Good Bye 2015

2015 hasn't been the most exciting year, still a lot of things that I would have liked to change this year, are the same as 12 months ago. But it hasn't been a bad year either. No illness, no misfortunes or bad surprises. The one or other serioush health issue within the family, but everyone is still alive and doing well. 

It's always easy to only focus on the things one didn't achieve and that didn't work out, and to ignore the ones one has accomplished, and the good things that happen. So here's a few good things to remember (in no particular order).

• I finally managed not to kill every orchid that entered my home. I've tried again and again over the years, but they never survived for long. This year, all of my three orchid have not only survived, but are thriving and flowering, and continuously producing new flowers.

• I wrote 85 blogposts, which is almost 2.5 times more than last year 

• I started a (more or less) regular meditation and yoga practice, and am trying to live more mindfully

• I read 33 1/2 books, among them Gombrich's The Story of Art, a book I have been wanting to read for years and years

• I spent more time in the studio, worked through an online course and even got my art journal out again

• I celebrated my 5th blog anniversary

• I discovered instant photography and aquired a little family of vintage Polaroid cameras

• I started to write in my journal regularly, and started a daily journaling practice 3 months ago

• I met some pretty awesome people online, and even had coffee with one of them in person in West Bay, Dorset

• I finally made my own Christmas cards, including carving a stamp

• N and I spent some wonderful holidays together, inlcuding a 4 day trip to the Alsace and Southern Germany (at furnace like temperature) in summer, and some amazing day trips to Brownsea Island (and meeting lots of sweet red squirrels there), Charmouth Beach and some other plaes in Dorset in September

I might not have achieved everything that was on my "to do" list at the beginning of the year, but I'm sure there is lots more that could be added to this list and that I can't think of right now.

Good Bye 2015, all in all, you've been a pretty good year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Hope that 2015 has been good to you too, and that 2016 will be an amazing year for all of us!

{Day 1} ~ A Day for Rest

After having finished Picture the Holidays yesterday, the new year starts with a new challenge: Picture Winter.

Prompt for Day 1 was: A Day for Rest. I spent most of the day at the computer, learning the basics of how to use PSE and no it's time for a mug of hot white chocolate and putting up the feet :-)

Textures by Kim Klassen

{Day 31} ~ Gather Your Thoughts

Prompt for Day 31, and last day, for Picture the Holidays: Gather Your Thoughts

I've read about the idea of choosing a word for the year on Kim Klassen's blog and have been thinking this past few days about which word I might choose for 2011. At the end, I let my Angel Cards decide. I made them myself over 10 years ago, when I was living and studying in China for a year. One of my flatmates, a girl form Canada, had these and one rainy afternoon, I sat down and myself a set. I found them earlier this year in a box and now I occasionally take a card. The card they came up with for 2011 is Inspiration, which sounds like an excellent choice to me.

So in 2011 I'll keep my eyes and my mind open for all the inspiration around me, to allow me to delevop my photography further, to learn more and to grow. But also to be inspired to find new ways to make those changes I've been wanting to for so long.

I have found plenty of inspiration on Flickr and in the online classes I took in the past 10 months which has helped me immensely in learning about photography and post processing, and I know I will continue to be inspired by the skill, creativity and friendship in 2011.

Have a wonderful and inspiring 2011! 
Happy New Year!

Textures by Shadowhouse Creations, Kim Klassen and AlicePopkorn

{Day 30} ~ Now, There's No Looking Back!

Well, I've already said what I think of the year that's coming to an end (and a triple hurray to that!!) in my last post, so this is now about LOOKING FORWARD to a new and (hopefully) better one.

Today's prompt would also make a good mantra for me, as I tend to live in the past far too often and am often uncomfortable and sceptical about and far too much of a pessimist for looking ahead. But now it's all for LOOKING AHEAD and no turning back!! :-)

On the other hand... Funnily enough, I've just earmarked a page in a novel this morning while at the hairdressers (which is why my hair is looking decent for once :-) ). A woman who has a career in the big city has come back to her home town and the house of her grandmother. She tells herself that she should take more time to think about her grandmother and reflects about who determined that it was better to concentrate on the now anyway? I liked the sentence "Jag har många rum i mitt minne..." - I have many rooms in my memory...

It's important to live in the present, it's good to look forward but there's nothing wrong with remembering the past. It's up to us what we choose remember: to cherish the good memories and not to dwell on the bad things.

May the new year hold many happy memories to look forward to :-)

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations

{Day 298} ~ A Toast

All things considered the past few years havn't really been my best ones and 2010 in particular has been a pretty rotten year. Let 2011 be a really good one for a change!! :-)

Textures by SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations