Wishing

Love the Beatles and this song has been in my head for a while.

Saying good-bye to Summer, though in Florida, we still have some time.

Playing and constantly learning.

My First Tag

As I look through so many blogs and journaling photos, I come across tags.  They seem to have taken on a life of their own and what a wonderful little canvas to play on.  This is my first one.

It's funny, I have become totally infatuated with all the arts and crafts out there.  I suddenly feel in a huge hurry to do something, anything with my hands and mind that might add something to my life or another's.  I have no children and feel I am leaving nothing behind for anyone.  I am determined to leave something for nieces and nephews even if I don't even really know them.  We live so far apart and so many years have come between everyone.  Maybe it will bring a smile to them or their children.  I will keep on experimenting and playing.

My own childhood was rather serious growing up as mom and dad were a bit wrapped up in domestic challenges with alcohol and all that comes with that.  They loved me but at the time, I was confused.  I missed out on a lot of play time and creativity and now it is coming full throttle.  So, let the play begin.
God Bless!

Yesterday I went for a swim in our community pool.  It was a beautiful morning.  There were many birds in the nearby area.  I was watching two red headed wood peckers in the cabbage palms making their way in and out of the tree's spikey trunk and talking a way to each other in soft chirpy sounds.  They have different sounds they make, it seems maybe all birds do.  Interesting and beautiful language.

My sister in Ohio called me to talk.  She was also watching birds from her back porch, in particular hummingbirds and finches.  She mentioned the hummingbirds were fighting for food.  Apparently, they get ready to leave the wintery areas for warmer weather.  She is lucky to have the beautiful little creatures in her yard.  She said there was a "katydid" on the porch and that meant no frost for six weeks.  Frost!!! I will be swimming through October here in Florida and have no worries of frost here.
What was most amazing is that my sister and I were almost doing the exact same thing at the same time in far away places.  We like many of the same things.  I love that!

In honor of a friend whose heart was recently broken.

I love the picture of the lady from what looks like a picture from the 40's, 50's maybe.  I didn't really get this balanced or very cohesive but the message is clear for me.

We are special, each one of us.  We must be good to ourselves and not allow the distractions of life, the negativity that our egos want us to feed on, to get in our way.  Refuse to cling to negative thoughts about yourself, learn to observe the thought from an unattached distance and let the thought go.  Replace that thought with being aware of the present moment.  The quality of that present moment is a step toward the quality of the future place you will be momentarily.  Be now, be present.

When we live our lives looking within, we miss opportunities to really understand what life is all about.  Living with the knowledge that a God is the creator and our source, then we know love.  When we receive His love, we love.  When we receive His forgivenss, we forgive.  When we receive His grace, we are gracious. 

I have a lot to learn.

Caladiums I am growing.  No better art.  So pretty.

Further journaling attempts.   I am amazed at the visual journaling I have seen in books and on line.  I am trying everything.  While it is extraordinary fun, I get just a tad frustrated with trying to create something worthy of viewing.  But I realize that this is part of me and much of life is experimenting until the right fit comes along.

A first try at art journaling...still learning!  Always learning....

Snails

Art brings an awareness to you to notice the things around you.  Plants and animals have the most interesting shapes, sizes, colors and formations when you look closely.  Afterall, man created color from the ultimate Creator.

I wish I could post a sign that reads "Slow....Snail Crossing Ahead" near a place where I work.  Though I am unsure of their purpose, I know one exists.  Yet because of their size they are simply stepped on and left on the cement as reminders that the slow and tiny seem insignificant.  If we could view their little world from their perspective, how different we might view them.   

I usually pick them up and move them to the other side.  Maybe I am the one who is not supposed to interfere.  I can't resist because their shells are so beautiful.  Their small little shells there to protect them.