that did the drum dance also performed a traditional fan dance. This was beautiful. I tried to get a picture of the dancers in a circle with their fans, but they were moving to fast and they just came out blurry.
At this point, the batteries in my camera were showing that they were getting low. So the rest of the dancing pictures turned out terribly blurry and not worth posting. The list of performances we watched after the one's posted above were Irish dancing and clogging (by the same studio), belly dancing, a contemporary music group, and a chamber string ensemble. We tried to make it in to watch the children's opera group, but they must have performed before we made it there. Because they shut down the stage before the designated time that they were supposed to be on. And we showed up at the time the program said they were supposed to perform.
This made the youngest girlchild extremely sad. She sooooo wanted to see them sing. We had to visit the balloon animal lady to make up for it.
Needless to say, everyone left happy. :D
All in all, it was a pretty good day of family time spent learning about other cultures and seeing some of their traditional costumes and dances. I didn't get to go to last year's Indian Pow Wow with the girls, so I'm glad that we got to spend the day together and am looking forward to doing more things with my amazing girls in the future.
The good news is that the school board met and decided to work the make up days into the regular year, as opposed to extending the year so that they go longer. When they do that it means that we get to have 'dress down' make up days (normally it's all uniforms all the time), and they get to be FUN for everyone days (think field trips and stuff like that).
Their first make up day was assigned as attending the Multicultural Festival 2014 in our local area. It was 4 hours of performances and vendors and fun that we all got to enjoy together as a family. It started at noon with the first performance hitting the stage at 12:15. We got there about 11:50 so we had plenty of time to find seats.
The first performance was a group from a studio that teaches Middle Eastern dance. I tried to take pictures of them, but they ended up being all blurry and out of focus. So, no visual. Sorry. It was interesting to watch them because, while it was similar to belly dancing, it was completely different all at the same time. They used a lot of scarves and were in full length dresses (unlike the belly dancers we watched later, who were in traditional belly dance costumes).
Next, we watched the Falcon family perform traditional Indian dances from several different tribes in the upper Midwest.
This was the family's last year at the festival because they had decided to move back home to the reservation where their relatives currently live so that they can teach their children about the culture and their kids can grow up around their family. We were really glad that we got to see them before they left, because it was awesome to watch them perform. They explained their outfits and the different parts of the dance. Then, at the end, they brought anyone that wanted to go up onstage so that everyone could dance a round dance together. I couldn't have paid the girls enough to get on that stage.
After that were students from a Korean performance school in the area.
These girls were doing what they called a 'drum dance'.
This boy played the Korean harp. This was probably my favorite performance of the festival. He was probably only about 10 or 11 years old, but he played this massive instrument so amazingly well. It was a beautiful song, and I loved it.
And the girls that did the drum dance also performed a traditional fan dance. This was beautiful. I tried to get a picture of the dancers in a circle with their fans, but they were moving to fast and they just came out blurry.
At this point, the batteries in my camera were showing that they were getting low. So the rest of the dancing pictures turned out terribly blurry and not worth posting. The list of performances we watched after the one's posted above were Irish dancing and clogging (by the same studio), belly dancing, a contemporary music group, and a chamber string ensemble. We tried to make it in to watch the children's opera group, but they must have performed before we made it there. Because they shut down the stage before the designated time that they were supposed to be on. And we showed up at the time the program said they were supposed to perform.
This made the youngest girlchild extremely sad. She sooooo wanted to see them sing. We had to visit the balloon animal lady to make up for it.
Needless to say, everyone left happy. :D
All in all, it was a pretty good day of family time spent learning about other cultures and seeing some of their traditional costumes and dances. I didn't get to go to last year's Indian Pow Wow with the girls, so I'm glad that we got to spend the day together and am looking forward to doing more things with my amazing girls in the future.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #1
Last time I mentioned that I had decided to participate in the 50 Canvases in 2014 challenge over at Wonderstrange. I actually have a bunch of canvas paper and canvas boards and a couple of stretched canvases lying around just waiting to be painted on. So this challenge is actually perfect.
I just finished up the first of the 50 and I really like it. It even has the 3 stencils that Sarah gave as a challenge (Although you really can't see them. Other than the bubbles.) I did purposely cover one of them up completely because I HATED it that much. LOL The canvas itself was a stretch for me as it is larger than anything I've ever painted (11" X 14") before. Not only that, but the fact that I haven't painted more than just a couple of things in about 3 years made it a bit difficult (I'm sure that someone else would have breezed right thru and done a much better job, but this is my adventure. I'm going with it.) At one point, the oldest girlchild told me it looked like a 'cute ChibiSealMonkey'. Whatever that is. And I'm pretty sure I've heard enough "But where are her arms?", or some variation of that phrase, to last me a lifetime (I suck at arms. She's armless. I'm okay with that. It's my painting and I'll paint them if I want to. Which, I don't.)
