Debbie Richmond-www.wildlifeartgallery.net
imgarcade.com
Filed under animal paintings, Creativity
“Feelings-Can a bunny give you the second chance to live” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Paul Militaru Photography
Paulo Coelho via Lisa Bearnes Richey
From time to time I see the same question on social media: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Without a doubt, my answer is: Live in the moment!
I’m mostly doing that now and I’m SO much happier for it. I spent my late junior high school days and all of my days at high school waiting for my husband to get leaves from the Marine Corps. Then I was waiting for him to get out. Then for us to be at the same college. Instead of enjoying the moment, I was “living for some time in the future.” I was unconsciously telling myself that I would make time for things LATER, brushing aside much of my life.
Now my husband and I are retired. We can shape our lives much more around each other and what we’d like to do. We no longer have to ‘live for the weekend,’ and I’m very grateful for that. We ARE taking the time to appreciate our lives and each other, and the wonderful life we live.
The thing is, though, we’ve always had a lot to be thankful for. We were, in a distracted sort of way, rushing from one have-to to the next, working full-time, then staying up late to try to get at least a few other things done. We’ve always had full lives, but I think we took far too much for granted.
My wake up call was when we lost our then 2-month-old daughter, Jade, to SIDS in February of 1981. People say time heals all wounds. That’s not true, but it DOES allow you to gather the pieces of your heart and gut and move on for the rest of your family, not EVER taking anyone or anything for granted ever again.
So, I would sit my much younger self down and seriously say, “Don’t worry about everything so much. Much of what you’re worrying about you don’t have any control over. Deal with the things you CAN control. Deal with the things that happen – not what MIGHT happen. Stand back a bit and look at all you have, what you’re building with your husband and your son. Slow down and do things NOT on your to-do list. Make a list of “what I’d LIKE to do” and do one thing from it at least three times a week, if not daily. Realize you only have one life. ENJOY. Hug those you love. Make sure your friends know how special they are. Try to do something kind for someone every day.
“Life is the moment we’re living right now.” – Paulo Coelho
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement
cherbie.wordpress.com
I’m in awe of people who create pressed flower art. I’ve tried to press flowers, and have discovered that just doing THAT is an art. I’m not sure how they keep the colors vibrant and keep them from looking completely smashed. THEN there’s the whole thing of patiently creating because works of art from the preserved flowers….
irinasartbynature-www.etsy.com
Filed under Creativity, Fern Art
distractify.com
I’m delighted to tell you that my veggies and my tender flowers seem to have made it through the 2nd freeze of the weekend! I just came in from taking the sheets off of everything. The rest of the week is supposed to be warmer with no freezes, so, once I get all the sheets dry, I’ll store them in the shop for the next time.
Our 65+ pound ‘puppy’ Amber seems to love the cooler weather. She is actively sniffing everything while we’re around the garden, following paths all over the yard while I stand shivering, holding wet sheets in my arms. After waiting for what seems like a LONG time, I finally put the sheets on the ground, throw my arms in the air and yell, “Run like a bunny!” Amber looks delighted, and then tears off running as fast as she can all the way across the yard, around the house and back out to me by the garden. She then demands a treat, which I give her. And THEN she’s amenable to going “IN.”
I’m hoping that it’ll warm up enough this afternoon that I can do some weed whacking.
I hope that wherever you are right now, the weather is bringing you pleasure.
3d-pictures.picphotos.net
broadsheet.ie.
coolfunclub.blogspot.com
Filed under Creativity, paper art
http://www.belcastroagency.com via quotesgram.com
Filed under Reading is FUNdamental
pinterest.com
sea-snail-on-green-tea-www.etsy.com
Filed under Creativity, String Art
blog.animal-medical-clinic.com
It was UP to 32 degrees this morning at 8:30, when I went to uncover my plants. We still had the a/c on a couple of weeks ago! I bundled up and took Amber out to the garden with me to uncover my veggies. It LOOKS like they came through the freeze last night and this morning, but lettuce, in particular, is fragile, so I’m not sure yet. PLUS, it’s going to do it again tonight.
I brought in my two newest tomato plants and put them by the window in the dining room. I’m learning from my good greenhouse book that the greenhouse won’t protect my plants from freezing without a heater (DUH) – something we just can’t afford. We won’t put a/c out there, either, so it looks like what I’m going to be trying for is the longest regular growing season I can get – maybe from mid or late February through the next December or January. I’m getting lots of good, practical information, and I’ll be sharing that with you as I use it.
I gathered up the sheets I had put over the plants in the garden, plus the one I put over my elephant ear and exotic purple plant that my friend, Laufrain, gave me. The sheet for the flower planter was fine, so I just left it on the ground to be put over the plants tonight.
