Exercises

Hello, Storyteller! I slept so well last night, no stuffy nose, no extreme aches and pains as I repositioned myself during the night, and now I have a calm serene feeling at the beginning of this still dark morning. Hooray! I have been spraying patchouli mist around. The clerk in the "good smelling stuff" section of the grocery store said that some people have "bad memories" from their patchouli days. I thought of my precious friend, Kari. She will smile when she reads that. I was an elementary school student during the hippie time period. I also lived in a small farming town, far from the nerve centers of counter cultural thinking so my romantic notions of hippies are very sweet. I like hemp bracelets and the smell of patchouli so I bought some lotion and the mist and it makes me feel spunky. Just saying I'm thankful for "feel good" mornings. Smile.
Three books. The Lutheran hymnal full of truth/scripture. Creative is a Verb. Jane Redmont's When in Doubt, Sing. These three are singing to me so I'll share just a tiny bit. Jane has a blog called Acts of Hope. This particular book is such a full work. There's too much in it for me to justifiably share it with you, but I will say, "I recommend!"

I did paint with watercolor in my journal. I like happy scenes. I like big bodies of water. I like boats. What do you like?

Patti Digh (Creative is a Verb) gives ten minute assignments to be completed on note cards. I've done five. One one side I respond to a question and on the other side I draw an image (with direction from the book). Here are four of mine.
Here is the image side.

Here's the writing side.

It's fun.
Back to school this Tuesday morning. The kids were very chatty yesterday. My classroom (with the faulty heating system) is unbearably hot. It's a challenge. I moved my desk around so the kids would stop hovering around it so much. Does that sound mean? It's kind of like having ten children tugging on a mother's apron strings and sometimes I can't focus when there are so many birdies fluttering about. I'll take a picture of my little "Pom Pom corner" at school so you can see what I'm talking about. Today, I shall walk about and clean off each desk. Hold each student in my heart and mind for a moment and take one step at a time. I'll get used to it. I think.
January can hold bright sunny days and I shall hold her in my mind and love her. Each day is a gift.
Smell some good smells today. Draw an image or two. Color or admire something real like a face or a sky line. Give some of those one-of-a-kind smiles away freely. Thank you for stopping by for a kind hello. I like knowing you're there.