Another Joyful Journey

Juliann's joy journal traveled quickly across the country to Washington State and was just delivered to her home late this afternoon. The whole process is a such a joyful journey. Getting the papers...figuring it out....making the journal...tracking it to its destination....and finally hearing from the recipient. 

Here's a reminder of what Juliann sent me. I used the backside of some of these papers.

Here's a quick view of how I puzzled it all together into her joy journal. If you're interested in all the details....please read on.  If you are reading this in an email and the photos are distorted, I recommend you link to the blog for better viewing. You can click on the title and it will take you to the blog.

Juliann wanted to have blank spaces to collage and plenty of spaces to write poetry. She has actually been taking a "found poetry" class this summer. I think I want to know more about that! 

The background of the covers is hand dyed fabric fused onto heavy paper (my go to recycled mailer)....and the front cover features a beautiful card she included. 

I had a hard time figuring out which pages to share...so I end up sharing almost all of it. Not all...but almost. I apologize for the long post...but I know there are a few  of you out there who might have interest.....and maybe some of you are still thinking about sending papers. Or maybe even make one of your own.

I'll be doing this for a while. Updated guidelines can be found on the Your Joyful Puttering along the side of my blog. I weave it around my life...so you just have to be patient.

I had fun with the inside cover. If you look back to the photo of her papers ...notice the dark "TREASURES" card in the top right. It's a flyer from the New York Public Library and is a beautiful navy blue. One of the first things I did was cut around that half circle separating the two pieces. The half moon cutout on the triptych reminded me of the top of a pocket....but the cut-out was on the bottom. So I trimmed that part off and cut another half moon on the top and stitched it into the book for a pocket. Then I turned the rest of it into little pull-out card with the rest of the card.

WHAT WILL YOU DISCOVER?  The opposite page was a lovely image Juliann included and to give it strength I baked it with lined paper. The quote along the edge is from the bottom of the card from the front. I just love using all the pieces and parts of all the papers! There are only just a few scraps left.

Plenty of lines for writing...and the colorful paper was a large piece from her stash I used in several places.

This little page had a pocket where I tucked one of several little jars she included. It could hold a sweet little quote or poem if Juliann is so inclined. I was tempted...but I held back.

This is a piece of my scrapbook paper that coordinated so beautifully with the journal...and was the perfect backdrop for her leaf that I fussy cut.

On the back of that is another pocket from one of her papers and a vintage postcard from my grandmother inside. It's address to Miss Katie Daniels and is postmarked 1918.

Juliann provided the green envelope with a sticker on the front that said "good words for later."  I stitched it onto another piece of paper so it could become a page....lined the envelope with that same scrapbook paper and filled it with good quotes for later. This is the envelope I nearly glued shut while ironing on one of the birds on the page before. The flowers are hiding the spot where it stuck!

Juliann included a long cream envelope that I folded in half to make a couple pages. I added the floral border as a pocket which holds my calling card...and opened up the end to create a side pocket. 

Inside is a zine I made out of a photo copy of a mixed media art piece I made a long time ago. The colors didn't copy very well...but it could be collaged and altered in a variety of ways. I mostly loved that it was a perfect fit in this side pocket. I always include a few things from my stash....but somehow my stash never gets smaller!

Juliann included a map of her area...her town is actually on this page.

I added a tiny clothing tag from Cherrie as a tab on this blank page. If you remember....Cherris's journal featured clothing tags! Then she sent me more to share and I love how it connects the joy journals a bit.

I love this tiny center page...and the fun graphic behind it was on the back of one of the papers in the stash. I cut out the characters and glued it onto the light cardstock.

Here's where the little wild landed. In hindsight I wished I put it somewhere more prominent. The mushrooms are from the notecard she included and with the circle topper...it makes a sweet wild tag.

This is the other end of the cream envelope...with another side pocket. Juliann included several sheets of some thin graph paper...and I made her a couple tiny booklets with it. One of them is in this side pocket.

A tag from a local artist here in Maine fits in the other half of the floral border pocket..and a leaf from Juliann made a cute tab. I backed it with extra paper before I cut it out to make it stronger.

