Kate, Author at The Rest of my Time

Some silly relief

July, 2025

Things are feeling a little heavy lately.

Meditation helps, for sure.

But sometimes, a little silliness is called for.

We caught sight of this in the hands of a toddler at a local art fair.

Days later, my boyfriend/husband did one of those things he does – surprised me with a room full of bubbles and was rewarded for it with a fit of giggles.

They look like soap bubbles, but they are really endorphin bubbles.

“If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done” Ludwig Wittgenstein

For the ASMR video version, head to my instagram account

Galena Illinois Artsy Souvenirs

July, 2025

I’ve just come back from a short trip to the Galena Territory, a beautiful part of western Illinois that reminds me of Ireland – the way you can come around a bend and are suddenly struck with awe at a vista that seems to be from another place.

I generally cocoon up in a peaceful house or condo about 15 minutes from the quaint downtown, but always take time to stop in to Rustic River Finds. Every time I go, they have slightly tweaked their inventory to match changes in the preferences of their local and visiting customers.

I was delighted this time to find a stack of art workbooks. The How to Draw series from Alli Koch has a bunch of titles that say “for kids”, but I disagree. And then there are the themed watercolor workbooks in the series by Emily Lex Studio. I did not succeed in restraint, but I did leave some titles behind for next time. Or, if I can’t wait, they are all available on Amazon and probably elsewhere. In my mind, they will make great gifts, assuming they aren’t full of my own doodles and drawings by the time birthdays and holidays come around.

A New Crafty Addiction – Travel Stones

July, 2025

Another crafty rabbit hole.

With many thanks to @larkandbower for the inspiration and instruction in off-loom weaving.

This is the first mini-grouping of woven Travel Stones, representing the Cliffs of Moher (Ireland – no cliffs harmed in collecting this one)), Marbella (Spain), Nice (France), Palm Springs (California) and Bray (Ireland)

This is one of those great low spend/no spend projects, using only contributions from nature and my considerable stash of yarns and threads. The only downside I see is the extra weight in my pockets and suitcases.

An Artistic Daily Devotional

July, 2025

Sometimes just before I close my eyes to meditate I read some kind of daily devotional or choose a card from an oracle or tarot deck. Lately it has been this deck.

I first saw it in a museum in Nice, France but at that point we were two and a half months into a three month trip and I couldn’t fit one more thing into my baggage. And then, of course, it was available on Amazon when I got back home.

The deck is called Art Oracles, written by Katya Tylevich and Illustrated by Mikkel Sommer and has 50 cards featuring a variety of artists. The written inscriptions on each card aren’t quotes from the artist, but ideas inspired by them.

One of my current favorites, though it is hard to choose

Charles and Ray Eames

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Design your days – don’t plan them

Aspire to profound practicality

Be unbending in your flexibility

And yes, I am trained to read tarot, but this isn’t about that, that’s for another day.

I’ve Been Smelling Lilacs

July, 2025

I’ve been away from Chicago quite a bit lately, weeks and even months at a time, but this beautiful spring I’m adventuring locally.

Lilacs are a great childhood memory for me , something I really missed all those years living down south. This year they are everywhere, and the sight and smell gives me a glimmer even on the grimmest days.