Bonnie Briar

“Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.”

– Barbara Johnson

It was a busy week in many ways. It all began last Sunday when we turned our clocks ahead an hour. I couldn’t help feeling (as I do every year when this happens) that I ‘lost’ an hour in my day and it seemed to me that I spent the entire week catching up. After seven days of being in our ‘new’ timeframe, I am still not used to it. I slept until 8am this morning, which is far too late for me to begin my day. (I blame it completely on the time change. HA!)

Besides acclimating to the change, there was a lot that I wanted to accomplish. I had my usual cutting and shipping orders to do (I will spare you all by not showing you photos) and I wanted to button up my new project of three new patterns that I created for my painting followers to paint. Not to mention the daily run-of-the-mill cooking, cleaning, and taking care of myself and the house.

I have said it many times before and probably will again: I will never be bored.

If there is one thing that I have learned as time passes, it is that we only have one life to live and it is important to never forget that fact and remember to take time to do some things that give us pleasure.

I know it isn’t always easy, as we have commitments – whether to ourselves or others – and responsibilities that are required to be done regularly. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take time to do something pleasurable. Without that, what is the point of working so hard?

I am at the age now where I am seeing some of my peers fall ill or even pass away. I do not say this frivolously, but I mention it because it has had an impact on me and I expect that many of you who are close to my age may be feeling it as well.

It changes you when this occurs. Most of us have memories of our childhood friends and we picture them as they were when we last saw them – sometimes decades ago. We see them as timeless and ageless, as that is the way they are in our recollection of them.

But social media sites like Facebook have somewhat changed that forever. I cannot tell you how many friends from my childhood I have ‘reconnected’ with through social media. I have lost count. It brings these friends back into our lives daily, and the friendships are stronger than ever.

This phenomenon is something that our grandparents or even some of our parents haven’t experienced. They have in all probability kept their memories of childhood friends stored back in the corners of their minds. Or in the form of photos that could be in a shoebox stored on a closet shelf.

We are so fortunate to be able to see and experience our friends in real-time, as they live their daily lives. (The parts they wish us to see, that is.) And I do think that for the most part, we are better for it.

How many of you have ‘friended’ a former schoolmate just because you recognized the name? Or remember them vaguely from your childhood?

I know I have. But I also found that many of those types of friends (with whom I may not have had a close relationship in the past) have become ‘real’ friends and perhaps even better friends than they were when we were younger. Perhaps things have evened out a bit and we have more in common, beginning with that original tie to our past.

But that brings me back to losing them. Because of the friendships forged through social media – either new ones or from the past – we tend to experience quite a bit more regarding each other than we used to. Things seem to hit closer to home. It is difficult not to mourn the loss of someone from our past when they are still part of our present. It forces us to face the reality that we are not going to be here forever. We need to use our time well. And to me, that means that we need to take time to enjoy what we have, not only work for more things. Because tomorrow is never guaranteed.

So that is where my thoughts are this morning.

I think I wound up in this place emotionally because I had to fight with myself to take time to do just the things that I am preaching about to others – enjoy my life and do some things that give me pleasure. Part of me feels selfish about that, but I realize that it is a necessity.

It isn’t always easy when there are commitments that we need to fulfill. Or a living to be made. But without doing so, we would be living a pretty bleak life. At least I would. I feel that ‘making things’ is just about my favorite thing to do. And I need to feel the joy that it brings to just ‘play’ so I can feel equal joy in making my own things for others. I believe it shows in the final result. It is a form of basic self-care.

So I spent the middle and end of the week both playing and working.

For the ‘work’ part of the week, I spent several of my days continuing to paint my Sweet Tweet trio of patterns that I am in the process of designing. I have been taking my time with this set and have truly enjoyed the process. It has been both fun and exciting to see them come to life. (Even though I had to head to the sander for some parts and do things over!) The painting part of them is done, and the graphics are as well. All I have to do is pare down and adjust the photos and then they should be up on my www.tolepaintingdesigns.com website. I hope to have them there by next week.

That is all I am going to say about them right now, as I am quite certain they will be the focus of next week’s blog. But they are here on my desk looking at me and I am quite delighted with them and couldn’t wait to share them – at least a little – with you all. I have one more little idea that I want to implement on them, but you will need to return next week to see. (I am quite the tease!) I hope to have them completed by then.

