One Little Word 2023

Continuing my search for my focus word for this year, I had another chat with Mary in Messenger. I also picked up on the idea in the video I shared in my last post about listening out for a word or words that repeatedly catch the attention.

Amazingly, the word {connect} kept cropping up.  One of the times was when I was watching a programme about Charlie Mackesy who wrote the The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.  Bear Grylls spoke about Charlie's sculptures showing connection and also said 'where there's connections there's always strength'.

 
I started thinking about connect and connections and then realised that I had chosen {connect} in 2017.  At the time, as I told you in my previous post, I was using Ali Edward's workshop, but had only got as far as March with it.   You can see how I got on, in these posts: January, February, March

I'm determined to do better this year.  To become more connected to my word!  More connected to my Creativity, to my Community, to my Well-being and to my Identity (which includes my faith).

There are several people in the One Little Word Facebook group with the same word.  I set up a subgroup for them all so that we can all be connected.  Good start for our word, I think.

I am not going to make a separate journal for my word as I did back in 2017.  I'm going to include it in my planner.

The week of December 26th to January 1st was in my 2022 planner and in the new one for 2023.  I didn't want to copy the 2022 page so I did this instead.

I went back to my box layout from 2022 and tweaked it for this year.  I've cut these boxes out and stuck them into my planner.

It takes quite a while to set up a new planner/journal but I am getting there.  Some of it was even ready for January 1st.

I did however manage to get the pages ready for this week.  I started with the pages that sassiecassieplans did on YouTube but deviated because I like more boxes than she does!

I've still got things to do in my planner for January but at least I've started.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Word of the Year or not!

Happy New Year

I have been choosing one word for the year for a while now.

Over the years since 2011 I've chosen
Restore, Focus, Present, Participate, Thirst, Purpose, Connect, Gratitude/Thankfulness, Commit/Commitment, Walk, Intentional and More.

Looking back, many of the same things to focus on each year, come up time and again whatever the focus word.  In fact when I look at what I wrote for {More}, I could use most of it again this year with one or two tweaks!

So what's the word for 2023?

At first it was going to be {self-care} but I like to find quotes and Bible verses and really didn't think think there'd be many appropriate scriptures.

Then I thought maybe I could use the word {Balance} - as in a well-balanced physical, spiritual and creative life.  Basically self-care then!!

Then I moved onto {Identity} because as I told you I have signed up for the Essence of Identity Course.  Also Identity in Christ is a key foundation of my church and is the current teaching series.

However!

I am also very aware that I get really excited about having a word for the year and do lots of work towards it.  See my posts for {More} and More Planner Stuff.    However by June if not April or May, my focus has waned and the last 3 months of the year I'm hard put to remember what my word is/was.

I was having a Facebook Messenger 'chat' with my friend Mary about it saying 'I have wondered about having a different word for each quarter'.    She suggested 'Maybe you could have an overarching word - self care or balance - for the year. Then have a focus word for each quarter that could line up with some of the areas you want to focus on'.

Mary told me that she had signed up for Ali Edward's One Little Word workshop because it provides structure.  I haven't done OLW since 2017 but thought I would check it out.  It has changed since I last took part.  Ali has brought in a team to help her and the participants.  So I thought I would give it a go.

This video is a helpful introduction if you've never chosen a focus word for the year.

As I write this in 2022 I'm still no nearer choosing a word although one or two are bubbling closer to the surface.  And it's 2023 tomorrow!

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

One Little Word: March

The task for March was to make our word visible through a type of vision board or vision pages.  Although the actual description was to find images and words or phrases we like and make a collage or 4 and that's what I did.   It may not seem on first glance that these pages are anything to do with my word {Connect} but they are.

This picture of Cragside with words Building Dreams really appealed to me.  I added the other words.

I used a piece of scrapbook paper that looks like watercolours dripping down.  The words I found for this are to encourage me to be more intentionally creative.

This page is also about connecting with creativity.  I used a page from a Stampington magazine as the background.

And lastly, this is a photo of Corfe Castle from the National Trust magazine with some positive thoughts for life, travel and exercise.

I put some stickers on the front and back of the March binder divider.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

One Little Word: February

It was suggested that we pick a daily practice for the month of February. I chose to get dressed straight after breakfast everyday.  As I said in my previous OLW post my choice might not seem much to you but it's quite a biggie for me.  When I was working I could get up at 6.55am and be out of the house an hour later.  These days it can be as late as 11 o'clock before I get dressed and much of the hours after breakfast are spent in PJs and dressing gown sitting at the computer.  Sometimes I work but mostly it's Facebook and Pinterest.

And I achieved it everyday for 28 days!  Yeah!

For various reasons I didn't add any extra exercise to my hour on a Monday at the gym but I am being kind to myself and not worrying about it.

