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Nadine’s Art Challenge: Rituals and Routines

OK, apart form Earl Grey tea in the morning, (without which I would die!), and my daily phone call with Robbie when we’re in separate countries, I really have very few rituals or routines. I mean, I brush and floss and all that mundane everyday stuff, and, although I try to paint and go to yoga every day, it’s not really ritualistic or necessarily routine.

But last year, when Chloe was in Japan, for a while I had a daily ritual of making and sending her a postcard.
I loved that!

I’d just head down to Booklovers, Dalyce’s used book store, pick up some fun, old magazines and collage a postcard.

Turned out my favourite magazines for this project were the Coronet magazines from the ’30s and ’40s, and glossy 1980s rich home and lifestyle types.

Then I would look thru my collection of vintage but still viable stamps and stick on as many as possible to make the $2.50 postage, after all, it’s so boring to just stick one stamp on when you can use five or six for the same postage!

I didn’t share very many of these cards anywhere. I never posted them to social media because I wanted C to be the first to see them, and the only people who saw a few were Robbie, Dalyce, Jonathan and Kerstin and people who I took a card to to write a well wish on, and my neighbour Renee, who often was outside gardening when I took a card to the post. Oh, and the lady in the post office where I went to buy a strange assortment of small cent stamps to make up said $2.50.

Chloe said that the cards were invaluable to her. She said she carried a few with her every day to give her strength and remind her of home.

I tried to make the cards reflect what was going on in C’s life; her first day teaching, the monsoon season of perpetual damp, some, more personal ones to give her encouragement, or to reassure her that she would be fine, or send her a recipe for avocado toast…

And I sent them from Vancouver and, when I switched countries, I sent them from England.

Now I tend to have a very flighty nature, (read butterfly brain!) and in a few months C started to feel better in Japan, and for me, life and jet lag and projects and art and work began taking over my time, and the cards slowed down to three per week, then two, then one.

And now Chloe is home from her year away and has brought all of her postcards back with her. She treasures them and gave me permission to show you some.

It was all such a grand adventure.

Thank you so much Nadine for hosting our Art Challenge this week. Pop over to our Woolfie Girl to see everyone else’s rituals and routines. Does anyone want to host next week? Let me know and I can send out a mass email. 😀

Comments: 12

  • March 19, 2017
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    you are a darling, d’you know? in all honesty? wish you coulda been my mom! so ceative and SO eclectic! really, your zoe must have had a thirst for these intimate yet universal tidbits to brighten up or underline any odd day. i think like a drug they worked, and most probably also to you. what better way to share anything than in collaging absolute (un)truths and be jolly and have people laugh about it too. they are gems.
    thank you, veronica, and thank you for all of the AC support. i am now settling back into a bit of a comfort zone, my notebook still protesting like mad, and me nog ready to buy a new one. … n?

  • March 19, 2017
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    I love this, these post cards look so great, what fun for you to create them and for Chloe to receive them, thank you for sharing some of them. I do have one ritual, my morning ritual which I started only a few years ago and it has evolved over the years. I have to admit I’m not always good at doing it everyday, but I do most days.

  • March 19, 2017
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    I LOVE these! I so wish I had done this for my NY son… Maybe I’ll start- because I need a new ritual! Thanks for the inspiration and for including me and for friendship.

  • Hildie

    March 19, 2017
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    o what a delight!

  • March 19, 2017
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    I love that you made and sent your daughter these post cards!
    Treasures indeed. A wonderful ritual for you and meaningful gift for her.
    Did they all make it to Japan, I trust they did .
    Thank you for sharing them with us.

  • March 20, 2017
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    What a good mom! Sending your love through airmail to help your sweet girl.
    It’s not surprising how often our rituals and routines include family both close and far.
    What is surprising is how often we participate in rituals and routines long before we realize we have created one.
    xo C

  • March 22, 2017
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    Just wonderful! And such fun, I love the quotes you used.

  • March 27, 2017
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    love these … so so so creative …

  • April 1, 2017
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    You are so very clever V! Chloe would have just loved and treasured these .. love the idea of lots of stamps 😀

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