Deconstructing one project to make another...

Years ago I started taking a class at the old Country Sew store in Elk Grove by the wonderful quilter and wearables artist Connie Horne. Basically it was to make a jacket over a sweatshirt (there are a zillion examples online if you Google it). Anyway part way through I realized I would never wear something that heavy and I quit making it. It languished in my craft/sewing room closet for many years until recently when I did another reclean up of the room. I pulled out the project bag and took another look at what I had done. BAM! The realization came that if I took the basted fabric pieces off the sweatshirt I could actually make a whole other (just cotton) shirt that I would love to wear.

So, according to my word for the year, explore, I decided to explore what I could do.

It was all done with Marcia Derse fabrics which I totally love and was happy to see I had put together more than I had remembered.

It turns out I had the front (above), the back (just that center fabric) and 2 sleeves (below) ready to go.

So now I just have to iron it all out and then figure out what pattern I will use to make a nice blousy top. Excited to finally get working on something with this fabric!

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...

Thinking about 2019...

Well 2018 came and went without a whole lot of documentation here as I had planned. And I only got about half the sewing done, and... yahda yahda. I guess about the only things I got done were in the music category: got a new guitar, got an amp to use in the folk guitar group when we play at the senior center, and started taking guitar lessons at Kline's.

So the other day my cousin asked me what my word for 2019 was going to be and I realized I had barely thought of that (all year even). This year was "follow-through" which I sorta didn't do much of...  so not sure where I stand for a word for next year.

And the last couple weeks I have had a cold, which meant a lot of even more down time than normal. I spent a lot of it in bed watching You Tube videos, at first about Japan then I found myself leaning towards to the community of polyglots that has made videos. I was watching one of them being interviewed and when she was asked what her hobbies were she said without hesitation, "learning new languages"... and BAM! I had a realization!

MY hobby is also learning languages! I always thought of languages to be a means to an end (travel) but today I realized I just like learning languages for learning sake too!

Over the years I have dabbled in French (marginally passable), Japanese (ok for daily conversation and travel), Italian (mostly forgotten but was ok when in Italy 9 years ago), German (way too long ago and all I remember is ich habe meine Uhr vergessen - I forgot my watch, which is a strange thing to remember I know!),  Spanish (mostly forgotten even though this city would give me a lot of opportunity if I want to relearn it), Russian (mostly in college years ago but now and then I try to relearn it here in Sac.), and when I travel I tend to easily pick up some basics (please, thank you, where's the bathroom, etc.). I don't consider myself a polyglot as I am not still conversational in all those languages but it could happen... and Sacramento has so many other languages that if I really wanted to I could add more... got me thinking...

I wonder if there is some way to incorporate my word for the year with my desire to learn languages and keep learning things? I guess I could make it just "learning" but I wonder if there is another way to express it? Thinking about it with more purpose now, stay tuned!

Off to my guitar lesson now!

Word for 2018...

It didn't come easily this year.

For starters, I looked back to 2017 and realized I really had not focused much of my life around my word for the year or my CDFs... HERE is the explanation for all that.

Time to refocus and get an idea of what might work for me in 2018.

So I started making lists of possible words: change, observe, finish, regroup, see any pattern here?

My husband suggested ENGAGE complete with GIF of Picard from ST:TNG but cute as that was, it isn't the engagement (or starting) part that stops me... it is the continuing part.

Then it came to me... just like you have to complete a swing in baseball or golf, or keep the pool cue going in pool... you need follow-through. I don't completely understand why in sports but I see it is a major part of what I lack in projects getting done.

FOLLOW-THROUGH.

I never have a problem getting excited about the start of a project but often once that initial energy wans, I am left with yet another unfinished project. Part of my intentions for this year is to get things done, finish projects...

So a few days late this year, but I have found my word: FOLLOW-THROUGH.

And, in keeping with what I have been doing for the last few years, I came up with some Core Desired Feelings (CDFs). These are also explained on the link above from last year.

