No Jury Duty!

...Well, for this week. I do have to call back on Monday, July 4th to see if I need to report for the next week. Keep fingers, toes and anything else crossed that I am not needed for United States District Court.

Today I got everything ready, anticipating that I would have to serve. I ironed and I planned my wardrobe. I went to fitness and seniorcise thinking I better get a workout in because I would be sitting all day for days on end. So all is prepared. And that means that tomorrow is a whole free day for me. I can work on projects all day long!

I worked in my art journal today for a little while. I am finished with that altered book. So maybe tomorrow I will start another? I don't like to think of the art journal taking away my energy from actual art pieces. But it does help to have a place to construct drafts of thoughts. So I will continue to use an altered book as an art journal, but I want to first and foremost be "doing art." Not journaling about it.

Eight things I am happy about today:

1. No jury duty

2. No jury duty

3. No jury duty

4. No jury duty

5. No jury duty

6. No jury duty

7, No jury duty

And Wait for it----

8. No jury duty!

Different!

For the past several weeks, I have taken the weekend "off" and I have started something fun and weird. I call this Saturday Craft. Last week it was a kit from the thrift store that had Set-A-Color fabric dye. The dye is brushed on cloth and then you put objects on it and set the fabric in the sun. The sun sets the dye and leaves negative space where the objects (in my case, leaves) were. This was fun and could have been messy. But the directions were very good and I followed them (surprise). One week I made bows out of magazine pages. This week was going to be paper making. I got a kit from the thrift store to do that. (I love the thrift store!) But instead I helped my daughter spray and dry her clothes with mosquito repellent. She is going to Uganda next week and will be working with a clinic there for two weeks. I also made her a sort of sheet envelope with a queen sheet. I folded the sheet lengthwise and then sewed the bottom and the side-half way up. This will be like a little sleeping bag. This will prevent bed bugs (we hope). So the Saturday craft was different even for me.

Besides that I am getting ready for jury duty. I mean I am staying busy and not trying to have anxiety about my anxiety over jury duty. I have served jury duty before but this is the federal district court in downtown Los Angeles. A forty mile drive one way! I am trying to be positive and all but mostly I am not happy about this. The court is right downtown and it is very crowded and ugly and there are homeless and crazies. Yuck! I can get that in downtown Pomona and not have to drive so far!

Yuck!

What do you do all day?

Today I went to have a facial and the esthetician was complimenting me on my skin. She said I would never look old. I like her! I have been fortunate to have good skin all my life. I've had very few break outs. I don't know why that is. I am giving credit to my parents and grandparents. So here's 8 things I got from my parents and grandmother:

1. The ability to sew. My grandmother and mother both could sew and taught me on a treadle machine.

2. My art ability. My grandmother had a talent for crafts and art and she inspired me.

3. My resourcefulness. Growing up we were not always flush with money and my mother and grandmother came up with some resourceful ways to stretch our money.

4. My story telling. My father and his twin brother were story tellers and gave me that ability.

5. My honesty. My folks were VERY honest people.

6. My social skills. I was taught how to behave from an early age.

7. My sense of humor.

8. My anxiety. Thank you Grandmother!

Oh and my great skin!

Here's some art I am working on, so you can see where I'm going.

I'm Back!

When I retired I wanted to be an active blogger, but I have been an active retiree since then! My new career as an artist is taking up some of the time and the other "career" of making myself healthy is taking up the rest. Then there's Stanley, the Wonder Dog, who is healing from his abandonment issues and developing more trust.

So I will bring you up to date with my art and the rest of my life.

Rachelle Mee Chapman writes about taming her Monkey Mind by starting out listing 8 things. I have been using the 8 Things approach to organize my thoughts. So let's start with 8 things I did while I wasn't blogging:

1. I had plantation shutters and new carpeting installed in the living room.

2. I had the living room painted.

3. I substituted at an elementary school for a part-time resource teacher.

4. I took a class on parents of estranged children.

5. I have been going to a personal trainer for 11 months.

6. I started going to a senior exercise class.

7. I planted tomatoes, pumpkin (1), cilantro, spearmint, basil, lettuce.

8. I am growing roses.

And that's not all but that's 8! Thanks Magpie Girl for the inspiration. More tomorrow!

More Fabric Books

I have made three more fabric books! I love the idea of using them for journals!
The Green one is entitled "Another thing I need to remember."
The Multi-fabric one is entitled "Questions I don't have the answers to--right now." The questions are from Rachelle Mee-Chapman.
The house one is entitled "Sweet Shelters." The quote is "Regard your home as sacred--as a golden opportunity to experience nowness. Appreciating sacredness begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life." Chogyam Trungpa
Again, I want to thank Chasity at Belle and Burger for the inspiration.

Fabric Book

I found a blog that had a tutorial for a fabric book. Not a fabric covered book. Or not a book with fabric in it, but a FABRIC BOOK!!! Originally, I went there for the house ornaments, even though I had already declared to the universe that I was not ever, ever, ever going to spend time making stuff I couldn't justify. (But really, what have I made lately that I can justify??? And let's not talk about dishcloths.) Anyway, over to the side is a list of tutorials and the fabric valentine book intrigued me. The directions were clear and I decided to make a book about the issue of trusting I am working with.
So here's some pictures of what I made. I am thinking of doing another one actually for Valentine's day.
The tutorial is here: http://belleandburger.blogspot.com

Christmas Eve 2010

Yesterday I went to church to prepare for Christmas Eve service. I carried the Baby Jesus from the sacristy where he was "hiding out" to the back of the church. Then tonight one of the children will carry him and his manger to the altar. I keep thinking we need a more "culturally sensitive" Baby Jesus, since this one has bright blue eyes and blond hair. Although we really don't know what Jesus looked like, I suspect, he did not have blonde hair and blue eyes. While I was preparing for the service, I got a brilliant idea: When I put the banners up I always get confused on which banner goes on which side of the sanctuary. So I got my Sharpie and wrote a G on the back at the top of the banner for Gospel side and E for epistle side. That way I will be able to see and I don't have to remember! Working for God is hard! I know God will be understanding if I make a mistake but I am not always sure about his underlings.

This morning the meditation was about Christ (or God) coming to us in human form. God had appeared to others in visions, dreams, and physical manifestations like a burning bush (or a blonde hair blue eyed baby?). But...(the author of the meditation said) we didn't recognize Him. So God sent his son. I wonder how many times I didn't recognize God or his tapping me on the shoulder or sending a burning bush or a dove or a dream about a ladder?
The good thing about retirement is that you can hear your thoughts. The bad thing about retirement is that you can hear your thoughts. And what I've been thinking is that I have not been open hearted and loving as I should have. My heart was damaged not by a physical illness but by cruelty brought about by sickness on someone else's part. And I have yet to allow God to heal me. And yet God has shown himself to me. And just like everyone else, I didn't recognize him.
So, Christ is the manifestation of God in the flesh. "This is me," God is saying. "And this is how I want you to be. I was a baby. Then a boy. Then a man. And I died. And I live again."

Recognizing God. That's the challenge.