Some journal pages and yard sale finds

A friend was having a yard sale so I dropped by.  Was able to get a few great deals.  I've been looking for small odd tables to use outside on the deck.  This cute little stool or workbench is just the kind of thing!  I will probably paint it since it has a half spray of silver on one side of the top.

Got it to use on the deck, but right now it has found a home holding my beautiful petunias that I got for Mother's Day in the treasured painted flowerpot with my grandson's pictures on my front porch. This pot has to stay out of direct contact with the weather since the pictures would be damaged.

In additon I scored some ephemera and a nice partitioned cigar box.  Not sure why it would be divided up like this, but it will make a good assemblage box one day or for now maybe storage for jewelry or junk bits and pieces. First pic shows all of it together and then below inside the box and a shot of just the paper stuff.  Looks like someone had saved a lot of stamps, then there are old letters and postcards.

I pulled out some of my composition journals that were started some time back and have gotten a few spreads done over the last couple of weeks. In these, I glue a couple of pages together for more stability, usually add some gesso to the pages, glue some collage elements, and then layer different paints, stickers, and use markers or pens here and there, kind of playing back and forth.  I feel a good bit rusty and am not totally satisfied with them but at least it is a start in the right direction and fun, which is most important. Right below, this set of pages started out with watercolor flowers done on a page when Thomas and I were playing last time he was here.  I did very basic elementary flowers, so to preserve some of the memory of this day, I tore out the purple and yellow flowers and glued one to each page, then went on playing from there.

The last spread I've done is below. I had spent some time one day painting vintage book pages, beginning this project to make some striped papers to use in decorating candles after buying an Anna Corba book.  I painted several pages with different images before I was through that day, saved them in a folder with other painted papers, like the papers I put on my work table when I'm working with paints or stamping. Actually scraps of these are on the flower spread above, too.  So the hearts came from that collection and then, on the left page below, used pieces that I had leftover from a marbling paint paper experiment.  The medieval picture came from an onlive archive, maybe the NYPL one, which is free and full of great images. Other papers are different scrapbook papers and again, used markers and pens to highlight and add dots, etc.

This last spread I did almost 2 years ago,when I turned 50, but don't think I've ever shared.  Here again you see the painted vintage book pages. On the left the orange and brown striped and on the right the squiggles.  There are scraps from old letters and then this and that as usual. Sometimes I will go back and journal over or around pages like these and others I find I like just as they are.   





Observations about aging

Yeah, this might be one of those posts that you might want to skip, lol, especially if you are looking for anything artistic.  Some of these thoughts have been brewing in my head for awhile now.  I'm going to write them out and see if I have the courage to hit "post" when I'm done!  If you are middle-aged or older you will get a laugh and even if you are young you need to read on because it will all make sense to you one day and you might appreciate the warnings or the info.

This could also be entitled "things they don't warn you about getting older"although this might just be in my world, where family didn't tend to be very open about personal stuff. I grew up in a pretty sheltered world with one set of grandparents being German and the other set very religious. I was the only daughter to my parents, with 2 brothers to follow, so there were no sisters to share knowledge.  There was a lot of laughter and love in the home, but not so much open discussion of personal matters.  To give my Mom credit, she was the one brought up in the German household, so she probably didn't get much information from her Mother, BUT she was the youngest child of 6, with 4 older sisters.

So, the only personal things I remember being told: Mom guided me toward the Childcraft volume about Health where I learned a bit about periods and I think, reproductive matters; she bought me some pads when I did start, the kind that used a belt, and gave very quick, basic instruction on how to use them; and my Granny told me that if I waited until I got older I wouldn't even have to shave my legs because the hair would quit growing. And that pretty much sums it up. 

Except...I discovered the All You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask volume hidden in one of my parent's dresser drawers by being a sneaky, nosy kid.  Think my brothers did, too.  Who knows, maybe it was a deliberant plant by a very smart Mom, who knew we would do exactly what we did, thus avoiding the awkward Birds/Bees talk. Even at age 51, not yet had the nerve to come right out and ask her or admit to her that I read it.  And so the cycle of not verbalizing continues...

