1-6-17


I love art.... all kinds of art.
(doesn't mean I would hang it all in my bedroom... but you know what I  mean) 
This is an older photo from when we lived in Albuquerque, of some street art down near the University. There are days when I so miss this kind of thing.... just random art... just out there... for everyone to enjoy. I know there are some who feel it is more on the graffiti end, and they associate that with disrespect and damage to places... but I don't think that is necessarily true. I think art (when done well) is meant to stimulate us into feeling... into thinking... into broadening our way of life in little bits.
So today... I encourage you to expand your life a little. 
Read something. Watch something. 
Step out of your comfort zone a little.
You'll be glad you did.

1-5-17


This year, perhaps more than ever before... we have realized the importance of clearing out,
using things as much as you can (and in new ways)... and of salvaging and fixing things up.
To this end, I thought I would do a series of posts on clearing out and organizing, and living a simpler life.
I hope to do one once a week (Check out previous posts on Thursdays!)

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Many of you know, that I come from a long line of "collectors" (ie: hoarders)... but that I also worked as a housekeeper/ organizer/ cook for several years. I am very organized, which lends itself to that sort of work. And, I have an innate ability to help the folks I am working with to narrow down what is really important to them so that they can concentrate on keeping those things. That said, I am quite sentimental. So I get it. I understand the longing to keep every scrap of fabric, every photo, every memory. And having had cancer several times, I know the importance of feeling loved and having things around you that you treasure. But life is short, and sometimes you need to clear out... either to make room... or to make money... or to just unload... there are important reasons for going thru your stuff.

One of the things I cleared out recently, was stuffed animals.
Yes, I am an adult.
Yes, I love stuffed animals and believe they have a certain sentience to them,
albeit because of the memories of holding them close for years. All those untold secrets shared...
But sometimes, enough is enough.

Before we moved from Albuquerque, I gave away most all my stuffed toys and collectible stuffies.
I donated them to charity. Many organizations still take good, clean, stuffed toys.
Firemen, adoption agencies, nursing homes, foster children programs, shelters for abused kids, animal shelters, etc.
I still had some though.... and it was time.

The important thing to remember when clearing out, is that if it really means alot to you... keep it.
You can always revisit that feeling in a few months, and see if it still fits.
If it is something that is ok to go to another place... there are lots of good places that appreciate the donations.
I always look at it like the things are going to a new home where they will be loved anew.
And so they are. ... see you all tomorrow.

1-4-17


Back in June 2016, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will...
And so on Wednesdays; I've been posting an old photograph to inspire your creativity.
Write a poem!  
Plot out a short story!     
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.
--and occasionally I write my own sordid story or poem.
    
(you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

Long before there was a "Thelma and Louise," there was Ma and Milly Barker.
Ma (real name Martha) was an unfortunate woman whose menopause did not treat her kindly.
She went "off the deep end" so to speak, and one night she stabbed her drunk of a husband in the back of the head after he told her to just "calm down, Martha."
She had had enough of his bar-room brawls and back-door floozies, and decided she didn't even care if she got caught and went to jail. That said, she didn't get caught. In fact, one day when her daughter Milly came home and was bemoaning her "lazy no-good" boyfriend... they hatched a plan.
They would travel cross-country, removing "troublesome men" from the lives of women willing to pay them for the deed.
Here, they are brazenly posing with a local police officer, whilst traveling through Philadelphia on a "business" trip.
If only he had known....

1-3-17


There are days when I am completely organized, get lots one... and then there are days when I look around, 
bleary-eyed at 11pm and wonder where my day went. Today was one of those days. 
Today was chock full of errands, visits, long conversations, good deeds, late suppers, drugs for severe allergies.. and so much more.
And it was all good. 

See you all tomorrow.

1-2-17


Happy New Year 2017
I hope it brings us all joy, peace, love, abundance, good health and adventure.
I had intended to write a post for this weekend, but never got to it. 
That said... I hope you were all enjoying ringing in the new year (and saying goodbye to the last) with friends and family.

2017 promises to be a year full of creativity for me... and I am overflowing with ideas of things to do.
And, having just passed my blog-Anniversary (I've been posting almost daily since Christmas of 2008)... 
I want to take a moment to THANK YOU ALL for reading. 
Much love to you all.... see you all tomorrow.

