Photo Friday

Lately I feel like this...

when all I want do is this...

;0)

Happy Friday My Lovely Friends!

Wishing  you a weekend full of laughter.

(both pics taken this week - chicken at the fair
and lizard at the zoo)

One Hundred Years

I was in my basement studio this morning

looking through some antique ephemera I have acquired.

I have a lot of old photographs and post cards.

They fascinate me.

The majority of what I own is around 100 years old.

It's like going on a historical treasure hunt

imagining what life was like a hundred years ago.

I was rifling through the drawers seeking a piece or two

to use in a shadow box assignment from the online course I am taking.

(I highly recommend this course!)

Experimental art e-course.

Button found in right hand column.

Right, right, right.

Back on track.

So I'm rifling through my drawers of antique ephemera

reading the words written so many years ago to someone other than me.

Sort of like time travel spying

or perhaps

futuristic eaves dropping.

Come to think of it, perhaps it is wrong of me to read the words

written by someone so long ago meant for someone other than myself.

But reading I was.

And then I found this...

It's an old fountain from Whitewater, WI.

The writing on the front reads:

Fountian in Esterly School Yard

Whitewater, WI

L.A. Duffin & Co.

On the back is this...

and if I can get you a wee bit closer, it reads like this...

This is what it says (to the best of my reading ability)...

Dear friend. Endless chain of prayer. Oh! God we implore thy blessing on our Soldiers & Sailors. Keep them in the hollow of thy hand.

This was read by me Oct. 31, 1917. It has been all over the world. Copy it and see what happens. It was in the old that days all who wrote it would be free from all care & all who passed it by would meet with a misfortune. Send it to seven people and on the 7th day you will receive great pay. Send it on the same day you receive it. Please don't forget to sign your name and don't break the chain.

From H.I. Trewyn.

Can you believe? Almost 100 years of superstition. An almost 100 year old chain letter!!! And I thought superstitious chain letters were just an e-mail thing! This was back in WWI days.

It was such a fun find I instantly ran to Darling Hubby to share.

Then I rushed to my blog to share with all of you because it's interesting.

And fun.

And I thought you might enjoy it.

Plus, I wasn't about to risk breaking the chain!!!

Didn't you read the line about misfortune???

Hopefully there are at least seven responses

to this post so I know I'm in the clear!

;)

Tee hee! Toodles.

Out of Whack

See this?

Might be hard to see.

That, my dears, is rain.

Desperately needed rain.

Problem.

I think that much needed rain

is the reason behind my much hated pain.

Fucking Fibro.

Sorry. Sometimes it slips.

Went to the dentist yesterday.

Little boy (around 4 or 5) was across from us.

He was scared. He cried.

His parents sat in front of him taking turns berating.

"Stop it! We told you not to cry!"

"No crying allowed!"

"Don't be such a baby."

"Knock it off. Shut up! Stop crying."

I wanted to go over and hold his hand.

My much bigger boy (10) saw the drill coming.

Tears started welling.

I held his hand and empowered him.

"It's okay honey. Squeeze my hand if you have to.

If you feel any pain at all, you raise your hand.

You let us know. You'll be okay.

The doctor is going to take good care of you and I'm here."

The tears subsided and he quietly and quickly 

had his tooth filled.

I don't think the other boy's parents realized what they were doing.

I'm still sad for that little boy.

Later in the day, we were getting ready to go fishing.

We were running late.

There was lots to pack and prepare. I asked everyone for help.

The younger kids and I worked hard.

Teenager holed up in his cave.

Ditched me. Didn't help.

Took forever to get off his butt and out the door.

I tried to gently tell him how I needed everyone's help.

How he's old enough to take initiative.

How he's biggest, strongest, most capable.

He argued.

My fibro flare pain got the best of me.

I yelled.

"Don't you get it? Seriously? You need to help!

You should not abandon everyone else whose working.

You promised to help today! To spend time with me!

You need to step up and be responsible! 

You're too old for this!!!"

I didn't know what I was doing.

Frustration was mounting and my physical pain

shortened my fuse. I needed his help and he wasn't there.

I handled it wrong.  He's still a kid.

Albeit a big one, but an impressionable

learning kid none-the-less.

I appologized.

