I like to look back over photos and diary entries from the past year, remember what I did,what I learnt and where I went.  Here is a brief summary from 2018, what did you get up to?  Any surprises?  I had no groundbreaking moments, but some new techniques were learnt and new places visited. I have also included the books I was reading each month.

January  I started my tutorial making year for Get Messy and it was quite the learning curve! I got this fabulous typewriter which works very well. We went metal detecting and found things like ring pulls, a screwdriver and a swallow brooch. Book – Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich.

February  I have been working at the library for one year. We went to the Contemporary Art Museum and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation to see some art (darling). Book – Started The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan, but I had to return it to the library, so I made a note of the page I had got to!

March I had to renew passports for our trip to the UK in June and I booked the Air BnB for two weeks!  Book – The Gargoyle Hunters by John Freeman Gill.

April The 100 day project started and I made 100 mandalas by July.  I finished my Brooklyn Art Library sketchbook (below).  Book – Finished The Keeper of Lost Things and started The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

May We had a Royal Wedding party at the library! School out for the summer. Book – Tin Man by Sarah Winman.

June We went to England for two weeks in Lincoln and a couple of day trips to London.  We visited family, ate fish and chips and did some mudlarking on the Thames. Book – The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah Harris.

July The kids re-did their bedroom and I got a bumper crop of gooseberries. Book – The Lido by Libby Page.

August To the Sunken Cities exhibition at the St Louis Art Museum which was very interesting.  Back to school and at last we bought a new mattress!  Book – Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon.

September Went to estate sales for treasures, tried the Megaformer at the gym for the first time and could hardly walk straight afterwards and spotted these colorful ‘chicken of the woods’ fungi in the woods. Book – Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce.

October Met some friends in Portland OR and had a lovely few days making art and visiting Lisa Congdon’s shop.  Book – French Exit by Patrick Dewitt.

November I spend a day using indigo dye and had a lovely time, I was so happy with all the things I dyed including a length of fabric, a string of wooden beads and a vintage book. The kids had a snow day which is unheard of in November! I had my 49th birthday. Book- Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver.

December I spent December carving a stamp a day and loved it, I didn’t miss one because I was enjoying it so much!  book – Man with a seagull on his head by Harriet Page.

A good year was had and I am so pleased that I keep a very casual diary in the form of a Moleskine large daily planner.  Using this I keep track of books I read and daily goings on.  It is always nice to look back and see what we did even the small things are good to note and remember.

Turns out read about a book a month!

Happy 2019 and happy Sunday x