12-30-16


It's that strange in-between time of the holiday season.... those days between Christmas and New Year's Day when no one really knows what to do. Take down decorations? Start on the taxes? Clean the house? 
Nature is just as confused. 
Last night, I was unable to sleep (was awake til after 7am)... and around 2am it started snowing. It would go like gangbusters for a bit... then slow down. Then the wind picked up... the snow plows came through... before you knew it... there was at least a foot on the ground out there. I had 2 really good days (no headaches and such)... and today is a bit of a lost cause. But that's ok. 
There is a fire in the fireplace, and we have tea and such..... things are fine. It's just a beautiful, restful lull.
See you all tomorrow for my weekend Haiku.

12-29-16



This year, perhaps more than ever before... we have realized the importance of clearing out,
using things as much as you can (and in new ways)... and of salvaging and fixing things up.
To this end, I thought I might do a series of posts on clearing out and organizing, and living a simpler life.
I hope to do one once a week (Check out posts on Thursdays!)

Older ones are:
 here
here
here 
here
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so... this is a photo I took back in 2011; at a restaurant in Albuquerque.
Somehow, it seems appropriate for the passing of this year... it's been a rough one.

One of the things I've been trying to do... in terms of clearing out and organizing... is to clean up some of the files on my computer. It is tedious, and a bit overwhelming, as I have years and years of photos on here. That said, I've been trying to go through them... just a day or two at a time, and delete ones I don't like. What I am finding though... is that there are some photos that I hung onto because I like the essence of the photograph, but didn't have the editing skills at the time to "fix" it the way I saw it in my mind. To a certain extent, I have more editing skills now... and am working on learning more. This is one of those shots that I had saved, but have never used.

I think it's important to address photo files in the context of clearing out and organizing, because it's one of those things that people don't really think about until they lose their hard-drive or their phone or some such... and they've lost hundreds of photographs. So. When you have a chance, set aside some time, sit down with your phone or computer. go through your photos; and delete ones you don't like. Then, back-up your files. Some people put them all on a memory card, which they keep somewhere else. Or you can put them all on a memory card and print off the ones you really like at your local Rite Aid/ Walmart place. Some folks put them on cds/dvds. 
My husband bought me a "passport." I keep all my photo files on there... and that way it is separate thing from my computer should something happen to my computer. 
And while we are on the subject... clearing out can extend to the computer in other ways as well.

This past week, I took the opportunity to go through alot of the internet sites I had "bookmarked"... and got rid of lots of them. I also updated my email address book, and cleared out lots of saved emails (like receipts, info from groups I belonged too... that sort of thing). You might even end up with more room on your computer for new stuff! Room is good.... in both the real world, and the virtual world. 

See you all tomorrow.

12-28-16


Several months ago, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will...
And so on Wednesdays; I intend to post an old photograph to inspire your creativity. 
 Write a poem!  
Plot out a short story!     
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.        
(you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

Little is known about Betty Lou McShannon.
Daughter of Irish immigrants, she grew up in a small town in Illinois during the depression.
She had 7 brothers, all hard working... and when she finished high school, she headed to secretarial school in Chicago. From there, she landed a quiet administrative job at a small Catholic school.
She never married, she had no children, and if you  knew her, it was probably as the "nice, quiet lady in 4B" of the apartment complex she lived in. She died one foggy midwinter afternoon... resting in her easy chair and watching her favorite soap opera.
What most don't know about Betty Lou though, could fill an encyclopedia set.
You see, Betty Lou had a double life.

Working as a spy in WWII, she had decoded many secret messages from Hitler's camps; and helped bring an ugly war to it's knees. After the war, she couldn't sit idly by, and having tasted the life of a spy and undercover-work... she longed for more. In the 50s, she worked for "cold-war operations" detailing information for those suspected to be Russian sympathizers. And then, there was her "other" activities... working as a dominatrix on the south side of Chicago on her "vacation" time from her secretarial job. Yes, this seemingly quiet woman had a thing for cat-o-nine tails and punishments doled out to her customers.
Besides, she rationalized, "everyone needs a hobby..." and she just wasn't that into knitting.

------------------
See you all next Wednesday for another creativity prompt.

12-26-16


This is probably not your typical "day after Christmas" photograph. 

I've been going through my "old" digital photo files, and this one came up from January of 2010. We were living in Albuquerque, and this cemetery, the San Jose Cemetery, is right near the airport there. It is unfortunately sandwiched between highway exits... a leftover of "progress" and a re-routing of roads. That said, I love it. ... and oddly, when we lived there... it seemed that the times I stopped to photograph or just take a moment to be still here, were these days after the holidays. The "mad rushing about" of the season was done.... and there is that stillness until the big hub-bub of the New Year.
Like this cemetery... time seems to be taking a moment to rest... a nice respite for the weary. 
Have a day folks, rest and be well.
See you all tomorrow.