Anyway, first one done. On to the next thing.
Again, the picture is not the greatest, but it's there. I say her expression looks sad, everyone else says it's probably 'cuz she has no arms. Whatever.
Next week the canvas is going to be much, much smaller. And the painting will be much, much differenter (What?!??! It's a word. I just said it. That makes it a word.)
Should anyone decide they want to join in, you are more than welcome to. Check out the challenge for details (and an awesome video by Sarah) and just jump right in. No worries, no pressure. :D
I just finished up the first of the 50 and I really like it. It even has the 3 stencils that Sarah gave as a challenge (Although you really can't see them. Other than the bubbles.) I did purposely cover one of them up completely because I HATED it that much. LOL The canvas itself was a stretch for me as it is larger than anything I've ever painted (11" X 14") before. Not only that, but the fact that I haven't painted more than just a couple of things in about 3 years made it a bit difficult (I'm sure that someone else would have breezed right thru and done a much better job, but this is my adventure. I'm going with it.) At one point, the oldest girlchild told me it looked like a 'cute ChibiSealMonkey'. Whatever that is. And I'm pretty sure I've heard enough "But where are her arms?", or some variation of that phrase, to last me a lifetime (I suck at arms. She's armless. I'm okay with that. It's my painting and I'll paint them if I want to. Which, I don't.)
Anyway, first one done. On to the next thing.
Again, the picture is not the greatest, but it's there. I say her expression looks sad, everyone else says it's probably 'cuz she has no arms. Whatever.
Next week the canvas is going to be much, much smaller. And the painting will be much, much differenter (What?!??! It's a word. I just said it. That makes it a word.)
Should anyone decide they want to join in, you are more than welcome to. Check out the challenge for details (and an awesome video by Sarah) and just jump right in. No worries, no pressure. :D
Friday, January 10, 2014
Patience Grasshopper
Oddly enough, I have actually been doing stuff. In fact, I have been really busy. I've been making plans and working on projects and getting things started.
So why does it feel like I am not accomplishing much of anything?
I think that everyone feels this way at some point in time. I have this huge list of things that I have planned out for my year, some projects will literally take the entire year to adventure thru, and I am working on several different things as we speak. I want to see the results of my planning and my working, but they are just not there yet. I am finding that sometimes adventuring requires patience. LOL
One of the year long projects I'm working on that I'm pretty dang excited about is 50 Canvases in 2014 For those of you that suck at math (like me :D) it breaks down to roughly 1 complete painting per week. Which is a fairly big deal for me 'cuz I haven't really painted a whole lot in the past several years and I have serious issues with commitment, so we'll see how it goes.
Also, because I totally love the women of Wonderstrange, I am going to attempt The Anti-Journal with Sarah. Again, not being a commitment oriented kind of person, I'm a little apprehensive about it. I am, however, totally committed to throwing myself into it 1000% and crashing and burning if that is what occurs. Hurray for the adventure!
I thought I might join in on the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 edition but I'm not really talented in the drawing department. Perhaps if I am either really bored or really desperate I might start. Rest assured that, if I do officially add that to my plate, I will not be subjecting anyone's eyes to the trauma of viewing my doodles. LOL
I'm also signed up for a heART swap for Valentines over at MotherHenna. I've participated in artist collaborations over there before and they are so much fun. I actually have my 20 cards nearly finished and will be blogging about them shortly. I am super excited to see what the other participants have come up with. I really miss exchanging art with others, and it has been really fun to create something with heART.
On the non-art side of things (well, I guess it's still art, just a different type LOL), I am participating in Kids Clothes Week Jan 27th thru Feb 3rd. I know that it is supposed to be for the Winter session, but the girlchildren are not in need of any Winter clothing at this time. So, I'm going to sew for Spring/Summer because that is what they need. The youngest girlchild will likely end up with the majority of the items because she is the one that needs the most. The oldest will get some stuff, but not nearly as much because her closet is cram packed already.
