Fast away the old year passes...

One of the things I have done for the past 6 or 7 years is to make my own work calendar/daybook. At the beginning of each month there is a page for recent photos of my grandchildren, which is a fun way to keep up with their changes and growth. Then I have a page for each week, which I 'decorate' with photos and things I tear out of magazines, etc. to somewhat reflect what is going on in my life. Above are a few pages from this past year's calendar. They include the week Obama came, a page of cancelled stamps from all over the world from a week when I was being inundated with entries to the ATA exhibit, and a page from the week I had hepatitis. Spending a bit of time putting together each week's page is somewhat of a meditation on the week ahead, as well as a way to see what I will be doing in the oncoming days and hours. This next year, I plan to be a bit more creative with my calendar and include more sketches, along with the 'found' images. I've already chosen the sketchbook I'll use - a lovely find at the after holiday sales at the bookstore. A delicious bright empty book... just like the year ahead!

"Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true." Alfred Lord Tennyson