Little Things

Summer schmumer, what a bummer. This summer's been kind of a drag. Actually, it's been a real drag. We started with a flooded basement followed by a mess created from waterproofing said basement, followed by the discovery of mold/mildew as a result of said flood followed by forceful throwing of personal belongings, furniture and tearing out of drywall and carpet to remove hazard from asthmatic son's bedroom, followed by a broken garage door, followed by freak health condition causing unbearable pain resolving itself after a week of drugs, dentists, doctors and chiropractic care all trying to figure out where all the pain was coming from and why my left cheek was swollen and paralyzed. And we desperately need a new roof before winter! Whew! What a mouthful!

Thank God for the little things that keep me going and poke happiness into the crazed cloud of calamity. Little things like children's laughter, impressive skies, bumble bees, drippy peaches, singing birds, reading books, snuggling, funny movies and snapdragons that volunteer to grow each year unexpectedly planted by chipmunks traveling through the neighborhood. 

Sometimes when you are hang dogging, when things are looking down, it's up to you to find the little things, to look up and get your head back off the ground.

Care to share your list of little things creating smiles this summer?

The Little Things

So very often the little things are really the big things.

During our recent trip to Florida I came down with bronchitis and was quite sick. I plugged along like a trooper as to not wreck the fun of the rest of the family. At one of our gas stops my kids left the van to stretch. They found little flowers and greens peeking out of the cracks of the concrete. They picked the little bits and presented me with a tiny bouquet. They had noticed my suffering and wanted me to feel better. Such a small gesture that filled my heart and stretched a smile across my face. Love is the best medicine.

May your day be filled with little blessings.

Perception

My last post was on the heavy side. Since I like to mix things up, I thought I would post another funny to counter the heavy. Today is March 19th. The windchill outside is below zero. Spring, WHERE ARE YOU!!! In the spirit of positive thinking, I am holding faith that spring is mere days away. In honor of spring, I have been researching planting and gardening ideas. 

I have a son who loves cactus and succulents. He actually collects them, or at least tries. Believe it or not, we have a cactus eating cat! You heard that right. My cat eats all plants, including cactus. This has caused my plant loving household to become plant barren as he has gotten deathly sick off of several of the plants he ingested. Being plant lovers without the ability to grow houseplants is depressing. Being plant lovers not able to have houseplants in a state that has an outside growing season of what feels like two months is even more depressing! Still, we do what we can and that means grow as much as we can while we can!

I was researching plants for my garden, flowers for Darling Daughter's Fairy Flower Garden, and hardy plants for my cactus/succulent loving son. I came upon a site that had these awesome spherical succulent collections. I became intrigued, engulfed, obsessed in figuring out how to grow some for our patio this year. I was so fully engaged in the process of learning how to make them, I didn't notice the name they were given. Actually, I had read the name many times, it just never struck my funny bone until I stepped away from the page to get some coffee and sat back down. At that moment my perception of the name changed and I had a laugh-out-loud-alone-with-self moment. I had spent the last twenty minutes with my face inches away from Succulent Balls! Ha ha ha! (click link for awesome garden idea)

Get it? 

No?

Did you click the link?

Now do you get it?

Never mind. 
(sporting sheepish grin as I slink away)

☺

I Lost My Groove

I can't believe I lost my blog groove! I've looked everywhere! One simple hiatus followed by a trip to Florida and it is gone, gone, gone. I guess I'll have to fake it to make it. Come up with a new groove. Head in a new direction. Play around. 

In order to get the ball rolling, I am starting off with a post of random "stuff" (I love random)...



Florida

stingrays at the aquarium in Tampa

lovely little flowers at Saddlebrook Resort

palm with ferns growing on it - cool!

cypress trees (always wondered what they looked like - here are the bottoms!)

tootsie meets gator

Information

I picked up a book at the library a few days ago.

The Collage Workbook

by Randel Plowman

It's fun, colorful and easy to read. It's also full of good information!