The sheets I put over the garden plants, though, were thoroughly soaked, with a thick layer of frost still on the sheets at 8:30! I’m running each of those through the dryer so I can use them again tonight.
If we can just make it through tomorrow morning, I think our weather is due to go back to more fall-like temperatures with no freezes for a bit. Hooray!
Filed under Arkansas, Gardening, Greenwood, Mother Nature
My husband was stuffing his face this afternoon with fritos. Suddenly, I could stand it no longer, so I went into the pantry and grabbed a sack of Cheetos.
As I sat down, I felt a stinging on my back. I jumped up pulling my shirt up, and my husband said he saw something fall down onto the carpet. Before I could react, I felt a stinging in my JEANS! I ripped off my clothes as quickly as possible, shaking a WASP
becuo.com
onto the carpet. I ran over and stomped him until he was a pile of debris my husband disposed of. He went and got some pain ointment and dosed the area on my back and the other, sorer one, on my butt. I finished the dosage by taking a couple of Benedryl to tone down any more reaction, since I could FEEL the swelling on my butt. My husband commiserated with me about the stings, but then couldn’t stand not to mention he was impressed with how quickly I shed my clothes. :0(
Now I’m experiencing lots of sensations at the same time. One part of me thinks the stinger is still either in my back or embedded in my shirt. We’ve checked both very carefully and neither is true. I can feel the hurt, plus increasing swelling, from the sting on my butt, too. My skin is crawling from the nightmare-like mental picture. My nerves are pretty shot, as well.
I’m angry because I’m basically a nice person – at least most of the time – and feel I don’t deserve this. At least I know I’m not violently allergic to wasps stings. I never received a sting while I was growing up, or in the 29 years we lived here. In year 30, however, I’ve been stung THREE TIMES – twice by awful red wasps and today by the one that looked similar to the one above.
I’ve checked the pantry ceiling, and all around where the Cheetos live. Nothing. Maybe it was on my chair and I didn’t see it when I sat down. From time to time we DO get a wasp inside the house. I’d been sitting reading, though, before I got up. I wasn’t gone from the chair for 5 minutes.
I guess this is punishment for my weakness in wanting Cheetos – something definitely not on my diet – or my husband’s, for that matter; but he INSISTS he can’t live without his ‘salty, crunch food group.’ Maybe the wasps will ignore me again if I really TRY not to eat Cheetos anymore…
Filed under Challenges
“Arctic-Wolf” Slavi-Aladjova-fineartamerica.com
Arti Chauhan-pinterest.com
Filed under animal paintings, Creativity
I happened upon a wonderful display of creativity, humor and talent applied by Dubanci.CZ and the folks at Natural Living and Parenting and wanted to share them with you. I loved sticking a toothpick in acorns, painting on faces and pretending they were people, but it never occurred to me to build a whole scene around them, finish making them into people, and more. I love the way creative people think. They bring up my spirits and make me smile. I hope you love them, too.
Dubanci.cz via Natural Living and Parenting
Dubanci.cz via Natural Living and Parenting
Dubanci.cz via Natural Living and Parenting
Dubanci.cz via Natural Living and Parenting
Dubanci.cz via Natural Living and Parenting
Filed under Creativity
“Pastel Colors of Autumn” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Paul Militaru Photography
petcommunitycenter.org
Last week it was in the 90s with air conditioning.
Yesterday it was in the 80s with doors and windows open.
Today the high will be 53, with a cold front and high winds bringing it down into the 40s with freezes tonight and tomorrow night.
Ah, Arkansas!
I’m as ready as I can be with two newest tomato plants dug up and repotted in the greenhouse, sheets and clothespins ready to try to protect veggies in the garden and tender plants in a planter. Irrigation systems have been turned off and drained. Hummingbird bird bath emptied, turned off, and drained. We repaired the greenhouse and generally tried to batten down the hatches.
I was going to try to gather leaves and make mulch, but yesterday’s 30 mph gusty winds discouraged that. Same for finishing my pressure washing. Same for weed whacking.
As you can see, the freezes will last only long enough to kill a bunch of my sweet plants and then we’ll have more fall-like temperatures again. :0(
I’ll TRY to quit my ‘whine and cheese’ act, but my nose is pretty out of joint this morning. I’m glad we can look forward to seeing our good friends at Lunch Bunch in about an hour.
May YOUR day be just the way you like it best!
Filed under Arkansas, Greenwood, Mother Nature
Good Word for String Art-DIY Crafts and Things.
