Time for Scrapbooking and Crafts

The very cluttered and messy craft room/studio in near 360 view

March is hinting about spring, though I've not yet been to the mountains and the snow. I need to get some winter in, and if there are "stormless" days ahead, the snow should be delightful. You know that I like it in small doses.
Over at Get It Scrapped it's "Calvinball" time. People are striving to be productive and amass points in an ever changing rules environment with friendly SMACK talk, too. I only made a commitment to get more than 3 points this year. Yes, feeble-hearted on my part. One can get points for cleaning a scrap space, and that is a formidable task - I'll redeem my cowardice that way.
I had an excellent conference filled February where I met so many friendly people. Well, there was one inelegant guy at GreenBiz in Phoenix, but everyone else was delightful! I think most folks like others who are open and honest and I try hard to be that. Sometimes it takes time for people to learn. The universe knows that I've had to learn a lot.
This month is Craft Month, and that means it's time to work on projects. I got some great paints from a manufacturer while I was away and I'm contemplating using them for home decor projects. Those may need to be done this summer when the rain stops. It's so odd to say that, "after the rain stops." Rain is such a novelty after years with hardly any rain at all.
It was nice to begin and end February with my communities. I did learn so much at GreenBiz, but the craft world and my podcast peeps restore my soul!
I'm catching up with family now that I am back home. I have grand plans every morning to get stuff done, but I'm not making much progress. Today I cleaned up a corner of my very cluttered craft room/studio. I have done a few things related to the podcast; but, substantial things like taxes keep getting deferred. On the positive side, I am sticking with my diet and exercise program. I'd like to be more aggressive with that. However, I realize that any progress is good progress. So, I'm off to clean up another few square feet of the room and toss a load of laundry in the machine. My appointment for tomorrow is delayed until the afternoon, so I'll catch up a bit in the morning. I think I need to set goals for the next day each evening. It'll be my new resolution!

Friendship

It has been a privilege to take this recent trip to the East Coast. There have been many highlights. The people I know, those who I have met, and that lovely group of people, familiar because of web interaction, and whom I now know in person, are right there at the top of my list of highlights.
The top of the list is a crowded space. Receiving my FAMWA degree (Fellow of AMWA) from the American Medical Women's Association is truly a great honor.

The experiences I have had visiting art shows at some our nation's great institutions have not only been educational; but they have also been emotionally moving experiences, as well. Seeing friends honored at the meeting and getting to know friends better has been great. Mini Murthy MD, you do so much good through the UN and so deserve the Elizabeth Blackwell Award. Mary Guinan MD, it was a delight being part of the FAMWA Award class of 2016 with you. Every success on your terrific new book, Adventures of a Female Medical Detective.

Kathryn Ko MD, I loved visiting your studio in Manhattan and our cozy chats. Diana and Emilio, thanks for the experience of Miami Cuban culture. Susan, friend for almost 50 years, wonderful to share time, friends, good food and great art with you. Gretchen, thanks for the Manhattan experience. Meeting you, along with Debbie, Helen, Betsy, Paula and Jennifer in Boston was fantastic! The city experiences amazing, and the Get It Scrapped team-building was perfect!

This post is one of many blog posts that sit in my pending file. Too many things are going on, like Cal, my husband, always says of me - "organized chaos." I do not like the feeling of being "behind." I view this blog as a sort of diary of life and as a place where folk I know or who are interested in my life can visit. If I do not write with regularity, so much gets left out. As a scrapbooker and memory keeper, I know that one cannot include everything. Some left out parts are simple editing, some moments are too painful, but some is just because I have not made sufficient time to document the moments.
Life is busy for all of us. I also have this addiction to learning things. Laura Gardner, exploring the Periscope app with you was a delight. Our young women medical students are so bright and talented and helpful. My interactions with them have me confident in medicine's future. Fatima Fahs and Shilpa Darivemula are two more students with whom it has been a great honor to work.

This trip gave me a lot of material for future scrapbook pages. Travels, friends, those darling young family members, and my silly and fun husband and sons, there is much to document. It's hardest to record the desperate things - dealing with aging, loss, anger and sadness. Some folks think it is better to gloss over those parts or ignore them. I am uncertain, as it is all part of a legacy. As I am getting older, I wonder what the future would want to know about me. Future historians will want to know about the lives of common folk. Mine is a privileged life but not one of great fame and fortune, so I feel quite ordinary. Every time I read and study about discoveries of how families functioned, particularly the lives of women in the past, I am grateful that these things remain. If only we had a record of their thoughts and emotions through the ages, it would be marvelous.