The 'Fun' Part

I enjoy every part of creating these figures -- but I must say that the hand stitchery and embellishment is my very favorite part.

I have a sense looking at this incomplete figure that it is just that - incomplete, wrong somehow.  The doubts creep in.

Then I take out needle and thread - bits of this and that - and it becomes whole beneath my finger tips.  Ahhh, a deep sigh of satisfaction.

"Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Self-Centered

                                        Image from Google Images

Self-centered: Centered in oneself or itself.

I discovered something these past two weeks.  Although I don't think I'm a 'selfish' person, my normal, everyday life is definitely 'self-centered'.  I make my own schedule, I do what I want to do when I want to do it, I live exactly the way I want with everything in its place according to my whims.  Part way into my Nevada visit I realized that I hadn't had any of the 'normal' aches and pains that my body seems to send my way at this time in my life.  I pondered on this and began to understand that with my sudden thrust into living with children and dogs seemingly everywhere, all of my priorites had disappeared -- I was far too busy to think about hurting or to even think about what "I" wanted to do each day. There were little, and not so little, people and dogs counting on me and I had literally 'forgotten' myself.

I determined at that time that not only had I traveled to another state - a country away from my own home - I had traveled to a different 'time zone' within myself.  I was concentrating on what was best for the 'group'; my goals for each day were only to go with the flow and let others determine each day. Once I realized this I could only embrace it.  In a way it was truly a vacation from 'self' and very refreshing!

"The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one's self to others." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Withdrawal Pains

Lichen on rocks

Just a quick note to tell you that I'm back home in my own little nest.  While gone I was using a borrowed laptop that had 'blocks' on it (probably to protect children from going where they don't belong) -- those blocks did not allow me to look at any blogs, not even my own.

Gnarled Mesquite Bush

Can you imagine the withdrawal I was having?  Missing all of your comments and missing all of your postings?  Tomorrow I shall spend a good part of the day getting my act together and visiting all of you to see what you've been up to the past couple of weeks.

Desert View

Of course that's all dependent upon when I wake up since my time perception will probably be totally out of wonk for a few days!  As a side note -- my only stitching was to make curtains with my granddaughter for her playhouse.  She did all the stitching, taking to the sewing machine like a 'pro'.  I did, howver, mange to make a couple of notes in my journal.

Journaling

I have been keeping this journal handy over the past few months. Noting my progress (or lack thereof when that happens) with my latest cloth doll figures.  Reminding myself with notes of what worked and what didn't work.  I've found that reminding myself to write out what I did of a day is a way of slowing down my life - letting me reflect in a way that I was not used to doing.

Several times in the past I've started art journals -- but  have never gotten very far.  I always spent my energy on the making of something and didn't take the time to notate it (at least after the first few entries).  But now I'm working on pieces where I can allocate my time into segments.  By doing this, I find that after each segment, noting my progress - problems - successes is easy to do. 

This year has been quite a change for me in the way I'm working  and what I'm working on.  Truly, I have such a peaceful feeling about what I'm doing right now and how I'm managing it that I wonder what in the world possessed me to work like a mad woman over the past years.  Perhaps I should note this in my journal in BIG GIANT CAPITAL LETTERS!

"Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled -- to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world." - Mary Oliver

Traveling Tidbits

Here I am in Nevada surrounded by all sorts of beautiful chaos and confusion.  The total opposite of my 'everyday' life where there are only two of us and it is tranquil and quiet and orderly!  I'm actually reveling in the noise -- especially the laughter of children.

In thinking ahead of my days out here I thought about taking all manner of stitchery with me -- but in the end I decided to just throw a few bits and pieces into my 'send-ahead-of-time' box.  I included an embroidery hoop, some threads, needles, scissors, pens for drawing and a couple of predrawn patterns that I might like to play around with. 
Now let's see if I actually pull out any of these things while I'm here.

"I dwell in possibility" - Emily Dickinson

Flying Away

I'm flying away tomorrow.  Off to Nevada to spend 10 days with my three youngest grandchildren - while their parents are off on vacation. 

I've been working on a few posts here at home to send off to you from Nevada -- and perhaps I'll actually be able to write some while there.

I shall do my very best to stay in touch while I'm gone -- but if you don't hear from me know that I am probably being held hostage by three children and four dogs!

"Come dress yourself in love and let the journey begin." - Francesca da Rimini

Mlle Fleur

 

We've caught Mlle Fleur in her garden.  She has picked some flowers, still with the early morning dew on them. 

Surrounded by color and life June is the perfect time in the garden. The dragon fly was flitting near the pond. A spotted bird's egg waits..

 

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Collecting Faces

I'm collecting faces these days.  Looking at expressions and thinking about what each face tells me.  Someday soon I shall make up a story for each of them and present it in cloth and stitch.

"After a certain numer of years, our faces become our biographies." - Cynthia Ozick