Quiet Contemplation

Moving away from the shore, I took a few pictures in the inside of the park. They still had that lovely muted feel from the grey overcast day.

These two came from the picnic area just off the play ground.

Changing Seasons

My word count for the month is a nice early fall mix. I am very pleased that there is not any red. Yesterday there was the first snow for us for the year.  It wasn’t much, just dusting the rooftops and little shaded nooks and crannies. It quickly gave way to grey rainy skies with occasional week sunshine. It was the perfect sort of day to spend knitting and dozing off for naps.  I am working on my first pair of knit socks. I am very pleased with how they are coming out. 

I usually prefer to knit on much larger needles with nice thick chunky yarn, but a smaller project on smaller needles also provided me with that ability to see progress that I think is what I like about the big yarn/needles combination.  Also on the plus side is the fact that a pair of socks packs nicely.  Today, my goal is to hit green again, and to see if by the end of the weekend I can have a nice dark green. 

On other fronts I am very much enjoying the Create Every Day Challenge, as always it is sparking my creativity and pushing me to try new things. 

Making new Patterns

It is a season for change, yet change is one of the the things we instinctively seem to resist as humans.

It is much easier to stay in our comfortable old patterns than to create new ones. As I said yesterday, I want to create new patterns, ones that are more productive and nurturing to my creativity.  There are two schools of thought on changes, one that it is best to big changes at once, as periods of change are difficult. The second one is that you make one small change successfully so that you will be open to more changes as the disruption was not so bad.

I have been reflecting on which one seems to work best for me as I prepare to head into a month in which I hope to set new patterns. This picture jumped out at me as being the perfect shot for just such a reflection. The design elements that make it better photo are the off center balance, and the high contrast. The reason I am drawn to fall shots such is this one, is that while they are a change they are also a comfortable pattern.

Changing Seasons

 

I took a bunch of autumn pictures, so the changing seasons title.  I was trying decide what to say about fall when I was diverted into thinking about the why of blogging. I realized that I have been blogging for about a year.

 

My sister recently asked “Why blog?”  My answer to her boiled down to because I enjoy it. The question has been kicking around in my brain for a bit. What is it about blogs has made them so popular with so many people? 

I remember that at one point, when I was choosing the name for my blog, I was going to spend some time talking about my journey back to art, and why I had left it.

I am not sure if I ever did that.  I have written about 28 categories, with the biggest ones being artwork and thoughts.  Uncategorized is the next biggest one, so I need to work on it. 

My first post on this blog was on 10-1-09, so almost a year ago. I have made 95 posts, and received 259 comments.  I think one of the biggest joys is the community aspect of it, I am able to share my thoughts and comments with others in areas that hold my interest.

As I wrote that, it occurs to me that today at our local Women’s club meeting they were explaining the divisions of the women’s club that way, the garden club, the theater club, the cooking club, the book club, that they were ways to meet other people who are interested in the same things as you, and be able to talk about them with them.

The Women’s club said they have been having trouble attracting younger members. It makes me wonder to what extent, social media has replaced social activities.