die, adjust or migrate

remembering me

today i need a reminder of myself as a creative being. so, here are some images of various projects from over the years. some quilting, paintings, mixed media images and jewelery. i love that my art has so much colour in it. some days, when life feels very grey, i need that reminder of colour in my life.

and today it is all about the quiz!

You Are the Bow Pose

You are an open hearted person. You seek connections and make them easily. You are naturally generous - especially with your love and your time. You have a knack for thinking up interesting ideas. You are an inventor and a creator. You approach everything in life with a relaxed attitude. You accept what you can't change.

 

You Should Make 4 Resolutions

Lose Weight Save Money Reduce Stress Overall Spend More Time With Family and Friends

You Feel Misunderstood By Your Family

You like to persuade your family that you are right about things. You like to be the leader in your family. You feel like your family is prone to too many arguments and instability. You never feel like things can be completely peaceful. It's sometimes hard for your family to understand who you are now. You've changed a lot, and they have trouble accepting the new you. You are honest and very outspoken with your family. You sometimes hurt feelings by saying things they don't want to hear.

You Are an Afternoon Person

You can find energy any time of the day ... or night! You prefer to be out and about when most other people are. Very early mornings or very late nights aren't really your thing. You're practically solar powered, and the afternoon is when do best. Feel like doing a quiz yourself? Go here and have some fun!

This one made me think...

So, I found this while blog surfing. I was here and thought this was worth putting up on my blog so here it is! The ones in bold are the ones I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

What I find really interesting is which things on this list I could not care less if I ever do and which ones intrigue me. I don't care if I ever hold a praying mantis or bungee jump or visit the White House but going to Africa?, publishing my book?, standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower?, now these are things that make me take pause and wonder about the goals and dreams I have for myself. These create aha moments for me.

I am a pretty yummy cookie!

Found this on another blog and linked over to it. Funnily enough, the blogger and I are the same type of cookie! And it is a kind of cookie I would LOVE to eat!

You Are a Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie

You are a social, friendly, caring person. You are good at helping people. You have a very giving heart. You are a natural teacher or counselor. You get value from making someone's life better. You are trustworthy, and a natural problem solver

Snow, snow is here to stay!!!

We have had such snow here in the Pacific Northwest over the last few days. It started snowing again on Saturday night and pretty much went non-stop for a day or so. They are predicting more snow for Christmas. It is so rare that we get snow that stays for more than a day. I am actually enjoying it quite a bit. Although, must admit that my feelings about snow and cold have not changed. I still believe that they are best enjoyed from inside!!! 

I am loving the feeling of peace I get each time I go out in the stillness for a walk. Bosley bounds through the snow drifts and completely disappears from sight more often than not. He is loving the snow so much and I am loving watching him loving it!

I looked out my bedroom window this morning and this is the image that greeted me. So calm, so serene, so peaceful. Snow.

Friday fill ins...

Here are my Friday fill ins for this week. Not that easy to do this time. Hmmm...

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, Geez, it is damn cold out here!
2. The first Noel, the angel did say, was friends with everyone (if only we could all be so) .
3. The snow has come and invaded everything, Over the hills and everywhere.
4. It came upon the midnight clear, that art can not be denied.
5. Make art and Let your heart be light.
6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing in your heart.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter and her friends, tomorrow my plans include decorating my parents house for our annual party and Sunday, I want to stop and take a breath!

Winter Wonderland

Quiet. Stillness. Peace. Soft sighs from the trees. This is the world I awoke to this morning. First let me say, I am not a snow person. I don’t ski, I don’t snowboard, I don’t even go out in the yard and make snowmen or lie on my back and make snow angels. Not that this snow was of the snow angel variety; it was soft, fluffy stuff that hovered in the air above me as I walked and lay easily on my cuffs. However, having admitted that my idea of fun in the snow involves a fire, hot chocolate and never going outside, I have to admit that it was absolutely lovely and filled my heart with joy to watch my little dog, Bosley, frolicking about. And the sound of silence that blankets the city after a snowfall is so calming and peaceful. It is as if the world stops turning for a brief moment and I can stand still in myself and breathe.

