2015. Greetings and salutations. How are you feeling? I’m ok, hanging in there. Thinking that this year should be better than 2014. Not my best year. Sad face. But there remains dresses to be made and printing to be done. Things are looking, if not completely up, about 20 degrees higher than sideways. Which means my head is off the pillow.

A quick look at my photos shows that I haven’t been stagnant for the whole year, even if it felt a little like that. Looking back, these are some of my favourite makes of the year.

One of my major achievements was finishing the family rules. I swear on a 1922 Sears catalogue that I started out with excellent intentions of it being a quick short term project, yet I managed to stretch it out for a year and a half until the final rule was painstakingly cut out and craft glued onto the canvas one week ago. They were up on the wall though during the creative process, and I was often helpfully reminded by the family that they were not yet complete. Cutting out each individual letter with a craft knife was more time consuming than I anticipated and possibly easily avoidable. Next time I will work out how to print the words onto pretty paper and then mount onto the canvas. Saves bruises, blood and the odd swear word when I sliced through paper and flesh or it is pointed out that I have misspelled a word.

Family Rules

The rules originally came about from grateful time. I tried to introduce grace to the dinner table and it was quickly pointed out that as a non religious person it wasn’t really appropriate and we needed to find our own ritual to give thanks for the many things that we have. Thus, grateful time was born. It quickly had to be limited to three pieces of gratefulness per child after B1 and B2 spent half an hour listing all the things they were grateful for and dinner became cold. We still on occasion have one of them be grateful for the pocket knife that Bruce was given a year ago that he uses at work. Usually scrapping the bottom of the barrel, but it makes us laugh.

Family Rules

The longest rule, “if you feel sad or frustrated take a deep breath and go back down to happy” is the least useful one in practice, even I can’t incorporate it when I feel that way, but it sets a good example of how breathing can calm us down and refocus. Well, that’s what I say when I’m trying to make the boys take their deep breathes. “But (sob) I (sob) can’t (sob)” is the usual response, which I have to say I understand.

So, no big resolutions for me. I will continue to do the best that I can, and make the most of what I have (that includes my fabric stash which is quietly whittling away and the patterns that I’ve yet to trace off. Yay!).

Here’s hoping that many of the next 365 days for you are filled with threads, liberty and happy kitties.

Curtsey.

Pips

PS B1 and B2 were not overly impressed with the “less TV” rule, but will often break out in dance for no particular reason to meet the “dance like no one is watching” rule, often during dinner, after grateful time. How I love them.