A Mindful Life

Anyone who reads this blog and wants to delve into his or her creativity really needs to read Kat’s invitation. You don’t have to be an artist. You just have to want to feed the spark that already exists in you.

This is a shout-out to my friend who sent me her manuscript to read a couple months ago. She participated in NaNoWriMo and won. Mapelba exceeded the 50,000 word goal, ending up at slightly over 80,000 words. And she’s probably still going to tinker after a well-deserved rest.
I am so impressed with and proud [...]

It’s hard to believe November is ending. It’s amazing to me that I’ve created art everyday for 30 days, and even created a few extra crafts beyond! I am ready for a rest now. I feel I’ve done really good work, broken some internal barriers, and created momentum to make art. I had the luxury [...]

It’s intended more for dressiness than warmth. It’s a gift for someone (who doesn’t read this blog).

Rowan Kidsilk Haze, 70% super kid mohair/30% silk, colorway 596, one-half of a 229yd/210m ball ; Crystal Palace Yarns Kid Merino, 28% kid mohair/28& merino wool/44% micro Nylon, colorway 9811, one-half of a 240 yd ball; size 35 needles.

Here’s a recipe for chili that I serve with rice.
Chili with Beans
2 lbs. ground beef (not lean)
2 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15 oz. can of pinto beans
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilis
1 4 oz. can chopped hot jalapeno pepper
1 cup tomato juice (V8 or water will do)
3 oz tomato paste
3 tsp. [...]

I think some of my peeps would agree this fits.

The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick

You do things your own way - and it’s made for colorful times.
Your life hasn’t turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness!
Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would [...]

I had nearly a full skein left from a scarf I made last month, so I decided to whip up a little dressy scarf. Perhaps scarves will become my “signature accessory” — if I make enough of them, they probably will in the cold months. Seems like the house is full of rectangular pieces of [...]

There’s another creative endeavor I recently found called Self-Portrait Tuesday. Each month has a theme, and each week participants explore the theme using portraits they took of themselves. The theme for November is exploration of identity. Below is a photo I took as I played at modeling a scarf I made last night. This [...]

I thought I’d try my Indian ink and pen set, but didn’t like the results. I used regular watercolor, but couldn’t get them to “behave.” Then I played with watercolor pencil, remembering a sunset from my wedding weekend. This crude rendition doesn’t do it justice. It looks like something any child created. But I’ve experimented, [...]

Yes, I know it’s not December 1 yet. But I wanted to get into the spirit of the season so as to enjoy it fully. Below is the collection of nativity scenes I’ve had for years. On the far left is a plastic toy version that I received, I think, from my Great Aunt Jess. [...]