Finally... Word for 2019

Last year I thought about the word LEARNING but that didn't seem to fully encompass what I wanted for this year. So, in my usual fashion, I let it drift until something better found me.

Then I went to Japan (check my INSTAGRAM for those photos since I didn't manage to write any blogs about that trip), came back, was sick for most of February (bronchitis from Japan, then a crazy upset of GERD and asthma problems which sort of sucked the life out of me for a couple of weeks). Recovering now and have been thinking about this word thing...

And the one that I throw out and keeps coming back is... EXPLORE.

I went to Japan in January to explore doing indigo and shibori dyeing on Shikoku as well as to go to the big International Quilt Show. Upon my return I have been exploring how to do some things in/with my life, including getting back to some massive clean ups and the old WTF am I doing with myself in retirement. It will be 5 years in May now!

And then I see posts from new places to check out in my area and I just want to go there... so it just seemed a fait accompli that my word for the year would be EXPLORE.

And the flowers? One of my intentions for this year is to get back to my garden. Andy has the veggies and herbs part pretty taken care of, but I need more flowers in my life. So we went to Green Acres the other day and got some flowers... and now it has not stopped raining enough to get anything planted! Stay tuned for this one...

Enough already! Sit down and sew...

Let's face it. I have a ton of fabric! Quilting fabric, garment sewing fabric, weird "what can I do with this?" fabric... I got fabric!! And I have been lazy in this summer hear (well ok, I'm always lazy, just using summer heat as my excuse) and haven't been keeping to the #MakeNine plan. I have only made 2 pieces of clothing and 5 other (computer bags for my sister and BIL and 2 vinyl front bags for my niece and nephew, shopping bag for my cousin) this year. Not sure if I ever posted pics of the bags so here they are...

So I woke up this morning with renewed sewing energy. Cleared off my desk first so I could type this and now will go clear off my rather messy cutting table and get to picking out a pattern! Oy! I do have a fair number of patterns to choose from but I want to make a light summery top I think first. Off to brave the mess...

End of 2016 and the word of the year for 2017...

For many 2016 was not a good year because of events that happened externally. With all the negative posts online (by others) about this tumultuous year, I decided to see what had been good about it for me and attempt to find a smooth way to transition into the New Year.

What I did that I am happy about in 2016:

• We made a little progress in the house: living room bookshelves, second fridge, new bed. I also purged some of the clothes I don't wear (although I think I still have a lot of clothes, probably need to do it again next year). I did more with the bookshelves, purging a lot of my old books that do not serve me anymore and donating them to the library for the Friends of the Library sales. 
• I was fairly steady in my yoga practice this year, getting more consistent as the year wore on.
• Rearranged my sewing room to make it more efficient for me for when I eventually sew more (see below LOL).
• Stayed in relative good health for the year. I seem to have weathered a health situation that may get worse in the future but for now, I am healthy. 
• I was more aware of staying positive and being grateful for situations and things. For example, when our old washing machine died as I started a load, I was grateful that I had the means to just go out and get a new one. And I think what helps me is when I share my gratitude about things, either out loud or online (here or FB mostly).

What could still use improvement from 2016: (just noticing, not getting down on myself cause we all know how that doesn't work!)

• Well I do still have a mountain of fabric that I could have been sewing on. Luckily fabric doesn't spoil and I can carry that over to 2017.
• There is still a ton more work to do in the house to make it comfy and so that I can feel like it is a home to be able to invite friends over to. I think my immediate goals now that the bedroom stuff is redone has to be the living room. We both still have a lot of stuff to go through. 
• I got lazy about my better eating habits towards the end part of 2016 and ate more breads and sugar sweets than I might have liked. That too is easily fixed in the new year.
• My walking plan sort of petered out. Time to get that started up again for 2017. Where IS that Fitbit I wonder?
• Not as many blog posts happened last year as I had intended. I want to use this blog in the coming year to log some of my own personal growth and achievements. I saw a blog post once with the title something like "What if you write a blog and no one reads it?" Well, for me, that is just fine. I am writing for myself and if someone else happens to read it along the way, all the better. 
• I sort of forgot my word for the year for 2016 (BE) and my CDF's (core desired feelings). Around November I remembered them again and decided I would find a way in the new year to integrate them more into my life on a consistent basis.

So this brings me to what my word for 2017 will be. Last post I wrote of some suggestions and why I might choose them. I decided as much as I did want to look outward for many things this coming year (volunteering or making things for donations), I still needed to be a bit introspective as well... so the word I chose is:

                               COMPASSION

Compassion is a great word for what I have been feeling. I can look outward and help others/be compassionate towards others, and yet I can still show compassion for myself and make the things I am working on for myself happen without being mean or negative towards myself.

Intentions, not resolutions. I stopped making New Year's Resolutions years ago. Instead I went towards what my Intentions for the new year would be. Then I stumbled upon the Core Desired Feelings and that resonated with me even more.

Core Desired Feelings. According to Danielle LaPorte, the core desired feelings (CDFs) are how you want to feel in these 5 categories:  Livelihood & Lifestyle, Creativity & Learning, Body & Wellness, Relationships & Society, and Essence & Spirituality.