Is my Bosley a cutey patootey or what? The sweater he is wearing is one I made for him out of a child’s 100% wool GAP sweater. I shrunk it in the washer to felt it and then did some creative nipping and tucking and, voila!, a new doggy sweater is born. And all for the $3.99 I paid for it at the Sally Anne. I love when I manage to be crafty and thrifty at the same time! There are 2 or 3 other sweaters in the works for him. He goes through them at an alarming rate as he has this really bizarre habit of peeing while doing a handstand. It is too funny to see! Only some of the pee always ends up on his sweater. Sigh. Hello washing machine!

I don’t tend to take my camera everywhere but was so struck by the snow that I grabbed it as I went out the door. I usually only use it to take pics of my class at school and not to take note of the many beautiful, small but significant things that surround my life. I think that perhaps I will start to snap more shots of the random bits of loveliness I see each day.  Here are some other pics from the day:

 

This last photo reminds me so much of Nina Bagley and her love of hearts. I pass by this fence quite often and never realized there was a heart shape there until it was filled with snow. Beautiful!

organization as an aphrodisiac

I am in love with my studio again! It was in a sad state of affairs but today I came across my label maker while cleaning my computer desk and, suddenly, I was organizing my studio. Doesn't it look grand? You can see my doll collection on the right side of the bookcase. The front red table is actually an old door turned on its side and supported by metal IKEA legs. I know that it still looks like there is tons there - there is!!! - but I know where everything is and it works for me. The studio is tucked at one end of the living room so that I can sit behind the red table on the stool from my grandmama's kitchen and watch tv. I tried having a studio in a separate room three moves ago and it was my least creative year ever! I need to be in the midst of the family. I create so much while watching my weekly favourites.

 

The true piece de resistance of my cleaned up studio is my units of little drawers. I went label crazy!!!! Here is a closeup. I now have all my beads, stones, charms, bits and bobs sorted and labelled. Bring on the creativity!!!

 

on gray Monday mornings

It is that time of year here in the Pacific Northwest where when the sun comes out it is worshipped for the god it is and enjoyed with exuberance. Because we know that it is only a matter of time - minutes some days - before the gray descends upon us again and the rains come splattering down upon our heads. Today is such a day. Yesterday the sun was out and all was right in the world. Today it is a gray, dismal, late Fall day with not much to say for itself except, "Why are you up, Olwyn? Get yourself back to bed and hibernate already!" Oh, that I could!

Only there are 18 little souls - or should I say big souls in little bodies - who, in less than an hour or so, will be waiting for me at school. Even on the darkest days I know that once I set foot in the school and, more importantly, my classroom, I will be okay. It is a busy, high paced, energetic place to be. Filled with learning, playing, teaching (from both sides of the coin as I learn as much from them as they do from me) and the kind of enthusiasm that can only be found in 5 and 6 year olds. I am grateful that I have a job that I enjoy going to each day. I know that each day I will undoubtedly be tested by more than one student, enjoy at least one laugh and be awed and amazed at the ability of children to take in information and make it their own.

Being witness to a child learning to read is like being a part of a miracle each day. I know the effort and time that goes in to the process but still it seems like they just turn up one day reading. I know it isn't true and that their reading is a result of months of practice, strategy teaching, practice, mini-lessons, practice, the list goes on... Yet, there is still something so incredibly magical about the process. I am blessed to be able to witness it year after year.

And, so, while my studio calls to me on this gray and dreary Monday morning, I will take myself off to school safe in the knowledge that good things will happen once I am there and that I will bear witness to at least one magical moment with my little turtles in my Turtlepond.

i have found my way back to friday fill ins #101

1. Snow is wet, icky and best enjoyed from a cozy sofa with hot chocolate in hand.

2. I'm looking forward to Christmas holidays and two weeks of not teaching!

3. Walker's  is the best store bought shortbread ever!

4. One of my favorite old tv shows is MASH.

5. I'm done with my hair - I can hardly wait to have the extra funds to get it all cut off!!!!

6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is staying in my pj's day after day if that is what i want to do!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching NUMB3RS, tomorrow my plans include cleaning house and Sunday, I want to welcome my hubby back from Whistler with a big kiss!