Several weeks ago Candy sent me a pocket booklet with lots of little things to share. Two of her little folded hearts are in this journal. I used one of them as a second little booklet using the lightweight graph paper and tucked it into this pocket.

The coffee cup image I believe was from a magazine. I created a pocket and had fun with the insert. 

I loved this quote Juliann included....but it was pretty long. Using more of the fusible bird tissue...I created this insert. The magnificence of seeing makes me smile.

This little jar made a fun tab.

And finally...another fused bird and a postcard that became a back pocket....filled with more quotes for later. Phew...if you're still reading...you made it through another joyful journey! 

Simple Noticings

Dotty planted a seed a couple of weeks ago in her comment on my "Enough" post about a simple bloom. She called it a Simplicity of Noticings. At first that phrase sounded awkward....but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. Dotty is a student of words. She's a writer and a poet so I pay attention to and sometimes wrestle with her words....especially when she coins a phrase.

Noticing....is a a action. Slowing down and taking the time to really look at the world around us. It's important and often joyful. 

Noticings are the products of that effort. A tangible image or even just a brief moment of awe that we can carry in our mind and hearts and sometimes even hold.

So it begins: simple posts every now and then of what I'm going to call Simple Noticings. Of course....I've actually been doing this for years.....but now I have a new name for it. 

A few days ago I noticed that my Devilsbit is starting to open. Each one of these tiny balls/buds will open into its own tiny flower until the whole thing is in bloom. I find the process utterly fascinating!

Then I noticed one further along! Oh how I love celebrating simple noticings.

On My Mind....

....and On My Table.

A silly post...about a couple of things that made me smile.

I usually start the morning Wordle puzzle with something that's on my mind....or a word that seems appropriate for the day like rainy or party.

I checked on the tracking for Juliann's journal this morning and was surprised that it was already in Seattle. I mentioned it to Paul saying it must have gone by plane....when I thought I paid for ground. So that's what was on my mind. I could have gone with plane...but ground is what came to my mind first.

Since ground was too long....I shortened it to round....which led to blood. Got it in two tries! Score!

I've been wrestling with the bottom border of my wooden puzzle. It's been slow going...but I was determined to connect it before moving on.

I found an interior piece that led me to see that this was the edge piece that finally closed the gap. 

Does it look like and edge piece??? Not really....but it's what I needed.

It's a silly thing....but I'm smiling at at my finished border. Now I can keep plugging along.

Still on Track

Back in November of 2024 I wrote a post called Right on Track about Paul's goal of riding his e-bike the same distance as around the world at the equator. He got his bike as a retirement gift from Hancock Church in Lexington when he retired six years ago. He set a goal of 2,500 miles each riding season for 10 years to reach the almost 25,000 mile goal. At that time...after 4 years he reached 10,000 miles. He was right on Track.

Two years later...THIS is was what his odometer read today...15,000 miles. He's still on track.  

Almost every day it's not raining he heads out in his blaze orange or neon yellow long sleeved shirts after asking me if I have any errands. Parking is easier on his bike and one reusable grocery bag fits perfectly in his back basket...and locking a bike at Trader Joes or the post office is so much easier than parking a car. 

He's always on track for being helpful!

On Its Way

This single...very tall bloom in a neighborhood garden captured my heart 

both coming and going on my morning walk.

Paul took Juliann's joy journal to the post office today....it's finally on its way across the country to Washington State. And I'm grateful to Patty for taking the time to go through every page with me this morning....there's nothing quite like flipping through the pages in person with someone who is interested. Thanks Patty!

Juliann included a piece of tissue with various birds. I ironed on a piece of fusible webbing to the back....cut out the birds and fused them here and there throughout the journal.

It worked perfectly....except for the time I ironed it on while a few papers were stacked up and there was an envelope underneath I nearly sealed up with the heat. 

Oops! I carefully pulled it open...and covered my mistake with a few flowers. There is beauty in imperfection! 

