December Views: Final Instalment

I had intentions of sharing my lists and year-end reflections with you today, but alas it will not be. These types of things are not to be rushed.

Instead I share with you my final instalment of December Views - a spontaneous and new-to-me experiment that turned out to be very enjoyable:

icy green

icy blue

a feast of roast beast

Sheba - one of two munchkins (aka ewoks or beasters)
that bunked at our place for a few days

Sheba up close & personal

morning coffee reflection

Yule Is Come, Yule Is Gone

"Yule is come and Yule is gone,
and we have feasted well;
so Jack must to his flail again
and Jenny to her wheel."
- proverb gleaned from the 2010 Old Farmer's Almanac

Last night I bought three 2010 calendars and a day planner. I love the crisp feeling of a blank grid waiting to be filled with insights, projects and experiences don't you? It brings back times of yore when I gently fondled my back-to-school notebooks, geometry sets and sweet smelling pencil cases.

It's a blank canvas waiting for next year's living masterpiece. What colours will I choose? Will my brush strokes be smooth and calm or disjointed and agitated - or will it be a mixture of both? Will lines be clearly defined or will they be absent, allowing textures to blend seamlessly into a harmonious whole?

It's a visual prompt to dream, create and start anew.

In this week's post-Christmas stillness I am allowing myself to slow down and breathe. I practice letting go of tension accumulated during the previous weeks' holiday rush with its preparations, fluctuations and expectations. I make room for silence and reflection, for dreams and ideas to come forth and energies to replenish.

Soon it will be time for lists and recaps and year-end declarations, and if there's anything this nerd loves more than a crisp new calendar it's a bulleted list! But before I break out the project plans, the bubble charts and return like Jenny to my wheel, I think there's a little more ruminating and gestating of ideas in sight - or maybe a little more feasting.

December Views: Week 3+

I've been silent these days - mentally taking stock of the year past, pondering projects for the year to come while trying to balance it all out with living the here and now.

I suspect I'll touch on some of it here during the next few weeks, but for now I leave you with another set of December Views...

sweet clementine

when elephants fly...

sunny morning comfort

sunny morning comfort II

Mémère's apron

another meat pie miracle
(read about the first one here)

Happy Solstice

The Winter Solstice holds a place dear to my heart. Last year I crafted a countdown of blog posts to mark the days up to the 21st in the form of Solstice Reflections (think a Solstice version of the Advent calendar).

At one point during my spiritual journey to December 21st, D. asked me "Why the Solstice?" A good question indeed. Here's what I replied on December 19th, 2008:

"These three weeks are turning out to be a spiritual journey leading to personal transition - a transition mirroring Nature's own shift from darkness to light. The questions explored and insights received are preparing me for the year to come, helping me shift from an internal to a more outward focus as I welcome 2009.

The new year is when I set out fresh intentions about who I want to be, what I'd like to do and how I'd like to go about doing it. These past few weeks will help shape those intentions.

So why the urge to have this correspond to the Winter Solstice?

Timing is one thing I guess - it conveniently takes place at the end of the calendar year. Connection to all things Nature is another. There's something comforting about timing my personal transition to Mother Nature's; it connects me to something universal and grants me the perspective I need to think beyond my ego. Finally, it just feels right."

Happy Solstice to you all.

Steph
xo

A Post of Gratefuls

There are so many things swirling around my head, heart and soul lately, but for some reason I've no persistence to write about them.

Truth be told I've been feeling cranky and not-so-Christmassy these days, trying to strike that sometimes elusive balance sought during the holidays. When I get this way it's time for a list of gratefuls to remind me how good things really are.

So I leave you with a list of good things manifesting in my life today, for despite the flurry of to-do's and inner conflicts that surface at this time of the year, these too have found their way to my head, heart and soul...

• my warm and cozy home
• a real wood fireplace
• my computer and new printer
  
• a brand new computer waiting in the wings
• art prints sold at my hair salon
• painting supplies
• my health
• family
• friends
• silence
• laughter
  
• Squam, how it opened my heart to possibility and changed my world
• Squamettes and creative community
  
• pizza for dinner tonight
• the month of December off
• scoring another $43.75 at the consignment shop for items sold (in addition to $80 collected last month)
• items slowly getting crossed off my 36 Things list
• a fridge full of food
• gifts under the Christmas tree
• my little Honda Civic
• snowflakes dancing or floating softly from the sky
• a new whiteboard and colourful markers for my home office
  
• morning pages
• my Urban Living Experiment
• last year's Solstice Reflections experiment
• the upcoming new year and opportunities it may hold
• my books
• my library
• classic movies and documentaries
  
• nuthatches and chickadees outside my window
• sunshine and blue skies
• dreams and hopes and plans
• inspiring blogs
• my little point & shoot camera
• a new really really warm hat for Ottawa winters
• sparkly holiday lights lining the streets on an evening walk
• good coffee
• D. and Cassie
• and the list could go on...

Indeed I am lucky and blessed. What are you grateful for today?

December Views: Week 2

Another week in images...

nest at my window

window art by D.

shadows

gomashio bowl

warmth
(or: Steph's s first fire)

Prints are in...

... and available for purchase at Bobbi Pin Hair Studio, 177 Armstrong St. in Ottawa (a block and a half from the Parkdale Market).


The scanner and printer did a wonderful job, the colours are vibrant and they look great!

Prints available:

• Giselle (10x10 print on 12x12 paper)
• What She Seeks, Be Free and Soar, Breathe (6x8 prints on 8x10 paper)

ps - For the non-locals, I'm targeting an online shop early in the new year. I'll keep you posted. :)

Art Inspired by Winter

Today's winter storm inspired me to pick up my paintbrush for a second time since my return from Squam Art Workshops in September. It felt good.

December moon

bundled up

December Views: Week 1

Inspired by Hippy Urban Girl's December Views, I offer you a post of images captured during this first week of December...

enjoying the sun

iron footing

testing, testing

Solstice sun

Mémère's treasures

Festive Mannie

swinging Simpsons on chandelier

The Courage of Alignment

"Simplicity surfaces when there is congruence between your core values and your daily choices. A life without balance is one that either lacks clarity about what matters most, or lacks the courage of alignment."

- David Irvine, Simple Living in a Complex World

The courage of alignment.

Whether shifting daily choices or re-designing major aspects of our life to be more in tune with our values, it takes courage. Especially if it means rocking the boat.

Let's remember that and cut ourselves some slack the next time we take another baby step towards the life we want to create.