Hot strong coffee and the summer sun are my company this morning. My husband went to a Highland game, and I am staying home to rest and recharge. I am a little tired. I enjoy some time working in my studio and today will be one of those days. And a little walk around the block for fresh air and a break or two.

I have been consumed with watching the free classes that I signed up for called Fodder Challenge. It’s about making mixed media pages for journals, tags, and things. It’s using watercolor paint, acrylic paint, glue, and all sorts of craft supplies. Most of which I already have. It’s really like art meets upcycling! I also found some free YouTube videos on how to make your own journals because they can be expensive and after vacation, I am on a budget!

I currently do not have a hobby and craft store locally. I can go to Wal Mart but when I started looking at what I have, to do an inventory, and consulting videos on art supplies needed to get started…. I decided I don’t need anything right now because it’s “nice” to have more paints, paper, gesso and glue but the mod podge and paints I have with the water color paper, art journals and things on hand well….. I was shocked to realize I indeed have a stash to use up! Perfect amount of stuff to practice the lessons!\

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu_2HgzOZTc/

And after seeing this cute project, I am on the lookout for a vintage rolodex like this!! That would be a really fun piece to make little, tiny collage pages on! I believe I just threw away a flat style rolodex with 30 years’ worth of handwritten names and numbers on it at work since everything is electronic now, however, the coolness factor of this upcycle is that it is a true “rolling” index.

I have spent the week being incredibly bored at work because it was slow. Don’t get me wrong, it was perfect for my first full week back from vacation, but it felt very long. The highlight of the week is that the plumbing system is shot in that vintage building and the toilets are overflowing from the top floors down to the first floor which is the court system and they didn’t appreciate that. Its flowing through the walls in our floor. Gross.

However, it is a week of nostalgia because I know that things are changing, I can feel it in the air. The old building I work in needs a ton of work to stay operational, not sure how much longer it will last. I miss the old days at work, the people who have retired and comraderie we used to have. The Building was a bustling place of business! One thing technology has changed, that went the way of the old rolodex, is talking with my coworkers and all of the other workers in the building. We used to go to lunch occasionally, have a conversation. Those are luxuries I can’t afford any more hence coming home and eating lunch. But even my job has changed to where I spend nearly all of it on a computer. No getting up and visiting the people down the hall, or even those in other offices on other floors! It’s weird to do that now and there is no excuse to run a form up to their floor. And people just wandering the building sets off warning in people’s minds, why are you here etc. And I am certainly not going upstairs to use the very large and pretty bathroom anymore because of the aforementioned plumbing issues!

Back when I first hired in, I hated all the forced team building time. The face-to-face trainings that could have been emails, the mandatory day long trainings that are now computer modules and the slowed pace that we could stand around the watercooler or coffee pot and have a chat about anything not work related for those moments away from the desk, I kinda look back on fondly.

I got what I asked for when I was 30 years old, we now have a more efficient system but somehow now post pandemic and working often alone in my home office or alone in my wing at work I realize how times have changed. We’re doing everything in the electronic world, even many of my client contacts. I have brief face to face contacts now with everyone at my job due to how the work is being delivered. I all of a sudden realize that if I don’t really make a point of it, I could come and go from work and never speak to anyone in person, EVEN with people in the office next door!! Some days I could go all day without talking to anyone just sending TEAMS messages. Nostalgia, it’s totally weird man because sometimes thinking about missing those stupid all staff meetings in the old days. You honestly don’t know how much I dreaded them back in the day. And now I have this weird love to hate relationship with social media… that is a conversation for another blog post.

Enough nostalgia. Today, I am going to do a deep dive into doing the classes in mixed media. I am going to get some fresh air and sunshine, check out my garden and finish the little quilt on the frame. I have the July So Scrappy Spools to sew, too and I have the ever-demanding laundry pile that needs attention.

I just remembered that this morning is the farmer’s market. I haven’t been in years, and I see a new local lavender farm has products down there. I want some fresh picked lavender without having to bend over and pick it myself because my balance isn’t great.

Have a great weekend, coffee is gone and time to get moving!

Vicki