The postcard journey of inspiration finds us in France this week. I considered the architecture. The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the castles, the Louvre, the list of possibilities is long. However, Maggie was not very interested in most of these. My exploration expanded to include art, history and philosophy. How would one capture the ideas of Rene Descartes on a card? The possibilities were intriguing. I wandered around the countryside, stumbling upon the Emerald Cliffs of Normandie. Thankfully I didn't fall off in my stumbling around. It looks like quite a drop!

I found a view similar to the one that inspired Monet's Cliffs at Etretat. I had planned to use that scene until I noticed it was used by a great impressionist artist. I did not want to try to recreate his artwork in any way. Instead I chose to look at the point from the other side, at sunset. These are the same cliffs, only the point of view is different. Hopefully someday, I have the good fortune of actually visiting them instead of visiting them virtually.

Emerald Cliffs

Maggie's not to Kitty.

The postcard was painted with acrylic on card stock. The corners curl in a bit and some paint found its way to the back. It seems to suit Maggie's just fine as she daydreams of country sides and cliffs. I noticed after scanning the card, that I neglected to add postage this week. I'll hunt down something and add it yet.

Head over to Art and Sole to see other interpretations of France and postcard stories.

It has been a busy week. My plans have been changed on more than one occasion. Last night I was grouchy and so was one of the girls. She even accused me of not loving her. This is not the way I want things to be here and so I am once again pausing to write some of the things I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful for choices. We have many choices. We have made some good ones and some poor ones. We are discussing and evaluating our choices in an effort to make better ones. I am thankful we have the opportunity to do that.

2. I am thankful for books. I finished a book this week that has caused me to pause and reflect. I am thinking about the stories of our family both past and present. I am thinking about the stories we are writing as we go through the day. We are making memories whether we think about it or not.

3. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Bruce. On Tuesday, he took time off in the afternoon. He came with me as I did some errands I had planned that had to be done. Then we walked around at the Farmer's Market looking at the ice sculptures that are part of this years Winter Shines festival. It was a surprise. It changed my plans but I am very glad we took the time to do that.

4. I am thankful for my girls. They regularly challenge me. They surprise me. Kathryn recently informed me she no longer likes shopping. She wants to learn html and web design. She wants to learn all kinds of things actually. She is learning to sew and has made herself a pillow. Both girls get along well, most of the time. One of my favourite times this week was Tuesday evening. While Bruce was at choir the girls and I sat around the table with mugs of hot chocolate visiting. I hope we have more opportunities like that.

5. I am thankful for my Mother in Law who is altering a shirt and pants for Victoria. Some of my sewing knowledge comes from her as well as some of the tools I have. She is willing to help with things that are beyond my capabilities at this point. Since she retired a few years ago, she has been able to spend more time with the girls as well. Those are times that I hope they will cherish for years to come.

As I build this habit of gratitude, I find it easier to find things I am thankful for. We are abundantly blessed in a number of ways. I want to hold on to that. I want to remember that. I want our family stories to reflect that, and so I continue to work on turning my thoughts to thankfulness and gratitude instead of grumbling and complaining.

Now its your turn, what are you thankful for today?

A few weeks ago, when browsing at the library, Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy caught my eye. Why did this book catch my eye? I have recently been rereading old family letters. However, at the time of picking this book up I did not have them in my possession. I am intrigued by history and specifically family history. However, this is a family from a country I have never lived in. They are our neighbours. As I go through possibilities and discard them all, I still hold the book.

Lisa Tracy, journeys through her families history telling stories of the objects they kept. Objects that ended up in a storage shed until she was spurred to ask questions and look for the answers. The stories of the objects held the stories of the family. "In the memories of one's elders is the survival of a part of oneself. We came to that knowledge too late." Perhaps this is part of what drew me to the book. As I write and scrap book, matching photos and stories, I hope that I am not too late. Yet I know I am. There are many who have gone before. The stories of our arrival in this province are held in letters saved and stories passed down. The rest is lost.

