trimmingthesails

The back-to-front and other stories ...

"I can't get to sleep, Grandma", said the little voice dolefully on the other end of the phone. "Daddy said I could ring you for a bit". His voice tailed off uncertainly. "Of course you can" I replied, settling into Himself's work chair. "Have you had a story yet?"
"Lots" came the reply. "Lots and lots. Daddy says his story-reading place is full up now". Himself and I smiled at each other. "Mmm, that can happen sometimes", I said. "Would you like me to read you one?" Himself reached forward and lifted down from the shelf behind me our well-worn copy of one of Rev. Awdry's classics.
"Could we have a train one? About James The Red Engine?" came the eager voice."And can you wait a minute? I'm coming back". We waited. Himself picked up the camera.
"I'm here again" he said, a little breathless."I just needed to get onto the sofa".
"Are you comfy now?" I asked.
"Yes", he said. "And I've got wiggly toes".
"Oh my goodness", I replied, "we'd better get going! Can you make the noise of the whistle blowing?" And off we went. His Dad's voice interrupted me half-way through story number three. "Brilliant, Mum, he's fast asleep - thank-you! I'm just going to pop him into his bed ..."

And that's the back story to my page below today: printed out, tucked in at the back and held in place by the page protector. Building a stack of patterned paper behind a photo has been a prompt in Shimelle's Remix class, and my November reflection for Ali Edwards' One Little Word seemed a good place to experiment ...

Sometimes, a page can hold much more than just one story: there might be three here. Possibly four if I were to add The-Inking-of-Edges-And-The-Carpet saga ... :)

Dancing Day

I'm not sure about the waltzing, twisting and jiving through January, but I really ought to have put the quick-step into my monthly page for Ali Edwards' One Little Word. Hopefully there will be more in the way of frolic-ing and fun in February :).

And to counteract the gloom of grey (for those of us who are still a-wintering), your eyes might enjoy these colourful places today:

• if you don't know Rosie and her wonderful art-journalling pages, do go and visit her blue one
• for sunshine, Julie and her month of yellow sunrays is a must
• is it just me, or does the last photo of Bonnie's post over at Pixel Dust Photo Art have a tinge of Vincent Van Gogh about it? There are some free textures too.
• as a lover of lack of visual clutter, I was intrigued to read at Unclutterer about the disappearance of road signage in a London street in the interests of safety - though how the trees are still sporting their autumn glory in February is beyond me
• should you fancy a new desktop 'wallpaper', what about the vintage watercolour splodges from Fossil?
• for a rainblow of colour, jumping in with vibrant red, you couldn't better these textile hearts at Dog-Daisy Chains

And if you chose a word to muse upon this year, how is it going? I'd love to hear ...

One little word ...

... and in 2011, mine was flow. It helped, much more than making resolutions, in all kinds of ways:

• I realised early that flow happens best where there are river banks, not flat swamps
• it gave me a visual image and an intuitive feel for how I wished to live through my days
• the sense of movement I could connect with gave me the energy to clear away debris and clutter
• walking near rivers and streams became ever more nourishing and affirming
• in those times where there were sudden landslips or boulders in my path, I would ask myself "To flow around or over this, what do I need to do or to say, how do I need to be?"

Truthfully, at the start of 2011, I wondered whether joining in with Ali Edward's One Little Word would be of use, whether I would sustain it, and whether I would do it again. As the year has ended, I am clear that it was, that I had and that I would ...

Flow helped shape how to react and respond; I sense that this year, I will need something more determined, more proactive. What has come to me has many personal echoes, including sadness and blocked flow, and I have avoided it for many years. Yet there is an energy in it which I can hear calling; so, with some apprehension and a shiver of nerves, I think now is the time to ...

And yes, I have even bought the shoes - it seemed a good place from which to pick up and begin again! Hoping that, as the first weekend of the new year approaches, you too will be feeling fresh energy and tinge of excitement ... And will you be choosing a word?

Throwing away ...

And after the gentle rocking by the strong old woman through the long, dark night? (See Friday 7th January, story collected by Gloria Pinkola Estés). The old and weary man grew younger and younger, and became a small and very beautiful child with golden hair, plaited like wheat. Just as dawn broke, the old woman quickly plucked three hairs from the young child's head and threw them on the floor - and the child crawled down from the old woman's lap, paused at the door to give her a dazzling smile, then flew up into the sky to become the brilliant morning sun ...

The three hairs? They represent the need to throw away, to let go of some things or ideas before new energy can flow. In the quiet rocking, it's time 'to get right down to the bones of everything and anything in your life'. Those of you who visit regularly will probably smile, knowing that simplifying and letting go is music to my ears.

So although I am not yet done with musing and stillness, one hair that I am going to let go of, is the struggle to work out where everything in scrapbooking and journalling belongs in the welter of December, Christmas, Daily Life, My Holiday projects and albums. Should a journal be kept separate from the photo album? If a page has drawing, or paint or collage too, does that go in a writing journal or an art journal? Supposing it's got a few photos as well - is that the photo album, then? Water needs clear edges to flow, or it will sink away into shallow, swampy, silted fringes ...

It's all going in one place this year. One chunky, richly-textured volume, with pockets, flaps and hiding places for more private work, and spreads, inserts, and booklets for photos and journalling which record the year. There'll be room for fabric work, digital work, anything where creative energy flows. On the front, it will simply say 'This is 2011'.

Ikea's catalogue (we've perused it often enough during the renovations!) is, aptly, providing a template: photos one side, journalling the other. I feel the creative juices gathering already ... Here's the template I've been making and playing around with:

By Monday, the first fortnightly spread will be done. There have been some queries about how I'm going to print and store the New 52 layouts - I'll include this too. Oh, and I love the serendipity of that catalogue page title 'What do you love?' That I can be clear about. Simplicity. :)