Joyous Summer!

Took a little sunset drive last night in my husband's convertible..... top down, warm breeze blowing in our hair..... that herbal smell from the flora and pine trees.....

Got a picture of Seattle over the water in the distance on one side......

 

 

And Mount Rainier on the other.....

 

All while listening to the cool sounds of some great music like "Snowbound" from Donald Fagan

 

 

(Ok so it's the wrong season... who cares!  It's a sweet song!)

 

Enjoying the peak of the summer with great songs, great views, and in even greater company....

Good times my friends...... good times!

 

 

Masterpiece Take # 2

Ok I can already tell this project is going to take more than a few posts!  I finally settled on the big floral design for my floor cloth so I bought all the paint and laid down a buttermilk crème color for my base coat

I used some blue painters tape to mark off a small border all the way around just to frame the picture a bit, I'll add that border when I finish the main picture.

 

I also started drawing out the design in pencil and boy is it going to be a process!  It's a simple concept, just large flowers and leaves and other little doo dads, but it'll completely fill the canvas from one end to the other and it's a pretty slow process for me, I guess it doesn't help that I'm a bit of a perfectionist!  I tried out a little of the paint too, all it requires is lining out everything in the different colors, no shading or filling in.. but look at all the lines, and I'll have to go over them a few times if I don't want the pencil to show through.

Well.... it might take a few more posts to finish this masterpiece...  maybe till take #32?  Oy I hope not!!

 Oh well....  What is that saying?  Any job worth doing, is a job worth doing well!  And this job will be a masterpiece!!  Stay tuned!!

What The Heck Is An Epiphany Anyway?

 

My good friend sent me a short video the other day that got me thinking....

It's an interview with the actor Dustin Hoffman talking about his experiences trying to become a woman for the movie "Tootsie".  Through his research into what it takes to transform himself from a man to an actually believable woman he had an epiphany, and it was very moving to see how that insight affected him.  Watch it, it's pretty short....

 

I can't remember the last time I had an epiphany, or an "aha moment" as Oprah Winfrey calls it..

 I wanted to understand what having an epiphany actually meant  so I looked up the dictionary definition of it and this is what came up:  "A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."

I guess it's about finding the real truth of life in a deep down, spiritual way.  Why we are the way we are in every aspect of life.  And when we have that moment of realization we can act on it with understanding and sympathy and tolerance!  What a great thing!

So with Dustin's epiphany, he came to realize he couldn't become the woman he wanted to portray for the movie.  He wanted to become what we've been brainwashed to believe is the "ideal" woman, a woman he would be attracted to if he could meet her in reality.  And when he found out no amount of makeup wizardry would ever make him that woman he started to realize, this is a woman's plight in life!  You could see that he really understood what we as women struggle with everyday of our lives, and for a man to finally get it and gain understanding from it.....  boy that's priceless!

 

Well, I need to strive to have more "aha moments" in my life like Dustin's.  It makes you a better person, a person who appreciates the things you don't understand or even want to understand.  I think we could all benefit from that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling So Good..... I Think I'll Give Away Something!

Ahhhhh the start of another beautiful Summer day....  We finally have perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold!  Don't you find that when the weather is great everything in your life seems a little better too??  I think the sun must have some magical properties... and boy am I benefiting from those properties now!

Took a walk the other day in the woods...

Foxgloves were in bloom.....

Even spotted one of these little guys atop a bear cookie! (man I didn't think they really exsisted!)

Anyway, all is well in my neck of the woods.  I hope you are experiencing the sun's "magical properties" where you live too!

How bout a little challenge!  Since I'm feeling so good today I thought I'd give another person a chance to win another one of my Mini Masters pendants like the one I gave away in this post.  (sorry Gary, it'll be on it's way soon... I promise!)

This one depicts the painting by Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" on one side....

and on the other side "The Allegory of Happiness" by Agnolo Bronzino...

A little hard to see but who wouldn't want to wear a classic piece of art around your neck... to view a little piece of beauty any time of the day!

