moleskine monday

Today is the first real day of my summer break and I am thinking about what I want to accomplish over the next six weeks.  Not that I am making a big list of things to do but the time will slip away if I am not intentional.  This morning I spent some time looking up writing classes in my area.  I found one that looked great but I would miss two of the six classes so that won’t work.  I could probably do daily writing exercises using some of the many books on writing that I have on my shelves.  But I need to sit down with my planner and schedule the time or it will slip away.  I was reading this blog recently and it does seem a bold yet brilliant idea to make a public statement about writing – that old accountability thing.  So I guess I am here to say that I am going to write this summer, not a novel or even a short story.  What I want to write are some articles about early childhood education that I can use in my communications with families next year.  Now, I just need to find my planner and get it in writing.  Then I will put it on my google calendar which will download to my new iphone and I can even find an annoying reminder sound.

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moleskine monday – recipes

I have longed loved cookbooks and recipes.  I can spend a whole evening with cookbooks, flipping the pages, reading the lists of ingredients and ticking off in my head what  I have in the cupboard.  I make copies, add items to the grocery list, and imagine the process of chopping, blending, and stirring that goes into each recipe.  And I do enjoy cooking, not so much baking, but cooking.  So this moleskine, the recipe version of the Passions, was an obvious choice.  I have had it a few months but have yet to really make it mine.  Last night I added a few more recipes to my journal, a Yam and Pomegranate Enchilada and Peanut Sauce.  I need to write in some of the recipes from the class I took last month before I lose those loose paper.  This is a great blending of my favorite things – writing, cooking, journals, and recipes.

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moleskine monday -writing in color

I have two places to write it down.  The first is my book of lists.  I have been using this for about a month and it is saving me from the end of the school year brain fade.  I found four of these little moleskine notebooks in a drawer so I am planning to make use of them for my listmaking.  The second notebook is my moleskine monthly planner.  I love the format – a two page calendar and then two pages of ruled paper.  This year I have added a bit of color.  I have been using colored pencils to designate special days or events.  Last month I even used a grey pencil to color in a few really crummy days.  It only takes a quick glance to see how I was feeling.  I use the ruled pages for journaling.  Not too much, just enough.  Just a few more weeks and summer begins.  I  hope I get to use some sunny colors soon.

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Moleskin monday

a moleskin and a few random journals from my desk

When we were cleaning out mom’s desk a few weeks ago, we found a few spiral bound notebooks.  Inside she had kept track of a time in her life that was full of change and uncertainty.  I didn’t need to read more than the first few lines to recall that time.  And I didn’t read on because it felt too personal, but it has caused me to think of mom in a new light.  Even though we have grown to be friends, there are so many pieces of her life that I don’t know about.  Those moments of doubt and sadness.  The depth of grief she may have experienced when her parents died.  The joys and pains of being a mother to five very different children.  I imagine some of that is in these journals.  But it makes me think that right now, while she is still here, I need to ask her those questions, to hear her tell the story of those moments.  One thing I have discovered about mom’s Alzheimer’s journey is that it is much easier for her to talk of the past.  So one of these lovely journals might become my place to record those conversations with mom as we enter the new year.

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Moleskin monday

My little green moleskin – the 3×5″ size  – is perfect for collecting quotes from recent reads.  This morning I took time to write down a few pages of quotes from The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson.  There are some great ideas in this book about language, prayer, and finding our way on the path.

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moleskin monday #2

I saw a fun post on moleskinerie about the different uses for a moleskin and it reminded me that I have neglected this little book.  It is the sketch pad weight paper and I have been using it to draw, collage, and doodle.  I have a pile of words and phrases cut from magazines, just waiting to be put to good use.  Over the last month, I have been helping my parents move out of their home and we keep finding “collections” of stuff.  It makes me wonder about having my daughters come and pack up my life, finding all of these bits and pieces, things I fully intended to use but never managed to find the time to create.  It made me think that I need to do more creating and less collecting.  I think for 2010 I need to fill this little moleskin.

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Day 30 – moleskin monday

What is it about a moleskin notebook that so attracts me?  I have a small collection.  I have used the weekly planner, pocket-sized, for a few years.  One year I tried the next size up but found it was too easily taken out of my purse when space became an issue.  I also carry at least one of the small cahier notebooks.  I use them for topic specific writing.  This one has been covered with fabric and I am using it to write about our new yarn and prayer group.  I took a small sketchbook to the UK a few years ago, great travel journal.  I hope that this reporter style notebook will become my new writer’s notebook as I chase that dream of writing about children and teaching.  I do have a lovely journal that was a gift that I use for my personal journaling.  It has wonderful drawings scattered about, some pages lined, others blank.  But that one stays close to home.  It may be the simplicity of the black cover, or the pocket in the back, or the band that holds the book closed, or the paper.  I am not sure but I know that these little books nudge me to pick up my pen and write.

 

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