Yeah, I learned a LOT from that book!  Served me well later on. But really, I digress from what I started out to say.

What I've had on my mind lately really has nothing directly to do with sex, so not sure how I wandered down that road ;)  It is more about the changes that happen to your body as you age, which does go back to what my Granny said about shaving your legs.  When she told me that, I was pretty young, too young to be shaving, probably less than 10.  But, even at such an age, I remember thinking that this chick was definitely going to be shaving her legs!  It would be so GROSS not to, but I guess in generations past, women didn't shave their extremities or under/around them. I must research this topic!  When exactly did razors and women shaving become so common?

But you know she was right!  That is something that I noticed as I rushed through that 4th decade of life into this 5th one,  All that body hair that I have been fighting since puberty IS thinning out now.  To explain a bit, unfortunately in my family, women tend to have more than our share of body hair.  The positive side is that it means we have a thick head of hair, but the big downside is extra everywhere else! No pretty golden hairless arms for most of us(always envied my friends).  We are talking about leg and underarm hair that resisted all efforts at removal! It laughed in the face of puny depilatories! Well, now it is more normal, even thin in all the areas that it is supposed to be that way.  But, sadly, now at an age that it really doesnt matter anymore.  I mean I'm 50+ and don't really need to be in a bathing suit.  This is not to say I'm going to give up going to the beach and wearing one because it doesn't mean that.  Just sayin' that I don't care anymore about what people think of me and I'm not a young thing out there trying to attract a mate.  Had the same one for over 30 years now.

That fourth decade is when a lot of things change that people don't warn you about, so that is what I am going to postulate about. I've given one positive change: your body hair is going to get thinner, a positive if you are like the females in my family.  Of course, no one tells you that the hair gets thinner EVEYWHERE, which is not so attractive when it happens in a certain place and that is all I'm going to say about that.  I just wasn't warned, you know, so that on one of those days when I forced myself to really look in the mirror, I was kind of shocked and since then have tried not to think about it!

Another is that your body weight will slowly shift from your bottom to your middle.  This will happen even if you are fat or thin, male or female.  Now maybe you made this observation on your own. In retrospect, I realize I noticed this happening to older people but never thought it would happen to me.  You know, the land of denial, although not conscious denial, I must say.  To further add to this denial, when my pants continued to fit me, even got looser in the legs, I thought maybe I was losing weight Finally had to face facts when I saw some snapshots and the pear shape that had been what I fought since I was a teenager had become more that  of a nice round apple.

What else to warn you about?  Your lips as well as your hips will lose their definition. Not sure when this happened, although it was probably since I turned 40, gradually, so I didn't see it coming.  I used to not bother with lip liner, but now I find it helps, a lot, if I put an outline around these lips.  Love those sweet young lips you have now, for one day they will just be a vague idea around that mouth!

Definition.  Another thing that kind of goes away all over.  Be forewarned: your skin will turn loose from your muscles.  Again, not sure when this occurred and something I found when forcing myself to look at my body, naked, in a full-length mirror. To continue to be frank, I was/am contemplating a tattoo, a celebration and embracing of my age after I hit the big 5-0.  Hhhmmm, where would this tattoo look the best? Thus the mirror and the close scrutiny because my thinking was my back would be a good place.  So, I look and then think"@$#&, when did my back get saggy like that?!" I work in the medical field, so why I am being surprised by all these things?  I do wonder?  More denial, I suppose. But, fat or thin, one day this will happen to you. 

Your skin is going to become thin.  Now I come from thick-skinned people, both figuratively and literally, so I think this didn't happen with me as early as it does with others.  Even so, during this last few years, mine is starting to get that look of old people skin. When this happens, minor scrapes and bumps become yucky-looking abrasions that you will find later on and then wonder where they came from.

You know how your hair is going to get thinner? Well, it won't all over, unfortunately.  Most likely, you will start to sprout some eyebrows that look like they are on steroids. If you are a man, there may be some extra hairs out of your ears.  Be aware and be ready with some sharp scissors and a magnifying mirror because about this time your eyes will also start giving out on you, thus making it harder for you to see these offending hairs that will sprout up where they don't need to be.

To younger women that might happen to take the time to read this.  Love the body you are in!  I mean it! Please take me seriously.  Whatever your shape, appreciate that pretty young skin and the youth and health you have. Don't waste time wishing to look like someone else who is more than likely wishing THEY looked like someone else.  Love yourself!

I say that and am trying to turn it around on myelf, at my age.  Listen to my own advice.  Hard to do. I know there are more changes yet to come. Wrinkles, all over, even! And, you know, I embrace them all!  Because I think elderly people are beautiful!  To me, my grandmothers were two of the prettiest women I ever knew.  I don't mention my Mom because, even at almost 70, she looks young.  I have more gray hair than she does. My Aunts, both sides of the family, are lovely women. Seriously all I hope for is that my husband, children and my grandchildren keep on loving me as long as I'm blessed to be on this earth.  I don't even care if they think I'm pretty, as long as they love me. But I thought it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes and laugh at aging, because, you know, you can either laugh or cry.  Either way, won't change a thing!

PS I probably should have used a filter in my thinking and writing or gone back to delete some of this, but I've decided to let the chips fall where they may, as it was how I felt when I wrote it.

Around the house, literally

I thought I would show some views of our outside areas.  This is where I've been piddling around, trying to make this place my own, I guess.  I know everything is kind of hodge-podgy but at least it has a personal touch, lol! Above is the side sitting area down from the deck that wraps around the back and east side of the house and one of the things I love about this house.  Looks like the former owners started filling in this area with the pebbles but never finished. That will be a "do-as-I-can" project, of which I have several, including getting cushions for this iron bench and the swing that was left here.

Here is another view of this area.  Beside the chair is the pot lid turned upside down planter for hens and chicks.  The concrete edging was another thing left here piled up under a tree in the yard.  Moved it here to recreate a border around what looked like a former planting bed below the decks. We've still got to finish putting up the lattice under the deck.  It is done in places but not others.

Here is the strawberry planter pot I've had for years now, finally planted with some cute little flowers/succulents.  Think the one is called moss rose? They seem to be doing nicely in it.  The last time I tried to plant this pot, I couldn't keep it watered enough, but these are pretty hardy plants so hopefully they will survive.

Saw this idea on Pinterest.  The rusty toolbox was another thing left behind in our shed, so now it's become useful again. These succulents are some I got at the Wildflower Society's sale back in April.  Can't wait until they are overflowing the box!

This is the corner of the deck outside the living rom windows and the utility room doors. I've plans to repaint these chairs, same colors, yellow and green, although the green paint on the chair to the right has weathered and chipped almost completely off.  They really shouldn't be sitting out in the open, but my front porch just wasn't right for this rustic of a look, so here they will be. 

Here is the blue table and chairs that I blogged about recently.  Still not decided about trying to make them more turquoise, which was what they were supposed to be in the first place.

Another to-do project waiting on me is the table and chair set.  We purchased these several years ago at a great price when we were going to auctions for our flea market booth.  With the fabric cushions, these should be in a screened-in porch, but as I am not EVER going to have one of these, even though I've wanted one forever and my husband started one and never finished it at our other house, these are going to have to do.  I bought the black Rustoleum paint for the facelift, but after I did, came to the abrupt realization that the seat bottoms are rotten and need to be totally redone when I fell through the bottom of one as it busted!! Sssoo, now there will be new seat bottoms to cut(guess treated plywood would be the way to go on that) and will have to buy new foam and cover them all when done.  Working on the hubby to get him to help me cut out the seats, as I'm not the greatest with power tools.  Thinking I'm going to use vinyl tablecloths as the fabric for the seats.  It will eventually dry rot but maybe not as soon as the shower curtains I've been using.

