Nature Journaling

I struggle to even sketch a leaf! 

When asked to draw a piece of observed nature, I cringe.

I have never enjoyed drawing.

I follow a successful artist using stick figures and am motivated.

When I try to emulate, I fall flat.

Why would I sign up for the above class, you ask?

😵‍💫

Because I would like to teach “Nature Journaling for Non Artists” at the senior center.

My only credential is that I am a master gardener recently certified.

Also, I am a writer. 

I am going to attempt to become a successful non artist/nature journalist.

🤗

I heard of this course through a blog I now follow. 

It was highly endorsed. 

Although I avoid zooming, I thought that this experience would be beneficial. 

The fact it occurs on Sunday afternoons appeals to me. 

🌺

So I am “in” and donating money weekly.

I will keep you posted regarding all progress.

And most importantly, I will attempt to incorporate what I learn into my weavings.

🥰

Tapestry Turmoil

Tapestry Turmoil and Solution Sought with Many Cliches!

What to do? 

What to say? 

I am discouraged and dismayed that this weaving project is not a success-in-the-making for me.

I am working with a mentor through American Tapestry Alliance on a project to weave a self-designed tapestry. 

I am “over my head”. 

I am “out of my comfort zone.”

What to do?

I want to weave as I go - - create as I weave - - and this is NOT the proper process for beautiful tapestry weavings. Perhaps it is the process for enjoying The Journey and not allow The Destination to control my experience.

For me, The Journey is prime consideration. 

My Saori loom is waiting for my next row, my next unplanned amusement, my next insertion of a twig or a ribbon. 

And so what shall I do?

My mentor is an award winning expert. I am a beginner, having to read and reread Rebecca Mezoff’s book to “meet and separate” my yarns, a basic technique.

“Honesty is the best policy.”

This is Truth and Wisdom. 

I shall be honest. I shall explain that I am ready simplify my loom

       simplify my weaving

             simplify my creativity energies

The Journey becomes my reason to weave.

Waking up in the middle of the night and looking at my ill-formed attempt on my Big Sister loom with a flashlight is not a positive. Lying in bed and wondering what flashy yarn I can weave with in the morning, what object I can attach, what one new technique I can incorporate…..that is my dream.

I am thinking of selling Big Sister to a weaver with different dreams…..

….to a weaver who will appreciate the extra heddles I ordered because I didn’t know what a heddle was.

….to a weaver who will not have lice every other row because she will know how thick a weft to use with her warp.

….to a weaver who will coddle Big Sister as her BFF and not as a “thorn” (you know that cliche).

It’s possible that I can still be a weaver.

The photo above is my current project. It is not what my amazing mentor is expecting. I don’t want to disappoint. I just want to weave freestyle and enjoy my mistakes. 

….and that’s my weave wrap-a-long today!

Coming Around!

Christmas came and went. It was wonderfully uneventful,  as was the New Year.  I have been nesting, going out to lunch a few time with Hubby and then flitting from one project to the next. 

With the purchase of a new Mac computer, I am set to enjoy a couple upcoming beadisciple classes, reconnecting with my poetry e-circle, pulling up weaving videos that are awaiting my perusal and maybe zoom once a month with Story Circle Network.

The saori loom has the beginnings of a weaving on it but I am removing my first efforts and reorganizing the warping threads. Yes, mistakes are acceptable in Saori, but it just looks too sloppy and taking out a few rows is no big deal.

Reading….. always reading…..”The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel is confirming my Christianity. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot is an upcoming read for the senior center book club. I am enjoying both books.

Weaving projects are numerous and I should be focusing on the tapestry, beginning a small sampler to teach myself a new technique and just practicing the process. Saori will always win my adoration, I am quite sure. It is a create as you go process, or rather, it can be!

The cold weather is coming. Birdbaths are freshened, food replenished and I have ordered a bird bath heater. Such joy Hubby and I experience having these wanted guests in our backyard. Best Dog Ava doesn’t bark, just watches and enjoys the company as we do. I never thought I’d be a birder, but then I never thought master gardening would be an accomplishment either.

And so 2025 begins, hopefully less worldly commitments so my chosen commitments at home can be accomplished. As the Lord leads……

And now for a “spiritual” sharing - 

                                            Q

Photo taken in November 2024, Blanco State Park.

 

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

                                             Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Are you tracking Santa’s sleigh? The U.S. government is doing a great job implementing NORAD,  North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Santa’s on his way, the magic is in the air. But is it magic? With volunteer military men and women manning the tracking station, can we not all believe that it truly is an air-born event?

After all, the same technology and satellites are being used that this same agency implements to protect our skies. This radar system is called the North American Warning System.

So be warned. Santa is coming and his visit shall be brief. 

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa. Our government says ‘tis so.

"

Website Gift

                        Website Gift

I have been gifted a website. JC Harvey and his two beautiful children visited my bookmobile at the local farmer's market one Saturday. He then asked if I had a website. "No," I replied, "and it is doubtful that I ever will have the ability to create a website for this venture of giving away children's books."

JC offered to build me a website - totally free of charge!!!

It is wonderful, creative, thorough and accessible. 

I just plugged into my browser:

jamajoans.com

https://jamajoans.com

www.jamajoans.com 

All three addresses took me to my website.

I shall ask him which is the best address for me to use when advertising.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I am going to ask him to tweek a couple areas in 2025.

For now.....I am elated to be online with an explanation of what I do with JamaJoan's Bookmobile.

JC owns Harvey Web Solutions and can be reached at: 

JC.Harvey@HarveyWebSolutions.com

210-501-0063

And did I tell you his two very young children are ADORABLE?

Beware of Blessings

  
                                                          BEWARE OF BLESSINGS

tHIS IS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE POSTS

NOT BECAUSE OF THE "HOW WE USE" BUT BECAUSE OF.....

"THE TRUE MEASURE!"

SURELY WE ARE TRULY BLESSED BY OUR DAILY BREAD, OUR SPIRITUALITY, OUR MATERIALISTIC GAINS AND OUR HUMAN CONNECTIONS

SURELY WE ARE TRULY BLESSED BY OUR SURROUNDINGS AND THE ELEMENTS OF NATURE. THE SUN'S REFLECTION ON A BASKET OF PANSIES HANGING ON A DECORATED BACK PATIO

SURELY WE ARE TRULY BLESSED BY OUR HEALTH AND THE POSSIBILITIES OUR MEDICAL TEAMS OFFER US

SURELY WE ARE TRULY BLESSED BY THE CUP OF COFFEE WE PERK EACH MORNING

WE OFFER THANKSGIVING FOR OUR BLESSINGS BUT MORE IS REQUIRED OF US. MUCH MORE.

HOW DO WE USE OUR DAILY BREAD, OUR SPIRITUALITY, OUR MATERIALISTIC OVERFLOW AND OUR HUMAN CONNECTORS?

HOW DO WE USE THE ELEMENTS OF NATURE? OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS?

HOW DO WE USE OUR MEDICAL ADVANTAGES TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE WITH LESS ASSISTANCE?

HOW DO WE SHARE THAT CUP OF MOJO, THAT CUP OF FRIENDSHIP, THAT ABILITY WE EACH HAVE TO INVITE THOSE IN NEED OF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE INTO OUR LIVES AND HOMES?

TODAY, LORD, ALLOW ME TO BECOME AWARE OF HOW I USE MY BLESSINGS.

Saori Weaving

I committed and bought a Saori loom. This Japanese form of weaving appeals to me with great intrigue. Yes, you  can make mistakes! As a matter of fact, sometimes mistakes are made purposefully. The loom is coming Monday - unassembled. Hubby will help the setting up! I have already moved the dining room table to give space for the loom in the middle of the house, by the back French doors, close to the outside spirits.

Why did this appeal to me? 

When attending the John C. Campbell folkschool beginning weaving class last summer my weavings were not like the others. I used no pattern but just designed as I went. I don't claim to have any great design talent but the journey was oh, so much fun! I created two wall hangings and still am enamored with the process, asking myself "Now, how did I do that?"

When a teacher asked if I knew about saori weaving I was very interested, but knew nothings. I googled and read, googled and read and then finally ordered the $70 book. It is the Saori bible. Then I thought and thought about the loom, the expense, the experience, the journey of becoming a Saori-inspired weaver. I cannot say I am a Saori weaver until I am trained properly, however that happens.

I shall continue with my tapestry studies with my wonderful ATA (American Tapestry Alliance) mentor.

I believe the demand for perfection with tapestry balances the free form spirit that surrounds Saori.

Can I do both? We shall see. 

Peace to all from the looms of love,

joan

List - Making Leap

                                                                   

                                                              Lists....lists....lists....

I make lists in the morning during my recliner quiet time.

Sometimes they are lists that can be checked off during the day.

Most of the time they are lists of what I like to do, what I intend to do, what I am committed to doing!