I posted the cover here....and there will be more photos to come when the journal gets closer to its new home. 

Lost In The Details

I've spent a good chunk of the last couple of days on Juliann's joy journal. Just a few finishing touches...then a little photo session and I can get it in the mail. Oh....how I love making these joy journals.....they are a labor of love. I can get lost for hours in the details....in a good way.

Since I'll be busy helping host a neighborhood picnic this afternoon/evening....it seems like a good day to talk about this magnificent wooden puzzle I've been working on for a little more than a week. I think I'm about half done. It was gifted to me from Alyson who has a friend who works for the Liberty Puzzle Company. I am not necessarily drawn to these muted scenery puzzles....but they always surprise me with delight. Especially the wooden ones. I actually find myself sitting a little longer each session wanting to find just one more oddly shaped piece.

I sorted the pieces generally by color and texture. The texture of the green on the trees is different than the texture of the greens in the gardens. Then there are all the clusters of flowers and the browns on the house. I started with the sky....which was the easiest.

It's tremendously tedious and I can get lost in the details....in a good way. 

Art Therapy

"Songwriting is my way of channeling my feelings and my thoughts. Not just mine, but the things I see, the people I care about. My head would explode if I didn't get some of that stuff out. Not everything I write is good. But it's all good for me – like therapy." Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton died today. Songwriting and singing....was her art therapy. She was just one of those people  who was hard to ignore and who you couldn't help but admire. She was over the top and flamboyant....and oh so generous and real.

Bill Friskics-Warren, one of the co-authors with Paul of The Wilderness of Friendship, wrote her obituary for the New York Times. It beautifully captures who she was in and out of the spotlight. 

Bill interviewed her several times over the years and grew to love her even more each time. He told Paul that even though she lived her look and glitzy stage persona nearly 24 hours a day....she always knew who she really was as a person....that her persona was not who she was as a person.

"Hopefully people can see beneath the hair to know there's a brain, beneath the boobs to know there's a heart and behind all the other stuff to know there's some talent."

Bill's New York Times obituary can be found here... hopefully this gift link will work:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/arts/music/dolly-parton-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8FA.RAgY.3XdrOIsiYDZc&smid=url-share

There will never be anyone quite like Dolly!

Enough

Did you know that a group of porcupines is called a prickle? It makes perfect sense....but it does make me chuckle.

This sweet bloom by the pond caught my eye this morning. Some days....something as simple as this is enough.

No Surprise

You don't have to do everything. Just do the next thing.

It's probably no surprise that I picked up the seaweed for a cyanotype experiment. I was completely inspired by prints I saw on Instagram by cyanokai.......and I knew I needed to give it a try.

This one was my favorite prints so far.

The seaweed I picked up was quite different than hers....but I got some interesting results. There is a little bit of translucency in the plants....and I worked with it wet giving even more texture and interest.

I'm going to be keeping my eye out for interesting seaweed and kelp when I'm at the coast. I love how wonky and irregular it is.

This That and Seaweed

I came home with a handful of seaweed yesterday. Stay tuned to know why. Today was a this and that day. I had a swim and a walk...went to the farmers market and had a nice visit with Patty. 

I've been meaning to share this photo of a clump of grapes glowing in the sun in in Jane's backyard. I think it pairs well with the seaweed photo.

And visiting Patty means I got to get a closeup look at her late summer rosy pink hydrangea.

Lunch Date

Paul and I had a lunch date today and I'm taking you along. Paul made lobster rolls and we took them to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth.  

It was a spectacular summer day for a seaside lunch....and Paul picked a perfect spot. 

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This was the view to the side from our table.

And this was the view ON our table. It made me smile knowing Susan's found joy in the ocean. I hope her family continues to come to this table for lunch!

After lunch we walked the paths.

We happened upon a wedding down on the rocks.

The trails follow the coastline then circled us back to where we started.

We stopped at Willard Scoops for a treat.....

...and finished off our date at Bug Light Park.

Portland Harbor was busy with boats of every shape and size including a massive cruise ship that was docked across the harbor. Thanks for coming along!