New pages, testing out my new doodle journal, Christmas gift to myself, December 26, 2009, images © 2009 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
Today is all mine. It’s almost two and still I’m dressed in my light blue, light flannel pajamas. They’re old-fashioned, the kind of button-down-top and pants that Ricky Ricardo and Lucy used to wear. As Jim said, “Now if someone comes over early on a weekend, you won’t have to scramble to get dressed.”
No scramblin’ today.
my three cranes
This was the view from my kitchen window yesterday morning. The three cranes who’ve been hanging out here for over a month had meandered up to the spot where the pasture meets the patio—the closest point to the house without actually being on the patio.
One crane stands sentinel while the other two eat or preen. If they catch us in the window watching them, they sometimes stop what they’re doing and stare back. Us watching cranes watching us watching them.
It’s reminiscent of that spring when we had nearly two dozen turkeys lounging on the patio furniture, including the farm table that’s pushed up against the exterior wall of the kitchen. Turkeys looking in on us, and now cranes. Birds, Big Birds, are social animals. Either that or curious ones.
When I crept out the sliding glass door over to the low wall that separates patio from pasture, the cranes booked on out. They didn’t take flight, but they wandered away on their incredibly long and skinny legs to a more comfortable gazing distance.
December Cranes, cranes in the pasture retreating when I move closer, December 28, 2009, photos © 2009 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
November Cranes, same cranes, November 28, 2009,
photo © 2009 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
changing tradition
My sister Patty and Mom made Christmas tamales this year. It’s a tradition in our family. Patty suggested that Mom try adding red chile to her masa this time around. Mom had never done that before. Normally the masa is made straight up—corn mixture and water or broth. Not being the most traditional of women, Mom agreed to the change.
Turned out be a good idea. This year’s Christmas tamales were the best ever. I’m not kidding. Chile in the masa made for an interior sort of heat, the kind that comes from deep inside. And tastyyyy?! The kind of taste that you crave days after Christmas has ended and you wonder if anyone has Christmas tamales still tucked away in the freezer.
Tamales for Christmas, Mom’s tamales stacking up for the big holiday,
photo © 2009 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
tart and sweet
One of my favorite gifts for Christmas was a package of Sharpies in Caribbean colors. They remind me of tropical Jelly Bellies or Skittles. The kind of bright colors that people in island cultures use to paint their homes, although you never can tell since the sun fades the colors over time to a sort of Easter egg pastel palette.
I bought myself a new doodle journal, on sale at Anthropologie. I love that store; the buyers there have the best taste for eclectic and gorgeous furniture, bedding, clothing, shoes, kitchenware.
This journal has a full year’s worth of pages, each month a different color. The months aren’t labeled but the dates are—1 through 31, or however many days there are in that particular month. January is salmon, February creme, March red, April green, May yellow, June blue. The paper has little specs in it, like sun spots on skin. The freckles come out when you apply a marker to the surface.
A doodle a day, starting January 1. I can’t wait. In fact, I didn’t wait. For the first two blank pages, I already doodled. Real doodles, not the fancier drawings I tend to call doodles. I’ll still do those, but sometimes my own complexity—my desire to outdo myself—gets the better of me. Back to basics. (With a mango twist, of course!)
retreat, retreats, re-treaty
I recently became a member of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe. I received the 2010 Catalog of Offerings and have decided to take two classes in 2010.
One I want to take with Jim. One of my intentions for 2010 is to share my passions with him. I seem to spend a lot of time in my own world, and while I’ve always appreciated the latitude my husband gives me, I also realize he’s open to exploring new things.
We had a couple’s massage on his birthday, and I’m always surprised by how willing he is to do things I might otherwise assume he wouldn’t want to do.
Don’t make assumptions, one of The Four Agreements®. I reflect on this particular agreement most of all, although all four are principles to live by.
- Be impeccable with your word
- Don’t take anything personally
- Don’t make assumptions
- Always do your best
Read The Four Agreements® again. Live them all year long.
This wasn’t meant to be a post about new intentions. Remember, I’m sitting in pajamas, chillin’. I guess the reflecting and looking forward are percolating, even as I cling to lazy days spent in coffee shops or movie theaters or my writing room.
The waning days of 2009. Another year. Another decade.
I love those Sharpies. One of my friends goes into a swoon in the school supply aisle. She’s a teacher, and loves to open her desk drawer where she keeps the markers.
After reading your post, I think I need to head over to Anthropoligie.
Nice that your husband is willing to try new things with you.
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I love the meandering musings in this blog. I was drawn to The Four Arguments and will post them at my desk at work. I think having simple guidelines is a great way to keep you on the right path.
At my desk now I have a page from my Zen page-a-day calendar from last year that helps bring me back into focus – “Don’t draw another’s bow, don’t ride another’s horse, don’t mind another’s business” Ta-hui
I will add The Four Arguments on the wall beside this and hope they will keep me centered.
