…brings rain! And that, my friends, is a very, very good thing!
My focus is still on keeping things simple this week, despite an incredibly unsimple event that might occur this week… Jury Duty. I got the summons a couple of months ago and this is the week when I *might* be called up to serve. Err, rather I need to “log-in” Wednesday night to see if I have to report on Thursday.
What makes this unsimple event a bit more troublesome… I got a notification from the Colonoscopy Office… if I get COVID between *now and the date of my colonoscopy* I cannot get the procedure…because of course, right? I am not exactly stressing… I will of course wear a mask if I have to report for Jury Duty but I don’t want to delay my colonscopy… at all. I am sort of hoping that my reporting group will not have to report.
To keep my mind occupied and not dwelling on a situation that I have no control over, I am going to continue in with my sewing theme. Okay, maybe not actual sewing, but rather the cutting out bits. I *thought* a lot about that part last week but did not do one second of the *doing* of the pinning out. That is the ONLY thing on my Start List this week.
And with that, I am off to begin my week! Happy Monday all, I will be back on Wednesday with a rather Whimsical Unraveled post!
This week I am doing a TGIF-like post… sort of. I think you will get it once we get started! Some weeks Friday feels like, well… just another day in the week. This week, it feels very much like a Friday… and that, my friends, is a very good thing!
Replacement —
This week saw a changing of the poet… the Poet Laureate, that is. From Joy Harjo to Ada Limón. Two poets I love deeply. I have been spending my mornings in Ada’s The Hurting Kind… one poem each morning to end my meditation time. It is such a lovely place to be… immersed in Ada’s poetry. But this change over has made me want to do the same with Joy’s poems… I had borrowed latest book of poems, Poet Warrior, from my library… but I think it merits some meditation time as well so I will be purchasing a copy for my poetry library. NPR’s Book of the Day podcast shared this lovely interview on Wednesday, it is worth the listen. Likewise, hearing Ada share how she learned that she was selected as the 24th Poet Laureate is an equally inspiring listen (and includes a poem by Joy Harjo!) It makes me a bit sad that Ada will be moving on from The Slow Down, but change is the one constant in life… and so I will embrace her replacement with great joy!
In (case you missed it) —
Change seems to be a common theme most days and there was another big change this week. And the minute I heard of it happening, I knew it was going to be a giant disaster for the City of Pittsburgh. If you are not a Steeler fan, you might have missed the insane news this week that Heinz Field will no longer officially be Heinz Field. Heinz did not renew their Naming Contract. Now, remember what I said about change being constant? Well… all bets are off in Pittsburgh. This is the city that does not do change well! LOL But no one tells it better than the Pittsburgh Dad does!
And for those of you who do not get Pittsburgh, sorry… much of this won’t make much sense to you. However, this Michigan Girl is LOVING that a Michigan company is the new Name Sponsor for Acrisure Stadium!
(in a galaxy) Far, Far Away —
This week had me blown away by the images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Fascinating. Awe. Wonder. These are just some of the adjectives to describe my feelings as I looked at the pictures! However, perhaps the most inspiring is Gregory Robinson… the son of a sharecropper… the man who made all those images possible! (You can hear his interview this morning with NPR’s Steve Inskeep here) Of course, NASA has a blog for The James Webb Space Telescope where they are sharing images and information. It is my new daily check in! Ha!
Fresco-rama —
Okay, maybe not fresco’s per say, but I have signed up for some more watercolor classes which start later this month! This one is an actual class with actual homework. I know! I am so so so geeked! Anyways, I soon will be posting my homework to a private Facebook Class Group for us to see each others work. I am really rather eager for this… as I love learning things from others. This class will go through the end of August. I very much like Rick Surowicz’s style of teaching and I am really looking forward to all the things I am going to learn! (For those interested: I have signed up for the Beginning Landscapes Class)
And there you have my RIFF on TGIF… have a great weekend all! I will see you back here on Monday!
One of the things that I am focusing on this month is to fill my days with simple things… which is not as easy as it sounds. Life is complicated… hard… painful… and these days, it seems that there is a daily new calamity to keep me anchored in that space.
Yet this month, I want my focus to be on ending the month by discovering what being full of the simple feels like… and gosh, it seems like complicated life just does not want to let go… amirite?
So this is my inspiration for the month:
Simple things bring infinite pleasure. Yet, it takes us a while to realize that. But once simple is in, complex is out – forever. — Joan Marques
And so I am going to use the remaining Monday’s in July to keep myself focused on the simple… a reminder for the week that will hopefully set me on the simplest path.
I wanted to give you an idea of what simple things are filling my days this month so here is a short list of my simple focus right now!
Hand washing dishes. Yep, you read that correctly. This is a bit of necessity since the automatic dishwasher is not functioning currently, thankfully… the manual one never fails. lol But rather than complaining about having to wash the dishes, I am using the time to do a little meditation… I am freeing my mind of all the outside noise, and just being in the quiet – and yes – very simple moment of washing dishes. Honestly, I am loving it… but don’t tell Steve that, I also like the simplicity of loading the dishwasher and then heading off to do something else!
The constant simplicity that the weeds provide me. Really, if they did not grow, would I spend as much time in my garden? Can anything be simpler than pulling weeds? I don’t think so… and it gives me a bit of a work out (those thistles can be a challenge to pull out!)
Sewing. Especially the bits I don’t like… cutting out the pattern. However, there is a simplicity to that task… it is one that has not changed much, if at all, since my nana taught me to sew. I can hear my Home Economics teacher, Mrs Larr, talk about this being the most important part of making…and she was so right. So I am going to focus on the importance of this task and savor it… or at least I am going to try!