Part memoir, part history, Lisa blends the past and the present. She writes of her findings and how they affect her. She writes of where she searches and obstacles she encounters. This book is not only her families history it is also her journey. I found it a fascinating read. It has caused me to think of our own stories and those around us. We are all on a journey. We each chose to leave different reminders of where we have been.

"The whole country is living with unclosed loops, with unfinished stories."

Over the past few years, I have on occasion noticed Katie the Scrapbook Lady doing a monthly summary. She calls hers a roundup. I like the idea of a monthly review. I am going to use some of her questions and adapt for my needs. Actually most of the questions are modifications from her list.

journaling my intentions

The questions I hope to answer each month are:

1. What books and or magazines did I read this month?

I finished Face Down Upon an Herbal by Kathy Lynn Emerson. I read "A Stolen Life: A Memoir" by Jaycee Dugard. The rest of the month, I have been working my way through a number of books at the same time. I am almost finished "Objects of our Affection" by Lisa Tracy. I have been reading "The art of the Personal Letter" by Margaret Shepherd and "How to write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card. These books both are part of my goals for the month about learning. I have also been reading old family letters and newspaper clippings from during World War II.

With my ladies BOOKClub bible study, I read through 1, 2, and 3 John.

2. What movies, TV shows, plays, etc. did I watch?

Bruce and I watched season one of Warehouse 13 on DVD. We also watched the first four episodes of Murdoch Mysteries.

3. What interesting things did we do as a family? With friends?

We celebrated three family birthdays this month and sent wishes for a fourth who lives in another province. All three kids with birthdays chose pizza as their meal of choice.

4. What were our accomplishments?

Victoria participated in a speech contest. Kathryn ran in an indoor track relay, her team made it to the semi finals. I started two different stories. One is being told in postcard form each week.

5. What were our disappointments?

We have talked a lot this month about our schedule. We found ourselves missing opportunities we wanted to participate in because of a full schedule. This past weekend was the start of WinterShines festival in Saskatoon. We wanted to go see the ice carving and did not have time on the weekend. As our commitments end, we will be seriously evaluating whether we keep them for another season, whether we replace them, or whether we leave that time spot empty. We also dealt with some frustrations in the extended family.

6. What did I do for exercise?

I ran on the treadmill about once a week, until I stopped altogether. I started swimming laps while the girls have swim lessons. The swimming I will continue. The treadmill, I need to restart.

7. Did I make progress on my goals?

I already discussed a few goals above. I made progress on learning, writing and creating. Along with the reading I did, I have worked on my mom's website, Carol's Corner. My exercise goals were not met. I made progress on healthy eating choices.

journaling some goals for the year

As the year progresses, I expect this list will change to more accurately reflect the things I want to track and remember at the end of the year. I am also working on a list of tasks I want to make sure I complete each month. I have had huge stacks of papers to file. I hope to build routines to keep that from happening.

When I am tired, the words and ideas seem locked away. My mind gets clouded with a fog. I do not like living in a fog.

My most common cause of exhaustion is inconsistent sleep. Seems obvious, right? For the last few weeks, I have been attempting to create new morning and evening routines to correct this. It is slowly helping. Although last week, was a struggle that found me starting over this morning. I am hoping that a consistent bedtime and wake up time will improve my health as well as my ability to think clearly.

I am also tired because our schedule is jam packed. Some weeks it seems we do not stop running all week. By the weekend, we are exhausted. The next few months have a number of weekend events as well. Our schedule is so full we are starting to discuss changes. Hopefully by this summer we will have a clearer idea of wha tis most important to us. We no longer want o wear the badge of busy. Instead we want to build some space into our schedule. Space for memories. Space to explore ideas. Space to fully enjoy the activities we are engaged in.

I am sure there are other things adding to my tiredness. It is my hope that as I clear my physical space of clutter, I will continue to evaluate how I am contributing to the family. This is only one area of many that will be considered.

