trimmingthesails

Me on a Monday: 03 April 23

Hello and welcome - and how lovely that you've brought some sunshine with you! After the wettest and greyest March here since 1981, a bit of Spring is overdue. Here's what we've been up to this last week ... (click for a clearer view)

For those of you following along with Ali Edwards One Little Word, and curious about mine for 2023, it's 'Active'. I know, sounds a bit .. well ... dull, doesn't it. (Although every time I think of it, it's mostly its companion words "Alive' and 'Alert' which spring into view.) After my initial and usual scattergun do-everything-on-my-list approach (which most often results in doing nothing within a few months), I made the decision in mid-January to spend the first three months of the year focusing on just one thing - being physically active - and putting my other aims on hold until it was well embedded. This has worked much better for me, and I am delighted to be powering through nicely on that score. Next three months? Creativity, specifically my This Is Life 23 photo book, and blogging. So you might will see me around more, once I've worked out why I can no longer see the Add Content bit on Feedly - all suggestions welcome. I have a suspicion it may no longer be free and I'll have to pay for this privilege ...

And all of that along with work will probably see me nicely through the week, as well as preparing for The Littlie while her nursery is closed for Easter. Grandparents will know the mixture of excitement, joy and slight apprehension that comes with this territory :). Until then, wishing you a Spring-like week, and thank-you for popping in!

And it's a happy January hello from me to you ...

... just before we slide into February. Hello and welcome! Yes, you are quite right, it's been a while ... But after a conversation in December with the lovely and inspiring Honoré over at Morning Glory Studio, something shifted and stirred; and here I am, now into the fifth week of renewed and enthusiastic memory keeping. This is week 03; with the kind permission of Shannan over at Shannan Pages, I've adapted her super planner template for my 10" x 8" photobook, covering the next few months, and used some nicely simple and elegant digital cards from the Wilson Wilson Design Studio. (Click for a clearer view).

I'm hoping to keep pace with Ali Edward's One Little Word class this year; the continued demands of work, and the delightful commitment to supporting my (now adult) children with their families and little ones absorbs the rest of my time, so I am unlikely to suddenly take up a brand new creative activity to share with you - given also the number of unfinished classes lurking across the Internet with my name on them! (Am I alone in this?). But you never know :). Thank-you for popping in and sending you all warm good wishes, Alexa.

 

 

 

Simply A Moment (15.02.22)

It's a little while since a mid-month Simply A Moment has made its way on here ... a chance to stop, catch breath, just notice what's around and within, and record the small, the inconsequential (or even the very consequential underneath) while it's still bright and fresh. This week has been one of stirred-up memories, as I've been ploughing on with sorting our forty-year accumulation of boxes and files of paper. These have become monsters, lurking in my peripheral vision, casting long shadows across my life - and this year I'm facing them head on, winkling them out of every corner and taming them: purging, discarding, shredding, shrinking them to a manageable size, and corralling them into much smaller spaces. Ugh! (For the process, that is; I'm sure the result will be heart-lifting). So it was a welcome break to stop, stand, stare and listen ... (click on the photo for a clearer view)

I think I might take the rest of the day off for some R and R, well away from paper of any kind ... Just a teeny-weeny break? There's ironing to do, beds to make up, and I'm sure I ought to be thinking about a cake :). Sending warmest good wishes your way! Alexa

 

Me on a Monday ... (07.02.22)

This dark and damp Monday morning finds me, very early, saving and keywording (New Year's Resoution) photos from the week, and enjoying again the memories ...

• This wonderful ship-in-a-bottle at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich always makes me smile ...
• A glimpse through a hawthorn hedge on a hillside walk, revealing a circle of sheeps' wool ...

• our two-and-a-half year old grand-daughter giving the wooden hippo in the park a Covid Test in his nose ("I know it's not very comfy, Hippo, but it won't be long"). And then inserting the found twig into the circle I made with my finger and thumb so she could check the result ("You've not got Covid, Hippo!"). Actually, poor Hippo had seven consecutive tests while she worked her way through the trauma of having had a tearful lateral flow test herself the day before to make sure our visit would be safe :(.
• and a quirky bird-shaped bell hanging outside a stone cottage in the fleeting watery sunshine. We're only five days in and already we've had more rainfall in February than the entire month of January ...

And the week ahead? My utilitarian word for the year (Clear) will have a hand in shaping it. Having finally put together a comprehensive what-to-do-if-we're-incapacitated-or-die-and-here's-how-to-access-everything document for our children, it's time to clear redundant paperwork and files. There'll be some very wet walks, some indoor seed-planting (given that the garden and the greenhouse are sodden underfoot), and the daily game of Wordle to enjoy. I never knew my family was so competitive! And I'm most impressed that our grandchildren (11 and 13) are joining in, when English isn't their first language. Then there's this year's photobook to catch up on. Hmm ... I wonder if I ought to factor in some hot chocolate, a rug, and a little dose of Inspector Gamache? Hoping you are all staying well and enjoying some fulfilling moments as the seasons turn, wherever you are! With warm good wishes, Alexa.

 

Me on a Monday ... (10.01.22)

(... though it is, in fact, Tuesday now, but hey ...) You find me smiling as I edit the photos of a wonderful five-mile walk to and around the splendid Chatsworth estate, and so grateful that the Duke and Duchess allow ordinary people access to the land they look after and care for, for free. You'll notice I'm smiling as I stand on those stone steps in the wood which stretches steeply upwards behind the house: that was soon wiped off my face when I rounded the corner and found hundreds more steps to go. Feels like a metaphor for these strange times we live in!

