August break progress report

For once I’m actually following through on a project I announced on a blog! I’ve been doing the August Break project for a whole week now!

This wasn't part of the project, but it was part of the week--a birthday card I made for Cane.

This wasn’t part of the project, but it was part of the week–a birthday card I made for Cane.

I have also been breaking breaking all the rules (even though the project has no rules). I have not experimented with taking photos in new ways, I’ve not stretched my technical skills (these are my self-selected hopes/rules) and I’m not following the topics as assigned. Because I’m a slow thinker sometimes and I need more than one day to ponder the topic. Or because my life doesn’t conform to a list of topics very well. Or because the beginning of the week was hard and I didn’t feel like taking any photos.

Oh well! As the instructors at my gym often say, “The important thing is to just keep moving!”

Here’s what I got for week 1:

Day 2:  Air (You can see Day 1 here.)

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Cane and I went to our favorite summer outdoor spot for a fun drink and gorgeous gardens and free music. It’s pretty glorious to be out in the air at dusk, warm with no jackets.

Day 3:  Skin

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Lemon for lemon chicken. I lost the lemon chicken recipe my kids love. It was in my gluten-free cookbook, which I purged a few months ago. (Thanks a lot, Marie Kondo.) The book didn’t give me pleasure, but that recipe sure did. Tried to find something else similar, but struck out. 🙁 Made something new with lemon instead.

Day 4: Numbers

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I supposed I could count the number of pieces of scrap fabric I’ve hoarded, but there are far too many of them. They are out on my counter because I have some ideas about making a quilt out of them. I will try to write about this separately. I have finally started some creative projects again, and I’ve been kind of on fire with them this week. Not sure if that’s because of this photography project. Don’t need to know why, just happy to be happy making things again.

Day 5:  Citrus

Oops. Have not been reading ahead on the topics. Didn’t feel like finding another citrus. No photo today.

Day 6: Notebook

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I want to make things. I want to make Christmas gifts. I love the idea of these fabric-covered notebooks, and I think I’ve established that I have a bit of a fabric-hoarding problem. (See Day 4.) But does anyone really want/need a fabric-covered notebook?

I wonder this because I don’t know that I’ve ever really used a pretty notebook given to me. I need to ponder this one some more. I am aware, however, that composition notebooks are currently on sale everywhere and are frequently the loss-leader of back-to-school supply sales.

Day 7:  5 Facts about Me

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Well, I got 4:

1. I love to plan and design projects. These are sketches for a shelving system that Cane and I are making.

2. I love old things and estate sales in older homes–not so much because I want to buy anything, but more because I love to see the home and the items in it. This one was a gem. The kitchen hadn’t been touched–original cabinetry and appliances from the 50s.

3. I love flowers and I’m a lazy gardener. These came from our garden. The purple blooms are on the mint I did not  harvest before they flowered.

4. This is the person I most love doing all these things with, and this is what he looked like on his birthday. I think 48 looks pretty darn good on him!

Day 8:  Smooth

I got nuthin’. That’s OK. Having photos to take and think about is making me appreciate these days more. I am feeling that we truly are not in July any more. I miss it and wish we were still there, but there’s good things right now, too. It’s easier to see them when I’m actively looking.

Are any of you participating? Would love to know how August is going for you…

8 thoughts on “August break progress report

  1. Marian says:

    That’s a lovely card you made for Cane, and I’m so glad to hear you’re “happy being happy making things again”, Rita 🙂

    I’ve not been participating in the August Break project, but I probably should be (at the very least, I might have improved my photography skills, which are sorely lacking). Your mention of making Christmas presents reminds me that I need to get going on completing the birthday present I’m making for our daughter. She turns 19 at the end of August and has requested a hand-written book of our “family recipes”. (She’ll be in 2nd year university this year, living in a house, and hopefully (!) cooking her own meals). I’m about halfway done the book, but need to rack my brain now for the remainder of the recipes, plus I need to design some sort of a cover (I couldn’t find an actual recipe book with pages (vs one that had recipe cards) so I bought a small binder and am using that, although I’m not certain I’m going to be overly pleased with the finished product). And as someone who really treasures recipes, I can feel your annoyance/disappointment on losing the one for that lemon chicken!

    Looking forward to seeing what you might come up with for a quilt using your scraps (I’m a hoarder of scraps, too), as well as seeing what you do towards making Christmas presents 🙂
    Marian recently posted…Repurposing a Drop-Side CribMy Profile

    • Rita says:

      Cane has such a recipe book from his mother, and it is a treasured possession. It’s not cute or very artfully made–just photocopies of recipe cards, with a few written notes, bound together with a plastic comb binding. I’m sure your daughter will love it however you manage to put it together.

      Summer is suddenly winding down very rapidly, so we’ll see how the quilt/presents go…:-)

    • Cynthia says:

      Marian, cover the binder in a “scrap” of some of your beautiful, hoarded fabric! It’s not only notebooks that a person can cover in fabric. Pick a fabric with your daughter in mind, and the gift becomes doubly special and personal.

  2. Kate says:

    ‘m a list maker, idea jotter, note taker, paper lover, user and abuser so I think a fabric covered notebook would be the absolute BEST. I know so many people keep track of things on their electronics now, but my brain just doesn’t work that way. So I can’t speak for others, but for people like me…that gift would be AWESOME.

    In other news, I’ve been knitting a pair of socks that look like pencils for my mom’s Christmas present, but she’s decided to go back to teaching this year and if I hurry I can finish them before she starts work. Now I’m trying to decide if I give them to her as a “back to school” present or wait.

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