I've also set myself up with the goal of sewing thru (or selling/giving away) a minimum of 200 yards of fabric this year. While it may seem like a ridiculously astronomical amount of fabric, I can assure you that I have plenty in my stash to complete that goal (and then some.) Every year I say that I want to sew more and I want to get my fabric under control (I'll post a picture of my stash later for reference). But I never manage to actually do it. I sew and I sew and I sew, but I also buy and I buy and I buy. So, less buying, more sewing (not no buying because that would just be too much to deal with. LOL)
There is also an 'UpCycle' contest over at SewingMamas that I have tentatively signed up for. I have no idea what I will be making for that, but it is due the 29th. I need to figure it out quickly so I can get started and finished and submitted. Especially with everything else that I'm already doing.
Then there's the list of books I want to read and recipes I want to try and a couple of other things that I am still fleshing out.
So, I have been busy. I'm not getting much completed, but I am working my ass off. And it actually feels pretty good. I think I kinda like it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I do.
So why does it feel like I am not accomplishing much of anything?
I think that everyone feels this way at some point in time. I have this huge list of things that I have planned out for my year, some projects will literally take the entire year to adventure thru, and I am working on several different things as we speak. I want to see the results of my planning and my working, but they are just not there yet. I am finding that sometimes adventuring requires patience. LOL
One of the year long projects I'm working on that I'm pretty dang excited about is 50 Canvases in 2014 For those of you that suck at math (like me :D) it breaks down to roughly 1 complete painting per week. Which is a fairly big deal for me 'cuz I haven't really painted a whole lot in the past several years and I have serious issues with commitment, so we'll see how it goes.
Also, because I totally love the women of Wonderstrange, I am going to attempt The Anti-Journal with Sarah. Again, not being a commitment oriented kind of person, I'm a little apprehensive about it. I am, however, totally committed to throwing myself into it 1000% and crashing and burning if that is what occurs. Hurray for the adventure!
I thought I might join in on the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 edition but I'm not really talented in the drawing department. Perhaps if I am either really bored or really desperate I might start. Rest assured that, if I do officially add that to my plate, I will not be subjecting anyone's eyes to the trauma of viewing my doodles. LOL
I'm also signed up for a heART swap for Valentines over at MotherHenna. I've participated in artist collaborations over there before and they are so much fun. I actually have my 20 cards nearly finished and will be blogging about them shortly. I am super excited to see what the other participants have come up with. I really miss exchanging art with others, and it has been really fun to create something with heART.
On the non-art side of things (well, I guess it's still art, just a different type LOL), I am participating in Kids Clothes Week Jan 27th thru Feb 3rd. I know that it is supposed to be for the Winter session, but the girlchildren are not in need of any Winter clothing at this time. So, I'm going to sew for Spring/Summer because that is what they need. The youngest girlchild will likely end up with the majority of the items because she is the one that needs the most. The oldest will get some stuff, but not nearly as much because her closet is cram packed already.
I've also set myself up with the goal of sewing thru (or selling/giving away) a minimum of 200 yards of fabric this year. While it may seem like a ridiculously astronomical amount of fabric, I can assure you that I have plenty in my stash to complete that goal (and then some.) Every year I say that I want to sew more and I want to get my fabric under control (I'll post a picture of my stash later for reference). But I never manage to actually do it. I sew and I sew and I sew, but I also buy and I buy and I buy. So, less buying, more sewing (not no buying because that would just be too much to deal with. LOL)
There is also an 'UpCycle' contest over at SewingMamas that I have tentatively signed up for. I have no idea what I will be making for that, but it is due the 29th. I need to figure it out quickly so I can get started and finished and submitted. Especially with everything else that I'm already doing.
Then there's the list of books I want to read and recipes I want to try and a couple of other things that I am still fleshing out.
So, I have been busy. I'm not getting much completed, but I am working my ass off. And it actually feels pretty good. I think I kinda like it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I do.
Friday, January 3, 2014
I Have LOFTY Goals
Today was an interesting day. It didn't start out quite the way I had planned (we overslept). And the plans that I did have for the day didn't get accomplished. However, something else wonderful did. :D
First things first though, it occurs to me that everyone has a different idea of just what 'adventure' means to them. For some, it involves travel. While for others, it involves risk in the extreme. For the purpose of my year, 'adventure' is just going to be anything that opens our minds to new things and allows us to truly embrace what we experience. Yes, there will likely be some travel, and possibly some risks taken, but we are embracing our lives as if we are living our greatest adventure this year. That's our goal in a nutshell. I may have said this before, but I want to make it extra clear. SO, if this is redundant, oh well. LOL
The day started kinda slow because, like I said, we overslept. And I had planned to take the girls to the library and do a couple of other things while we were out, but we were way behind and I am still not feeling 100% due to a recent medical procedure (let me tell you just how disinclined I feel about embracing adventure right now because of this right here LOL) But we were going to power thru and just go later, until I went next door for breakfast (my best friend lives next door and sometimes I like to go over and talk and eat breakfast.)
