Counting My Blessings

A while ago I came across a "stitchalong" hosted by Amy at Inspire co. She was working on an embroidery sampler she called 39 Squares to celebrate her 39th birthday. I just had to make one also, so I rushed out and bought the supplies and started outlining my one inch squares. Amy is now working on a sampler called Counting My Blessings , over here, that is composed of 100 squares! I'm not sure if I'll get that many squares, but I know I have that many blessings (and more) in my life. I love the look of these squares just waiting to be filled in!

Everyday Adventures Class

I haven't scrapbooked since my children were little, but I saw this class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking and I just had to take it. It's called Everyday Adventures and is following Keri Smith's book How To Be an Explorer of the World.

Like all her books this one is a lot of fun. These are some of my "field notes."

I've enjoyed incorporating photos into my journaling---not something I usually do.

Cats Rule

For some reason these two seem to think the exact center of my desk is a great place for resting. And when I try to tell them otherwise, they just look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language.

Journaling and Rippling

Rather obsessed with art journaling lately. Taking an e-class with Hope at Besottment. I just love her style.

Hard at work rippling away. Busy has claimed this for her bed---thankfully it's a twin!

Garden Journal

Today I worked on updating my garden journal. Just looking through it brought high hopes for this year's garden. Thinking of putting in another square foot garden. More snaps! More dahlias! I've never had dahlias grow so well as last years did. I overwintered them in the garage---hope they come back. That's what gardening is all about isn't it---hope.

Poetry Journal

I don't have a picture to post of my poetry journal because I haven't "decorated" it yet. But I am enjoying using it. I've filled it with exercises from The Artistic Mother book and another book I'm reading---The Discovery Of Poetry by Frances Mayes. She wrote Under the Tuscan Sun and other memoirs about Italy. Her poetry "manual" is insightful and full of good poems. After reading a couple of poems by James Wright in it, I am curious to look for a book by him. I've also just reread American Primative by Mary Oliver. It's been wonderful to get immersed in poetry again. I've kept notebooks filled with favorite poems before but this area of my life had slidden to the back burner. Slidden is not a word, but I think it should be. Maybe I'll use it in a poem!

He Lives!