For instance, the author shares some great online resources for downloadable images to use in your art. Some are completely copyright free, others supply notes and restrictions on how the images may be used. I can't wait to check them out!

Library of Congress Image Database (has notes on restrictions & copyright use)

Library of Congress' Flickr Photostream (no known copyright restrictions)

Reusable Art (copyright free in the US)

Karen's Whimsy (free images courtesy of the author)

Public Domain Pictures (royalty-free stock photos)

Artists

Here are a few I have been enjoying lately.

David O'Keefe has so much fun and whimsy in his paintings, one cannot help but spread a smile across one's face while indulging in his art.

Chasing the Moon - an up and coming jewelry artist who just happens to be holding a give-a-way!

Jenni Horne whom I have been a fan of for many years now. She paints, she makes jewelry, she teaches art to young children, she inspires! I just love her whimsical style and her cheery use of color. I always feel good after spending time in her space.

I love her even more now that she has introduced me to these delicious paints! I must get my hands on some. Pronto!

Alrighty. Enough random time wasting. Back to work for me. Now... where did I put that 'to-do' list anyway... (shuffle shuffle shuffle).

Hey you! You still here? Well bless your heart for staying through to the end. I want you to know how much I truly appreciate you, my dear reader. I truly, truly do. Thank you for making me feel even a wee bit worthy of your time. What a precious gift you have given me. Thank you!

Beauty

I snagged these beauties at the local farmer's market.

Aren't they gorgeous?

The one on the left is called a Teddy Bear Sunflower.

Perfect!

Have a brilliant weekend!

Fairy-est

Crystal Ball,

Crystal Ball,

Do tell all.

Who's the fairy-est of them all?

Welcome to our fairy garden!

M's Fairy Garden

cupboard

seating for four

shh... I see one now!

welcome!

The boys abandoned the sandbox below the swing set long ago.

After years of trucks and shovels excavating the prime real estate,

Darling Daughter and I thought it was time to develop.

No high rises here! We created a welcoming little neighborhood for flowers, bunnies and fairies! Shh... I think I see one now!

Nothing to say - Monday

 It's Monday.

Not much to say.

 I'll leave it up to others today.

Faith makes things possible, not easy.  ~Author Unknown

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished? ~Rumi

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.  ~Hanna Rion

Beautiful You

You know how you wake up every morning,

go out into the world and share your sunshine?

How you throw compliments that make others blush with pride?

How you lend a hand when you see someone in need?

How you build the confidence of your children with love and praise?

How you see the beauty in everyone you meet?

How you appreciate the gift of friendship and let your friends feel your appreciation?

How you love and accept every flaw in Mother Nature not as a flaw but as perfectly imperfect?

Will you do me a favor this morning?

Before you head out the door,

will you look in the mirror

and start there?

Throw yourself compliments and watch yourself blush.

Do you see need in your eyes? Fill that need.

Give yourself the love and praise you deserve and the confidence will follow.

Look at the beauty that is looking back at you.

Appreciate yourself as the best friend you could have.

Love and accept every perfect imperfection you were blessed with.

Start with beautiful you.

Wordless Wednesday

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!

Flowers For A Friend

A very dear friend lots her baby due to complications during childbirth yesterday.

There truly are no words to express just how sorry I am for their loss.

All I can do is pray.

 

I pray that she is able to pick up the pieces of her broken heart

and use the strands of love that are pouring in from across the globe

to begin to mend it.

 

I pray that her husband's heart understand

that for however brief, he was blessed with a beautiful son

who will now be watching over them as a beautiful angel.

 

I pray that their young daughter be wrapped in childhood magic during this difficult time

dancing with fairies and sprites, cuddling with blankets and teddies,

soaking up rainbows and butterflies

to ease the sadness that surrounds her

and she herself is feeling.