As for my CDF's, I kept a few from last year and changed some. Mine for 2017 are:

• uncluttered
• open
• mindful (intentional)
• helpful
• connected

Today I will be working my way into the new year with a 2 hour yin yoga session at Shala Yoga. I still attend It's All Yoga and consider it to be my "home" studio, but I am finding some other teachers in other studios as well who lead classes in the slow, more introspective styles of yoga that I enjoy. For a while I fought going to any other studio, wondering if it was disloyal or whatever, then after some thought realized that it was just fine. Finding classes that work for me in my yogic pursuits are a good thing. And once I opened to that thinking, I think I was more accepting to finding my own yoga path and helping myself grow in whatever ways served me.

Word for the Year... 2016

I had been thinking a lot about my Word for the Year lately... and even chosen one I thought might be good for it (play) and then in yoga class the last day of 2015 another word came to me that has taken a stronger hold in me.... BE.








The more I thought about it the stronger the word became. So many things have been pulling on me lately (who am I now that I am retired, what do I want to do with my life now, how can I make new habits that would make my life more of what I want it to be, etc)... and though all of it a simple breath and the one word just comes though... just BE. The rest will take care of itself.

So along with this came thoughts of what this new year's CDF's (core desired feelings a la Danielle LaPorte) would be. Last year my words were unencumbered, aligned, vibrant, connected, and mindful. I decided to rework a couple of last  year's words and add a couple of new ones. So for this year my core desired feelings are:

UNCLUTTERED: Still working on the unencumbered, decluttering thing and hoping to muster more energy towards it this coming year.
MINDFUL: I liked this one from last year and want to continue feeling it.
PLAYFUL: Incorporating the idea of play, I want this year to be full of movement (yoga, dance) and just more fun play!
COLORFUL: Feeling the pull to get back to art and sewing, wanting to incorporate more color into my life.
GRATEFUL: An extension of working on this in December (thanks mostly to the Facebook Gratitude group) I do feel grateful for so many things in my life. It seems like a good thing to continue recognizing what they are.

So with that I wish anyone who happens to stop by a joyous and wonderful 2016! Thank you for being a part of this chapter in my life.

Time to get going on this...

Been wasting time with computer games and avoiding all the projects I have in front of me for the last few weeks... just wanted to get some reminders down for myself here so I would have to make more of a commitment to myself to do them!

But here is what is going on -- 

1. The purple and green lilacs fabrics will now be a table runner per my sister's request rather than a lap quilt. 

2. I have decided to move my sewing area back into my art/crafts room. I have not been doing a lot of paper arts lately and I am tired of not having a table to eat dinner on (it is covered with sewing stuff). So I will start this project this weekend  -- step one is to clear off the messy table in my art room!

3. I want to make some lavender eye pillows for yoga class. I have one but to me it is too heavy, so I wanted to make a lighter one. 

4. I bought a new sewing machine! It's a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 960Q. But I don't have it yet! I got it right before a big Viking trade show and the order just went in last Friday so maybe another week or so. Photos when I get it! It is a top of the line machine (for me) and has twice as large of a neck/throat than my little Baby Lock Grace. This should help a lot when free-motion quilting. Which leads me to my next item...

5. I am going to start on what I have been calling my Japanese taupe quilt. I am not sure it really follows the ideas of that style, but it is various shades of taupe and has some Japanese fabrics so, good enough for me! I may even try a few of the more complicated blocks from my Japanese taupe quilt designs books.

Turning 63...

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
-- Seneca

So I just turned 63 today and from my presents it looks like I will be riding my bicycle and learning to play the ukulele... hopefully not at the same time!

I am not sure which is the bigger challenge actually! LOL   Either way, it will be a fun year!

A quiet anniversary passed...

The other day marked the anniversary of my retirement. One whole year already! Where did the time go?

And now time to start thinking about my second year of retirement... a few new things happening, some same old stuff happening and the wish -- or dream -- of some other things happening finally. Lemme 'splain...

I'll start with the old stuff cause it is easier to list (and yet apparently harder to do):
1. My house is still a mess. I thought by now it would be decluttered and more organized and cleaned up. Still working on that one.
2. My garden is growing great, although now with the more severe watering restrictions it is going to be harder to keep things growing. But we have been eating from it already so that is a good thing!
Some of the things we are eating lately...

Beans:

Beet greens:

Radishes:

And several zucchini and yellow squashes. The tomatoes are starting to get bigger and the little ones are starting to turn red. One of these days I need to go out and take some updated photos of everything that is surviving the awful heat that has come upon us in a rush.

For the new, I guess the biggest is the decision to take yoga to the next level. I signed up for teacher training at It's All Yoga. Not primarily to teach but to expand yoga for myself and see where this journey leads me. I have heard it changes you... I look forward to seeing how. I will write more of this decision later and through the process which starts on August 1.

