There have been so many life changes over the last few years, and I have to admit not all of them have been welcome. But that’s the way of the world, right? As I have been navigating the ups and downs, some things have had to fall to the wayside, due to time, but mostly due to energy required. I feel as if I have been spending most of my time figuring out what is worth my energy lately…so here I am back on my blog. (this poor blog has been very neglected and taken for granted)

I needed some time to reevaluate how and why to stay on social media. But when it comes down to it, I’m the boss here on my little blog, and all I really want is to keep in touch with you…my friends! So, I thought a bit of a catch up was in order…

I am proud and happy to say that I have been making time to read an actual book or two. I love the quiet of not having someone’s voice in my ears (audio books). This is a small thing, but I have noticed my level of nervous energy has dropped quite a bit since I have been intentional about what I let grab my attention, if that makes sense.

I have also kept my promise to myself that I would work on decluttering and decorating our house. We still have so much more to do, but we’re slowly checking things off the list.

We have also been doing a bit of landscaping. I left my gardening days behind me for now, it’s way too hot here in central Washington to get out and garden in the summer. Raised beds may be in our future, but I’m taking a break for now.

This is what I have been spending the bulk of my creativity on over the last couple years. I’ve pieced about 7 or 8 quilt tops. This year I have hand quilted 5 of them. I love sitting in front of a YouTube video and stitching away. The goal was to use up fabric I have had for decades, then what do I do? Yep, I BUY MORE FABRIC! Oh well, the one thing my husband will never complain about is more quilts. He keeps saying “Let’s keep that one too” Lol!

The blanket at the top was made from small bits of cotton yarn I had tied together to make cotton coasters for the “home decor” shop I had for a minute. This was another thing I have worked on to downsize my obligations, closing shops.

I keep hoping that downsizing my projects and obligations will free up some energy, but I think I’m spending all that ‘extra’ energy on the downsizing! I’m still waiting for that energy boost to kick in.

Another thing I want to get back into is Happy Mail. I still have a lot of paper crafting supplies, but not a lot of desire to art journal right now. So some friends may be receiving a card or two soon. I’ve already made up my “Send List”. Feel free to email me if you want a Happy Mail Card at some point at: eclecticartjournals@gmail.com

This is a project I’m working on to use up some embroideries I made way back when my children were little. I’m hand stitching them onto cotton pillowcases. I just wanted some decorative pillows on our guest bed and thought these would work. I’d like to write a blog post of the process, if you’re interested please let me know in the comments. 🙂

And now to this!

One of the unwelcome changes over the last few years was losing our little angel Lily. I struggled over the years as to whether bringing another dog into our home was a good fit. So, after all the family visits were over in the last few months, I gave myself some time to consider it…turns out it took 2 days! My plan was to start dipping my toe in the water so to speak. I knew I wanted a shelter dog, so I drove over without any expectations. They brought out a couple of candidates, I even took one for a walk. I have to admit I was little disappointed because I didn’t think I was going to be that particular, but they just didn’t “fit”.

I told them I didn’t really want a puppy, but after they spoke to me for a while they asked if I would be open to see one more. Then they brought out this little bundle of energy…it was love at first site (at least for me) She kept looking at me like who is this strange person? She was looking at the attendants with absolute love and excitement, then gave me “Who’s that strange lady?” vibes. All I said is “Wrap her up, I’ll take her!” Because she was a bit skittish around me, they wondered if it was going to be a good match. I told them my last dog (Lily) barked at me non stop for 40 minutes when I met her (which is why she needed to be re-homed), and she got over it.

Long story longer, she’s perfect! Her name is Mattie (hubby’s idea which I loved!) She’s 6 months old, give or take, and she absolutely loves my husband! She is a Min Pin mix, like my last 2 dogs, so her energy and temperament is a perfect fit for us. We love her so much! Getting a dog isn’t about reclaiming my old life, I had to be absolutely sure that wasn’t my motivation before adopting her.

Neither is this blog for that matter. I didn’t want to come back on here for any other reason than to have a way to touch base with friends that have been supporting me for almost 16 years. This is where I started, actually on my old blogspot blog, but this is where I feel most comfortable social media wise, and I miss my friends.

I’m slowly feeling my way around paper crafting again and have joined the iHanna PCS (twice accidentally!) and will be making 20 postcards I hope to share here soon. I’d like to share my process here, so let me know if you’re interested in seeing that.

Until next time

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

~Patty