I signed up for Ali's Story Kit 'Bond' because I felt it fitted with my word {Connect}.  However it took quite a while to arrive and I haven't done anything with apart from taking the together card out of it and using it in my February page.  I listed the things where Roger & I had intentionally gone out and spent time together.


Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

January

So January came and went and it's February already.  Ali Edwards sent out a new prompt for February for One Little Word.

I decided I would look back at January and see how well I had done with my word.  I included one photo from each of the two weeks I've done from Adventures in Seeing.  I wrote about these here and here.

I also thought I'd work out who I had conected with in real life - as opposed to online - and discovered all these connections.

This was really interesting as I often think that I don't spend time with people other than on Facebook and through emails.  Quite eye-opening really!

So, on to February.  Ali has suggested we all practice one small thing each day and record our progress.  My choice (getting dressed straight after breakfast) might not seem much to you but it's quite a biggie for me.  When I was working I could get up at 6.55am and be out of the house an hour later.  These days it can be as late as 11 o'clock before I get dressed and much of the hours after breakfast are spent in PJs and dressing gown sitting at the computer.  Sometimes I work but mostly it's Facebook and Pinterest.

I didn't set myself the challenge of reducing computer time but interestingly in the days that I've got dressed I have found I have spent less time on the computer.  A win-win really.

Hopefully it will become a proper habit not just something I do for February.

Thanks for stopping by
Bernice

Did I finish?

Yes I did!

I continued in my December Daily binder up to December 31st.

On the right one picture for each of December 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th

On the left the wedding we went to on December 30th and then just a plan for December 31st.  We watched Jools Holland but had red wine!

And on the back - drumroll please - my word for 2017

I have done One Little Word with Ali Edwards with varying success over the years.  This time when I signed up for the class I ordered the kit as well.  I thought maybe I would keep up with the class if I didn't have to think so much!

So, not only did I finish December Daily for the whole month, I have finished all of the January prompt for One Little Word.

Go me!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Being Busy updates and an announcement

In my last post I promised I would update you on how I was getting on with some other classes and workshops I'm doing or getting behind with.  It is a very long post but please stick with it.  Or just scroll down to the bottom for the announcement.

Firstly One Little Word and Documented Life.  I have been combining these and really not enjoying it.  I haven't totally given myself to the Unplanner which has weekly art journaling type suggestions.  I really only kept a 'diary' of what I had been doing.  So as a result of Pathfinder - more on that later - I decided to discontinue the Unplanner in its previous form. I also decided not to continue with the I am tags.

I decided to keep track of what I do each day on the calendar on the back of each monthly divider and concentrate on One Little Word.  In April I went to Florida to attend a Ladies Getaway and I stuck the programme cover onto the April divider.

I filled in a key activity from each day on the calendar.  April's OLW task was to define what life was like with more of your word in it.  I attended Pathfinder right at the end of April so I have only just completed this task.

I was trying to exercise every day but that didn't always happen.  The photo on the May divider is of Lacock Abbey.  We went to stay at a B&B in Lacock for our wedding anniversary.  We didn't stay in the Abbey!  However the B&B was absolutely five star.

I signed up for an online class Art & Spirituality because it has been written by someone I know.  It is excellent but requires a daily commitment each week.  As we went away at the beginning of week 2 I got behind.  Still I can keep all the PDFs and do the course when I have time.

So on to Pathfinder.  This was an excellent day with Anneliese Bates.  I've done art workshops with Anneliese before but nothing like Pathfinder.  She provided us with an A5 sketchbook and we coloured the backgrounds however we wanted and then she asked questions.

The class was described thus:  This workshop is aimed at anyone who doesn't know what direction they really want to take, whether you have a new business idea, thinking of a big life change, a change in career or even moving home, Anneliese will guide you through the thought process step by step, interspersing it with art for which you need no experience.

Included in the workshop is a journal that will be become your working thought process, beautifully decorated and personalised with your own artwork and full of your thoughts, dreams and how to make those become a reality.

We will explore the changes you want to bring about, the things that are stopping you, and ways to overcome the obstacles.

I had gone with the idea of looking at whether I should stick with art journaling or concentrate on textile art or do both.  A somewhat simplistic idea in the light of what happened.

The first question was what were you unhappy with in life at the moment and what did you want to change.  I did add a couple of things to my answer.

Anneliese continued to ask questions and we continued to write down our personal answers.  The best part was as there weren't many of us that we were able to ask questions and make comments.  Discussions ensued which helped clarify our thoughts.

Here is a really key page.

When I got home I wrote down all that I had signed up for!  No wonder my head hurt holding all that information in my head.  I went through the list and decided which ones I should stay committed to, which ones I should give up on entirely and those that I had online lifetime access to and could do when I have time.  I have also withdrawn from the Cas Holmes weekend workshop.