A bit of backstory, on Christmas day, a friend called me to see if I wanted to go thru her girlfriend's mother's old sewing patterns. The mother was cleaning out her basement and just wanted them gone, so my friend was bringing them home with her. Of course I said yes, 'cuz I can always use more sewing stuff. LOL Well, today she contacted my best friend to see if it would be a good day for her to bring the patterns over for me/us to go thru them. And I said sure, why not?
There were boxes and boxes of these vintage patterns from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. There were quilting magazines and hot iron transfers and tons of patterns. We went thru them one by one, laughing at the ridiculousness of some of them, and separating them. I didn't actually find that many that I could/would use, but it was nice to go thru them and look at them and just to see what was there.
Among the ones that I did choose to keep is a vintage pattern from 1969 (Simplicity 8147) that I am going to alter to fit me. The alteration is going to actually end up being a full pattern draft because the pattern is a single size that is much to small for me. Yes, I know that it would be easier to just shell out the money to buy one in my size. However, that would defeat the purpose of the adventure. :D I will, of course, be posting an update of how that goes at a later time.
I'm also borrowing a set of vintage hot iron transfers from around the same time period (I can't find a photo online, but it is a Laura Wheeler set, design 413, for Old Fashioned Cars.) The set is meant to be used for making a quilt where the pictures are transferred onto 9" x 9" quilt blocks and then the designs are embroidered by hand. You are supposed to make 24 of the embroidered blocks (2 of each design) and then assemble them into a full quilt with the finished dimensions of 63" x 91". Now, I am not a quilter. I never claimed to be. But, I believe that my dad will really like the designs and I imagine that I can make one of these block pieces every month so that it would be done by Christmas this year. So, that is my goal. 1 block a month, finished half quilt for dad for the holiday. Adventure's away!
While I was next door we also plotted some travel plans for later on this year. And I am awfully excited about them. However, that too is a tale for a different day. :D
If I had to pin down one thing that I feel was being pointed out to me today it would be the fact that I need to have a spirit of recognition for the many different ways 'adventure' presents itself to me. And, once recognized, I need to learn to embrace it however it comes. I'm pretty sure I accomplished that today, and will continue to endeavor to do so in the future. Because I'm determined not to miss out on a single awesome thing that happens in my life from this point forward. I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to.
First things first though, it occurs to me that everyone has a different idea of just what 'adventure' means to them. For some, it involves travel. While for others, it involves risk in the extreme. For the purpose of my year, 'adventure' is just going to be anything that opens our minds to new things and allows us to truly embrace what we experience. Yes, there will likely be some travel, and possibly some risks taken, but we are embracing our lives as if we are living our greatest adventure this year. That's our goal in a nutshell. I may have said this before, but I want to make it extra clear. SO, if this is redundant, oh well. LOL
The day started kinda slow because, like I said, we overslept. And I had planned to take the girls to the library and do a couple of other things while we were out, but we were way behind and I am still not feeling 100% due to a recent medical procedure (let me tell you just how disinclined I feel about embracing adventure right now because of this right here LOL) But we were going to power thru and just go later, until I went next door for breakfast (my best friend lives next door and sometimes I like to go over and talk and eat breakfast.)
A bit of backstory, on Christmas day, a friend called me to see if I wanted to go thru her girlfriend's mother's old sewing patterns. The mother was cleaning out her basement and just wanted them gone, so my friend was bringing them home with her. Of course I said yes, 'cuz I can always use more sewing stuff. LOL Well, today she contacted my best friend to see if it would be a good day for her to bring the patterns over for me/us to go thru them. And I said sure, why not?
There were boxes and boxes of these vintage patterns from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. There were quilting magazines and hot iron transfers and tons of patterns. We went thru them one by one, laughing at the ridiculousness of some of them, and separating them. I didn't actually find that many that I could/would use, but it was nice to go thru them and look at them and just to see what was there.
Among the ones that I did choose to keep is a vintage pattern from 1969 (Simplicity 8147) that I am going to alter to fit me. The alteration is going to actually end up being a full pattern draft because the pattern is a single size that is much to small for me. Yes, I know that it would be easier to just shell out the money to buy one in my size. However, that would defeat the purpose of the adventure. :D I will, of course, be posting an update of how that goes at a later time.
I'm also borrowing a set of vintage hot iron transfers from around the same time period (I can't find a photo online, but it is a Laura Wheeler set, design 413, for Old Fashioned Cars.) The set is meant to be used for making a quilt where the pictures are transferred onto 9" x 9" quilt blocks and then the designs are embroidered by hand. You are supposed to make 24 of the embroidered blocks (2 of each design) and then assemble them into a full quilt with the finished dimensions of 63" x 91". Now, I am not a quilter. I never claimed to be. But, I believe that my dad will really like the designs and I imagine that I can make one of these block pieces every month so that it would be done by Christmas this year. So, that is my goal. 1 block a month, finished half quilt for dad for the holiday. Adventure's away!
While I was next door we also plotted some travel plans for later on this year. And I am awfully excited about them. However, that too is a tale for a different day. :D
If I had to pin down one thing that I feel was being pointed out to me today it would be the fact that I need to have a spirit of recognition for the many different ways 'adventure' presents itself to me. And, once recognized, I need to learn to embrace it however it comes. I'm pretty sure I accomplished that today, and will continue to endeavor to do so in the future. Because I'm determined not to miss out on a single awesome thing that happens in my life from this point forward. I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Breaking Out of the Box
Today was the beginning of a wonderfully amazing year for us. We (all of us) committed ourselves to living our lives to the fullest this year and exploring everything that Adventure may bring our way, and we began that journey today.
The girlchildren and I opted to spend our holiday time this morning volunteering in our community to assist with feeding those less fortunate at a brunch that was served by one of the organizations in our area. (I was unsure what the policies were for photographs being taken, so I didn't bring the camera with me to take any pics at the actual site. Sorry! :D )
In spite of the fact that they rang in the New Year and were up until Midnight, the girlchildren were surprisingly easy to wake up this morning. They rolled out of bed with minimal grumbling, ate their breakfast, and were ready to leave when it was time.
A lovely before shot of all of us. Messy hair, sleepy faces, and ready to get to it. (It was too early and I was too tired for makeup. LOL)
When we arrived at our destination, the organizers handed us some aprons and we got right to work. It amazed me how kind everyone was - the other volunteers, the people we were serving, everyone. I was also struck by the honest appreciation that these people had for what we were doing for them. They were thankful and gracious and their smiles were genuine. I think that is something that I miss in my every day life - honesty and gratitude. Not many people truly exhibit those traits these days.
I had a chance to talk to someone that I'm guessing was some kind of 'manager' (he was coordinating the food and making sure that everyone that came thru the door was assisted as soon as the walked in). He said that everyone that actually worked there (the exception being us volunteers) came from a situation not much different from the people they were working to serve, including himself. The kitchen was staffed with men who were either (or had been) homeless, had been released from prison, or were trying to get back to a functioning life after rehab. The men were actually participants of a training program that teaches them a marketable skill so that they can get job training and learn how to work with others in that setting. They go to culinary classes to learn how to cook, and they work in that foodservice setting to learn the ins and outs of a restaurant.
I was pretty impressed by the way that these men responded to having something positive in their lives. The pride in their faces as they brought meals to people that came from a world that these men understood all to well was just such a wonderful thing to behold.
I think that one of the absolute highlights of the morning for me, and there were many, was watching one of the men from the kitchen bring out a plate of sautéed vegetables with sauce for one of the volunteers so that they could have breakfast too. She was a vegetarian (like me :D ) and hadn't had a chance to eat before she came. There were slim pickins for her out of the food that we had been serving (The only vegetable dish that was served was a mixture of split peas and white beans and it was already gone.) so she was just going to opt not to eat anything. When the men in the kitchen found out her situation, they decided to make her a plate of veggies so she could have some breakfast too. It was just the nicest thing, and they were so glad to do it for her. And she was so genuinely happy to have it.
It seemed as though our experience there was over all too soon. Before we were ready for it, it was time for cleaning up and saying goodbye. I do not doubt that it is something that we will be more that happy to repeat in the coming year, and likely for a lifetime.
The girlchildren came home with a sense of accomplishment. They understand that they were a part of something greater than themselves this morning. They understand that there is a calling to help our fellow man, and they are more that willing to do it. It boosted our sense of adventure and I believe it was the perfect way to start the day (and the year). All in all, we experienced adventure in a new way today, and we found it to be good. What more can you ask for?
The girlchildren and I opted to spend our holiday time this morning volunteering in our community to assist with feeding those less fortunate at a brunch that was served by one of the organizations in our area. (I was unsure what the policies were for photographs being taken, so I didn't bring the camera with me to take any pics at the actual site. Sorry! :D )
In spite of the fact that they rang in the New Year and were up until Midnight, the girlchildren were surprisingly easy to wake up this morning. They rolled out of bed with minimal grumbling, ate their breakfast, and were ready to leave when it was time.
A lovely before shot of all of us. Messy hair, sleepy faces, and ready to get to it. (It was too early and I was too tired for makeup. LOL)
When we arrived at our destination, the organizers handed us some aprons and we got right to work. It amazed me how kind everyone was - the other volunteers, the people we were serving, everyone. I was also struck by the honest appreciation that these people had for what we were doing for them. They were thankful and gracious and their smiles were genuine. I think that is something that I miss in my every day life - honesty and gratitude. Not many people truly exhibit those traits these days.
I had a chance to talk to someone that I'm guessing was some kind of 'manager' (he was coordinating the food and making sure that everyone that came thru the door was assisted as soon as the walked in). He said that everyone that actually worked there (the exception being us volunteers) came from a situation not much different from the people they were working to serve, including himself. The kitchen was staffed with men who were either (or had been) homeless, had been released from prison, or were trying to get back to a functioning life after rehab. The men were actually participants of a training program that teaches them a marketable skill so that they can get job training and learn how to work with others in that setting. They go to culinary classes to learn how to cook, and they work in that foodservice setting to learn the ins and outs of a restaurant.
I was pretty impressed by the way that these men responded to having something positive in their lives. The pride in their faces as they brought meals to people that came from a world that these men understood all to well was just such a wonderful thing to behold.
I think that one of the absolute highlights of the morning for me, and there were many, was watching one of the men from the kitchen bring out a plate of sautéed vegetables with sauce for one of the volunteers so that they could have breakfast too. She was a vegetarian (like me :D ) and hadn't had a chance to eat before she came. There were slim pickins for her out of the food that we had been serving (The only vegetable dish that was served was a mixture of split peas and white beans and it was already gone.) so she was just going to opt not to eat anything. When the men in the kitchen found out her situation, they decided to make her a plate of veggies so she could have some breakfast too. It was just the nicest thing, and they were so glad to do it for her. And she was so genuinely happy to have it.
It seemed as though our experience there was over all too soon. Before we were ready for it, it was time for cleaning up and saying goodbye. I do not doubt that it is something that we will be more that happy to repeat in the coming year, and likely for a lifetime.
The girlchildren came home with a sense of accomplishment. They understand that they were a part of something greater than themselves this morning. They understand that there is a calling to help our fellow man, and they are more that willing to do it. It boosted our sense of adventure and I believe it was the perfect way to start the day (and the year). All in all, we experienced adventure in a new way today, and we found it to be good. What more can you ask for?
Word of the Year 2014 and Blogging with Purpose
About a week ago, I acknowledged my Word of the Year for 2014 as being Adventure and decided to commit myself (and my girlchildren) to living out the next year embodying all that that word brings into our lives. It is not going to be the easiest thing in the world for us because we are not adventurous by nature and tend to live our lives by a set of routine ‘rules’ so to speak. But we are willing to embrace the newness that is the coming year and live out that time to the fullest of our adventurous potential. And I shall blog about it, here. :D
Adventure can mean a lot of different things to different people. Simply put it is an exciting or unusual experience. It may also be a bold, usually risky, undertaking with an uncertain outcome. A lot of times people think that adventure solely implies travel or going new places. But, to me, adventure just means experiencing new things and embracing them to the fullest potential of your spirit. And maybe some travel as well. ;)
So, stay tuned in 2014 to follow us on our year of adventure. There will be lots of postings and pics too. We’re excited to start 2014 right, so our adventure begins bright and early tomorrow morning. See you then!!
Adventure can mean a lot of different things to different people. Simply put it is an exciting or unusual experience. It may also be a bold, usually risky, undertaking with an uncertain outcome. A lot of times people think that adventure solely implies travel or going new places. But, to me, adventure just means experiencing new things and embracing them to the fullest potential of your spirit. And maybe some travel as well. ;)
So, stay tuned in 2014 to follow us on our year of adventure. There will be lots of postings and pics too. We’re excited to start 2014 right, so our adventure begins bright and early tomorrow morning. See you then!!
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