Explained myself.

Asked that next time he help when I ask.

Said that next time I will work hard at keeping my cool.

We went fishing.

We saw beauty.

We caught fish.

We made happy, good memories.

Sometimes our actions are not what we intend.

Everyone makes mistakes.

If we are aware, we can learn from our actions.

We can use that knowledge to act differently next time.

We can grow and share our knowledge.

We can apologize and love.

I can't help but wonder about that little boy at the dentist.

Were his parents aware?

Did they learn anything?

Did they appologize?

Did he get a hug when all was said and done?

My message to all of you today?

Live, Learn, Love.

xox

I'm Baaack!!!!

Hello Blog World!!!!

I missed you!

Boy was that break good for me!

My defeatedly overwhelmed state has been replaced

by optimism and positivity.

I don't blame Blogland for the ugly state I was in.

Quite the contrary.

I find you all inspiring and loving and oh so wonderful!

You may have noticed me lurking around in the shadows.

;0)

Rather I needed a break from the pressures I put on myself.

Needed a chance to step back.

To play. To enjoy. To re-prioritize.

Here is what I've been up to.

The kids and I stained string with various ingest-able items

Playing with art with Amelia (experimental art e-course).

For more info click on button in right hand column.

Helping my man sell his wares.

check out www.loraxcarving.com

sitting around fires

Watching storms and tracking their damage.

catch and release (far, far away) cute garden critters

for the record, we have relocated 15 ground squirrels,

one chipmunk, and this cute fellow below?

He was too cute to move. :) We let him go on the spot.

Lots of visits to the library where I found this cool bike!

Don't know why but it reminds me of Mr. Bean.

Lovelies picked for me by the kiddos.

watching linemen

wildflower (and invasive) spotting

daytime drives

evening skies

perfect shots

swimming at the lake!

Yup. That's what I needed. Some fun times and time to think. I also found inspiring freebies I wanted to share with all of you.

Downloadable positive affirmation page to frame and hang.

Fun positive thoughts page for home, office, anywhere!

more positive freebies from Kind Over Matter

Spiritual reading "Journey of a Soul"

That's it for the freebies.

I know, I know. I hear your screams of "more! more!!!"

How about some great websites to visit?

A blog for photography and editing.

The Coffee Shop Blog

 Hilarious new blog on parenting HERE.

A super cool museum I am going to visit for my birthday

because I'm a geek like that!

Hamilton Wood Type Museum

and a video about the museum.

A glimpse of what we will be up to today

can be found here.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ 

On the flip side of all this fun and inspiration

I am feeling much better and am hoping that somewhere

amongst these photos, links and freebies

you have found inspiration as well.

Peace Out My Friends!

Yeah

This is how I'm feeling lately.

(ya gotta know a girl is stressed when she posts a shot of herself

with no make-up and no shower at a very unbecoming angle!)

Yeah.

Like the weight of the world is on me.

And it's freakin' heavy!!!

Taking short hietus from blogland.

Trying to take some pressure off of myself

before I explode all over the screen!!!

Hugs, love, all that goods stuff.

Will miss you while I'm gone.

Oh, and...

don't forget to take care of 

YOU

too.

p.s. I'm having a sale in my Etsy store. I know I don't promote myself much. I need to work on that. You can find the link to my store at the bottom of this page. If you find anything you would like to purchase, put "YIPPEE" in the coupon code and you will receive 20% off your order! I'm outta here!

Gold

 

Glorious golden wheat field.

 

'Nuf said.

Sunday

Sunday

Day at the beach.

Grey day.

 Family in the water day.

Toes in the sand day.

Fun shot day.

 

Wonder what today will bring.

Summer Love (camper style)

I love camping!!!

The great outdoors.

Late nights by the fire.

Imaginative children embracing the woods.

I used to be a tent camper.

Physical conditions caused me to move to a pop-up.

The family outgrew the pop-up.

Now we stay in cabins.

Some day,

I would LOVE to buy a vintage camper.

There's just something about them.

They seem to add an extra dose of dreamy fun.

For now, I will covet the campers of others

and all things vintage camper.

For your viewing pleasure...

(Bird Houses By Glenn Etsy Shop)

(Artsy Orange Etsy Shop)

Artsy Orange is run by the magnificent artist/blogger Jenni Horne.