In the background, you might be able to see the shed that sits at the edge of our yard.  In a weird twist, it only partially belongs to us.  This was an old family place that was gradually divided up among family members who then have moved on.  Only one brother, a neighbor a few houses east of us, still lives and owns his family property.  Our house was on several acres, but they gave one acre to a daughter and her husband, that immediately east of us. This was sold to another fellow, our present neighbor.  Parceling off one acre cut through existing structures of the original home place, which went with house we now live in. So the line, as we understand it now, runs through the front of the shed and cuts off a stormpit which looks like it should belong to our house.  We own the entrance to the shed but not the majority of the shed.  I'm itching to do something to the side of it to make it more pleasing to the eye, like adding an old window, shutters, and flower plantings.  I still may do it, after asking the neighbors permission, as surely he won't have an objection to improvements.  It's an eyesore more to us than him. His home faces away from these structures, but they are what we see from every back window, our deck, and outside seating.

So this is our "garden", or part of it.  We also have 6 sweet pepper plants, yellow and red, in another bed, but they are recently planted and pitiful right now.  Four tomato plants made it out of six we planted and the same with some cayenne peppers right in front of the tomatoes.  They are flowering now.  I have to get some Sevin dust as I've spotted a few Japanese beetles and some cutworms.

To the left of the tomotoes are the few herbs transplanted from the other house or purchased recently.  They will be moved eventually to a planned herb garden, once I decide where and how I want to do it.  From left to right, winter savory, garlic chives, some kind of oregano?forgot what it was, and then 2 colors of bee balm(not yet blooming). 

I'm working on some more herbs.  Here is some thyme and basil seedlings.  I've more basil in another pot and then cilantro and lavender which are just starting to sprout.

This is another view from the back deck of the side seating area where you can see the swing that was left behind.  It needs some new cushions to spruce it up. 

While I've been trying to get this post together, here is what Maggie was doing.  She was under the coffee table at my feet, trying to get my attention and looking pitiful. 

In the line of art, I've done a bit of journaling again, and have started having some ideas of things I want to do.  This is starting to feel more like home and perhaps that is a beginning to my being able to get past the mental block I've had to creativity.  We still have things to situate in the house but I've started a new position at work where I will be working seven days and then off seven, night shift.  This should free up more time for all of the above-mentioned projects, art, and moving.

Long Distance Voyager

Finally getting back into some art, such as it is.  I've started out with a page or 2 in my Moody Blues journal. This is a 12x12 scrapbook/journal I found at a thrift store. I cut open a Moody Blues LP album cover to glue to the front. Long Distance Voyager is the name of the album. Love that name!  I've only done a few pages so far, but intend to keep a blue theme throughout.  My dh and I came up with phrases or songs that have the word "blue" in them, but so far I've not used any of those. Actually I've only done a few pages in this at all.  One is a drawing done one day when I was feeling really sad about my Dad's Alzheimer's.  Not sure that I'll ever show that one, as it is nothing artistic and wouldn't mean anything to anyone but me. 

The page above I did this week. It began as several magazine page cutouts, some scraps of leftover painted pages, and other patterned papers or drawings.  I tend to revert to gesso to kind of blend the different elements into one another as well as some gel pens, pencils, and markers.  The main pictures were a cool weathered rock landscape used on the left and a female(is this Lisa Presley?) on the right.  Was able to bring her hair and arm into the rock lines and vice versa.  I know this is not great art, but I kind of like how it turned out.  Glad to be using this part of my brain again.  Hopefully it's the beginning of more to come.

Wanted to get a quick post off since it's been so long.  Will come back with more personal life updates.

Does this count as creative?

I'm working an early shift the next few days, which means early afternoon getting home.  I hate getting up before the crack of dawn, but it's so nice to be home with daylight to spare!  It is so pretty out that it is hard to stay in the house.  As I mentioned previously, I almost feel compelled to be outdoors. This afternoon I knocked off a few of my "Round 2 it" projects, all involving spray paint.