My CDFs are once again repeats with a couple of changes:
In 2018 I will be:
UNCLUTTERED
MINDFUL (INTENTIONAL)
HELPFUL
PLAYFUL
ACTIVE

Getting ready for 2018

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to planting more daffodil and narcissus bulbs. These flowers were from a couple of years ago. I had 2 big planters that were screaming for some flowers and I happened to be at a home improvement shop that had bulbs, so I bought some more. Not sure if it was too late to plant them or not but we shall see...

And now it is almost 2018. Already.
Yes, I know, where did the last year go? And what did I do last year? Well not a whole lot of anything which is what is bringing me back to this blog. If nothing else, it is/was a way for me to note what I have been doing. Granted I did post a lot on Facebook but this blog is a better way for me to really see what I have been up to, rather than what posts from other people I shared and then tons of travel photos.

WHICH, by the way... are on my Instagram account HERE. I went back to Japan in September last year. Didn't blog about it but posted a ton of photos on my Insta.

So now what?  Well, it is nearly time for me to choose my word for the year again.

Last year I wrote a rather introspective blogpost (HERE) and explained all that went behind the word for the year. I don't have so much to say this year (although we did get the living room cleaned up, bought a sofa, and started making it a comfy room again...

ok I guess that is a lot to say)... but about the word, I am not sure what is speaking to me now at the end of the year.

Good thing I have a couple more days to think about it.

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.

Thinking about 2017...

Like so many people I chose a word for the year. This word is my focus for things I want to do or change in the year. This is my fifth year doing this and it is still a work in progress for me.

My first word in 2013 was RELEASE, written about HERE. 

The next year I chose BREATHE, noted HERE.

My 2015 word was OPEN, which I wrote about HERE.

Last year I chose BE, explained HERE.

It has been interesting to me how one word has led to the next. And it is no different for my new word. I have been thinking long and hard about what sort of word I want to "guide" me for the coming year. Several factors came to mind when deciding what kind of word to choose:  

1. I have now been retired since June 1, 2014. That is 2 and a half years already! I'd be hard pressed to be able to tell you where all that time went! What am I doing with my time? What more can I do? What can I do to be of help to someone?
2. The last 4 words have been about me, looking inward, helping myself. There is nothing wrong with that. A lot of people use these yearly words to help themselves. But it has been in my mind that this time I want to look outward, that my own personal growth and well being also comes from helping other people. 
3. I wanted to find a word that would help me get out in the community and be more active in a more social way. As I get older I am more and more aware of the problems some old people have with dealing with the world so maybe I can find something to do/volunteer at that would be of help.

So, I am still looking for the right word. I am making a big list and will continue to mull over them until one just waves and tells me it is my right word.  Here are some of the words I am thinking about. 

Words so far:  outward, contribute, help, support, change, give, service, expand, unite, connect, share, offer, return, expand, generosity, kindness, compassion, unselfishness, benevolence, altruism, community.

Please feel free to add any others if you happen to think of one!

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.

Reviewing...

The other day Tami was giving a workshop in our yoga teacher training session and through what she said reminded me of my Word of the year and the CDF's (core desired feelings based on the Danielle LaPorte book, The Desire Map). I realized it had been MONTHS since I had thought of those and decided to review them and see just where I stood with them...

My Word for the year in 2015 was OPEN. HERE is where I wrote about that.
My CDF's for 2015 were unencumbered, aligned, vibrant, connected, and mindful. HERE is where I list them but I see now I never really wrote more about them.

Now it is the week of Thanksgiving and many people are doing Gratitude challenges and such on Facebook and other social media. Or maybe preparing what they will say on Thanksgiving, the one day it seems we all have approval to feel gratitude. This has always been a hard thing for me. Not being grateful but expressing it. Lately there are a lot more articles online about how developing a gratitude practice is helpful in our lives and after so many years of cynicism I decided to tone my negative voice down and actually give it a try. So I joined the 40 day Gratitude challenge on Facebook and decided to take a look at thoughts and ideas I had set forth for my life and how this year played out.

Ok ok I am so grateful it is satsuma season (photo above)!! But seriously...

Starting with the Word for the year. OPEN. I think I have been more open to things happening this year. Where I think I have fallen down is being more open to accepting people as they are. Still needs work.