For the wish/dream of other things happening... I am still trying to figure out what I am meant to be doing in my retirement. I read a lot of blogs and most people said it might take a year or two (or more) to figure it all out and that is fine with me.  I am finding my days pretty full as it is doing stuff out in the garden, catching up on a ton of blogs and other online stuff I had been neglecting, visiting with friends (retired teacher friends and others -- love to go out to lunch!), reading, and actually for a while doing nothing. I know the doing nothing part will wear off but it is fun for a while. I do a little volunteer work at the Food Bank and will be doing some with Women's Wisdom Art, and I had been talking to my local librarian about working with a "reading to seniors" program similar to one I used to do in San Francisco probably 35 years ago and there isn't one here. She said I should start one. I don't think I want that much responsibility.

Some things I am still thinking about doing:

• I think I still want to learn to play a musical instrument like the ukulele or fiddle. Or maybe just relearn how to play my guitar.
• I want to start folk dancing again. I just have to get off my butt and go. I tend towards the lazy especially at night.
• I want to get back to doing some art and quilting. I still have a mountain of fabrics to work my way through!
• I want to learn more about preserving and fermenting foods. I have gotten some books and will take a workshop here and there. Mostly I want all my fruits and veggies to be so plentiful I can start! Maybe I will practice on store-bought for now to get the processes down.
• And generally I want to be more self-reliant on my own resources for food and living. That includes growing, preserving, making foods that I don't make these days but know how to and love (like my own pasta and breads). That means sewing my own clothing and finally settling into my own more free-form style now that I don't have to dress for anyone else's benefit. And writing more, about all this and anything that crosses my mind.

I may have some busy days ahead!

New art journal...

I cannot find my current art journal (which I had only started at the end of last year I think and had not really done much in). I happened to have another Canson Journal with that lovely thicker cream colored paper so I just decided to start over. I was in the mood to work in an art journal and I wasn't going to let the fact that I couldn't find mine stop me!

THIS is the journal I usually use -- it has always been my favorite.  You can find them at most art stores or online, this is just where I got mine last. They used to be called Field Drawing Book now they are called Art Book. Either way, I have been using the 7"x10" for my art journals since I started art journaling in 2004. Wow, 10 years ago! But I only have 4 or 5 journals as I am not a real frequent journaler and sometimes I use other books. Well I do a lot for a while then stop and start up again months later -- at least that has been my past experience. It is one of my intentions now to be more regular with journaling.

Paper works for painting as well as drawing/sketching. Mine says it is 90# paper even though the Dick Block info says 80#. Maybe I had an older one with thicker paper, who knows? 

Intentions vs Reality...

I love the idea of setting intentions to do something. We do that in yoga class a lot. It would happen more if I actually went as much as I intended to go, but that goes in the reality part later. I had a lot of intentions for once I retired...

and the reality of it so far is that a lot of them are happening at a very slow rate. I know, everyone tells me I have all the time in the world... but I don't really. I have this one moment. One moment then another moment.  I have today. Then tomorrow I will have another today. THAT is where I am falling down... I have a lot of things planned for future days but am not doing them each today.

If that doesn't make sense, don't worry... it is just lately forming in my own mind as well. This whole retirement thing is a little different that I had imagined too. That is ok, it is just not what I expected. Which is also ok... one of my intentions was to let go of some of my tight expectations..

Today I am doing a lot of food shopping. This is one of the lovely benches outside of Nugget Market, a sort of cross between Whole Foods and a regular supermarket. I want to go get some coffee and sit on this bench but it is too hot, so I will sit inside and contemplate more on intentions...

Sharing the bench with Weekly Top Shot.

Hiking on Monday...

One of my intentions for my retirement is to get into better physical shape and what better way to start than a visit with another retired teacher friend Marilyne and a nice hike in the Auburn area.

Location: Hidden Falls
Google Map

She had a couple of choices for me and I chose the waterfall one, which it turned out was a LOT of uphill in the sun so I will know better next time! But it was beautiful and I want to go there again maybe on a slightly cooler day (and start earlier in the morning) and once my legs have a little more strength for all that uphill!

At least it was a wake-up call for me to let me know what sort of physical shape I was (not) in. It wasn't a long hike (3 or so miles) and it wasn't until the end with all the uphill in the sun that my weaknesses showed up. Hello jello legs! Hello no stamina! At least I brought a hat and sun screen!

Goodbye 2013...

Getting ready to say Happy New Year to 2014 in a few hours...

Tomorrow I will start the New Year off with a 2 hour yoga workshop at It's All Yoga.

Photo credit: Yoga Journal

It is a dream of mine to be able to do The Dancer Pose (Natarajasana) some day, so need to work on my flexibility and balance this coming year.

HERE are some lovely Pinterest images of this pose.

And more inspiring yoga photos HERE.

Early Friday morning thoughts...

Thinking about INTENTIONS.

That word has come up in THREE separate occasions this week, my NIA class on Tuesday, something I read online yesterday, and also my yoga class last night. I think it is a word I need to think about more.

What are my intentions for this blog?
What are my intentions for my art?
What are my intentions for my work (now teaching 6 classes since the new EL Science/History support class was given to me so I have no prep time in the day)
What are my intentions for my life now that I am near retirement? (well ok, 7 months away anyway)

And so on...
Just posting a reminder to myself here really. Think on these!