January 2, 2012

at least we were warned...


twenty eleven 
wrapped itself up and walked out on us. just like that.
i swear i blinked and she was gone.
poof. nothing now but a few memories.
~
for the past ten years i've been saving my spiraled desktop calendars
{yep i still use one}
as they tend to act like my daily diaries
~
doctor appointments. lunch outings. visitors. birthday parties. photo shoots. girl get-aways.
weather remarks. travel. meetings. blog notes. dates. flea markets.
everything is documented. for an entire year. 
now times ten.
~
i know some of you journal and i wish i could be as diligent as you are, keeping all my notes, thoughts and ideas in a cool moleskin, but i fail miserably every time i try. so for me, this is the next best thing.
every calendar is different in size and color. they stack haphazardly on a shelf in my office.
but they're mine. they're my life. my family's life.
and
now that time seems to be flying by faster then i ever imagined 
and
my memory seems to be a bit weaker then it was just a year ago
they're cherished
*
as i type this, we're watching the rose bowl. praying our badgers win.
if they do, just so you know, that will be written in RED in my calendar
*







26 comments:

  1. I LOVE calendar journaling! I have found that I write less and less in my journal...and my calendars pile up and become keepsakes.
    Beautiful picture.
    Happy new year to you!

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  2. I keep my calendars, too, and have used them as journals through the years. They tell our stories well.

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  3. I have kept my calenders, for the past 7 years. I keep telling myself that I will throw them away but I cant. Never understood why, until your post...

    It is a journal. A diary. Which I do keep a journal/diary. I think my journals are more whimsical...dreamy...emotional...with feeling while my calendar are my life in black and white.

    I like them both and I do believe I will keep them for a long time to come!

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  4. There is just something about this photo, Beth. Love the dof here, the colors, all of it.

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  5. Great header to start the new year. I have my calendars, too. Before I now blog, as you do. Have you blurbed your blog? I think it would be great for you to have. xo Jenny

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  6. You keep amazing documentation of the sweet life you live, Miss Beth! This blog, your beautiful photos and even those spiral journals are full of the love and care you put into living each precious day!
    Go, Badgers! (that's football, right?) ;)

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  7. My husband gets a spiral wall calender every year. Not sure he writes on it, but there is just something he loves about having a spiral calendar.

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  8. I love that beautifil photo :-)

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  9. Totally agree with Kate about this photo...there is something...can't put my finger on it...but it makes my heart happy.

    So....did the Badgers win????

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  10. oh yeah. i do the calendar thing also. and keep them. my journals make no sense whatsoever - lol!

    happy 2012!!

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  11. Oh how I have tried to journal. I have started many only to fail miserably and keeping it up! So I know what you mean. I never tried a desk calender...maybe I should?? Sigh!
    Happy New Year
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  12. I don't journal either... my blog sorta does that, ommitting the ugly..lol..

    My memory isn't the same either.. is it a late forties thing? (MID forties. MID). *sigh*

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  13. I keep a journal but love calendars...usually for the photograph or the quote :-)

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  14. I LOVE that photograph and want one!!!! Will you share????

    I'm a half assed journal creator. Oh when I was a teenager I could fill books with my thoughts, dreams, desires, ideas, wanderings. And I did. And then I threw them all out when I got married. WHAT?!?!?!?! Ugh.

    Now I'm spotty at best. I've tried art journaling but it just doesn't work for me...I lose interest. I love to write and yet I don't stay committed any longer to penning my thoughts. Every year I tell myself things will be different and I will be more faithful. Alas, infidelity is my middle name (lol!!).

    But keeping calendars? What a brilliant idea. Bind them in something nice...treasures for your children down the road! xo

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  15. I, too, have kept my calendars which are scattered among many places throughout my house. I like the idea of gathering them in one place. Fun to look back ...
    I so admire those who journal and have wonderful notes of their daily lives.

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  16. Love that photograph, and the notion of a year unspooling. Use a big wall calendar to keep track here at home & have a spiral one for work. Of course, they do not always "jive." Oh, well. Here's to a new year!

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  17. I've kept a handwritten journal for 25 years. Everything from being pregnant with my daughter to she is now 25 and married. I love the idea of an art journal but haven't made the leap. I don't see how people find the time. And if i do art i don't want it put away in a book i want it seen. I LOVE finishing a journal and starting a new one. It helps keep me motivated to write. lol Happy New Year!

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  18. Sorry for your calendar to be written in GREEN. Smiling! from a girl in Oregon.

    I can't seem to keep a regular journal, though I do write occasionally. I think that is all we can expect sometimes.

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  19. I received a beautiful journal calendar for Christmas and hope to diligently write in it everyday so that by the end of the year, I'll have a lovely memory of it.

    Loving that colors in your photo!

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  20. i keep mine, too. and i do journal, but it's not everyday, although it should be...

    Happy New Year!

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  21. I used to journal but can't seem to find the time now - hence I started blogging! But I also keep a calendar (aka "my brain") on the kitchen countertop and I've got several from the past stashed away. Amazing how just a few words can trigger so many memories, isn't it?

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  22. Hi Beth, Happy New Year!

    I'm like you with the calendars. I need to see it on paper and be able to highlight, star, circle and cross off the events in my life on paper. I have at least 20 years worth and refer to them more than I ever thought I would.

    I caught up on your posts and was so impressed with your gorgeous Christmas family photos. They all made made smile.

    Thanks for all your beautiful photos and words throughout the year. I'm looking forward to more in 2012. I hope it's a fantastic year for you.

    xoxox jj

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  23. I wonder. if I don't have an underused moleskine around here? or two maybe even three.

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  24. I love this image...
    and I love the idea of your stack of calendars...
    My grandmother used to do that too...it was one of the few things the family fought over when she passed away...

    If you feel like a challenge...
    Stack them all up haphazard and all...
    and take a photograph...
    Then write to the prompt: inside these pages...
    I did it with my writers groups...they came up with some amazing images, memories, and insights...

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  25. I adore this photo! Love that orange string...I am thinking it would be beautiful for tying up all my desk calendars which I have been using as diary/memory savers for about 20 years...Have to always have the same kind of day runner too...what will I do if their company shuts down!

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  26. I'm with you. Spiral desk calendars -- always pretty. I hold onto them, and I'm glad I do. Recently came across one with the date of the first time I met Rick. Who knew?!

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**I love reading the comments you leave, as they make me feel like we're sitting in my kitchen, having a cup of tea, discussing life and wondering where all the time has gone ...beth