Nautical Decor via Etsy-www.pinterest.com
Filed under Creativity, String Art
The Awesome Daily
I told you that I did something mysterious and hurt my back. I have no clue what I did, but I was in real agony for about a month, unable to do much except gripe, groan an try to sleep while my husband tried to keep things afloat and take care of me. I’m really not interested in repeating this experience, so I have CAUTIOUSLY begun my yoga for old ladies stretching again, plus CAREFULLY starting up my sessions on the elliptical trainer.
I have to put Amber on the porch because getting on the floor is an invitation for 65 pounds + of dog to sit on you, mouth open, with too many teeth available. I’m doing stretching on my own on my mat, rather than trying to do a lesson from my “Gentle Yoga” DVD set. I’m up to 10 minutes again on the elliptical – pretty pathetic, except I don’t know what I did to trigger my problem. I’m treated myself kind of like a time bomb at this point, hoping to ease into more and more.
Since I’ve been walking and playing with Amber several times each day, plus working in the yard, I’m still getting a reasonable amount of exercise.
Now – If I can JUST be a good little girl and eat my low-carb stuff, my world will be complete.
taolife.com
Arkansas doesn’t do a great job of winter.
We have a short fall, going from 90+ degree weather a week ago to a projected freeze Friday night and Saturday night, and then returning to fall for awhile longer, while threatening bad ice storms, rather than pretty snow throughout the winter. I hate this sudden short weekend of freezes because it kills my flowers. I cover up the raised beds in my garden and a couple of other things, but there is no way I can protect everything. :0(
Since my flowers will probably be gone by the end of the weekend, the first thing I did today was cut some of the twice-blooming purple iris and some of the hydrangea blooms, bringing them in so we can enjoy them for a few more days.
I then went out to the garden. I had stored old sheets and clothespins in a tall trash can that just fit under one of the raised bed planters. It occurred to me last night that ‘something’ could have gotten into the trash can, since it doesn’t have a lid, and that I might not want to encounter whatever it was. This morning I brought the trashcan out from under the planter box, dragged it out of the garden and dumped it on its side quickly on the ground. Nothing showed up, so I grabbed the bottom of the trash can and shook out the rest of the contents, throwing it on the ground again, staying well away. I lucked out. No critters, No snakes. No insects or nests – just sheets and a bag of clothespins. I’ll put the sheets out tomorrow night and Saturday night, and then put them back in the trashcan, but I’ll move the can into the shop for safekeeping this time.
I found four tall stakes that I can put in the planter that holds the purple plant and the elephant ear plant. I put a sheet and some clothespins in the planter, ready to cover the plants tomorrow night.
I dug up the two youngest tomato plants after finding two large pots. I replanted them in the pots with Mel’s Mix and left them on a table in the greenhouse.
While I was out there, I heard a ‘CRACK!’ which turned out to be the plastic PVC pipe holders breaking that hold the wood at one end of the greenhouse to the curved PVC rib of the roof. The whole horizontal piece attached to the two vertical pieces was FREE, moving in the gusty wind! I put one of the tomato pots on the table up against one of the vertical pieces of wood. I put a tray and a full gallon jug of water against the other vertical piece of wood until my husband got home. We took a ladder out there and replaced the plastic holders with metal ones, fitting them over the PVC pipe of the rib and screwing them into the vertical wood uprights.*
*NOTE – Don’t EVER use the cheap plastic PVC pipe holders for ANYTHING. Always get the metal ones.
I then spent about 20 minutes securing the sheeting that is stretched over the ribs where it was coming loose. Since we’re having gusty winds, about 30mph this afternoon, this will be a good test of the greenhouse. Fingers crossed.
I think I told you that I finally got the book on starting my greenhouse. It’s called Gardening in Your Greenhouse – Greenhouse Basics, by Mark Freeman. I’m learning a TON. This was just the book I needed. I particularly love the sections about starting seeds. He does it a completely different way than I have, using the same seed starter stuff I’ve been using. Since my nickname is the “Serial Seed Killer” I need all the help I can get! I’m making a list of things I want to get to use out there, plus I’m getting ideas on how to make the best use of my space, and a realistic idea of what I can do – plus my limitations – so I have a better idea of what to expect.
As I try to implement some of Mark’s good suggestions, I’ll try to share them with you.
I still have a to-do list as long as my arm of things I’d like to do outside, but I really don’t like trying to gather leaves for mulch in a gusty wind. Except for the actual covering of what I can cover tomorrow night, we’re pretty well as ready for the freezes as we can be. We’ll regroup after and see where we are.
I’m going in to put my feet up and read more of my greenhouse book. I hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Filed under animal paintings, Creativity
creativeartworksblog 