Tears are God’s gift to us. Our holy water. They heal us as they flow. ~Rita Schiano

Pictures from my patio

This weekend

get outside

bask in the sun

enjoy the breeze

smell the flowers

Take time to slow down and enjoy all that nature has to offer.

I double dog dare you!!!

Patiently Waiting

covers of white

hibernation

patiently waiting

sun warms

snow melts

peeking

stretches of green

reaching

blooms burst

spring has sprung

~ • ~ ~ • ~ ~ • ~ 

 

The first year we moved into our home I planted crocus bulbs below the bay window.

One can never tell when spring has truly sprung

unless one listens to Mother Nature.

She is the surest sign. 

The crocus is my little announcer.

Never failing to shout out the first signs of spring

and always doing so with such splendor of voice.

I have not witnessed the beauty of this year's blossoms

as of yet... but soon.

Very soon.

 

For now I will allow the crocus to lead

and I will act as he

and be patient,

for all good things

are worth waiting for.

Simplicity

Do you know what this is?

I bet you don't!

I bet most of you have never seen one of these.

I hadn't either until I planted my first vegetable garden a few years ago.

I am in love with growing things but

not so in love with all the rules of gardening.

I tend to be a

fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants

kind of gardener.

I do what I can when I can.

Plant what I want where I want it.

If it grows, it grows.

If it fails, another lesson learned.

What you see pictured above

is the bloom from leaf lettuce allowed to go to seed.

Or should I say, ignored for too long!!!

 

Isn't it lovely???

I was so taken by the simple beauty of it.

The delicate stems and buds.

The gentle yellow bursting at the tips.

This little flower is less than a centimeter wide.

All that glory in such a tiny little package.

It brought such a smile to my face

that I harvested a bunch

brought it into the house

and put it in a lovely vase.

Simple Beauty

Discovered by letting go.

Living in the moment.

 

 

 

That is what I wish for all of you this weekend.

Let go.

Live in the moment.
Enjoy the simple beauty life has to offer.

Perspective

Have you read Eckharte Tolle's "The Power of Now"?

It is a priceless book

teaching us how to live in the moment we have.

The Present moment.

It is called the present because it is just that. 

A gift. A present.

It's all we really have.

The past is gone. Dwelling wastes the moment that is.

The future is not yet. Don't waste this moment on what is not.

This moment.

This is what we have.

I was looking at a few shots I took earlier in the year and I was thinking about perspective.

I was walking along a path behind some houses and fell in love with an old glass door

resting against a house. A timeless backdrop for new and fleeting flowers.

I couldn't decide what to focus my camera on as they both were beautiful.

This first picture focuses on the door. It is old, from the past, behind the flowers.

It seems to represent the passing of time, history,

what could have been, what is no longer,

what little remains.

Yet it is beautiful.

This next picture focuses on the flowers.

They are young, new, fresh, alive and alert.

They deserve attention as they are the present moment.

They weren't there a bit ago, they won't be there forever.

They are here, Now.

They are also beautiful.

If I consider one step closer, 

I could think of me.

I am the one behind the camera.

I am the action, the future, the decider of what is to come.

I am the future of the picture.

What perspective to take.

What to do with the end result.

That is a beautiful thing.

That got me thinking.

Past, present, future.

How blessed we are as humans that our eyes, our minds

have the ability to see, to focus, to decide.

past, present, future

we can decide what to focus on, when, and how we view that which we see.

I choose NOW.

This moment.

The past is there. I see it. There are troubled times and there are great times.

The past helped form today. Who I am, where I am.

Memories are a part of us but they are not us.

I acknowledge and respect and I move on.

The future is yet to come.

There will be good and there will be bad.

I cannot control it but I can hope for the best,

dream of a beautiful life, look ahead, even plan ahead, 

but not too hard.

I don't want to get lost in what is not.

Above all, I choose now.

I acknowledge past and future.

They are part of life.

But I choose NOW.

This moment.

As far as the pictures?

The door, the flowers, me.

I see them all right now and it is beautiful.

Saturday's Silence