planning the day

Good morning! I took today & tomorrow off work to prepare for the city-wide garage sale Saturday. I get rid of clutter, the money earned goes to my favorite charity, and anything that doesn't sell goes to yet another charity. Everyone wins! Plus, we get a clean garage when it's all done (if you'd seen it the last few months, you'd understand my excitement about this prospect). Anyhooo.... my fabulous hubby shared this quote with me a couple days ago and I loved it. I hope you do too...

"I wake up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning the day a little difficult."
~ E. B. White

May we all have one helluva good time changing the world!

goslings!

A couple Canadian geese nested outside the office where I work. Last week the eggs hatched. I'm so glad it happened when we could enjoy it, rather than on the weekend. Papa was very protective, so I took this photo from inside.

painted alice

I've been working on Alice for my mixed media piece for the Alice in Wonderland challenge at Mixed Media Mischief Makers. I made her from polymer clay and painted her with acrylics. I've always respected people who do intricate work on small objects... now even more so! I don't think this will be something I pursue regularly, but it's good to experiment & try new things. How else does one discover their bliss if they're not open to new experiences? Being new to most art mediums, it's all an adventure for me, ha! Anyway, here are before paint & after paint views.

I'll add her to the rest of the piece later this week and get it submitted by the May 1 deadline. I'm anxious to see the entries from the other members. They blew me away with their contributions to the Wicked challenge.

lightning illuminating the clouds

I mentioned in last night's post that a storm rolled in. Here's a snapshot of how the lightning above the clouds looked:

It rained gently a good portion of this afternoon & evening.... perfect for staying indoors and catching up on some things. After several hours, bad words & deep breaths, I was successful uploading data files from the old pc. iTunes was my biggest challenge, but I wasn't about to give up my music ~ no way! The local radio stations don't deliver what I enjoy hearing, so I must purchase the good stuff. Usually, I'm treated to good jazz every Saturday from 7-11 (IPR's "Jazz with Curt Snook") but for some reason it's not on tonight. So, I'm grateful to have iTunes back. Oooo, I just remembered I still have an iTunes gift card to use... heading to the iTunes store now....

perspective

We hit 85 degrees today in Iowa, which probably helped trigger the storms coming our way. I mowed & applied crabgrass preventer before the clouds rolled in and things got interesting. I sat outside for over an hour this evening, watching the clouds & lightning, listening to the birds chirping & the wind blowing. My dog on my lap with the warm wind on my face, blowing my hair, bringing smells of nature, fed my spirit. After becoming scared of rain storms after last year's challenges (we spent the summer remodeling the lower level of our split level home due to water damage), I found a peace tonight with the storm. I chose a different perspective. I'm no longer afraid of the rain ruining things. It might mess things up again, but I'm calm about it now. I once again love the sound of rain. Everything is and will be ok.

Peace be with you.

Ahoy, and other nautical expressions

Between my day-job getting even busier than usual and my home computer's motherboard biting the dust, it's been a crazy two weeks. I've got a new pc now and hope to have my files/favs/etc. uploaded to my new pc this weekend. I've got lots to share and will start with an invitation to Wander through Wonderland...

http://mixedmediamischiefmakers.blogspot.com/2009/04/wandering-through-wonderland-for.html

don't disengage

Ya know those situations where you see or hear something, and you think to yourself... someone should say or do something.... you should say or do something..... but you keep walking by, driving by, whatever it is you're doing. You miss the chance to make a difference. You kick yourself, make an excuse and move on with your day. Well today when one of those opportunities presented itself, I stopped what I was doing and did something. I'm sorta shy. It felt awkward, but I kept at it. It was something very small, nothing really, but it was a connection with someone else... someone who I thought could use a hand, a smile, someone to care. Damn did it feel good. I want to do it again... engage rather turn my eyes or hope someone else will do something.

Why today? I dunno. I've been reading Patti Digh's book (see sidebar) and wouldn't be surprised if she nudged me. It's an amazing book from an amazing lady.

I had a great day. I hope you did too.

circus rose & encouragement to keep showing up

April 5th and it's snowing. Hopefully tonight's forecasted freeze won't harm any new growth emerging in the garden (cross those figners!).

I took a few photos of the beautiful flowers DH gave me yesterday. They are circus roses... bright yellow with orange-red tips & edges... my favorite colors for flowers... simply stunning. Up close, the petals look a little bit like peach skin, don't they?

I'm off to tidy up the studio so my muse feels welcome. I'm starting my Wonderland challenge this afternoon and would love her help.

You may have already seen this video, but if not, I came across it today and found it intriguing. It's Elizabeth Gilbert talking about creative "genius." I'm going to keep showing up. How about you?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html