Here is to an awakening in the coming year.
R3
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The Sharpies are wonderful! I love the colors.
I’ve hard of The Four Agreements and keep meaning to add the book to my book list. It’s added now. Thank you for the reminder.
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I like the feel of this post…lazy, wandering, playful, pensive. Very nice.
I love going to office supply stores where I can look at different types and colors of ink pens and markers. Sometimes, when I go to a new city, that’s where I go to shop, the office supply stores, the paper stores, the art supply stores.
I should treat myself to a trip to one soon. I haven’t been in over a year!
Enjoy your pjs and your non-scrambling days!
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I do the same thing, Corina. Office stores in every city I go to, and lately, the paper store, if there is one. Today in Santa Fe, found the Rubber Stamp store, too. (And the modern furniture store, which the kids loved, btw.)
Another lovely day today, although much more active. We took the train to Santa Fe and meandered there. 8)
R3 and Robin, hope you like the book if you get it. I find it to be simple and poignant. Be impeccable with your word. That’s a biggie. They all are, but for some reason, that one and Don’t make assumptions are the two I always remember the most.
Christine, the journals were on sale, too. Half off, I think.
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ybonesy, what a wonderful post. You sound relaxed and grounded. I LOVE that journal. What company puts it out? I’m tempted to go and get one as well. Maybe not so much for doodles (although I do doodle sometimes) but for everything: thoughts, ideas, sketches. Sounds really fun.
Is Anthropoligie a chain store? Or I wonder if they have an online presence.
I have that same set of Sharpie markers. Sharpies have been my pens of choice for years now. I just love them. I use them for the mandala coloring and creation, too. (But you have to remember to put something underneath them as sometimes they bleed on to whatever is underneath them if the paper’s not thick enough.)
There is nothing like a Sharpie! I’ve been looking at intentions for the New Year, too. For me, 2009 was a long, long year full of bumps in the road. But I remain optimistic. One day at a time.
Say Hi to the cranes. Isn’t it heaven to be able to gaze at them right outside your window? A real gift.
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I knew I’d written about Sharpies somewhere. It was this old post on WRITING TOPIC — TOOLS OF THE TRADE (LINK).
yb, I also decided a few weeks ago to do a photo practice — a photo a day. Lots of photographers have done this but I’ve never tried it. So that’s something I’m gearing up to do in the New Year as a new practice. I’m more focused on my art and photography right now than my writing. I think I’m going to let myself do that. Stop worrying about everything I’m not getting done and focus more on what I have accomplished. My new job is physically demanding and leaves little energy at the end of each day. So I’m figuring out ways to adjust and still keep going with the intentions to complete and follow through on projects. We’ll see what happens.
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QM, as with many beautiful journals, this one is made in Italy. The company is called alfabet, and the website http://alfabet.it. And yes, Anthropologie stores can be found all over [LINK]. The first one I ever went to was, I think, in Santa Barbara. I was so excited when a few years ago they opened a store in Albuquerque. It’s pretty pricey, so I only shop the sales, but some of my favorite finds (a pair of red suede wedge shoes, colorful pillows that line our bancos, wire candlestick holders, a wooden salad bowl) are from there.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me about your post on Sharpies. I love them for writing, too. Probably moreso than for drawing, as they are so dense and have that soaking through feature.
And yes, it’s been heaven gazing at the cranes. They mate for life, so I’m not sure if this third crane is a child of the other two or if it lost its partner. Maybe these three were from the same group of four cranes that hung out last season. I feel certain that the three here every are the same ones each day, but whether they’re the same from previous years, I don’t know.
QM, I’m so glad to hear about your new photo practice. Seems like the Blackberry has had something to do with accessibility and a new tool and challenge in taking photos, too. Is that the case?
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p.s., QM, I added the Anthropologie link to the body of the post. Also, realized I spelled it wrong (it’s already spelled wrong, but then I made it worse) so I fixed that, too. 8)
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Oops, just tried the URL for the company that makes the journal (the URL is printed in tiny letters on the inside back cover) and it didn’t work. I’ll have to do more research to try to find this company.
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ybonesy, thanks for the info about the journal. I want to check it out. I haven’t yet bought a journal or a new calendar. I like the idea of filling up a page a day though, with anything creative.
For my normal calendar, I like to see the whole month for some reason. I don’t know why. I never break my calendar days into timeslots, even at work. I still use the month view.
About the photo practice, YES, it was totally inspired by the new BlackBerry camera phone shots I’ve been taking since around October. I’ve decided to do one a day. I like the ease of having a practice like that. When I use my Canon Powershot, I feel some pressure to take “better” photos. At least, that’s what’s in my mind. With the camera phone, I “see” differently and just have fun with it. Maybe I’ll do a post about it.
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