Read about her vintage camper t-shirts here.

View adorable children's camper art (class taught by Jenni) here.

You absolutely HAVE TO check out this website for a plethora of

vintage camper eye candy.

Here is another one.

Big Woody Campers

has some amazing teardrop campers.

Built new with that vintage feel.

Gorgeous!

Perhaps perusing the pictures all morning will keep

your inner gypsy at bay.

If not, perhaps it's time to hit the open road

and do some camping!

The Gypsy

There is a gypsy living within me.

She pokes and prods and needles me.

Trying to get her way.

Wanting me to run.

To flee.

To kill her misery of being trapped too long in one spot.

She loves to travel and dance and wear loud colors.

She peeks at the world through my eyes and whispers...

"Why do you stay here? Where are your fancy clothes? When can we go and play?"

To which I shush her and answer, "Not now my Dear Gypsy. You see, I have family.

I care for them and feed them and they depend on me.

I must stay here in my conservative clothes and live my stay put life.

Some day. Some day we will travel and play and be free."

"Bring them with if you must but we have to go! I MUST GO!!!!" she screams from within.

"I cannot afford to travel the world with four children in tow.

It is a dream of mine but it is not possible on the salary

of a Domestic Engineer.

How about a nice trip to the lake?

Or a walk in the woods?

Care to shop at the market?

They have pretty scarves there!"

 "Scarves? Well... if we must. 

But promise me. We will wander soon.

We will travel far and wide and be free."

"Yes my Gypsy. Some day we will travel free."

 (Tree of Knowledge)

 (Provoking)

 

 (Release of the Inner Beast)

Lucky Me!!!!

I entered a drawing a bit ago posted at the awesome blog

Free Spirit Knits.

I didn't win.

In her announcement of the winner

she offered the chance to win another prize.

A spot in the

experimental art e-course

with the talented

Amelia Critchlow.

Once again, I didn't win. 

The winner wasn't able to follow through on the class.

Guess what?????

I was the second runner up!!!

I won a spot in the class.

The first series of assignments are certainly

NOT

bringing out any artistic savant in me

but

they have been good for me.

It's all about playing

and doing.

Not thinking.

Something I definitely need practice in.

Your assignment today is to do one thing freely.

 ~ Create a piece of art without putting thought to it (perhaps work to music).

 ~ Write a poem or letter and let the words flow without judgment.

 ~ Take pictures without over analyzing the shot. Just point and shoot and see what you get.

 ~ Cook up a storm. Make up a new recipe for a soup or salad with ingredients you have on hand.

 ~ Take a walk and when you come upon a park, swing, teeter totter, slide without thought to what you look like or what others think.

Do one thing freely.

Baby steps.

Practice to living freely.

That's your assignment from me.

Now go.

Be free!

Waxing Philosophic (Shower Style)

Waxing Philosophic (Shower Style) - Philosophical thoughts and pondering conceived in the shower. Combine hot steamy water on the crown chakra, absence of interruption, warmth of body creating relaxation, and you have the perfect condition for deep thinking, epiphanies, philosophical pondering. 

6/29/11
Why does it feel good to feed negative thoughts? Why do people love a good train wreck? Why is it easier for people to recall bad times than good? Why is there greed, road rage, violence, harsh judgment of others? It is all ego. The ego wants to feel alive. The ego feels discomfort, power, greed, negativity. We, in human form, are egomaniacs often ignoring our spirit side. Spirit is peace, love, bliss.

People often ask, "What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? What is my purpose?"

Perhaps life is a test. A game. And we are playing all wrong. By the wrong set of rules. No one has figured out how to win because it's not about winning. It's not about how much or how fast as that is ego and in the end doesn't matter one bit. Rather, it is about personal growth and bettering ourselves. Extending our best selves to others allowing them to see the goodness and positivity out there and giving them a chance to grow. Perhaps the idea is to see how close to spiritual pureness we can get in the human form. To battle ego in stead of letting it take over. Perhaps the reward is not here and now and built of material, but is given on the other side. It is the gift of enlightenment allowing our soul to be a bit shinier, a bit brighter, moving a step closer to The Divine.