This week's tour of inspiration landed me in China. Since the postcard is from Kitty, I focused in on the architecture of China. There is definitely a lot of inspiration to be found. I did not stop with my postcard though. I enjoy research and facts. China with its long history has an abundance of facts to explore.

I found a satellite photo of the Turpan Depression. I may explore abstract art again based on this mix of salt lakes and sand dunes. The trough is the lowest exposed surface in China and third lowest on the planet. It lies 154m below sea level. Wow! From the depths to the heights with the Himalayas, a satellite image of the snow-capped peaks reminded me of frost on my window.

Some things are so totally foreign that my mind rebels at the thought. One example is Chairman Mao's body in a crystal casket for public viewing. We bury all our dead including our leaders. Ancient Egyptians had them mummified. China has one encased in crystal. China's Terra Cotta warriors were to accompany another of their leaders to the afterlife as a show of his strength. There is an ongoing archaeological dig happening at the site of their burial. Different cultures have different ways of showing honour and respect.

There is a wealth of styles of architecture in China ranging from the ornate palaces to the poor neighbourhoods. The styles vary through history as well. The structures that date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties are very different than the functional museums built during the communist reign of Mao Zedong. I was surprised to see a great deal of European influence in some areas including the Bund area of Shanghai. Perhaps the most surprising discovery I made was the Songjiang Hotel. I am unclear if it has been built or is being built. It is a sustainable hotel built into an old quarry site. It looks like it would fit in a science fiction movie set well in the future. The surprise was two fold for me. I think of history when I think of China not futuristic design. The ruins of Jiaohe in Yarnaz Valley that was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century are one such example. When listing countries that look to sustainable development and environmental impact, China would not have made my list. Yet this hotel is or will be one of the most sustainable in the world. Contradictions and surprises abound as I explore China.

For this week's art work, I chose to depict a piece of the Great Wall. It was originally built over 1000 years to protect China's northern border from invaders. It follows the contours of the land including rising over mountains. I used pencil for the stonework of the wall and its lookout buildings. Colour was added to the tree covered mountainside with watercolour pencils. The note from Kitty mentions a few of her interests as she gives Maggie a brief update on current happenings.

section of the Great Wall of China

Kitty's note to Maggie

To see more postcards inspired by China, head over to Darcy's at Art and Sole. She is our tour guide.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This week has flown by. Some days are a blur. I've had many an interruption to my plans. Some of them fall into my thankful list. My plans are not always right and this week was a good reminder of that.

1. I am thankful for opportunities to visit. Yesterday, Mom stopped by to drop off some music for the girls. She stayed to visit until it was almost time for me to go to work. I do not think it was in the plans for either of us. Thanks, Mom.

2. I am thankful for music. The girls continue to practice their piano, trumpet and saxophone. When they are not practising they will often put on music. The other day Kathryn was having trouble writing a story for school. She put on background music and later was telling in great detail about her characters. Music is very much a part of our life.

3. I am thankful for milder weather. We have been able to go outside and enjoy winter. It is especially nice after the cold we had the week before. Each day is different and brings its own blessings and challenges.

4. I am thankful for the library. This Sunday, Victoria and I spent time at the local history room of the library. We found a wealth of information for her project. I found interesting facts that I didn't know. I have a few questions that I will be looking for the answers for. Kathryn did some research for a project of her own before heading off with Bruce and the camera to explore the area around the library.

5. I am thankful for Bruce. He helped with the research. He spent time with Kathryn. He fixed, or at least started to fix our printer that has been smudging colour. He continues to work hard to provide for the family while taking time to spend time with the family.

What are you thankful for?

I like a challenge. I like to experiment. I like to try new things. I like reading and learning. These likes all came together with an unexpected result.

Over ten years ago, I planted a pineapple top. I had read that this would grow into a pineapple top. The plant grew beautiful, dark green spiky leaves. We moved it with us when we moved to this house. As it grew, I repotted it. After a while, I started to research. How long does it take a pineapple plant to bloom? Will it produce fruit indoors?