So....  how can I win this treasure you might ask, well here's how! 

I created a little game for you to play... it won't be difficult... maybe a little bit of a challenge for those not Google savvy.  But most will find it a breeze... the trick is who can get through the quiz the fastest with the final answer posted in comments right back here... where you might claim the prize!

So take a trip around the world!  Find the destinations and collect all 7 gold coins.  Just click on the link below and have fun!

(WARNING!  This game is my first attempt so if it doesn't go smoothly, or the questions don't make sense to you then, well..... don't blame me... I'm new here!)


PLAY GAME HERE!

Singring, Take Me Away!!

I was in the shower this morning thinking random thoughts like I usually do about my life..... the past...... and music I used to love.  One song that popped into my head was from Todd Rundgren's band Utopia, from the album called "Ra" ... man I used to love their songs!

One of the awesome songs from that album is called Singring And The Glass Guitar (An Electrified Fairytale).  This song tells a sweet little fairy tale using instrumental solos by these four very talented guys from the group.

 I remember way back when... lying on my bed, headphones on, volume turned way up (maybe that's why I'm deaf now), and just letting the music take me on a journey to find the four keys, smash the glass guitar and free the spirit of Harmony!

So here's a nice treat for you.  Lay back and listen to a great song, all the way to the end... cause that's my favorite part! 

Smash it, smash it, smash it, smash it, smash IT, SMASH IT!!!!!!!  aaaaaaahhhhhh!

Enjoy...  and oh yeah.....  Happy Fourth everyone!!

Masterpiece take # 1

Gesso you'll know how I'm progressing!  (did you catch the pun?  What?  You don't get it??  Ok... moving on.)  Anyhooo....

The first step in the process of making my masterpiece vinyl floor cloth is prepping the surface.  So I drove on down to my local Michael's craft store and grabbed me some assorted supplies for the painting process, including a big bottle of gesso (hence the pun above).






In case you're wondering gesso is the base coat
that seals your surface before painting and it provides "tooth" for the paint to adhere. 

So, I used a nice foam roller and painted the first coat.  I think I'll put on 2 coats so the little marks on the vinyl won't show through.  I'm putting it on the reverse side of the vinyl if you remember from my first post, the other side has the raised faux tile design on it.  This side is nice and smooth for my painting pleasure!  I'll have to wait 24 hours between coats.... gives me more time to decide on what to paint! (no, I haven't a clue what to do yet....)

Ok, finished!  Now to decide the design, hmmmmmm.  Still think I like the rug from anthropologie, it's got a nice contemporary graphic, not too hard I should think and I can choose what ever colors I want....

 But we'll see!  Stay tuned!

The Joys of Motherhood?

Why is it that every time my son leaves the house with keys in hand I feel like this:



http://hahasforhoohas.com/

My son (to be 21 in October) started class today at a new community college.  He was nervous, and that's to be expected, we've all felt that way in new situations, it's perfectly normal!

  But he's practically an adult now (wow, in my eyes he's still 3) and I still go out of my mind with worry! Shouldn't I have "cut those apron strings" by now??  Why is it so hard to let our children leave the house without feeling like we're dying a little inside? 

I mean, he has a valid drivers license.  I saw him put his wallet in his pocket myself.  He communicates well with people... he's a very capable young man...  so what is wrong with me?

 It's been this way from the first time I sent him down a slide and then on down through all 12 different schools he's attended and many, many other occasions in between!  I died a little bit through each one of those times... I should be dead by now!

Well.... maybe it's because I love him more than life itself.  And because I remember what it felt like to have my stomach tied up in knots entering a classroom for the first time..... and I don't want him to ever feel the way I remember I did... at least not without knowing his Mom will be right there with him every new step he takes in life!  (in spirit of course.. he would kill me if I was there in person....sheesh)

Here's to you Chris, and every new adventure you take in your life!  I'll be right there with you!  (no matter how fast you run from me!)