T Stands for the 13th Anniversary of T Day

 

Erika from BioArtGirl was my swap partner for the 13th T Day Anniversary. Erika had me at the Kitty Love Stamp and she also included a Historic Main Street Railroad Station stamp.

On the back of the envelope she stamped this nervous feline

Inside, this gorgeous card with two of my favorite things. Ink (my beloved black cat now with me in spirit and any black cat I see real or in print is Ink) and a cup of tea. The sentiment on the card: May your cup overflow with Hope.

The inside sentiment was a belated T Day anniversary wish (sometime in July) and a birthday wish.  She also included a fun tag with having coffee/tea at the beach. I love the googly eyes on the teacup. She also tucked in an Ink bookmark. His paws are cut out so his paws hang over the top of the page and his body hangs on the back of the page. There was also an Ink silhouette.

Thank you, Erika, for going through so much trouble with an injured shoulder. I hope you're feeling better.

Thank you to our hosts, Elizabeth and Bleubeard for hosting T Day. 13 years. Here's to many more T Days.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

A Journal

 

I've been keeping this journal since the Fall of 2023. I have thought of sharing this journal off and on for quite sometime, but I wasn't ready. Until now.

Life happens. You get news. Not the kind of news like you just won a million dollars, but something that stops you in your tracks. What do you do? You just keep rowing your boat as best you can.

This journal is about my journey with DCIS. Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. A form of breast cancer. I didn't tell many people. Family, a handful of close friends. I didn't even tell my bosses at the museum where I teach. Somewhere along the line after much prodding and poking, I decided the My DCIS Journey was too boring so retitled the journal Adventures of the Poor, Little Boob.

The Poor, Little Boob is cancer-free and still has another year of taking hormone therapy and being monitored by an oncologist. My target date for ending the medication is June1, 2027

Monet, Me, and Miro

 

are looking over the journal I kept while two old ladies were on the road in Ogunquit, Maine

Day1: We stopped for lunch at the Shore Road Restaurant in York. I had a Connecticut lobster roll. Cooked lobster, served hot with drawn butter in a toasted New England hot dog bun (slit along the top and not the side). 

After lunch, we took the ubiquitous drive to Nubble Light. (The stop is more to use the facilities than to view the lighthouse)

We had planned to have dinner at the food trucks at Congdon's After Dark, but they didn't start until Thursday night. Bummah. We drove to the grocery store in Wells where we bought some breakfast and sandwich stuff.

We talked until midnight, early for us, and then settled down for the night.

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

Leonardo's Favorite Drawing Tool

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for this class started with a neurographic scribble and then to fill in the counterspaces with doodles. The facilitator said she was thinking of the Summer Solstice.

We are always free to interpret the instructions as we wish. My head was buried in my suitcase as I was getting ready to leave on my trip to Maine. I was filling the spaces with doodles of things I see and do on the trip. It's still a work in progress.

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for this class started with four petal shapes. The facilitator added other petals in the spaces. Then she doodled designs in the petals.

We are always free to interpret the instructions as we wish. For some reason whenever I see a four petal flower shape, I always think of butterflies.

Art in the Wild

 

The Baby Block I submitted to the All Staff, Faculty and Docent art show is now on display in the Higgins Education Wing of the Worcester Art Museum.

The show is running  6/6/2026 - 7/12/2026 during museum open hours. Entrance to the Higgins Education Wing is free. 

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

Since the weather is predicted to be hot by the end of the week, the suggestion for the doodle was to draw ice cream or frozen treats.

We are always free to interpret the instructions as we wish. I thought of Teague and I getting ice cream last week when the temps. were close to 90°.

Monet and Me

 

and Miro are showing off the bottom panel for the baby gift. I still have to add my name and particulars. 

The baby block will be on display at the Worcester Art Museum All Staff, Faculty, and Docent Exhibit. Exhibition Dates: 6/6/2026 - 7/12/2026 There will be an  Exhibition Reception: 6/9/2026, 11:30am - 1:00pm

I'll have the baby gift back in time for the annual family gathering in July when we will get to meet the new baby.

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw an umbrella, divide the umbrella into panels, and doodle in each panel. Then to draw some raindrops and doodle in them.

We are always free to interpret the instructions as we wish. I think I was channeling Robin's Robin Jr. 

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a border.  Inside the border to draw arches. In the arches to draw some lines, and then to doodle inside the arch. I used circles or bubbles and then colored in the larger circles.

Happy, Little, Time Wasters

 

5 more minutes of fun - try my 3x3 model for collage! 

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a border.  Inside the border to divide the paper with a zig zag and then to doodle in triangle spaces.

We are always free to do our own thing. I saw pennants and then wrote some aspirations.

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a border.  Inside the border to draw some organic shapes. In between the shapes to draw crescents going this way or that way.

Inside her shapes, she drew some flowers. While she was demoing the project she mentioned something about googly eyes and that got stuck in my head.

T Stands for Need Help

 

Grab your favorite beverage and let me know what you would do.

As some of you know I'm working on a baby gift for our niece. On the last panel, I've written out and illustrated a nursery rhyme my Mother-in-Law used to chant to the babies in the family.

I remember her saying the rhyme to Himself's three youngest siblings (If you didn't know, Himself and I grew up next door to each other). She also said this rhyme to the Eldest. My MIL is was too ill to say this rhyme to the Young One and she passed away when the Young One was two years old.

Anyway, I want to add her legacy to the panel, but need some help on the wording.

1. This rhyme was chanted by Mother-in-Law's name or

2. This rhyme was chanted by Great-Nana Last Name

I don't have a lot of space on the panel to put Great-Nana Full Name

Which would you choose?

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

A Journal Page

 

playing around with ideas for a new project.

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend  a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a grid.  From the corners, draw a simple, daisy-type flower. Part way through the exercise, the petals reminded me of bunny ears.

The Empty Page Journal

 

While working in the Empty Page Journal, I noticed I had skipped a page.  I found another tutorial on Youtube painting birds using a carrot shape.

I added the 1963 song, Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen. The song repeats the phrase, bird is the word. Sorry, Mackerull. Calli and Quill love to watch the birds, and today is their fifth birthday.

Doodling for Stress Reduction

 

On Mondays via Zoom, I participate in a class where we spend  a half an hour doodling our stress away. 

The suggestion for the class was to draw a spiral and doodle around it. The example the facilitator showed reminded me of flowers. I add the poem because we were getting snow showers.

Spring has sprung,

the grass is riz,

I wonder where the flowers iz?

The Empty Page Journal

 

I'm taking a 6 month journal workshop called The Empty Page with Lindsay Ostram. It's an approach to get over the fear of staring at a blank page and not knowing what to do. In a live video class, Lindsay steps us through projects with suggestions for tools and how to make your own journal fodder.

This is the page we worked on in this month's class. Lindsay gave us the lettering to trace and then showed how she made simple 4 petal flowers. We made some flowers out of text pages, outlined with a Aquarelle Stabilo All pencil, and glued to the journal. When wet and painted over the pencil makes a cool shadow effect.

The class certainly has pulled me out of my comfort zone. A full page spread (11.5 in. x 16.5 in.) is quite large for me. I like working small. The color palette is also not what I usually choose for colors, but I am liking it and enjoying the class.

A couple of the four petal flowers looked like butterflies to me. I had some stamens that work as antenna. Still lots of detail to add which will keep me off the streets and out of Himself's hair.