Nourish - my word for 2016

It's that time of year when many reflect on the year just gone and think about wishes and hopes for the year ahead. Some party hard, others see the new year in more quietly, some talk about New Year's Resolutions and some think about a word or a theme for the coming year. There are so many ways people notice (or not notice) and celebrate (or not) the ending of one year and the beginning of another.

I've done a little bit of thinking about the coming year. A few years ago I discovered Susannah Conway's workbook for reflecting on the year gone and thinking about hopes for the year ahead. I highly recommend it and it's available free at this link. She also has a little email offering where she sends emails for five days to help you choose a guiding word for the coming year. I signed up but haven't read the emails (though I have no doubt they are amazing). Partly the reason for that is that my word for 2016 came to me fairly quickly. It is NOURISH. It builds on some of what I began in 2015 in terms of making some small changes to look after myself better. I feel sure it will be a great guide for me during the year ahead and it feels just right.

The year began on a nourishing note for me. On New Year's Eve Brianna and I played a couple of board games, watched some television and I worked on some artwork containing my word. It was a lovely relaxing evening.

Joyful January - I'm in!

Next year (it feels weird writing that and it's less than 2 days away) I will be joining in with Joyful January where people from all over the world will be noticing and sharing things that bring them joy.

The idea comes from Satya Robyn and Kaspalita Thompson who began the River of Stones a few years ago which involved writing to capture a fully-engaged moment. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in that and wrote a small stone every day during January, 2012 (and in fact continued for the rest of the year). I still write them occasionally and you can see them at my other blog www.pausingforsmallstones.blogspot.com.

Satya and Kaspalita write -

"You might want to share an old photo of your dog, a quote you’ve found or a story you’ve heard. You might want to write a few sentences about something that you appreciated during the day. It doesn’t matter what – just anything that makes you smile or brings a little burst of joy."

You can find out more information at http://www.writingourwayhome.com/31-days/31-days-of-joy/. There's also the option of expanding the experience and receiving an email each day as well as other goodies.

To join in with Joyful January you post an image, a few words, share a quote or something that brings you joy and share on facebook, twitter, instagram etc with the hashtag #joyfuljan. I'm sure it will be great fun and inspiration looking through the images and words shared.

I'm planning to share an image or some words each day in January (I'm not quite decided on where yet) and some longer posts going in to more detail here. I'm looking forward to noticing and sharing what brings me joy in January.

Tangle with L-P-N

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I'm back from a fun and yummy lunch with family and looking forward to a quiet evening ahead. A well-balanced day in my opinion!

This week's letters for Diane and Carolien's zentangle challenge are L, P and N. I did this tile yesterday on Christmas Eve and is a little influenced by the season. I chose Pixiose by Margaret Bremner for P, Lantern by Donna Blair for L and N-meshed by Linda Rainsford for N.

Tangle with T-O-Q

Something a little different for me this week for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Zentangle Challenge.  I chose 3 ribbon-like tangles. The first two I did were Organza by Ruth Howell and Qian-long by Diane Tai and at that point I was very happy with the tile. I then decided on the third tangle, Twistee by Livia Chua. For a while I was worried that I had overdone it and it felt too busy but some shading saved the day (and tile). All three of these tangles were a delight to draw. 

A feast for the birds (and Shadow Shot Sunday - December 13, 2015)

I wrote about my bumper crop of apricots last year. You can read about it here. It's a very different story this year. There are not as much fruit on the tree and the birds have certainly found what is there. I have managed to pick some and give some away again and if I'm quick I will get some more as they ripen but nothing like last year's crop. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #247

Wow, it's December already! As it was the first Monday of the month this week that means a Use My Tangle (UMT) challenge over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. This week it is the tangle, African Artist by Tina-Akua Hunziker, CZT. 

Tangle with X-P-I

The letters this week for Diane and Carolien's Weekly Challenge are X, P and I. I chose Lila Popcheff's tangle X for X, Karry Henn's tangle Palrevo for P and Jennifer Hohensteiner's tangle Ipso for I. For a change I added a little colour this week. 

Pandemic - is it possible to win?

I'm joining in with Six Word Saturday again. My six words are 

Pandemic - is it possible to win? 

Last week my daughter's boyfriend bought the board game, Pandemic, and the three of us have enjoyed learning how to play and trying to win. We've had five attempts so far and felt like we've come close a couple of times but haven't achieved success yet. It's a different way of playing a board game in that instead of playing against each other you work together to try and save the world from four different viruses. It took a little while to learn and each time you play it is different as part of the game is to have a particular role which changes each game. You have to use your skills to help the team and though you take turns individually there is lots of talking about what each person should do. It's certainly held our interest so far and we're determined to win. Maybe on our sixth attempt? 

Tangle with K-U-C

For Diane and Carolien's challenge this week the letters are K, U and C. I chose the tangles Keenies by Donna Hornsby, Undling by Susie Achter and C-stem by Agneta Landegren. 

The Diva's Weekly Zentangle Challenge #246

There is a guest blogger this week over at www.iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com. Dilip Patel, CZT09 from India has set us the challenge of a monotangle over strings resembling a tree. I came across the tangle C-STEM by Agneta Landegren while doing another challenge and decided to use it for my monotangle. I'm pleased with how it turned out.