A good number of years ago, a friend and coworker at Woodland Lab was moving to Mississippi, so she gifted me with a patio set.  She said I would get around to redoing it before she would and they didn't want to move it.  Well, I'm ashamed to say I put it off until the cute little table that goes with these chairs was starting to come apart from neglect so we left it behind when we moved, bringing only the chairs.  My Mom had given me this little table several years ago.

I thought the table went fairly well with the chairs but now they all have a matching coat of paint to make them look more like a set. This is supposed to be a turquoise color but it ended up looking more blue than I would like it to.  I may try to antique with some touches of green and brown.  Will live with it a few days before I decide for sure.  I turned the stained-glass table top over so the colors were more subdued than the real top with green, brown, and yellow sunflowers.

The previous owners of our new house left a good bit of junk in the small workshop on the property.  We were astounded that they left a pair of lamps since they were so unique!  I can't imagine what the maker/designer was thinking when they came up with this design!  The pottery of the lamp itself has an embossed pattern that was totally ignored when they started applying these pink/gold giraffe-looking spots! I would imagine these are from the fifties or early sixties. I tried to get a brother to the woman to take the lamps since they once belonged to their mother.  He is a neighbor of ours now. Amazingly, he didn't want them either.  I plugged them up and they still worked, so I thought what will it hurt to try a spray paint job?  I was going to get rid of them anyway, but if I could make them more subdued, shall we say, maybe a couple less things in a landfill.  Not wanting to waste money, I opted for a hammered bronze that was left over from painting an old brass headboard(looked great BTW!). Taped up the base, so the gold there would still show and sprayed away. Thinking they look much better now!  If only the shades had been smooth fabric, I think I could try to redo them with some paper or other fabric, but they are a rough, nubby fabric that I won't be able to get glue to stick to. Will be on the lookout  for some decent shades at thrift stores first before I buy new ones, cause I'm cheap, don't you know!

Before(excuse the shed, not ours!)

After

Next on the agenda, while I had the paint out, were some brass Home Interior shelf brackets.  Forgot to take a before shot, but you can use your imagination, I think.  These hold a glass shelf and will now match the color of the master bathroom plumbing fixtures and look more updated.

After

Again, I forgot to take a before shot, but these hands used to be flesh-colored only. I am a messy painter, what can I say!

After

So that was my spurt of energy for the day.  Now if only I could get inspired enough to put these folded and sorted clothes away.  That lazy housekeeper never shows up to do this!

Limbo

So long since my last post and I didn't mean for it to be that way! I'm in this weird place in my mind right now and that is probably not great blog material but I offer it up as an explanation of my blog's inactivity the last TWO months.

We are fairly settled into our new place and I am still getting acclimated at the new job. I work PRN(as needed)which has meant I am filling in for positions for which I've been trained and still trying to get all my training in all departments in the lab as an actual lab tech. So far I've learned how to do courier, phlebotomy(which I did already know, just had to get their procedures down), Outpatient Lab, Specimen Processing, and Desk Clerk which are the support positions at this lab and am in the process of getting turned loose as far as actual lab tech work here.

As far as the house goes, we still have stuff in the storage unit. Kerry is in some strange place in his mind, too, that I can't get him to talk about. He's not a talker anyway. We can't seem to get motivated to finish up everything. As for me, although I don't feel like I am missing the old house, as in it is the "home" I need to be in, I also don't yet feel like the new house is "home". The end result being that I feel like I am living someone else's life right now.

 Creativity...I am so mad at myself in this regard. I have the time now, but no FOCUS! Can't decide where to begin. Do I make some jewelry? How about those art journals begun but never finished or the ones bought but never begun? What about all those UFO's that I took the time to keep together and move to a new house? Sewing projects, yeah, I've got UFO's there, too! The oil and acrylic paints and brushes bought but never used, what about trying my hand at those? I fuss at myself mentally and tell myself what I know, which is, just start SOMEWHERE! This will be the beginning of creativity. Focus...where is it? Excuses, excuses, and that makes me mad, too!

