trimmingthesails

WIML (Wednesday 27 July)

Wednesday's mayhem appears to be billowing over into Friday: I had hoped to bring you a little more in the way of story, but events are tripping me up. Before I fall totally flat on my face, here is Wednesday in the Week in My Life project. 


And hoping to be more fully compos mentis by Monday. May your glue never smear, your printer not mangle your paper, and your trimmer cut in a straight line. And may you have a lovely weekend. :)

WIML Day 1

Still keeping up! As an alternative to taking a week to record and document, then another to put it together, I'm using the fortnight slightly differently, working in pairs of days: collecting photos and making notes on day one, then putting that page together the next. Mine will be Monday, Wednesday. Friday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday - but I'm OK with it! Here's Monday's page ...

If you're participating, how\s it going? And if you're not, what are you enjoying about glimpses into other lives? I know I'm finding it both fascinating and touching. :)

Now got camera, batteries, and printer ink: off to a better start today!

Learning from Monday (WIML.1)

Enjoyed ...

• the morning light on the freshly laid paving stones and new gravel outside the back door: job well done at the weekend. (Tick).

• having largely prepared my lunch and evening meal (don't finish till late on Mondays) on Sunday evening. (Pat on the back).

• taking advantage of a cancelled meeting to clear out a filing cabinet, shred a load of stuff, and put together a simpler system for daily work. (Smiley face).

Frustrated by ...

• running out of tri-colour printer ink, having bought a black cartridge on Friday, and declined the assistant's suggestion to purchase its companion. (Cross).

• forgetting to take the camera to work - arrgh - because I didn't leave enough time to check I had everything I needed for the day. (Black mark)

• not getting the second gate painted before work because I spent the time fruitlessly looking for the battery charger. (0/20 for organisation).

Flow ...

(my word for the year) is clearly hampered by not having what is needed in the right place at the right time - Monday's lesson. And it doesn't aid simple living either, in making those moments more fraught and complex, with knock-on effects.

And I haven't managed enough thinking time today: recording and observing each day for a Week in My Life needs an additional one for pondering and thinking! Oh, now there's a possibility ...

This has just occurred to me as I type. Perhaps this project might also work as Seven Days in My Life Across A Fortnight? OK, so the title needs to be zippier!. But one day to photograph and document, and the following to reflect and put together the pictures and words ...

Anyone ever done this? Downsides/advantages? All thoughts most welcome. :)

Ready, steady ... (WITL)

... almost. :) Daily sheet from Ali Edwards printed, drop-in notelets for own pages designed, and Shimelle's Explore playbook co-opted as part of this week's adventure. 'Explore' can (alas) in my work-life often mean 'think about in a desultory way without taking any action', hence the initial word for greater oomph. Right, it's a quarter to seven and with any luck the keenies will be out of the swimming pool by the time I get there. Without more ado, it's time to get those sails trimmed and ...
... go explore! Hope you all have an adventuresome and happy day ...

Simplexity ...

"I bet you wish you had invented this word", observed Himself, holding a paperback of the same name teasingly out of reach, a weekend at the Science Fair having gone to his head and wallet. "Yup, and baggsy I read it after you!" I begged, hoping secretly he'd set it down somewhere and forget about it. He didn't. Three weeks later, at the end of pages teeming with tales (courtesy of the author) and sticky bits of wine gums (courtesy of Himself), but woefully short on explanation, I was no wiser, alas, about its application in daily life.

But it got me thinking - for my life right now has become more complex, and I love simple. With wonderful serendipity, I was reminded that Ali Edward's A Week in Your Life is just about to begin: a photo-and-journalling opportunity perfect for noticing, documenting and thinking about how to live (and scrapbook) simply and easily in the midst of complexity. Last time I followed the Week in Your Life in 2009, this was the result:

And here is the format I'm going to use this year: an introduction page, a double-page spread per day, followed by a closing page. The long photo space can be a single photo, or a montage, or could be used for journalling, or might become a flap with more photos or journalling inside.

Dropping the photos and journalling into the waiting digital templates will make it quick to print onto A4: I've yet to decide whether to simply pop the pages into my ongoing scrapbook, or make it a book in its own right. Are any of you contemplating A Week in Your Life? If so, do feel free to leave a link, so we can come and visit. :) Hoping you'll join me next week to see how it's going - I'm curious too!

Hoping you all have lovely weekends ...

Settling in ...

... to a new way of life takes time. And energy. And goodwill on all sides. It's the first which is in short supply at present. And so I was delighted to catch Paula's ad inspiration in a little pocket of time in the midst of our new routines and commitments. A few photos from last weekend, and here's my flipped-sideways take on it ...

Thank-you, Paula! And if you too are in need of a quick template, I thoroughly recommend the one I am keeping up my sleeve for this coming weekend as visitors descend (or rather, ascend, given our location): the lovely Simple Aussie Girls' Challenge No. 3.

If I haven't visited you recently, I will very soon. Promise. Deep breath: off to prepare for two girls, one man and a dog ...