Week 5: Gratitude

Today I'm grateful for soft, dumpling, baby feet.

An imperfect creation

OK. I'm stoked!

I created a little canvas picture with intentional flaws.

I began by adhering an old pattern piece, cheesecloth and cardboard to the canvas before painting it. I whitewashed some of the surface(s). The flowers are made from Crayola air dry clay. The doodling needs some practice....


This is my first attempt at using layers & texture (and doodles) to create visual interest.
My fingers are already itching to begin my next project.

Connecting

I'm trying to learn to laugh at myself more and stop taking life so seriously (doomsday music inserted here).

I'm a bit like television's favorite detective, Monk, who must straighten a crooked picture or pull a piece of lint off a stranger's coat sleeve.

I really need to lighten up.

Yesterday morning, a Saturday mind you when I'm sometimes still in my robe past 10, I had to be fully clothed & presentable by 8:00 because a Direct TV dude was showing up on a service call.

Greeting the technician wearing my robe was not even a possibility. I've had my robe for 4+ years. Its ribs of pink chenille lay crushed and stained in spots. It's uglier than sin and has enough girth that it could be used as a main sail on a boat. When wearing my robe, I resemble a large, fluffy serving of wilted cotton candy.

But my robe is not the point of this post....

As I prepared myself to greet the technician, I found myself stopping here & there to tidy up the house. Hanging up a coat. Putting shoes away in their designated spots. Lighting a candle to dispel the aroma of a recently opened can of chicken liver cat food.

How ridiculous! Am I so insecure that the opinion of a random technician matters who I'll likely never meet again and who, more than likely, would not even notice a coat hanging on a chair or a newspaper tossed on the floor?!

So, difficult as it was, and, recognizing that I need to exercise my 'imperfection' muscle, I retraced my steps and put the newspaper back on the floor, put the dirty dishes back onto the counter top (I thought they'd be less obvious if they were placed in the sink) and hung the coat back over the chair.

While the technician worked we had a friendly chat with light laughter thrown in.

I'm relatively positive he didn't notice that my house needs a good vacuuming.
Besides, it's kindness and laughter and connecting that really matter.

Doodling 101

Who knew that doodling is an art form? And that one could pay to learn how to doodle?!

I frustrate myself when I work on my art projects because I'm too much of a perfectionist. I love the messy, bumpy, scuffed look yet I don't know how to do it.

So, I'm a quest to get down and dirty (and messy).

Somehow, learning to doodle creatively is part of the solution for me.

I signed up for a short e-course on doodling. (www.homegrownhospitality.typepad.com) Here are my first attempts at instructed doodling.

My doodles aren't perfect but that's the point.....

A play day

Sandwiched between errands, today I met friend Judy for lunch at Anthony's Hearthfire Grill. We both ordered their delicious halibut sandwich with sweet potato fries. While seated next to the HUGE windows overlooking Budd Inlet we were amazed to see a full rainbow spanning both sides of the inlet. How cool is that?

I'm still quivering with excitement having finally stopped in at a store in town called 'Fun Junk'. Friend Judy stopped in last week and blogged about her ephemera finds. Mention the word 'ephemera' and I'm all ears!

Fun junk is very unique. Yes, the contents may be considered junk but it's collectible junk and mounds of it. Instead of having one or two vintage toasters, the owner displays a dozen. Cookbooks, record albums, lace, jewelry, clothing, the list goes on... And the ephemera! Boxes of old photos, postcards, school flash cards, pages of drawings torn from old books... a virtual treasure trove! Let the following photos set your hearts a'thumping!

These are the treasures I bought (this time around). The large card with the word 'sew' is an over sized flashcard that will look fun on the wall in the sewing area I'm creating. I also paid $2 for the little red vintage tray with the bluebirds pictured above.



Today's tiny shopping spree merely whetted my appetite for more. One can never have too much ephemera!

Fun Junk
'Piles of old stuff'
3644 Mud Bay Rd
Olympia, WA 98502
Open Fri & Sat 10-6

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my childrens lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake rests
in his beauty on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.

-Wendall Berry

Serendipity

True story:

Mel, 70 years old and living the 'good life' in Florida found $146 dollars laying on the sidewalk in front of a lady's boutique last December. Figuring someone lost their Christmas spending money he went into the store and told the clerk he had found a non-disclosed amount of money. He left his phone number should someone stop by the store hoping to reclaim their misplaced money.

Two weeks went by and no phone call. He donated the money his favorite local charity which was hosting an upcoming holiday raffle. He was given 5 raffle tickets in exchange for his generosity.

Imagine his surprise when one of the raffle tickets netted him a $5,000 golf cart!

Not needing a golf cart, he arranged to receive the cash instead which he promptly donated right back to the charity.

Don't you just love serendipity?