Looking through the lens of the aesthetics of joy this week is keeping my brain sparking and supplied a rush of inner recognition when the author mentioned 'tolerations': things you tolerate but sap your energy in the process, so that "your home effectively becomes a giant To Do list that you're living inside, making it impossible to relax". And when reading here about guilt, regret, shame and overwhelm, and came across examples of tolerations as "a broken chair, a blown-out lightbulb, a picture that needs to get framed", I looked at the stack of the latter propped up behind my desk and thought: Right on, sister, times twelve!

But the thing which is warming my heart this Monday is this little trooper of a rose, The Lady of Shallot, just outside the back door. Despite seven inches of snow in November, more last week and recent  sub-zero temperatures, she is still putting energy into blooming ...

And that does feel like a good lesson to carry with me this week! Warm good wishes to you all, Alexa.

 

Starting over in hope ...

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, full of good things and plenty of happy moments! And thank-you for popping in, when I have been absent for such a long time. All is well - it is just that creativity took itself off into a parched and barren land, and inventive energy slunk along behind. Somehow, after camping out in the wilderness for a while, they seem to have trickled back in their own good time, and I am glad of it ... Calling into your lovely blogs and enjoying your inspiration and stories in the meatime kept me feeling hopeful and inspired, and I am very grateful to you all ...

The memory-keeping stuckness was in part about how to reconcile my enjoyment of the physically creating things, with my love of clean and simple digital design. Much as I enjoyed Heidi Swapp's Stop The Blur concept (and her class was immensely enjoyable and I recommend it!) a weekly two-page spread seemed to take me a long time, and the photos felt too small. A photobook would take care of the pictures of our time and experiences with the family (and give them something to enjoy when we are no longer here) - but it wouldn't capture the nitty gritty of everyday, or help me organise my time and thoughts, or give me a chance to create by hand ...

I needed the practicality of a diary but wanted the freedom to design and draw/doodle a bit too - so a planner with pre-determined pages was not going to have enough flexibility. Having flirted with a Bullet Journal before (I think it was the lovely Honoré who introduced me to the concept), I made myself a temporary one in a hand-stitched pamphlet for December to see if I would be able to make it work for me. There was lots of browsing on Instagram and watching YouTube (thank-you, Shayda Campbell and LeelaJournals) before investing in one (Notebook Therapy); Colouring pencils, a couple of pens, and a bit of washi tape all seem nicely portable ...

Of course, my inner perfectionist wouldn't allow me to start working in it for a whole fortnight! But once I decided to use the printer and sticky-backed vellum paper for the headings until, as a left-hander, I can learn how to do lovely lettering, the pages took shape ...

So far, so good! I'll keep you posted :). All that remains is to start a new photobook for 2022 ...

Simply A Moment, August 21

Hello and welcome! It's lovely to see you ... It's been a while since I've felt able to post but I am here still, and taking a little pause half-way through the month to record a little current snippet of life, "Simply A Moment".

With warm good wishes, and looking forward to catching up with you all very soon!

Still here ... hoping you're still there!

Hello and waving! Too long a tale to tell, but I am here again, and we are all doing OK ... Recent weeks seem to whizz by, with hardly any scrapbooking to show for it - but lots of long journeys for childcare bubbling, crawling round the floor making trains out of building blocks, inventing stories for our hand puppets (Mole is the current favourite for Littlest), reading King Rollo stories, baking biscuits (she eats butter by the spoonful) and fitting in walks wherever possible ...


There have been wonderful displays of flowers in public parks to admire, and I'm delighted that my first foray into tulip growing has - despite the very cold Spring - produced a lovely display by the front door. The relaxation of rules this week here has meant we've been able to have four days away with our beloved daughter, son-in-law and Littlest, and even fitted in some swimming for the first time in fifteen months. I'm popping in now because we are about to enter a ten-day marathon of family here, fully stocked with six adults and two toddlers - and it may be June before we emerge blinking into what we hope is going to be warm sunshine by then! There will be tons of photos and no time to scrap them - but we will be busy making memories while we can to last us a lifetime :). Sending you warm good wishes, Alexa.

Curating Curiosities ...

My photobook is looking a little sparse this year - what with being so close to home for months on end and not seeing anyone, there's a limit to how many pages I can tolerate of similar-looking snow scenes or moorland views! But this one was fun to put together: when horizons are limited, perhaps you start noticing the little details that might have escaped your attention before ...

And while we wait for the seemingly very slow recovery to a little more freedom, we are excited to be able to resume our legal childcare bubble later this week, and will see our little grand-daughter, beloved daughter and son-in-law for the first time in five months :). They sent me a photo yesterday from our Facetime session, showing the Littlest looking solemn with her arms round the iPad, clutching it tight; the accompanying text read "No, she's not developing an early addiction to Apple products - she's giving Nana and Grandad a cuddle". It will be wonderful to be able to reciprocate in person :).

Sending you all warm good wishes and see you soon? Alexa

 

OLW Reflections February 21

Just noticing this month, as I hold 'Be like water' as my One Little Word, how apposite it is  - I live in a very watery place! It's a long way from the sea, yes, but we have streams, rivers, wells, springs, moorland pools and swamps, lakes and a seemingly unceasing (at least some days) supply of rain. Just occasionally, we get a ridge of high pressure, the wind drops, the clouds drift away, and we know it's a good day for heading out round one of our reservoirs ...

March is not, traditionally, a 'quiet' month weather-wise here so I look forward to seeing how 'Be like water' weaves through the days ... Sending warm good wishes and saying 'thank-you' for visiting :).