Today's list was very long and involved. I kept writing all my interests, my commitments, my likes and wanna-dos. Tomorrow I will read the list again and not check off anything. It is a list of what I desire to accomplish with the rest of my life....something like that!

                                                      I have been ignoring this blog. 

I haven't written about our new travel trailer. 

I haven't written about my weaving mentor and weekly assignments.

I haven't written about a wonderful opportunity to use my master gardener connection.

I haven't written about the bookmobile and its success acquiring marvelous new books for distribution.

I haven't written about a forthcoming wedding in the immediate family.

I haven't written about how my extrovert personality is becoming somewhat reclusive.

                                        Home beckons to me each morning. I shall write.

I shall write about the above and include snippets from my previous Maya Stein class.

I shall write about Story Circle Network and the poetry group that I need to revisit with monthly prompts and interactions. I miss that.

I shall write about Story Circle Network's group #7 that I joined and to which I have been silent.

I shall write about my weavings, my progress, my interests and my successes.

I shall write about my new Maya Stein class to which I just signed up.

I shall write.....today, tomorrow and often!

I'm back!

Word Salad

I have an appetite for words.

I like thinking about words and their dressed up appearances.

I like arranging letters on my scrabble board, some standing, some reclining.

I like placing language on a page using space and shape.

Creating a word salad is tossing or not, situating the various letters around the page - “tomatoes” piled in one corner, “cucumbers” tucked in the edges of the lettuce and “onion rings” placed gently on top. Drizzle the “dressing”and ooo-la-la….my salad is complete. 

Dare I create my salad with words and abc’s just like that? 

From my viewpoint, word salad is quite sensical!

(The above was written for a current class in which I am enrolled. The prompts are one word prompts and we are to write 100 words. I do not abide completely by the latter parameter - sometimes more, sometimes less. However I do attempt succinctness. More about the class later. All my submissions will be posted here on jamajoanjottings.)

9/30/2024

Sold!!

Our Jewel vintage trailer sold to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, the highest bid was for less than we had invested in this 1956 gem. However, it sold within one week on the online auction, Bring a Trailer, and it is a "done deal."

I spent one week photographing its many angles and processing them to the site. I had assistance from the auction site. It was a pleasant experience. Real humans responded very quickly to my questions.

Would I list the trailer again on such a site? Maybe .... because I did not have to deal with scammers and unreasonable questions and the few interactions were easy, some rather humorous. Remarks about how the trailer brought back memories were fun to read. However, the trailer bringing back memories did not bring the $$ I thought it would!

It sold for $4000, The gentleman who purchased it lives thirty minutes away and it was picked up four days following the completion of the auction. Out of sight and now pretty much, out of mind!

Next.... I am attempting to sell the Airstream Bambi and it is not the hottest item. Just a few inquiries and none too serious, that's for sure.

2003 19' Bambi For Sale In Ingram, Texas - Airstream Marketplace

I am not 100% convinced that I want to sell it so the price is firm. David is not planning to rv in such a small unit and I am not planning on buying anything bigger. Consequently, our rving days might be over. It's called "hanging up our keys."

That's not all bad either! Trains and planes are still options.

Catching Up!

We’ve been home for several weeks and are now preparing to depart for our longest trip this summer. We’re heading to North Idaho July 22 and will be gone for approximately 3 1/2 weeks. 

Dave is not happy with the small Bambi Airstream but I will try to keeps him chipper on this trip. We are visiting family and also attending a Stearns family reunion where he will be the patriarch. I want him to really enjoy himself as the reunion in Boise was scheduled around our travels.

Update from the weaving week - it was a great motivator for me and I look forward to spending many days pursuing this hobby, both tapestry and rigid heddle weaving. I have signed up for enough online classes to keep me busy for a year or more.  The two wall hangings I completed while in North Carolina are hung in my home. Now I am tackling the tapestry I started months ago and also working on my little Hackett loom.

Other interests such as the piano, the fiddle, the camera and the prayer bead making are all on my agenda for this coming year.  I am hesitating to join anything other than the book club twice a month at the senior center and the Bible study meeting Thursdays for one hour. Always in the background are hours required for my master gardening certification. 

Am I slowing down now that the octogenarian decade is beginning? Maybe I am deciding that having many obligations on my calendar takes energy away from what really is meaningful ~ seeking God’s leading and worshipping the Savior.

Due soon is a post about the book mobile - our Saturday morning commitment and an experience in joyful giving.

I hope to have pics to share from our Idaho trip too.

Stay comfy!