So there you have it! My simple focus right now.
I hope your Monday is full of good things… and maybe even some simple ones as well! See you all back here on Wednesday!
Is still the weekend! And what could be better than that?!
If the blooms on my tomato plants are an indicator of fruit volume… it looks to be a banner year! I am practicing patience waiting for said fruit to develop. But the plants are lush, green and growing like crazy… so I have hope!
It is been a curious start to summer. The lawn looks like late August…very, very dead. Steve has not had to mow in 2 weeks. And the heat is absolutely ON outside. I hope you all have AC… if not, Life Kit shared some great tips for staying cool! I am doing my weeding early in the morning hours… and why is it that the weeds regardless of the amount of water they get?!
My summer reading is going exceedingly well. I am currently listening to Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures… and it is lovely! So lovely! If you need a reading suggestion… NPR’s Books We Love list came out last week and it is chock full of good things! I added quite a few to my TBR list!
Enjoy your weekend Monday! See you all back here on Wednesday!
Hello, July. I am so glad I am filling my days with some whimsy so I can avoid thinking about the looming July holiday that this year won’t feel like something to celebrate at all.
Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to be themselves. ― Betty Friedan
I am glad that SCOTUS is in recess until the first Monday in October. Very glad. Although I did get a bit teary-eyed when I watched Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson become the first female Black justice! I am eagerly looking forward to her dissents!
But let’s bring on the whimsy, shall we?
My inspiration
And my interpretation…
The watercolor painting continues and this week I finally “broke out” some actual watercolor paper and taped it to my brand new gator board and even started painting! Yes, I am done fighting curling corners… oh boy. My inspiration this week was a photo from Presque Isle on Lake Erie. As you can see… the learning curve on color mixing is steep but I am not giving up!
A bit of whimsy for the bathroom!
There was non-gnome whimsical knitting this week as well. I had unearthed a bag full of the long discontinued Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille. I think I originally bought all that yarn to knit this washcloth which was originally published in Melanie Falick’s Weekend Knitting book. But I thought it might be perfect for the Bodhi Leaf Washcloth from Ease and it was! I have knit two (one is in the shower currently) and I have plans for several more. I also knit one from linen, but it is very small. I have not tried it yet, but I think it would be a good facial exfoliator. This knitting is in the Super-fast Gratification category… I can knit a Bodhi in less than an hour. Really. Cast on to weaving in the two ends… in under an hour and I can easily get two cloths from a skein!
Finally, some garden whimsy… or perhaps necessity? I present one bee watering station!
Ignore the weedy yard… there is little to no grass, but wow! Can we grow weeds!
I took the plant saucer who’s planter had broken and filled it with a couple of scoops of pea gravel and voilá! A place for bugs to drink! I have seen bumble bees, tiny butterflies, as well as a couple of large wasps all partaking! (Okay, maybe I am not so happy for the wasps, but they seemed to have no interest in myself or Sherman… they were just thirsty!) I have to fill it a couple of times a day… the evaporation rate is fast but repurposing things for the win!
And there you have it… some whimsy for my week! I hope you find some whimsy this weekend. I will be back on Monday! Have a good long weekend everyone!
The wee break I took last week inspired a new way of thinking about blogging…much needed inspiration.
Welcome to A Bit of Whimsy!
I am a person who is incredibly serious. Joking around is not easy for me and I don’t spend enough (any?) time creatively playing. However, I am working on including more lightness in my days.
These whimsy posts will help me be accountable to adding some playfulness to my week! (And if you find that you need some whimsy in your life, I invite you to join me!)
You must not ever stop being whimsical. ― Mary Oliver, Wild Geese
Okay, Mary Oliver… I am lisenting!!
One thing I did not imagine when Sarah Schira launched her Year of Gnomes was the whimsy that it would bring to my days. Silly me… can a gnome be anything but whimsical? Previous gnomes were fun, but this with this month’s gnomes – whimsy took over!
You might have seen Gnombleberry and Gnewt on IG, but here is another look at them. I stepped outside of the pattern and created something that fit me… a poem reading gnome with an over the shoulder bag. And a wee pocket for Gnewt… who is not at all certain that poem reading is for him, but he is going to try! It was all so much fun!
**Details for those interested. I knit the bag per the pattern instructions then I pinned the bag where I wanted it to sit on Gnombleberry and knit a single I-cord. I threaded the I-cord on a darning needle and went through all layers of the bag to create the folds you see. I knotted the I-cord and secured it with a stitch or two under the hat brim to make sure it stays on the “shoulder”. I used florist wire in the arm to bend it how I wanted. Gnewt’s pocket had zero fore-thought… I determined where it looked best once I had attached his arms and then picked up three stitches, and knit them in stockinette for 4 rows, slipping the first stitch of each row. I used the tails to stitch it to the body. And stitched Gnewt’s hand into the pocket to keep it secure. Look for more gnome creativity in the coming months!
The other very whimsical thing I have been engaging in is watercolor painting. It is very much a work in progress… and the struggle is very real. But I am sharing my latest attempt… the lavender in the tiny Patrón bottle. I am learning every time I pick up the brush and for now – that is a comfortable start. FYI… highlights and watercolor are a true challenge for me so the wee bits of highlights you see here are courtesy of a white Gellyroll pen which shows up more in the photo than it does in the painted image. But… I am learning!
Finally, the last bit of whimsy for this week came courtesy of Krista Tippet and The Pause.
And there you have my whimsical beginning! Now, I am heading out to spend some time soaking up the peace of the wild things (while pulling the gajillion thistles that pop up seemingly overnight in my gardens!)
Happy Friday everyone! See you all back here on Monday with my June word update!!
