Lilac Luna Journal

Jenya took photos from the car on our way downtown and I like how they turned out! I love living just a few miles from downtown...we picked the perfect place to settle.

I'm taking a Rec and Ed class Paper Arts class....we're learning different ways of altering old books....which basically means that you find old hardcover books and add your own art to them to change them into something new....i think that this will be one of my new favorite creative joys....Some of my favorite ways of altering a book: cover the background page with watercolor pencil and water, oil pastels and oil, acrylic paints, or pastel rubbings over templates, adding tabs to the edges, adding pockets, gluing in photos and magazines images and words, adding envelopes, stamping, journaling, collage.....some ideas for themed altered books i may want to create: a book of yoga asanas, an address book with photos, a gratitude journal, a travel journal, a collection of quotes, a scrapbook, a cookbook, and more.....

I am grateful....for the sunshine at last in the middle of winter, for living next door to a wild and undeveloped field, for living walking distance from the woods, for freedom to come and go as I please, for the mystery of a small empty wooden house shrine (which Jamie and I still need to find a Buddha for).....the sunny days would not be so glorious if not preceded by millions of shades of gray....

We're hiding out downstairs in the basement because the tornado siren went off. But it looks like the storm has already passed...though we still have to worry about severe thunderstorms. I brought my laptop down with me so that we could keep an eye on the weather, but it looks like I now have some time to play on my computer!

So I haven't been blogging for very long. I had thought about if for a long time, because I love journaling and this is just another expression of that. The differences are that anyone can read it--which is a weird feeling when I'm used to writing in a private journal--but not that big of a deal yet since I haven't told anyone about it! It's also a fun way to merge journaling with technology, which are two interests of mine. I guess the potential for connection is one of the draws. I have read a few blogs that I find motivating and inspiring and if any of my ideas can do the same for someone else, then I guess it would have been worth it.

This morning I went to QiGong class...something that I just started a few weeks ago. I like learning different philosophies of energy and how it flows through our bodies. The teacher had different names for different types of Chi, one of which was considered our family Chi, energy that flows between family members and Chi that must be healed. Interesting concepts though this is all so new to me, so it's hard to remember all of the details.

Things I am grateful for today include: having time to play on the computer, having a basement that's safe from tornadoes, knowing that my moody son still needs his Mom in times of crises (tornadoes), living in a town with so many opportunities for growth, not having to work in the summertime, good healthy food, yoga, journaling, blogging, and more...

it seems that time seems to go by faster and faster as i get older. it also seems that so much of my time gets eaten up my things that i have not chosen to spend my time on. it's all about balance. i think it's important to make time for the things that bring me joy every day:
journaling
yoga
spiritual study
reading
walking in nature
creativity

summer vacation
chocolate
my journal
motivating podcasts
my new colorful markers
warm, sunny days
inspirational books
solitude
family
my yoga practice
healthy food
creativity
cats
wild raspberries
living close to the woods
living close to the bus line
book clubs
my new PJs

Joy! It is the last day of school before summer break! I'm so happy that I'll have more time for everything that I've been putting off until now. Including sleeping in a bit...