My Sketch Journal

For those of you who are friends of FB, you have seen some of my sketches.  What most people don't know is that they are actually part of a journal.  I've never been very good at journaling. I had a diary when I was in Jr. High I think, and I mainly kept track of what I wore to school so I didn't wear the same outfit again before the required length of time had passed - I don't remember what that time frame was, but I do know it seemed really important.  Now I don't care so much and I realized that other people don't either. I asked a friend a few weeks ago if I had worn a certain blouse the week before and her response was, "I don't know, I don't even remember what I wore 3 days ago." She is the one we all call the Fashion Police so that put some things in perspective for me.

But I am off the subject... oh yes, my journal.  About 2 years ago I decided that I wanted to start doing more of the artwork that I used to do before kids and life got in the way.  I did some pencil drawing but was pulled back to watercolors which I had loved doing when I was in college. Last Christmas my Mom gave me back a watercolor that I had done for her when I was at MT State and I realized how much I enjoyed that medium. I had also found a blog on line which I liked to read - for the artwork. The artist/journal blog is written by Jenny Frith and you can see it here Jenny's Sketchbook

I went to Michaels and found this nifty sketchbook that you can do watercolors in. It even comes with a paintbrush strapped inside - very handy!

 

Bill had given me a box of watercolors for my birthday, and I had a ton of brushes left from other projects over the years, and some I inherited from Bill's great aunt. I love this set.

 

 

I also found some watercolor pencils that are fun for doing small projects.

Now I try to journal every day. It can be anything, but I'm trying to keep track of important things like when I order something online, what flowers/plants I planted and when, if I'm sick, took a day off, went to the doctor, got my haircut, etc. With our hectic lives it is hard to keep track of everything if I don't write it down.

 

Yes, I have days where all I write is that I'm sad... and when I see this I know that I still have work to do on me and my relationships.

 

 I keep track of where I've gone and what I've done - like our trip to NYC in March.

 

And my grandson's birthday party in April - and what my garden is doing.

I try to keep track of gratitudes too - I'm not as good at that as I should be. I should write down at least 3 a day, but I do forget how blessed I am - don't we all?

And sometimes I just doodle - I found an art book and a calendar that had the top pictures in it - I'm pretty good at copying other's work.  Now I'm trying to branch out more and do my own work - like the picture at the top of this blog.  I'm hoping to get better at all this, both the art and the journaling - check back in a year and see how I'm doing :0)  I just bought a new journal for 2014.

 

 



Photo Friday - In the Wild

Walking in the Woods

Photo Friday - High Tech

Those of you who know me know that I am about the least "high tech" person around so I had to dig deep to find something to photograph. This was one of the engines on display at the NASCAR track on Sunday.

Birthday Pie

In my family birthdays are always special. I guess my Mom started that when we were little by letting us pick what meal we wanted for our special day, but more importantly what dessert would be the best thing ever.  For me the meal was popcorn shrimp and the cake was angelfood with sprinkles inside and a light frosting on top. My Mom still makes that cake for me when she can.

I started this tradition for my kids as well. When they were little I made the fancy character cakes that took hours and hours.

Alf

He Man

Dinosaur lover here!

As they got older my boys decided that cake wasn't really what they wanted for birthdays. Christopher loves chocolate cheesecake so when he's here I make that. I have the most wonderful recipe for this and not one crumb goes to waste.  Nick likes cherry pie.  Nick's birthday is Oct. 28 so we celebrated this week with his favorite meal - steak and spinach pinwheels and cherry pie with vanilla ice cream.  I think it was a hit. 



 One year a friend invited us to a 4th of July party and I made this pie and used little cookie cutters for the top crust. I think I just used the stars all over the top. That idea kind of stuck so now I always make this pie with the cookie cutter shapes on it. I think it makes it a little more special.

Doesn't that look yummy?  It was!

The twins weren't too crazy about the pie but they did get their first taste of ice cream - it is appropriate that this was at Grammy's house!  Reagan got his first ice cream at my house too - as it should be...


On the flower side of life - this week I found a cluster of grapes that for some reason the birds and lizards didn't get. They were well on their way to being raisins so I didn't get to eat them, but they did make for a great photograph.