monsbrick

Winter how do you celebrate the holidays? Is this time of year fun for you?

I’m thankful each morning when I wake up and I’m alive! And I’m grateful for my family and my home.

Been doodling on everything. Doodle with my pencils, with crayons both the fancy Tim Holtz or Gelatos or Crayola or my favorite Derwent Inktense blocks and pencils that I can get wet or ink and it’s sooooo fun and freeing. I really want to make ephemera but if I take it too seriously I find that stressful. Draw like a kid. I try calligraphy though I’ve always been horrid at calligraphy I just do it anyway and I can cheat and fussy cut calligraphy words! That’s what I’m up to.

What are you up to today? Tell me about it.

Thank you for rating me. Grateful also, that you are reading my profile. Welcome, cozy up and get comfortable.

Please do let me know if anything I send to you smells bad or moldy. I have a horrible sense of smell but I can obtain assistance to help monitor what I am sending. I will of course try to refrain but if I miss I am happy to resend or make it right for you.

Please let me know if I send you a postage due item! I’m happy to make it up to you. My local post office has reduced hours still:(

I am 55 years old and live in Alameda an island town in the San Francisco Bay in Northern California.

A few of my favorite things: Free random things Library books Surprises All the colors of the rainbow and more colors that are in mind's eye but not in the material world Dreams Films Cooking channels Glamping at home like a princess!

Handmade anything. Dabbling in drawing, doodling, some variation of zentangles, watercolor, gel plate printing, stamping, collage, acrylics, sewing, painting, coloring, knitting, and other fiber arts, beading, cooking, and more.

Penpal writing and journal writing are some of my favorite pastimes.

💜Bella Grace & Daphne’s Diary & Somerset Studio are magazines I read.

Here are some of the YouTube people I subscribe to: Maremi Smallarts, Nik the Booksmith, Mystele, Ana Bondu, Susanne Rose Art, Pam at The Paper Outpost, Creationsceecee, Helen Colebrook, My Arty Heart, Lisa Oxley, Joie de fi, Gel Press, and Gelli Arts.

Food: Cooking and nutrition are big for me. My current big project is on my recipe and family menu scrapbook.

Postcards: naked or in an envelope. And all postcards are loved here. I recycle them. ♻️

Paper: I love stationery and all kinds of paper.

Art, spiritual diaries, junk journals, funky scrapbooks. I'm not that organized though I do constantly try to get organized! My style is eclectic and messy and Bohemian. But I love to save all kinds of little bits and pieces. Ribbons, book pages, washi tape, wrapping paper, home made paper, yarn, tissue, packaging, found objects, even washi tape.

Thank you to all the 100’s of stickers, ephemera, and extras in my swaps. There have been so many beautiful and thoughtful gifts from you all!!!

What are you reading or listening to? Would you recommend a book to me?

Listening to the H.G. Wells complete collection audiobook.

Apocalyptic Fiction:

*Hugh Howey *Paolo Bacigalupi *John Joseph Adams

Science fiction:

*William Gibson *Neal Stephenson *Scott Sigler

Horror

*Anne Rice *Chuck Hogan *Guillermo del Toro *Scott Sigler *Edgar Allen Poe

Teen Fiction

*Annette Marie *Sarah Cameron

Travel Writing

*Paul Theroux *Henry Miller

General Fiction

*Sue Grafton - mystery *James Baldwin *Jon Steele *Francesca Lia Block *Marguerite Duras *Anais Nin *Jack Kerouac *Gabriel Garcia Marquez *Danielle Steel *George R.R. Martin *Haruki Murakami *Robert B. Parker *JD Salinger *Jim Harrison *Ursula LeGuin

General Non-Fiction

*Oliver Sacks *Jeffrey Toobin *Angela Duckworth *Malcolm Gladwell *Jack Kerouac *Esther Perel
*Gabrielle Bernstein *Eckhart Tolle *Jack Kornfield *Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner *John McPhee

Naturalist

*John Muir *Henry David Thoreau

On writing, mostly I write for myself. At Thanksgiving my family has found a small box of my old journals and diaries and I’m anxious to read these again. I’d given them up as lost years ago. Hmmm…that was stressful to relive and I shredded and composted all those old memories phew!!!

Sometimes I work with fabrics, found objects, ribbons, yarns and fiber art. I love words and I’m looking at ways to include more words and text. Instead of typical planner stickers I’ve mixed these ephemera into my daily planner like a scrapbook. The more I make art the more I use the tactile or visual images to speak volumes and less words I want to write. And it’s less analysis more fun.

Most recently I’m putting together a personal recipe and food journal. If you have ideas and suggestions around food and cooking and food storage or organizing my pantry and fridge please let me know! I’m curious. Or how to succeed at meal prep please share them with me!

What are your food stories and food ritual secrets? What patterns have you made? Do you consciously entertain or create environment at your home around meals?

Swim, walk, need to do more dance and yoga. I do one minute yoga at my home office. And I do short silly dance bursts too. I used to do all night dancing on little runner energy sticks and gel packs. I miss those days though my friends put on Glitch or other Zoom style events.

I keep sanity by getting outside in nature and breathing fresh air.

Outside in our back patio, we set up a table and lawn chairs. I love to work outside and lounge. The bright jewel colors in my flower garden keep me inspired from lemon to purple lavender and Mexican deep purple sage blooms.

In our front yard, 4 big trees house many birds and squirrels. We lost one tree this month to a storm 🌲

A few of my favorite films: Almost Famous, All the President’s Men, Gladiator, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Splendor in the Grass, Get Him to the Greek, The Last Emperor of China, Gladiator, The Hunger Games, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, Marie Antoniette, The Seven Samurai, Hero, Mulan, Godard’s Weekend, and Breathless.

A few filmmakers I like are both Tony and Ridley Scott, the Cohen Brothers, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Jon Chu, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Kasi Lemmons, and Jean-Luc Godard.

Artist Trading Cards or ATC and postcards collage or handmade or altered or hand drawn or hand painted.

Love all kinds of music, all genres. I listen to electronica, opera, soundtracks. Also pop, chill, jazz, blues, classical and more. I subscribe to SoundCloud, Apple Music and attend Glitch and other online sound events. I download all kinds of podcasts and news on YouTube or other online sources. Spoken word.

I love to change my daily playlist with my 5000+ songs in my collection.

Here are a few of my favs:

*Ben Watts’ Lazy Dog (Electronica) *Adele’s Easy on Me *John Lee Hooker’s One Bourbon, One Scotch. and One Beer *Dave Brubeck’s Take Five (Jazz) *Carol King’s You’ve Got a Friend *Billie Eilish anything by her

Sunflowers are big and in bloom! Volunteer lettuce and mache greens, blackberries and tomatoes.

Paper whites and other bulbs are on their way! Delicious and self propagating.

Planted sweet pea flowers I adore these in my garden. Rarely to we see them in stores or farmers markets here.

Kale is a big hit here. Other lettuce greens and sprouts, spicy and sweet peppers, 🍅 tomatoes, chives and various herbs.

Scented flowers like jasmine and lavender and rose. Have you ever bathed in rose petals or rose hips? You can also bathe in lavender though I'm allergic to it so I watch it from a distance. Try it you will feel like a QUEEN when You bathe in rose petals!! You can scoop them out with a mesh strainer when you are done. They are also high in vitamin C which is good for your skin.

What about you? Do you grow anything?

How are you serving these pandemic times?