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((I will continue my "Maker Monday" posts after the new year))

12-23-16

For the 3 yrs that we have lived here, I have done a "Give-Away" during the holidays. 
 The first couple years, I did random items that I thought would make nice gifts... off little chotchkies and fun, little things. When we lived in Albuquerque, I challenged myself yearly to give-away an item for each day of the year... and I did 7 or 8yrs in a row. 
But when we moved here, I decided to change it up a bit.
And then this year.... I decided to gift handmade items (by me). It is tons of fun... as they say, the joy is in the gifting...
Tomorrow is the last drawing for a handmade item, so I thought I would show you photos of everything that was gifted this time around.

((if you click on the photos, they will enlarge))
See you all tomorrow...




12-22-16


This year, perhaps more than ever before... we have realized the importance of clearing out, using things as much as you can (and in new ways)... and of salvaging and fixing things up.To this end, I thought I might do a series of posts on clearing out and organizing, and living a simpler life. I did a post here... and here...  and this last one here... and I've another one for you today. I hope to do one once a week.

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I do not have a pretty kitchen.
It will probably never ever even be considered for a magazine.
At the very least, everything needs a fresh coat of primer and paint. But alas... some day.
But what I want to talk with you about today... is the organizing of a kitchen; or at least what I did.

There was a time, when I was concerned that everything matched.
Dishes, all the silverware, cups... that sort of thing.
Not any more (and not for a long while).
First of all... things break. Things get lost.
Plus, I don't have that many cupboards... so more importantly, it became an issue of keeping what I absolutely love.
And perhaps, taking the time to think about what it is I really love... like mismatched dishes.
Things on windowsills. Old bottles, little bits of rocks and shells from travels... that sort of thing.
Concentrate on these things... and happily un-hamper yourself from the rest.




All things considered, we have a small house... just under 1000 square feet.
A lot of it is kitchen.... and that is nice. Our kitchen area, therefor does "double duty." I have my work station in the kitchen... comprised of my dad's old desk, my laptop and such. And, because we have so many books.. it was imperative to find a place to have a substantial bookcase... and the only place was the kitchen. It suits me fine... the hard part was narrowing down the books so they would all fit on the shelf. Some times you have to be ruthless. Or at least, a little. And some times it takes several "passes" through a collection to narrow it down. And that is ok. The important part is the doing. The keeping of what you truly love and will enjoy.
Take care, see you all tomorrow...

((if you click on the photos it will enlarge them))

12-21-16


Several months ago, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will...
And so on Wednesdays; I intend to post an old photograph to inspire your creativity. 
 Write a poem!  
Plot out a short story!     
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.        
(you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

((I would assume, that these photos are all from the same party.
And, I am guessing it is a Silver Anniversary (25th) for the one happy couple...
and that their anniversary was near to Christmas.))

Roberta and Henry (they sound like good names to me)... ran away and eloped back in 1934.
Henry was enlisting in the Navy, and he wasn't sure he'd be coming back. But Roberta ("Bobbie" to all her friends) knew he would. Just the same... they'd taken off... driven cross the bridge from New Jersey into NYC to see a justice of the peace as the sun was setting... as time was waning for him to get back to his ship. He would be taking the "scenic tour" of all those Asian islands no one remembers the name of... aboard a battle cruiser with a full crew of newly shaven seamen recruits. It would be almost a year before he would be back... then do another two tours before getting out of the military. Since then, he'd worked hard at the family plumbing business, and they'd done well.
They didn't have children, but Bobbie didn't mind. She had taken to raising purebred Pomeranians, and was happy taking her "babies" to various shows through the Eastern USA. ((Incidentally, that's where they met the Johnston's...(in the 3rd photo below)... they raised Miniature Dachshunds, and the 2 couples had become fast friends.))
The last photo was one Henry took of Bobbie as the night was waning. He told Bobbie it was to get a good picture of her in the den, but in reality... he knew it was to show off his burgeoning rifle collection. Since he joined the NRA, Henry had been happily picking up a new "toy" to play with every year. This summer he hoped to go to a convention, and this way he could proudly show off his 2 loves... his beloved Bobbie... and his Winchesters.
Sometimes, it's the little things.




--see you all next Wednesday for the week's creativity prompt posting.

12-20-16


Here's an older photo from 2011... I like it. 
I am sure that I have posted a similar shot from that day in the past
... but  I also thought it deserved to be seen again. 
To me... it speaks of the peace of the season.

Today I am thankful:
...for restful sleep...
...for a friend who fixed our kitchen faucet that's been broken since July...
... for chips and queso (it's not NM green chile... but it's ok)...
...for fresh coffee...
...for warm fires in the fireplace...
And for all of you. See you tomorrow...

