nothing

this week's prompt for the sunday creative is...

Nothing: 1. no thing {leaves to the imagination} 2. something that does not exist 3. zero

lots of ideas for that... but the one that made the most sense for me this week is this tiny peek at the pile on my dining room table. i've overloaded my teensy "office/studio," so here it sits, commanding me to sort through it. don't get me wrong, i DO! that's the most frustrating part! day after day i deal with the bills, appointments, shipping, grocery list, and the notes: my boys need socks, my ipod earphones don't work and i definitely need those for my walk/jogs, my watch battery that i just had replaced for $9 isn't working either, kyle has a football game on friday night so tailgate dinner needed, ian has a cross country meet on saturday all the way in half moon bay, so i need to pack up for that, stuff needs to go back to targets and penney's... and what i wish for is...

nothing

nothing on my table. not nothing on my list. just nothing on my table. and maybe one day with nothing to do but paint...

hey, but i'm sure you know nothing about this dilemma, do you?

coffee

last week i stumbled onto some wonderful ladies having coffee. i knew two of them... well, we were aquainted; but the others were new to me. regardless, they had an empty seat, and i felt comfortable enough to join them. so i came back this tuesday to join them for virtual coffee...

if i was really having coffee with you today, i would have missed you all! i would have missed amy's fragrant, warm banana bread, i wouldn't have heard all about brooke's weekend and relished the details from her life that are echos of my boys' shenannigans just a few years ago, and i wouldn't have heard about tatiana's upcoming b&b weekend which is just as well, because i would be really jealous that she can even think about eating all those breakfast carbs without balloning up like a blowfish, and i've never stayed in a b&b, and oh, well, i can live vicariously through others, right?

so, why wasn't i there? well, my first cup of coffee was sipped at the other computer editing my oldest son's editorial. i don't usually do that, but sometimes sympathy gets in the way of "learning to do it all on your own." anyhow, i enjoyed myself, and he has an example of how to make it better next time.

and my second cup of coffee was at the sewing machine where i was determined to get my sewing and mending done so that i could pack up the mess and put it away. i was tired of looking at it! so, fait accomplit. and now i have some pretty new tea towels...

sorry i was so late... i hope you have a wonderful tuesday!

patti stamps

i went to patti's house last night.

i love going to my friend patti's house.

patti stamps.

patti has stamp camps.

she also serves yummy dessert.

i didn't have any of her apple crisp last night, though. i'm watching my calories :(

i have fun at patti's house...

found on friday

as i took my brisk walk this morning, there were just a few things that i decided to stoop and collect... some fallen pods from my wisteria at the front gate, and a tiny white feather.

the pods are so soft and velvety...

and in my mind, the feather a glove dropped by a little lady bird...

i decided to have a little fun!

hey, where's the art?

this blog began as an art blog.

about a year ago, having reached the end of more than eight years of home schooling my sons, i found time in my days to pull out my long-abandoned watercolors. i even started an etsy shop. but since summer, i just haven't found much time for my painting.

i have two of the most wonderful people blossoming before my eyes. yes, they were insanely adorable and fun (and challenging) as little kids, but the high school years! this is golden! who are these amazing young men and where did they come from? keeping them organized and properly laundered as they go from school, to sports, to friends, events, the DMV (yes, my oldest is now 16), and all the things that teenagers do... just really eats into my time.

do you think i can claim a little credit as a contributing artist? best time i ever spent.

peace

the last week or so have just been tough... just one of those spells when life feels bad. oh, there are reasons for the sadness, but there are more than enough blessings in my life for me to be able to comfort myself right out of the yuck. but it wasn't happening...

but do you know what happened for me yesterday? i talked on the phone with my mom :), i spent time sharing my heart with jesus, i got some sunshine, and practically complete strangers wished me well on my blog. how awesome is that? and you know what? i feel content in my heart today.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7

thank you!

abundance

this week's prompt for the sunday creative is...

abundance:

from the word abundant, meaning more than enough: amply sufficient

every year at this time, i buy little mini pumpkins or gourds to decorate our home. being a gardener, it struck me last year that this was silly, i should grow my own. so... i did.

not everything in the garden has done well this year. i've heard a lot of people say that. it was a "cold" summer that got started late. but my garden is really just an excuse to grow tomatoes, of which i have had enough to enjoy caprese salad as often as we like, and even to share. so i just consider everything else that grows there a bonus.

but today the garden is a bit weary around the edges... there are more curled, brown leaves than i care to bother pulling, the zucchini plants look like they're struggling to eek one more blossom into a fruit, the birdhouse gourds seem to just be waiting for the vine to wither so that they can go about their business of turning brown in the autumn sun, and i am content, nay, relieved, to have less work to do out there.

i feel like my september garden, and despite the warm glow of the afternoon, the balmy breezes that keep most people outdoors, i am brown around the edges. i'd like to eek out some fruit, heck, even a blossom would be good. but i just don't have the energy. i feel very sad. i feel empty and tired. i feel very definitely not abundant.

found on friday

so... i've noticed that lots of bloggers have themes for certain days of the week.

i'm going to join the parade and start a theme of my own for fridays

(self-discipline will play an important role here)

found on friday

on this morning's walk i noticed promises...

promises of fall,

in the golden sunlight, the drying weeds in the cracks of the sidewalks, fallen leaves that are already a lovely magenta, the crows announcing september, the bicycles wheeling their way to school

and in that promise

is found

another promise

of the new beginning next spring

each plant, flower, tree, bush

is making plans

for new weeds, fresh green leaves, twittering finches building nests, sparkling silver sun, freshly-mowed lawns, and barbeques...

i love promises

illumination

the prompt for this week's sunday creative is...

Illuminate vb 1: To supply or brighten with light: light up 2: To make clear: to bring to the fore 3: To decorate with designs or pictures in gold or colors

i am feeling a need for illumination. i feel a bit muddy and murky... with a family, with kids that are no longer kids, but young men, kids that still need mom there on the sidelines, ready to cheer, coach, doctor, just be a teammate... the stream of life has lots of feet jumping in and stirring up the bottom. i wouldn't have it any other way! i love it! but i have to learn where i ought to be standing. so i'm sorta standing here watching my feet and waiting for the stuff to settle and clear...