Morning Glory Studio

Mixed emotions

Honoré here:  Spent all day in my next to last work meeting; t'was a productive day as a new person and an advisory group prepare to take up the mantle. T'was also a bittersweet moment. As my mother told me when I was 16, wanted to move away from home and live on my own [and of course, I had no job and and hadn't quite finished high school, either] : "When the time comes, you'll know it and you'll go with mixed emotions." That is the way I left home - for college and then, as an indepedent young woman and that is how I leave this aspect of my life. The time draws nigh.

Close-up

Honoré here: I started today with a short but important list of tasks I needed to attend to in preparation for winding up next week. About mid-afternoon I had to run a quick errand and took this picture with my iPhone of me in the car. I added it to my Project 365 for the iPhone and thought I'd share it here, too. Figuring out how to take a self-portrait without a timer and/or a tripod is a fun challenge. I am coming up with some interesting - tho' not always sharable - shots. This one  isn't too bad, I think.Of course it would be a lot better if more of my profile were visible. It probably helps to have longer arms. It is a fairly good display of my greying hair. You cay you can't see any grey? Aw, you're too kind. Thanks.

                

I'll keep at it...

Cheers~

A tad early...

Honoré here: I was reading Cathy Zielke's blog earlier today. Her post is about living a healthier life so that in the end, she'll not only lose weight but also, feel better about herself. Cathy stopped smoking over a year ago. Couple that with inactivity due to her primary daily interests: designing and scrapping at the computer, and so, as it happens with most who quit, she has gained weight. Got me to thinking...

As I enter into full-time retirement phase, I am busily building new habits that will enable me to spend much of my additional discretionary time doing fun things: quilting, knitting, scrapping, art journaling, photography, etc. All very sedentary activities. So, it occured to me that I'd better step up my walking regimen: pull out the ol' pedometer, walking shoes and reinstate my daily walk. I've been somewhat remiss.

Today is a nice day: there is a feel of spring in the air so I was hoping I'd see some signs, like buds on the trees or a crocus peeking through on my walk. 'Fraid not; guess it's a tad early. What I did notice tho' is how prolific the holly bushes are this year. I recall thinking that in December and it seems that there are even more berries now.

       

Oh, and by the way, I did manage to add about 3700 steps to the pedometer...

Cheers~

What fun!

Honoré here: Yesterday I discovered a new app for the iPhone that I can use with my photo-a-day project. The app, aptly named Project 365, is free. Install on your iPhone, open and you are greeted with a monthly calendar with a box for adding a photo, daily. You can even add a caption to the photo. I tried it for the first time today and the process is as simple as can be. I had more difficulty installing the app than using it, primarily because I'm just now learning and using all the features of the iPhone. Here's a blog post about the app and this is the picture I added for today's entry. As you can see, it's another of my favorite shadow portraits. The sun was just at the right angle as we headed out for a quick errand earlier today.

                   

I also decided on the furniture arrangement in Studio B; quiet as it's kept, I wound up moving several pieces back to their original spots, once I took the time to think about the activity zones and proximity. I definitely need to pare more and now that I've decided where things will be used and housed, that aspect of organization refinement should flow.

The sun is setting and the sky is beautiful; guess that means I should move on.

Cheers~

A new journey

Honoré here: I'm not sure I've accomplished much of anything today. Norman's son came over and while the guys watched football, I puttered around in Studio B, moving furniture and trying to get the best configurations for the activity zones I envision. Even tho' I'm making progress, it's slow.

I uncovered this letter H I'd decorated a couple years ago. I like to wear fun hats and the crown adorning my head is actually a picture of me in front of a Statue of Liberty poster. Inside the knitted bag (made by the participant who gave me that wonderful felted knitted purse) was a  little booklet thanking me and wishing me good luck in my new life (retirement). I think the little knitted bag belongs with the letter H. They both serve as a reminder not only of the journey I'm about to complete but also the one I'm about to begin.

                   

Have a great Martin Luther King Holiday tomorrow.

Cheers~

Before the opera...

Honoré here: Today, my friend and I went to another live HD simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera. We were very careful not to yak so much that we overshot our Metro stop, as we did last week. Carmen, a well-known and loved opera was today's performance; it was superb: singing, sets, costumes, orchestra, choreography, intermission interviews. All of it!

Have I mentioned that I'm in the process of refining the organization, aka moving furniture and removing clutter, in Studio B? Before I left  home at 10:30 am I put together an IKEA bookcase:

               

Really simple and easy thanks to the pictorial illustrations and simplified design. I wish eliminating the excess was as easy.

Have a great evening.

Cheers~

Measure right, cut once...

Honoré here: I'm playing the If Only game ( I wrote about it here) today with my virtual friends and my quilting buddy who is here in the area. I was working on a variety of odds-n-ends projects plus I had decided to cut all the batting squares needed for the 3-4 bucket bags I'm making.  I was on a roll: 24 - 5 inch squares done plus three strips measured, and once cut, I'd have 24 more 5 inch squares. Oh wow, I was thinking, I'm almost done; I've cut enough squares for three bags (each bag requires 16 squares). Only 16 more to cut. I was excited.  

           

One of my challenges in 2010 is to approach my many projects at the "inch by inch" or runway level. Along with that, I am also "batching" tasks or steps; that's a more brain-friendly, efficient way of doing things and contributes to maintaining momentum. I am really a big picture person; I can't see the trees for the forest. Getting down to the acorn, leaf, branch level of a project is not my strong suit so you can imagine my excitement with the batting squares.

And then I realized that I'd cut all the squares the wrong size! I need 6 inch squares. I know where I got off track. All I can do is smile and "begin again, for the first time." That's next on the agenda. But now, it's almost time to call in and touch base with the group.

Measure right, cut once.

Cheers~

Haiti

Just a matter of seconds. We are all stunned by the tragedy caused by the earthquake that hit Haiti Tuesday. And I am so encouraged by how we, the United States,and other nations are responding. Here are two resources I found valuable: a New York Times article and this blog, which lists many ways and resources on ways to provide help. If you missed the President's press conference this morning, you can watch it here.

Let us all do what we can.

These 3?

Honoré here: As I promised myself, today I started to audition  - that's the term quilters use when selecting fabrics - possibilities for the pillow. I know that the teal/aqua will be among the finalists; the jury is still out with the orange; and I've many more selections to make before it's all over. The beauty of that pillow is almost anything will go, so if I change in midstream, t'won't be such a big thing.

             

Norman and I went to the grocery store. We both remarked how empty the parking lot was and concluded that maybe 10:30 am on Thursdays was a good time to grocery shop. I couldn't pass up this:

     
                 

Isn't it gorgeous? I think a yellow this color will look yummy in the pillow, too.

I had lunch today with a friend who's been retired ten years; I hadn't remembered that many years had elapsed! We decided that since lunch was so much fun, we'd meet at least monthly.  

And that was my day. Yours?

Cheers~

Memories in the making

Honoré here: Today was the next to last day of sessions I will spend with the people in the training program I coordinate; they surprised and treated me with this:

               

and one trainee made this wonderful knitted and felted bag:

               

These are just two of the wonderful memories I have of this group and of my twelve years learning from and with them and all the other groups who came before.

By the way, the knit bag looks really good with the bucket bag I made last week. Great minds...

Enjoy your evening.

Cheers~