The answers I found were a bit discouraging. Rarely will a pineapple plant fruit indoors in the north. They need more light. They need a bigger pot than I wanted inside. Oh well, I still had a tropical plant growing in my living room. I hadn't killed it! Then one day we noticed a blossom followed by a pineapple. Our plant produced a small pineapple.

I continued to care for the plant, expecting it to die. I decided not to research further but to enjoy it while it lived. I planted other tops. All but one have died. The other is still too small to bloom. This fall we were surprised to find another fruit growing on the first plant.

our fruit January 25, 2012

We look forward to sampling it soon. I am tempted to once again research. I want to know how many pineapples a plant will produce.

Ideas come from all over the place - photos, events, weather, other stories. Victoria has started researching World War II and how it affected life in Canada. She has been focusing on things like rationing. Even her research has been a source of ideas for me.

In early fall, I wrote a few paragraphs about a fictional character digging in her yard. She was expanding her garden in response to shortages. I don't usually write fiction but this character would not leave me alone. I have since played with the ideas that started months ago and added some more details. There are many parts missing and some vague references remain. On Sunday, Victoria and I sat side by side at the local history room looking through a clippings binder. I started reading over her shoulder and thinking about my story. What is the community response to shortages? Does it include rationing? I now have a better glimpse into how our community responded to rationing in the past. If I continue to work on my fictional story, the information I gleaned on Sunday may be useful. At this point it is helping to generate more questions.

Let It Snow

Last week's snowfall inspired me to create a scrap book page. This weekend a quote inspired me to create a different page. I find stories all over waiting to be told. Recently, I have also been finding new ways to tell the stories.

Life's Blessings

Life's Blessings tells the story with a simple list. Other pages have poems or paragraphs. Some stories are told in story format here or in my journal and now apparently fictional stories are being added to the mix. I need to find a place to store them while they are in progress. I am thankful for all the ideas and stories that surround me. Sometimes the problem is stopping to record them as I notice them.

Where do you find inspiration?

fear: unpleasant feeling of danger; worry about something that might happen.

doubt: feeling of uncertainty

Each journey we take has choices. Some are because of roadblocks and detours. Some of our families most interesting travel stories have come as we faced these roadblocks. One memorable roadblock was very temporary. A bull elk stopped in the middle of the highway, while other elk crossed the road. Traffic stopped in both directions until they moved into the ditch. Even writing this reminds me of the silly "why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes. "Why did the elk cross the road?" "To show the traffic who was boss."

Sometimes my creativity runs into roadblocks. The two most common for me are fear and doubt. They are related. I doubt my ability and fear failure. I hesitate to put my pen to paper for fear the words won't make sense. I stare at a blank paper, pencil in hand doubting my ability to represent my ideas with lines and colour.

Fear and doubt can be paralysing. I do not want to be plagued by them, yet I am. I have a few tools I use to work through them. I rarely sit down to write without facing doubt. I start with whatever comes to mind however unrelated to what I am writing. I make lists. I write a quote. I write a definition. Once I am no longer staring at a blank page that calls for a masterpiece, I can play with words and ideas. Sometimes, like today, the quote or definition becomes part of the writing. Sometimes, it stays in my stack of papers, a journal of random ideas. My writing is primarily for myself anyway. I write for my blog or in my journal. I write our story to go with our photographs. After editing and revising, I might have something to share or I might put it away for another day.

The art pages or scrapbook pages pose a different problem. Marks on the page become part of the art. They are used or erased. Some of my art is created on the computer where I can undo or delete. I can not undo, delete or erase oil pastels or paints. I hesitate to try new mediums or techniques because of uncertainty in my abilities. This year I am trying to work through some of that by trying new things on small projects. It is my hope that by exploring the new, I can improve the old. When I work digitally, I often start with an ATC or an art journal page. After completing one of them and having the ideas come, I move on to the pages I want to include in our scrapbook or other art I want to try.

What creative exercises do you use to get past roadblocks?