For the CDFs, I think I have had only bits and pieces of advancements with them:
Unencumbered: may need to use this one again next year. My house is still messy and I still have way too much stuff.
Aligned: I did better with this one and have a very positive feeling about bringing more yoga into my life. I am feeling more aligned physically but also mentally/spiritually. I have never been a religious person but I still feel there is some spiritual awareness that runs through my core. The yoga teacher training also helped me reawaken some of this curiosity.
Vibrant: I had hoped to do more art this year. Perhaps that is something again for next year. I have been feeling the loss of artistic mojo extremely powerfully these last few months.
Connected: Both good and bad on this one. I have been in touch with some people and relatives I had not been for a while, and some of that has brought sadness as well. Two of my cousins (one on my dad's side and one on my mom's) both passed away within a couple of weeks of each other last month. It makes me sad that I did not make more of an effort to stay connected. But also I have noticed the last few months I have been more introverted and have not gotten together much with people or made efforts to be more connected.
Mindful:  This one sort of laid dormant for a while then lately I am being much more mindful in several ways. Part of this is from an expanded awareness of mindfulness through the yoga training program and some of it is taking hold of my food issues and being more mindful of what and how much I am eating again.

So now I am thinking forward to next year and wondering if maybe I just need to give my words and ideas another year to percolate or is it time to choose a new word and cdfs? No hurry, no worries... just a thought that is taking hold this morning. This morning where I was grateful to wake up in a nice warm bed in a paid-for house.

What are you grateful for? Do you keep a gratitude journal? I am curious what other people are doing to align things/actions/thoughts in their lives... feel free to leave a reply.

Word for 2015...

Like so many people I chose a word for the year. This word is my focus for things I want to do or change in the year. This is my third year doing this and it is still a work in progress for me.

My first word was RELEASE, written about HERE.
Last year I chose BREATHE, noted HERE.

It has been interesting to me how one word has led to the next. And it is no different for my new word.

As many of you know, this has been a very difficult year for me in regards to loss... it started a year ago Thanksgiving with my 20 year old cat Pandora dying, then followed soon by my other very old cat Perseus passing away. Both my step-mother and my real mother also died this year, as did my dog Maggie. And I also retired from my teaching career, which although of course it is not a death, it is still a bit of a loss (identity) and has left me floundering a little for where my life is going. As a result I found myself closing down: both emotionally and physically. 

And I wanted to change this.

And suddenly I kept hearing the word OPEN...open in yoga, open in art, open in feelings...open yourself back to your life Rhonda!

Use it as a verb and an adjective...

Step out of it whatever you have been in this last year, move through it and continue on... open yourself to the possibilities!

So I introduce my word for 2015:

        OPEN

Moving on...

It has been a difficult couple of weeks with Pandora's death but I feel like I am finally able to move on. The first few days I could not come back into my art room without crying and seeing her in my arms but that is passing and I am feeling the need to create again. And with Winter Break coming up in a couple of weeks I have a lot of things to think about...

The thing that has been on my mind the last few days is creating another Word for the Year. I did it last year (see THIS post) and it was nice to think about throughout the year. I had it glued to my work table at school and several times when I was mad at the kids I would see it and work on letting it go. I wanted to make a word this year that built on that idea. I thought about what I did when I "released" and it was all about breathing. And now that I am back to doing more yoga practice I find the reminders to "breathe" coming fast and furious from all angles. And wouldn't ya know it, conscious breathing is still hard for me (to remember mid-asana or when I am mad). I need more work on that one.

So I decided for 2014 my word would be BREATHE.

Word for the Year...

I saw a lot of websites with this idea over New Year's so I thought I would give it a try. Instead of making resolutions (that never get kept), pick a word, one word, that you can focus things you do over the year from. Here are a few other blogs that explain it much better than I could:
Gretchen Rubin
One Word 365
My One Word
Christine Kane

So, after toying with words like Creative or Gratitude or Patience I finally honed in on the word release.
R E L E A S E
Release seems to fit a lot of my needs for the year:
Release of creative energy (in letting myself do more art)...
Release of anger...
Release of bad health or bad eating habits...
Release of worry...
Release of fears...
etc.