This was a really useful page that I did at home.  Some of what is written here came out of the discussions we had on the day.

However you know me, I ignored my own advice about not signing up for anything else and enrolled on a 9 weekend course called Experimental Textiles led by Kim Thittichai which starts in June!

We had also talked about decluttering.  We had loads of boxes of my Dad's stuff in the conservatory - they had been there 2-3 years.  I had made a half-hearted effort to get them sold at an auction but had kept putting it off.  We also had over 300 owls that Andy collected as a child and other collections of stuff.  And stuff it is.  However I emailed a different auction house who accepted everything I listed and we took it all to them - 18 boxes of stuff.  They are sorting it into lots and it will all be put in an auction either in June or July.  Result!

Just as I was sorting out the boxes of stuff to take to the auction house this article popped up on my Facebook newsfeed.     How to declutter and let go of family treasures

I thought this was excellent from that article.

• Memories take up space in our hearts; stuff takes up space in our homes.
• Memories last forever; stuff breaks, gets lost, and fades away.
• Memories bring joy; stuff brings stress.
• Memories are honoring; stuff is diminishing.
• Memories bring peace; stuff brings chaos.
• Memories actually matter; stuff really doesn’t matter at all.

I feel much more in control of what I am doing although there is still much to work through.

Well done, if you're still here having waded through this post.  And now for the big announcement.

Drumroll please!

This is my 998th blog post.  Wednesday will see my 999th.  And on Friday we will celebrate
1000 with a giveaway.


See you on Friday.  Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

March

I am combining my One Little Word, the Unplanner from Art to the 5th and the 'I am' statements from His Kingdom Come in one binder.

I have ignored the Unplanner art challenges during March and just kept a record of what I've done.  Where there's gaps on the pages it's because I can't remember what I did or I didn't do anything special.

For the divider page for March I stuck the card that came with the bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day and then stuck some of the cellophane over the top.

Lots of the doodled pages and dividers in this binder can be coloured in but I haven't got round to it yet.

You can see the 'I am' tags that I am making for a bible verse each week.

The last few days of March are on the same page as the beginning of April so I have put that page into this month's pages.

The challenge in One Little Word for March was to create a large collage using bits and pieces cut from magazines.  I toook a photo of it for my binder.

I have tried to exercise every day and although I haven't lost any weight, I have lost inches!  Yeah!

Here's a better photo of my OLW collage.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Know Your Why

You may remember that my One Little Word for 2016 is Purpose.   I wrote about in this blog post: Purpose.  I had great intentions of getting to grips with the word via various books, videos and studies and apart from the one of the exercises in the Reflections class I have done none of it.

And then this week, this video turned up on my Facebook newsfeed.

And it started me thinking.

Do I know my why?  Do I know my what?   If my what currently is mixed media and textile art then why am I doing it?

I believe we have seasons - not the four seasons in the year - but times for certain things to happen.  There is a famous passage in the Bible about this:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -

A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

I think that our purpose has seasons - we have times where our activities fulfil a certain purpose and then we move on to something else.

I believe that there are some purposes in my life that are on going:
To be the best wife that I can be
To be the best mother that I can be
To be the best friend that I can be

However I also think there are other purposes or plans that God has for me now and in the future - although currently I don't know what they are.  I trust God to reveal them in his timing which is never the same as mine!

But I wonder whether sometimes I am doing the what without seeking the why first.

This month's assignment for One Little Word was to make a vision board.  So I cut out words and pictures from magazines that 'spoke' to me and collaged them together.

I enjoyed putting it together but sadly it didn't help with the why!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

February

In January I told you how I am combining my One Little Word, 'I am' tags and my Unplanner all in one binder.

I managed to keep up with February although some days I didn't do anything other than art so at the end of the month I printed out some small photos of the pages of my February Challenge Sketchbook.

February Divider
I planned to put a large photo of snowdrops on this page and at one point thought I might have to find a photo from a previous year.  However we eventually did go out and find some.

Week 1
The theme for the I am statements for February was  'Made in the image of God'.  I don't usually include photos of peoplein my art but managed to do it this time on each tag.

Week 2

The List Ten for this month was about things I shouldn't have done and one of the art challenges was Gratitude so I decided to list 10 things I'm thankful for.

Week 3

Week 4

One Little Word
The assignment for February was to practice something everyday and record it.  I used my February sketchbook as my art practice everyday.

I damaged my back at the beginning of the month and wasn't able to do the Salsa exercise I had planned to do.  I was eventually able to do short walks.  The back is ok now so hopefully in March I will be able to exercise more frequently.  Just have to find the motivation!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice