This week’s tip comes straight from the front lines here! Be kind and gentle with yourself!
The last couple weeks have I have been given several technical challenges. First, a computer one step from dying, which means it is totally non-functional for any accomplishments. The back-up plan doesn’t even have any of my photo files, nor do I have a way to download any currently. Frustrating to say the least, but I cannot stay there. I am reminded that I need to be kind to myself and be gentle in my expectations. Big plans for the blog postings, new plein aire sketches, newsletter requests, etc. etc. were to happen over the last 2 weeks, and the first half of this new month. But aren’t plans made to be checked and have the ability to be reconfigured as needed? Readjustments are necessary so I can keep myself on the realistic, right track and to keep me healthy emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The pressure is on to accomplish certain things, in a certain way, and at a certain time. But if I cannot pause enough to recalculate to the current picture I set myself up for overwhelm, burn-out or larger problems. It isn’t fair to myself, nor anyone else, in the short term nor long term to approach life with such inflexibility. Some have said, “blessed is are the flexible for they shall not be bend out of shape.” Being flexible means taking time to be kind enough to myself that I don’t allow life’s curve-balls to change who I am. Because of who I am I will take care of what is important and that includes me. Choose to be kind and gentle to yourself!
And thank you for your patience as the Studio wades through a few technical difficulties over the next few weeks. In the mean time, Take thyme to explore, sketch or paint, and take time to wonder!
Our living room has turned into a Monarch Caterpillar nursery. Earlier this summer I had located a couple caterpillars and by end of the day they were gone! Between that fate, and the drought that delayed the milkweed bloom this year, I have been determined to help atleast a few on their life journey. Being a Monarch caterpillar is not an easy task. Between weather, other caterpillar competition, parasitic type of flies, and other things its hard to make it to chrysalis stage. Monarch population has been dwindling.
This type of care takes time. Daily picking fresh milkweed, putting in floral water stem holders to keep from wilting too rapidly, cleaning their space (yes, all growing babies poop), and keeping them out of the direct sun takes some time. But when the butterfly emerges it’s like winning a prize! You have saved for the next generation. You are a hero.
Do a bit of research. Learn to save a few Monarchs. You will find fulfillment in helping something that needs a boost, and your children will be thrilled in the treasury of time as the process of life unfolds before their very eyes. Take thyme to save a Monarch! They are a wonder not to be lost.
Do you feel busier than a buzzing work bee? Most of do as summer brings on the busiest time of year. Vacationing (even if it is in your own back yard), gardening, harvesting, extra yard work, preparing for school to restart, and even some canning or drying of produce from the backyard garden. It is a busy time of the year, and sometimes it is so busy that we allow ourselves to get too exhausted trying to jump all the hoops we have created for ourselves. Sometimes so much so that we find ourselves even hating the very things that normally bring us joy. So for this Tip Thyme Tuesday I am making a couple recommendations to help prevent this busy-bee time of the year turning into a mental and physical disaster.
Prioritize. Take a deep long look at what you are doing, and why. Is this something you have to do-now? Is this going to kill you or cause a serious disaster if it isn’t accomplished immediately? Can this wait until tomorrow? Can you share this task with a friend or family member? Why are you choosing to do this activity? Is this something a “have-to”? Or is it just nice to have done?
Rest. Sometimes one can create so many to-dos for the month, or even the week, that realistically cannot be accomplished. Be real with with yourself. And only put as many “to-dos” as you can easily read on a post it note. And make sure that includes the large word REST. You need daily quiet time to relax. You know what works best for you. You know quiet time does not include media. This does not allow the mind nor the body to truly relax and be refreshed. Turn it off for at least some amount of time. For me, one of things that helps me the most is taking a prayer walk. Nothing relaxes me like a conversation with my Creator out in nature. Noodling on my mountain dulcimer is another restful item for me. Determine what is best for you. For real rest you need to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If neither of these things get regularly scheduled you will be too exhausted to enjoy those things that normally bring you happiness and fulfillment in accomplishing. Rest brings restoration.
Take care of you so that you aren’t trying to tame too many mad cats by the tail. They cannot be tamed when you’ve grabbed too many. Take thyme to prioritize and rest, it will do wonders on what you are able to accomplish and how you feel about you, and today.
Nearly every time of year its time to think of what you could plant into your garden. In winter you can dream about what you want in your garden. In the summer you can plant those extra special ones that just seem too delicious to refuse. Maybe it is a rare plant that features textures. Or maybe something you just want to share with a friend in a bouquet. And then there are those that surprise you, grab your attention and you absolutely have to see it out your back door every day. This plant is one of those. This is a one of a kind daylily that only I have. And because of this, I even get to name her. Every time she blooms it is an original splash and play of color, boldly displaying varying pinks, pink-lavender and warm whites within her 8-inch petal frame. This daylily is just plain fun to lay your eyes upon.
Let this beauty be a reminder to you that now is a good thyme to add that extra special wonder at your home. What are you going to choose? Or maybe your child, or grandchild, will help you choose what tickles their fancy. It is thyme for some added sparkle of fun to your garden. Just maybe it will inspire you to paint or design an original you hadn’t thought possible before. Plant some wonderful fun!
Rarely do we pause enough for reflection. Think of the beauty of the reflection of clouds upon the water, or the reflection of sun’s long, warm, evening rays upon the drifting evening clouds. Taking time to notice reflections helps bring beauty into our lives personally. Reflecting and remember what matters most in our lives helps us keep them priority. Pause, remember, reflect. What is most important to us today? How can we keep them foremost in our lives tomorrow? Not taking time to reflect and look closely we miss out on not only experiences today, but we can loose them forever. Take thyme to reflect and remember what is valuable today, so it can be tomorrow’s treasures too.
We all have lots to do today, and plenty more items awaiting our attention than we know we can accomplish. But even in the flurry of activity we need to keep our eyes open. We need to look around us even when we are busy. At home, visiting others, traveling to the grocery story, wherever we are and wherever we are headed we need to keep our eyes open for those special things along the day’s journey, those unexpected delights that we would have totally missed out. Why? Because we didn’t take time to look around us. Look around for those special moments. Sketch them. Write about them. Take a photo. Share a picture. Take it in while we can. If we don’t take time to look, we may not see. It’s thyme to take thyme to look around.
It’s hard to believe it has been a few weeks. Helping others, catching up from being gone, memorial service, visiting family members, etc. and processing losses and blessings differently. Time flies by faster than you hope. These things have propelled me to desire taking an outing for some reflection. Finding a cabin somewhere and taking long walks in the woods seems most appealing to me right now. No traffic, no media-quiet. Thoughts of seeing the wildlife and listening to the birds fluttering and singing in the trees, and hearing the babbling brook soothes my thoughts. However, during the week coming, the closest I can come to this allurement is making stops here and there taking in small scenes I find during my walks or travels. Either way it is important time I need. Take time for yourself! Small moments or a few days are important for scheduling into your weekly and monthly plans. Be deliberate or it will not happen the way you need it to take care of yourself. Take thyme for taking care of you. It’s important. You’re important. Never forget.
Often we do things just because they are habit. Other days we have scheduled out to things turn out just how we want, and when looking back over the day grateful we accomplished what we hoped. But then there are days that take us by more than surprise, but by shock. This day was that day…..
A whirlwind of a day, accomplishing many things with many incredible answers to prayers that my husband and I had, along with a gracious amount of blessings even beyond what we thought we had wanted for the day. But then, we received notice a family member died-suddenly. It hit us hard and jarred our minds as not only did we not see it coming, we had just lost Dad in December. Many conflicting thoughts to maul through and attempt to process. Many prayers to strengthen family and friends in this difficult time.
One looks through a different lens, atleast for awhile. Time is short on this planet. We have but moments compared to eternity. Do you have hope for tomorrow? Do you know what your future holds? I know where my hope is-Jesus Christ. Looking forward to His return on that resurrection day where friends and family can unite once again. Oh what a wonder-ful day!
My Tip Thyme Tuesday tip for each of us is to remember that the time we have been given is precious. None of us know if we have tomorrow. So spend time with friends and family. Have fun & make memories. These will be treasures that will last forever. Share what is most important to you and why. These moments of thyme will never be wasted. Whether in laughter, in painting, during a hike, or splashing in the lake they will be wonder-ful moments that your heart will hold onto like hidden gems, and they will too. Take Thyme to treasure one another.
Although I am suppose to be focusing on birds, as I explored I couldn’t help but notice all the Wonder-ful things around me. Yes, I spend alot of time looking up for birds and watching them flitter and sing in the trees and bushes. However, I made sure I looked high and looked low so that I wouldn’t miss any great surprises. I was looking more at rocks, birds, trees and bushes in the spring blush and I almost missed these lovely Yellow Lady Slippers near Lake Charlevoix, Michigan. They aren’t common so they are a special treasure to take in their details when one finds them. So a reminder, Look High and Look Low for this weeks Wonder!
My commitment to explore birds in color this week is taking flight! The birds are much faster than I am. As soon as I think I have something…boom, they are off to their next tree, or branch, or sip of nectar. The great thing about it though is that it forces me to watch for color, shape, size, and behaviors. It is so fun to find and identify each bird, is it not? My sketchbook may not capture everything that I saw, but it is a moment in exploration that I will recall every time I see that page again. I will also know that particular bird better next time we encounter one another. Sketching and painting plein aire isn’t just about learning, it is an expression of the joy and hope in exploring. A page, a treasure, a moment of Wonder. Take thyme to create your Wonder-ful moments.
Spring Migration has been underway for the birds for weeks. However, after a bit of warmer weather and a smidge of rain (and I mean a smidge, as we are having a very dry spring) the birds are expressing their joy with abundant song and showing their colors nearly everywhere I turn. I want to spend this week starting some color showing of my own by painting birds I see in this week’s exploration. What will I find? Where do they live? What are their favorite foods? What other fun things in life do these birds remind me of and why?
Join me in taking time for your own exploration. What will you find? What treasures will you take time to enjoy this week? They are all around us, we just have to take the moments to look, appreciate them, and share their beauty. Explore, beautiful surprises await us!
Often in hast to accomplish one item we will miss something just as beautiful, or even more extraordinary. We have that one task we wanted to tackle when we started out on our trip and don’t really want to be interrupted. This is how the week started, but a whole string of different treasures took the priority. And it was well worth the trade.
I was prepared for sketching and painting with my sketchbook and paints in hand. There were numerous times this week I set out to fill play with spring color. And yet, the pages still are empty; they are still calling out for color and line. Why do they wait? Because when out exploring there was such spring beauty budding forth, blooming and singing I found myself clicking my camera here, and then there. Chimpmunks, playing squirrel families, Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Black and White Warblers are to name a few. Amazing beauties that I just had to try to capture with my camera. It’s another moment that comes and goes in a flash. It’s beautiful and it was the quickest way to keep that moment fresh. It was being willing to do something different to take advantage of the beautiful moments when they were available. The time may not come again. It’s being flexible. It’s being in the moment. The sketchbook will wait a couple more days, but it too will have the beautiful that it’s pages deserve along with extra lingering moments to make them precious too. Be flexible. Have fun. Create moments of joy, today.
This little sketch is a reminder to be ready no matter where you are or what you are doing. I always to try to have my supplies with me for that “just in case” moment. And this was definitely one of them. Unplanned, but prepared, because I had what I needed. Recognizing the gifted moment, I jumped in and did a quick watercolor sketch while I waited the 10 minutes or so. A reminder to plan ahead, and have your supplies with you so you can seize the opportunity for a creative moment. Don’t risk loosing the opportunity!
A time capsule is something that we are all familiar with.
And we typically get excited about the idea. It’s with this kind of excitement that I start every project, every adventure, and every sketch book. It represents place, thoughtful moments, smells, feelings a special memory in each word, and in each painting or sketch. I don’t want to be without it. And I always want to have one to look back and remember those fond thoughts, feelings and visions of inspirations that day. Consider it for yourself. But whether you create one for your expression or not, please join me while I share glimpses from my experience, and the larger works it inspires. I’m looking forward to it, and I know you are too!
Everyone has to start somewhere and at sometime. This is about a creative life in a creative journey, bringing beauty, bringing hope. I’m here. You are here. We are in this adventure together. Keep looking Up!