I keep going outside right now, working in my new-to-me flower beds and wondering what I could/should plant. I've made a start on planting some herbs so that one day I can have another herb garden. Thinking about some vegetables, too, especially tomatoes and peppers which should be easy just in the beds already here. Started repainting our deck furniture and giving those a facelift. So, if this counts, I'm not totally lacking in any creativity, I suppose. Maybe it is a beginning of making this place home that for some strange reason is not starting inside but outside. I've tried analyzing "why" but not come up with the answer yet.

Right now I'm looking at some creativity prompts and challenges. Hoping... Maybe this will be what gets me to get started on something, anything. This whining is getting on my own nerves! I have been questioning whether I am even talented enough to be an artist. It would seem if I had something to say artistically I would be compelled to "say" it, "do" it, "make" it happen. Praying that I find my way.

Pictured at the top, two of the blessings that I can focus on!  These little boys are a joy to my heart and when I'm floundering, I only have to think of pictures like this and I smile. God has blessed richly in so many ways!

Starting over

I can actually post that we have finished moving! Yay! Wasn't sure that I would ever be able to say that at one point! If had my wits about me more while we were moving I would have taken some pics, but then again those might have been scary shots! The house we moved into was fine,this is a pic of the outside above, just needed a little cleaning, but packing up and moving our house was a MESS!!! We have some furniture, pictures, and some boxes of items left from the flea market still in storage and one bedroom has several boxes still to unpack or go through. These include knick knacks and office/personal business stuff. We have almost all of the house set up pretty much except for the room that Holly and Chris will use. My craft/art room is a big mess right now! I unpacked boxes so that we could reuse the boxes for other items. Because it was raining a lot of the time when we were free to move, we ended up using plastic storage boxes with lids. This way we could load up the back of our pickup with the boxes and still be able to move the little items when we couldn't move furniture. Anyway, I still have to get in there and play around with all my supplies and collections of fine junk to get the craft space in workable order. If I'm brave enough I'll take a shot of that so you can get a good laugh and maybe to motivate me to it to where I can take a nice "after" picture.

Ok, here are 3 shots of the mess that is my craft room right now. Want to get it to where it is functional, but inspiring. Several stacks of things in the floor still to sort. I lost a few storage pieces and a couple of closets and window seat that had storage, but have brought in the wardrobe as a substitute and have a couple of shelves that were formerly used somewhere else in the other house. Trying to create a sewing station in here as there was already a built-in ironing board. Also, want to do paper arts here and possible painting, but have put my jewelry-making elsewhere for now. I have a utility room with a sink and a good bit of room so I may move out there for painting or messy crafts. There is a deck right out the door of the craft room, so on pretty days I could go out there, too. We only have a carport now instead of a garage, but there is an old workshop where we have set up our tools. It needs some work, like a new roof and some new siding, but hopefully we will be able to get that done before too long. Want to try to make it look nicer to dress up the yard, maybe like a garden shed.

Kerry and I ended up moving the entire household of furniture and appliances entirely by ourselves. I was proud of us, at our age, being able to hold up. We never were sure what my schedule would be so it was hard to plan ahead and arrange for someone to help us, so we just kept on keeping on for about 3 weeks! That is not counting that we had moved the previously mentioned items that were put in the storage unit.

Kerry turned 50 on Feb. 5th. Emily and Holly wanted me to try to have a party for him in spite of the fact that I had not finished unpacking so they encouraged me to persevere. Emily came in Friday evening and with her help we did a marathon of sorting, unpacking, and cleaning, getting the house to the point where I felt comfortable enough to have some family and friends over.

The highlight of my weekend was getting to see my grandsons, of course! They are both growing so much! We only get to see them every couple of weeks, which makes all those subtle changes much more noticable than I'm sure they are for Emily and Craig.

