This week was full of poor air quality. It was some of the worst days I have encountered with wildfire smoke from Canada, the sun has been blotted out and I have been inside using my inhalers more. It was a little better yesterday and I thought the smoke may be gone but it’s still here and making the air quality absolutely terrible. It’s a weird dark sky and at times you can see smoke on the ground.
What is really odd is that it has been very warm during the days and some nights have been getting very cool. Last night was a record low overnight of 44F. August is here but before I know it frost and cold will return. I am going to try to enjoy the remainder of summer as much as I can because when the nights start getting cold the trees start changing to fall colors. I am so not ready for that yet. I want to squeeze as much summer as I can this month and not get too worried about winter coming. When you live in the snowbelt that is definitely on your mint that the warm days of summer are short and the cold, snowy winters are long. I have some plans for this month to help me enjoy the season.
The word cloud picture is a end of month summary of my Clearful journal entries for the month of July. I really like using it to answer daily journal questions. I am still exploring the app to see what some of the templates are all about but it is a nice digital app for journaling that you can use on your phone or computer. It has weekly and monthly summaries generated for you based on what you journaled. Pretty cool to have right on your phone, any time you think of something to write about which happens to me!
I also starting using a new pen to paper journal/planner by Clever Fox this week and I love it! I bought the self-care journal. Its perfect for keeping track of your day, appts and it has all the things I love in a journal, like daily prompts, write down an affirmation for the day, your intention/goal for the day and a gratefulness prompt. It’s Prime eligible too. I am very happy with this journal and can’t wait to see what other journals Clever Fox offers for future purchases!
I used my new blocking board and blocked my granny squares. I have my squares in rows now and I am joining them up. I want to make a little shelf runner for my entertainment center. I am really happy with the results, and I am nearly out of my Lori Holt chunky thread! I made a pillow last year with the thread and I may have enough scraps to make a few tiny pincushion sized pillows.
I have been doing short Qi gong exercises daily and I am happy to say that my back is feeling much better. I am feeling that my strength is improving. I learned that when I need to exercise this ancient form of exercise has helped me more than physical therapy for pain and overall strength! Lots of free channels on YouTube.
I have a weekend to myself as my husband is judging at a large Highland games in Ohio this weekend. Last night I just rested from the work week. I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer stone and crocheted. Today I will continue the movie series but I want to finish putting together all the rows on my Brightly quilt sampler that I have been working on for several months in a quilt along. I also want to finish my criss cross star quilt on the long arm frame. I hope to record a podcast. I am traveling to a studio this afternoon to make Dandelion Soap! I am very excited. I am not at a loss of things to do to keep busy when I have a weekend to myself!
I often think I should do more “big project” decluttering. Or deep cleaning on these weekends to myself. But I am not. If I get enough pockets of time I may hang some different curtains or actually put up the gallery wall of embroidery hoop stitches I have had sitting on a table for several months. We will see what the weekend brings. The poor air quality makes me tired I may not get to these things. And not getting to these things is perfectly ok, I am learning that these things will get done over time. I can have time each week to rest and do things that I enjoy, have coffee with friends or dates with my husband, I don’t have to be working and cleaning all the time. Weekends are made for recovery from the work week and it was a wild month of work at that. Mercury is retrograde and the full moon is coming so relief will be coming soon!
Have a great weekend!
Vicki
My Creative Corner3 