Intentions for 2014

It seems a little late in the month for a retrospective post, so bang goes my first intention for this month! Instead I’ll look forward to what the coming year may bring.

Project Life ~ I bought a small diary to jot down things that happen each day, as a basis for some pocket scrapping. I’m really keen to give it a go this year, having read with interest the blog posts of others on the subject, over the last year or so.

Instagram ~ I upgraded my phone a couple of weeks ago and for the first time I have a camera worth using. I’ve joined Instagram and am enjoying finding my way around there. I think it will also be a useful tool for PL and possibly a good way of sharing progress with the Friendship Quilt, for those that are on there.

Reading ~ Last January I began A Song of Fire and Ice, not really intending to read all the books published so far. That’s what happened though and I have about 200 pages left of A Dance With Dragons. This year I will be catching up with all the great books I missed out on. I’ve already downloaded one or two onto my Nook.

Crafting ~ There will definitely be more sewing in my very near future. I have plans for at least one other quilt, before I receive all my Friendship Quilt blocks in June. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that. If you’re taking part, look out for a post, with some thoughts on that project, later in the week.

Blogging ~ I want to get out of the rut I found myself in at the end of the year and have some plans to that end. I also have an idea for a monthly meme, which I’ll share next week. I really hope some of you will join me.

One Little Word ~ Last year I picked ‘Connect’ and that worked well for me. This year I am choosing ‘Engage’ and I’ll talk more about that another day.

There you have it. Another fresh new year ahead of us. Let’s enjoy it together.

My Month in Numbers ~ June 2013

I didn’t do much counting in April and May, but June proved to be a very good month for numbers so I’m joining in again. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then go check out Julie’s blog, where you’ll find all the information you need.

It began on the very first day of the month, when I drove 45 miles to meet up with a group of 17 lovely ladies (and a couple of chaps) in Burbage. The drive was a bit nerve wracking, with an intermittent fault light flashing at me. I’d stopped to check the manual, before I was too far from home, and rung The Mechanic. His response? Just keep driving and if you break down, call the AA. Thanks then!

I made it there in one piece, if a little frazzled. I had a brilliant day with wonderful company and the most amazing lunch laid on by Jan. They don’t call her Lunch Lady for nothing. It was fun matching people up with their blogs and deciding if their real life personality matched how they came across on line. I don’t know about you (if you’ve ever met any blog friends) but it’s all about the voices for me. So often people sound totally unexpected and I always ‘hear’ blog posts in their owner’s accents for ever afterwards.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, there was more to come. The following day I drove (5 miles) to Shaftesbury, to meet up with these 6 lovely boys. We met for coffee in King Alfred’s Kitchen, a favourite hang out when we were sixth formers. Back in the day, they’d have spare tea bags in their pockets and ask for an extra jug of hot water, to eke out the stay as long as possible!

We spent almost 7 hours together and the conversation and laughter flowed, with barely a pause. The casual observer would never have guessed that it had been 26 years since we were last all together. We’ll not leave it so long next time.

There were 13 days between my boy’s last exam and the end of the month and we went out on 2 mini expeditions. One of them took us to Stourhead, which we are extremely lucky to have virtually on our doorstep. We spent 2 hours there and I took 59 photos. 5 of them featured in my Scavenger Hunt round up on Friday.

These 3 little ducks dashed out from the undergrowth and crossed our path as we walked past.

We spied this group of Canada Geese, but all attempts to count them failed and even with a photograph in front of me I’m still not sure. I’ll leave it to you to decide.

I taught my card class on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. We made 5 cards and a Post-It note holder between the 2 classes and I now have a total of 8 lovely ladies who come along each week. Next Wednesday we are moving into a bigger room, because we have outgrown our current home.

This may seem like a bit of a random selection, but I did have a vague idea of a theme in mind when I chose them. You may remember, way back at the beginning of February, I posted about my word for the year and haven’t mentioned it since. These numbers are a good illustration, I think, of how I have been connecting and reconnecting with people in my every day life.

The final batch of numbers for this month are all related to my blog, another great way of connecting. I managed 13 posts, a record number compared to other months this year. I gained 7 new followers, having been stuck at 122 for an age. A warm welcome to you all. I reached my 300th post and had a little giveaway, inspired by Sian’s Great Big Swap of Little Things and the 3 winners are:

• Twinkle Star
• Scrappy Jacky
• Ladykis

If you are a winner, please could you get in touch, with your address and a preferred colour scheme eg bright, neutral, subtle. Thank you.

My email is angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com.

We’re planning on another little foray tomorrow, to tick off a few more items on the Scavenger Hunt list. I hope to share them in the evening. See you then.

PS My blog visiting/commenting has ground to a halt this week. I’m mourning the loss of Google Reader and not really feeling the love for Bloglovin’. What are you using now and are you happy with it? I think I need an alternative. Something more like Google Reader, if such a thing exists. All suggestions gratefully received.

One Little Word

At the end of last year a couple of things happened that changed my world. If you’re a regular around here, you’ll already know about the passing of my lovely Aunty, but there was something else which affected me even more. One of my oldest school friends lost his twin brother two days before that, on my Aunty’s birthday as it happens. He was 43 years old. My age, more or less. How could this be?

I went to his funeral, on the day the long promised snow decided to put in an appearance. We stood in a field and listened to the humanist celebrant talk about his life. It was beautiful and touching and somehow quite magical to be there, among the trees, in the snow. He loved to make snow angels for his nephews and godchildren and we were invited to make some, right there, in his memory. If there is such a thing as a perfect funeral, then I think this was it.

Afterwards we went to a local hotel, in a town where I spent a lot of time in my late teens. I met up with a couple of old friends, one I’d been expecting to see and am in fairly regular contact with and another I hadn’t seen since we left school. It was great to see them and talk about our shared memories from those days. At the same time sad that it was something like this that had brought us back together again. It used to be weddings.

Spending time with the people who knew me way back when has made me reflect, probably a little more than is good for me, this past month. I’ve been thinking a lot about the people we were in our teens, the person I was then. The year I turned 17, I took my O levels, jumped out of a plane and travelled around India for a month. It was a pretty amazing year. Where did that fearless girl go? I want her back.

You might be wondering by now, just what this has to do with One Little Word. I’m getting there, honest!

What was great about those years, wasn’t just the things that I did, but the connections that I made with the people I met. It continued when I left home and started college. I met some fantastic friends, many of whom are still part of my life now, more than twenty years on. I don’t see them all quite as often as I’d like, but it’s good to know they are there.

This year I am going to make more of an effort to strengthen the connections with those friends and maybe make a few new ones. I’d also like to try and re-connect with my brave 17 year old self. I’m sure, if I dig deep enough, I can find her again. There you have it, my word for the year: connect.

I’m also hoping to connect with more people through my blog and I plan to post much more regularly and get into a blogging (and commenting) groove again. December is always a difficult month for us, but I only managed two posts last year and I didn’t do a lot better in January. Here’s to a new start.

The sky has just turned very black so I’m away to rescue my washing. I’ll be back on Wednesday, sharing my work space, wherever that may be. Another great way to connect with some other crafty folk out in blog land. Maybe I’ll see you there.