Short update

We are in the middle of the changes I mentioned earlier. We are having to let our farm go back, and, as a result, will be moving. There are still some procedures and processes that we have to go through, but hopefully things will continue to work out at least as well as they have so far. I am also gong to be changing jobs, as of this week! So no more long commute for me, although my trade-off is going to be a way more irregular schedule. This does come with a higher paycheck and I will be gaining money from not having to spend 2 hours per day on the road x 5 days/week. I am hoping the pluses will outweigh the minuses for the new job.

Have been trying to pack and go through 26 years of accumulated "stuff/junk"!!! I have been donating and throwing away a lot, but some things I'm just not ready to get rid of yet. This has been made worse by the fact that Kerry and I had a flea market booth for a several years. We had been to auctions and acquired some pretty nice things that never made it to the booth or had not found a home by the time we closed it down last year. I'm having a hard time letting the nicest of these things go, because I keep thinking I could sell them on Ebay or Etsy if I ever had time. So I am packing the nicest items up to try to do that later. We don't live in a good place to have yard sales, even if my present work schedule had allowed it. The new place we are moving to is not really either, although it would be better than where we live now.

The next few weeks will be moving and transitions from this job to another and from our home of 26 years almost to a new older home. I was having a hard time with letting this house go at first, only because Kerry and I built almost all of it ourselves and my Dad did almost all of the cabinet work. I have reached the point where I am ready for all this change to be over and done with, so we can start adjusting to our new place.

I know Kerry was past ready for all the headaches with the farm to be over. Hopeufully, we will have more time to spend with the grandbabies and to go camping some. I do need to get some pictures of our newest grandson, Sam, on here. I have posted on Facebook, but will here, as well, since some might not be on Facebook.

Wanted to get an update posted. More to follow later.

Changes...

are on the horizon. I can't really say a lot about them right now, but hope that they will be the beginning of some good times, the end of some bad ones and the way to answered prayers. This transition time will be difficult as will just changes themselves for me. I'm not one to love change so am having to make myself think of the "who moved my cheese" philosophy and what that little book meant to me. We were supposed to read it at work, as some kind of administrative motivational propaganda but I had already read it when my daughters had to read it at school. The message for me was, although I might feel safe in my familiar little world, being forced to leave what I know and venture out to search for the "cheese" could lead me to rewards only imagined. The journey may be scary because I won't have a GPS telling me when and where to turn. Provisions may be scarce at times but I do know my Father will always provide what I need. I hope to look back at where I was and be amazed that I was ever afraid to venture on.

We are in the middle of getting ready for this new part of our lives. At the same time, amazingly it seems, life still goes on. Everyday tasks must be performed. Jobs and the associated stresses must be dealt with. Holidays approach and we try to decide how we are going to incorporate them into a life that can not be visualized. I feel like there is not enough time for everything I need to do or think about. I see others who continue to be creative even during difficult times. I have even done that myself in the past. When my Dad had Alzheimer's and my Mom had a stroke I found some solace in journaling and in art, but right now it is taking all of me to deal with just life. I am holding onto hope that there will be the time and creativity left when this all settles out.

Beautiful art received for my birthday

I realized that while I have not been creative lately, I did receive a beautifully-created piece of art for my birthday.  To explain the gift, I have to give a little history.  A few years ago, I participated in an art quilt swap hosted by one of the Yahoo groups of which I was a member.  I received a gorgeous art quilt but a few months later the artist asked if I could return the quilt to her so she could use it in an upcoming book and to feature in some workshops she was doing. She promised to send a replacement art piece in return, but unfortunately has never remembered to do so. I understood her need for using the piece, indeed, I think she sent off something that she really wasn't ready to let go of.  Still I felt a sense of loss, because I had spent time making a quilt myself and was really excited about getting one in return.  My friend, Kim, knew how I felt so she took the time to make this lovely little quilt and gave it to me for my birthday.