On the ‘personal’ side, I did take some time to work on some projects of my own. I have once again returned to doing a little bit of creating at the end of the day. This is the time when I move from my studio room and desk here and head away from my computer to the wonderful, comfy chair in my large bedroom and watch a show in my recliner with my kitty Wolf Blitzer at my feet. Usually, it is some kind of murder mystery, as we both love that genre. But lately, we began watching “Call the Midwife” the second time around from Season 1. I believe I began watching that somewhere in the fifth season or so and since years have passed since I saw it, it is fun to see the series from the beginning. I don’t remember the episodes I am watching now in season 3 – another plus of getting older! I may have seen them previously, but it was years ago and perhaps just had it on in the background and didn’t pay attention. In any case, it is ‘new’ to me now and very enjoyable.

While I watch, I have a little side table on wheels and a lap desk to do some ‘light’ drawing or painting or embroidery while watching. While there are some nights that I am too tired to do anything and just want to sit, many evenings this is a fun and relaxing time for play. It is nice to have a choice.

So this week I finished up the second project in Erika Joanne’s Woodland Whimsey Art Subscription Box – Bonnie Briar Bunny.

I showed you all the first project from the box – the Lancashire Moth a few weeks ago:

It was a tremendously fun and relaxing project to do, using colored pencils and acrylic paint on laser-etched wood. The process was new to me and I thoroughly enjoyed how relaxing and satisfying it was.

The Bonnie Briar Bunny is the second project from this quarter’s box. (Each box contains three projects and all the supplies and surfaces needed to complete them – from paint to brushes to embellishments, as well as full instructions AND a full-length video!) It is done on laser-etched watercolor paper and it came complete with a slotted frame that we put together and decorate any way we wish.

I watched the video while working on my graphics for my own pattern and then took to heart what learned about the process and worked on my own in the evenings and yesterday. I am very happy with the result.

As you can see, I must have still been in a ‘painted lace’ mood, as I decided to paint some ‘lace’ on the scalloped edge of my frame. I had so much making the lace edging on my new patterns, that it just seemed natural.

The project also included sparkly little Aurora Borealis crystal rhinestones, which gave a subtle shimmer to everything.

Overall, it is a beautiful project. To be honest, it was the one that absolutely ‘sold’ me on the box subscription. My friend Vera was so generous to gift me the subscription boxes and did so after we spoke and I had expressed my love of the projects shown. I can’t wait to see what comes in the next box! There is one more project for next month in this package – the cutest little forest mushroom – and I will certainly be showcasing that as I get it done.

In the meantime, when I checked things on Erika’s website today, there were only TWO box subscriptions left for her to sell. After that, you need to get on a waiting list for next year. So if you are thinking of joining us – you need to do so quickly. If the first three projects are any indication of what is to come, you won’t be disappointed. I am very excited about it.

So that is about it for me for today. I could go on about the many ideas I have and how excited I am about them, but that will be for other posts. I first have to decide what to do ‘next’ and before that, finish up what I have going. It will be both fun and exciting.

Weather-wise, Mother Nature has been (for lack of a better term) “confused.”

On one day, we had rain, wind, snow, and sunshine – all within a few hours. It tends to snow one minute and rain the next. The water levels are quite high here. We wanted to go to the beach for a walk last Sunday and the road to the shore was completely under water in places. Yesterday (Saturday) we went back and everything was fine. We had a long stroll along Mavilette Beach with only a handful of others enjoying it with us. There were even two silly men who were ‘surfing’ in the frigid water. (Brrrrr!) There weren’t even that many waves!

To each their own . . .

Here at our homestead, signs of spring have begun to show. This morning, I noticed that not only were the crocus peeking their heads up, but also there were snowdrops in full bloom. How pretty!

While I just love the winter, I must admit that I am looking forward to the spring and summer this year. Even though I typically view spring as my least favorite season of the four, it felt so good to walk along the cold, empty beach and enjoy the sound of the waves and even the fog on the south end. I had forgotten how much I love it.

Today will be a day of what I call ‘putzing’. Some this and that. I will tidy some things up in the house, plan for the upcoming weeks’ work, and I may even work on my new pattern set a bit. I have a couple hundred photos to sort through for the pattern packet and I may get started on that with a movie or show in the background. It will all get done in time.

I hope you all have a great week ahead. While many of you are anxious to see the new season of spring arrive, remember that time passes too quickly many times and it may be best to enjoy each day as it comes. Every day has something good to offer. Sometimes we just need to search a little harder to see it. It is good to be patient.

Thank you as always for following and reading. I always appreciate your feedback and comments.

What season are you partial to? I would love to hear from you and also hear why. Your thoughts may help others notice things that may have been missed.

Until next time. . .