What A Year!

I'm over here working my buns off for the next online class (mixed media journaling) which of course will contain everything but the kitchen sink. I cut the stencil above as part of one of the demos; my father, mom and older sister from a photo taken before I was born. Daddy left for Guam shortly after this was taken; he was an airplane mechanic and it's probable that I was already in the oven here. That was all so long ago. 

The brown paper bag journal bug has bit again and hard. More about that in a moment.

I'm living in smoothie-ville now. I'm always the last one on the turnip wagon. There's a food revolution going on in the country (or is it just Portland?) and everybody's getting healthy. At least until the next trip to Mexico. The purple smoothie is red cabbage, blueberries, mango, banana, almond milk, nutritional yeast, chia seeds, lime juice and spinach. We're eating more vegetables than Bugs Bunny. 

I've been hunkered down low trying to get all the videos made for the March class before we take off in a month. It's been so dark and rainy here that we're really looking forward to breaking free and getting out into some sunshine. We hardly got to wear our summer clothes this year so maybe we can go where it's summer all the time. 

This long, sweet week between Christmas and New Year's Day is the perfect time to dream, count blessings, bid adieu to the old, and to conjure up the coming year. Like a good witch I like to think I have a hand in what happens; not that I'm in control of anything but that I can choose to help things in the right direction here and there. I feel like it's my responsibility as a pushy old gal. 

I used to choose words for the coming year but recently I've stopped at Grace. I don't think there are many better words than that. To be willing to accept what comes whether you like it or not. To hold it in your heart toward others, especially when they try your patience.   

I like to sit for long sessions with my journal and write it all out. How the miracles just keep coming. How glad I am to be a creator instead of a destroyer, politician or meanie. I have great sadness for those people and for the very wealthy. I think it would be a curse to be rich or famous. I love being a nobody. And I love other nobodies. I think we're the bomb.

See my little fingers conjuring up a wonderful new year?

Nathan and his new camera. Just because. Did I ever mention his beautiful hands? No? 

So here's the latest brown bag book. First the measured papers, soaked, scrunched, flattened.

Then dried quickly on the red hot woodstove between gulps of coffee.

The dried pages looking like a stack of tobacco leaves.

Ironed lightly and folded into folios.

And sewn with aqua linen book binder's thread into a coptic journal.

This is one of the other brown bag books that I wrote about here.

And the first brown bag book that I wrote about here. Long live the brown bag book. I'm going to try milk paint on the pages of this new one. White milk paint. I can't wait. And then I'll show you. Because it's so much fun to get excited and see if I can get some of you excited too. 

Happy New Year 2012. May grace, beauty, magic, and miracles follow wherever you find yourself in the coming year. xo