12-19-16


It's "Maker Monday!" 
... my series of posts where I feature something the daughter or I are working on, 
and encourage the maker lifestyle.
________

I feel like I don't have as much to show, of things I've made this week.
I did make some new mandalas; which I hope to be getting into the Etsy shop soon (as seen in the photo above).
I finished another scarf made from remnant yarns. I have been naming each one after a book I enjoyed as a child.
This one is "Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates."


And for those of you who follow me on facebook, I've been doing my Holiday "Give-Away" and am up to day #13 of giving away things I've made. (I hope to go through til Christmas Eve). This week I made a few new items for this as well.. including these jewelry sets:



Keep creating folks! and I will see you all tomorrow...

for the weekend


never quit dreaming
lest your soul go to sleep, and
never wake again

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keep dreaming... keep creating.
See you all on Monday.


12-15-16


frozen, great white morn
drops echoing off hillsides
as the snow wakes up

-----------------

yes, I know I usually do Haiku on the weekend posts... but this one just came.
See you all tomorrow.

12-15-16


For those who know me personally, you know that I am not really a huge fan of Christmas.
I am more of a Halloween kind of gal, and I have found that the Christmas season tends to wear me down. It's the rushing about... it's the tendency for some to overload on the commercialism of the season...it can be a bit much for some for me at times.
The last few weeks have been a bit rough... I haven't been sleeping well, worried about this and that... I've had some headaches, and have had issues with my Lupus-- most of which I can blame on the colder weather and such. 

Some days are harder than others, but I try to think on positive things when times get to me.
Even though these are lean times... we have much to be grateful for, and I've been trying to concentrate on these things. 
Our house is quite well built, and if we have a fire in the fireplace (which we have for the past 2 weeks)... it is quite toasty. 
Due to the daughter chopping up lots of dead trees in the yard, we have lots of firewood (and more seasoning for next year). 
Because we didn't get all the brush cleaned up in the yard... there is a mound of tree trimmings... which has provided shelter for bunnies and the like. These past few days I've even seen deer huddled near "the mound" in the wee hours of the morning.
Because we made friend with some local farmers, we had the opportunity to work on one of the farms briefly this summer. Because of that, we have frozen squash and home-made spaghetti sauce in the freezer. 
Earlier this year, I had helped carry things for a friend who purchased items at an estate sale. Because I was friendly and helpful to the auction folks, I was invited to come back and look at the debris before it was hauled off to see if I wanted anything. Because I went back, I discovered a book that looked interesting. It was a doctoral thesis, with a handwritten letter in it addressed (but not mailed) to the writer of the thesis. I tracked down the writer, and mailed it to him. Today, we received a bounty of fresh fruit from the writer, who was deeply thankful for the book, and the letter.

The photo at the top of this post is of my Christmas Cactus. 
This is it's 3rd year. I grew it from a tiny bit that had broken off my mother's... and I wasn't sure it would survive. 
Right now, it has about 30 blooms on it. It is amazing.
And the photo below is of our yard, currently covered in a light blanket of snow.

Take care my friends, stay warm... and delight in the good things. 
See you all tomorrow.


12-14-16


Several months ago, I started a new "series" of posts... if you will...
And so on Wednesdays; I intend to post an old photograph to inspire your creativity. 
 Write a poem!  
Plot out a short story!     
 Have inspiration for a piece of art or composition.... let your artistic soul shine.        
(you can click on the photos in this post to make it larger to see).

~~~

Dennis grew up in South Dakota... a poor farmer's only son.
He worked hard, and as soon as he turned 15... he left for the brighter lights. You see, Dennis had a dream.
Not a grand dream... one would supposes, but not one his parent's approved of.
He wanted to dance. Not just any dance, but the cha-cha... the marimba... the salsa.
He had practiced... late at night... in the barns... in the fields... when no one was around.
He was supposed to get married. Settle down. Run the family farm.
He wanted warm skies... cool nights... and the music. And so he left.
He traveled throughout Mexico. He wandered about Central America.
He danced his way into South America... to Cuba... and then to Florida...where he started a dance school.
And he eventually did get married....to a sweet little secretary in one of the offices near to the dance school.
She was tiny.... a brunette... who giggled more than she talked.
Her nose bent ever so slightly at the end... and she had crinkles near her eyes from laughing so much.
Oh... and her hometown? Right next to his... in South Dakota.
Funny how life works out.


--see you all next Wednesday for the week's creativity prompt posting.