chaos

18:365:2011


...thanks to a huge dosing of Benadryl (which I had to take because of an allergy attack last night)... I managed to sleep in a drug-induced stupor until 5pm this afternoon.

And so ... I have managed to get behind... again. When my sister was alive... we used to call each other on the phone and say stuff like "my bed is made... what else is there to do..."...sort of an "in-joke" between us... but basically saying... that if we had gotten our beds made for the day... well then.... we were one-up on the day so to speak.

I miss her. While Kathy and I didn't have an awful lot in common... ((personality-wise... we were probably opposites))... She was a a wonderful sounding board for me... and I hope I was to her as well. I would have loved to be able to talk to her about this...

About a week ago... my son and his wife separated. They are considering divorce. They got married just last April, and their wonderful daughter was born late October. It is a difficult thing... and I am trying to only think good thoughts about the whole situation. The most important of which... is the well-being of little Sophia... and a chance for everyone to be regularly involved in her life.


So much... this life... and so much going on right now...


*photo by Elaine A. Russell

209:365

--->photo by Elaine A. Russell


This whole year has been rather surreal... conflicts, illness, financial concerns... huge changes in the family structure, my son got married... a baby is on the way... traveling... taking care of the parents... it's just all been alot.
The process of going thru all our belongings and cleaning out has been therapeutic in bringing some order to a chaotic situation. I got a little side-tracked with being sick... but I am hoping to resume work tomorrow on it.

Tonight I was watching a tv show where they were discussing order and chaos..... and I was reminded of the quote:

"I have a great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift. "
---Septima Poinsette Clark

This really speaks to me..... and thought I would include that today. What do you think?
~~~
About the photo for today's post: Several months ago... I was taking a class that was really instrumental in awakening my inner artist. There was a party afterwards, and one of the guests has this gorgeous passionflower sitting in a glass on the table.
When I was editing the photo today... I wanted to bring out the juxtaposition of the grit of life... with the surreal beauty of the flower. (sort of like... living passionately... in perhaps the most chaotic or gritty of situations).
Hopefully, I got that across.

208:365

----->photo by Elaine A. Russell

...life is complicated. People oftentimes make it worse. Supposed wrongs.... hurt feelings... sometimes the drama is so exaggerated and unnecessary.
Today was one of those days. And like my photo for the day... I am trying to take a backseat to it all... rest... and stay out of the craziness.

4:365


photo by Elaine A. Russell


I don't know why some days are so chaotically crazy as compared to others....
Today was going to be a simple day when I ran errands... and did some work in my studio in the afternoon. So -- of course, this was one of those nights when I didn't fall asleep right away.. nor did I apparently sleep very soundly until the am.. because I ended up sleeping until noon.
Took a shower... and have been on the run since. Post office, groceries, a few stores to get some stuff.... pick up an item off of Freecycle (Thank you Betty for my wonderful new cake stand!!!)... got stuck in traffic... 3 car pile-up....tried to take some photos for my daily photo project....lost my wallet. Re-traced my steps. Freaked out. Went home. Started calling places. Cleaned out my car -- and found it wedged in the passenger seat.

Ok. Time to slow down and breathe.

Made supper. Fresh salmon with lemon and butter... edamame....shrimp with cocktail sauce... fresh bread with brie cheese. My honey made coffee :)

Sorted thru my pics from the day. The one above, is this girl (dressed in a blue dog suit) who was dancing and jogging in place on San Mateo and Academy --advertising a local fitness place. Not sure if she was moving about as inspiration for people to get in shape... or if she was cold. ... But it was cute.
I also got a fabulous photo of a neon green alien statue on an off street ... and of the tumbleweed snowman on I-25 (which I took while driving down the highway ... don't try this folks... ).... I will try to get better ones some other time.. but it was a great exercise in creativity.


Which I guess brings me to the Living Simply section of today's blog post.

Don't rush. Organize your errands so that you can consolidate trips. And if all else fails.. enjoy the chaos. You might get a good picture out of it all..