50's, French Bakery and a new view

   It's still strange for me to think I'm in my fifties now. Living each day, grateful for the gift of life itself is more of a value to me now than ever. I used to tell myself to live each day as if it were my last, but yesterday I realized that is not a good way for me to think anymore. I have tried to do that, but feeling the shortness of life after 50, I now need to live as if I will live into my 80's. It's time for new dreams, working at being fit, making choices that bless….

   These two pages are from my 50's journal. I'm not quite done yet. I picked a palette (orange, purple, and green) I generally wouldn't have picked, something new. Now they're some of my favorite colors. I even chose those colors for the flowers I planted last year. The silhouette directly below was taken from two photos I took of Keith and I a number of years ago. It was reflections of our shapes in a brook so the images were distorted. I printed them out and cut stencils. Then I outlined the shapes a few times with a black permanent marker. 

Valerie Sjodin copyright 2011 from 50's journal

Valerie Sjodin copyright 2011 from 50's journal

Yesterday my dear husband took me to Portland for an urban adventure. I have vertigo, so I wasn't quite up to par, but he was gracious and we enjoyed the simple things of pleasant conversation, coffee and croissants at the French bakery.