Wish my photography skills were better, but then it is hard to capture the beauty of a dimensional piece in a picture.  You can't feel the textures or see the small details all at once that make it so special.  The fact that she spent all this time making this just for me makes it all that more dear to my heart. The wording inside the doors reads, "You are inscribed in the palm of His hand."Isaiah 49:16.  Maybe I didn't get to keep the other piece because I was meant to have this particular art piece made by a friend so that I can cherish it all the more.

Above you see a close-up of the heart that hangs at the bottom and below a closer view of the center inside the doors.

Besides my big present of a trip to the beach and the art quilt mentioned above I also was blessed with some other remembrances from friends and family.

We had our friends, Terry and Michele, over the weekend after we got home from the beach to watch Alabama football and they brought the beautiful flowers, lavender candle, and the sweetly wrapped organic chocolate bar. Michele had also wrapped the candle beautifully in the same fashion with the pink and black stamped images, but I didn't get a shot before I opened it.  Another friend at work, Kendra, picked out the monogrammed lunch bag and notepad as well as a "Happy Birthday" glass and then I also got some beautiful cards from my daughters, Mom, and friends.

In spite of some difficult times we are going through at present, I am so blessed with family and friends.  I know that really having those that love you and that you love back is one of the things that really matters when all is said and done.  Material things can come and go, but "love remains". 

Beautiful Saturday in October

We went down this past Friday evening to Tuscaloosa, spending the night so that we could be there for a baby shower for Baby Sam being given by Emily's coworkers at Sealy.  Above is the cute wreath that her friend, Valerie, made for the front door.  Didn't notice that some of the letters had been blown over by the wind, but it says "Welcome Baby Sam". 

This was inside taken before the party started. There were more gifts there later on. Valerie made all the decorations.  She is very talented.

Above you can see the cute cake that we brought all the way from Vinemont with the main part sitting in my lap and the top in a separate box.  Emily loves the cakes made by a friend's Mom, Sarah Yarbrough, so Valerie arranged with me to get her to make it.  She does a great job and the cakes are so moist and yummy!  The rest of the tables look lovely, as well.

Here I caught Valerie touching up her face before the shower as I took a shot of the bar area decorations. 

Emily was chatting with some of her friends.  Since I am bad with names I won't try to name everyone in the pic.  If I find out later on for sure I will edit this. 

Thomas came, too, as did Kerry and Craig(Em's husband). Emily was very blessed with some really cute outfits and many practical items, too! Thomas wanted to help open the presents.

Grampy helped get Thomas ready to go.  Here Thomas was singing while Kerry got his shoes on him.  Emily has sheets on the furniture, btw, to protect the furniture from the dog hair.  We usually bring our 2 with us and they have one of their own.  That is a doggie blanket on the floor beside the chair.  Our dogs are spoiled, what can I say.

Had a wonderful day overall.  Besides the shower, it was great to have some time to play with Thomas.  He and I spent several hours having fun while Kerry watched Alabama football with Craig and Emily. He tells me all kinds of things only part of which I understand right now.  I really look forward to whatever time I am blessed with to spend with my grandbabies as they are born and grow up.  All those things you hear about the blessings of grandchildren are so true!

Ending of the perfect week

We saw the sun sparkle on the water.

We left our footprints in the sand and observed the beauty of Mother Nature.

We saw the tropical beauty of sparkling blue clear water lapping the shore.

And ended the week with a sunset that could not be equaled in it's beauty, although impossible to be captured on film.

I could not have asked for a more perfect week.  We didn't do a lot but that was exactly what I needed.  I left behind stressful work and personal situations that I know will be waiting for me when I get back.  This week was an escape from reality and I knew it and took it with both hands, embracing it fully as just what it was.  It was a gift of respite from stresses that have been overwhelming.  They won't go away and will probably only be worse when I return, but now I've had time to commune with Mother Nature and with God, resting for just a brief while from what I know awaits. 

In looking back over recent years, I have seen that often we have had the opportunity to get away right before there was a time of great stress.  I hope and pray that this is not the case this time, but know that if it is, that at least we've been granted this gift of rest and enjoyment of the beauty that is the ocean.