to what extent will my son ignore that smell?

i'm inspired by and linking up with this week's prompt from the sunday creative:

extent 

definition…noun; 1. The range or space over which something extends 2. The point or degree to which something extends

yes, yes, this is a blog about my art... but i've been whining lately about how i have so little time for that part of me. so, in response to this week's prompt, and with a nod to the wit of one of my favorite bloggers who has recently shared one of her clever solutions to no clean underwear...
i bring you:


















the miasma emanating from one of the bedrooms overpowers the enticing aroma of sauteed garlic...
and no one wants to eat :(
...to what extent will my son ignore that smell? and what is the furthest extent of that fetor?
your turn...
you know it's time to do laundry when ________________.

a grisly start

a new week... and the prompt for this week's sunday creative is

grizzled  adj: streaked or mixed with grey

not grizzly, not grisly (which would easily prompt images of my son's room), and certainly not gristly.

yup, just what i was thinking. there's only one way to go with this...

last winter my husband of soooo many years finally consented to grow a goatee. i don't know why, but i always wanted him to.

and it was grizzled... and my husband looked grizzled... and i thought it was soooo sexy! i understand why he shaved it off last summer (crumbs and scratchy and all), but i miss his grizzled goatee!

"Of all the barbarous middle ages, that

Which is most barbarous is the middle age
Of man! it is—I really scarce know what;
But when we hover between fool and sage,
And don't know justly what we would be at—
A period something like a printed page,
Black letter upon foolscap, while our hair
Grows grizzled, and we are not what we were."

                                 George Gordon Noel Byron

sunday creative flourishes in the new year!

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

flourish verb 1. thrive, prosper 2. to be in a state of activity or production 3. to reach a height of development or influence 4. to make bold and sweeping gestures noun 1. a florid bit of speech or writing 2. an ornamental touch or decorative detail 3. fanfare 4. showiness in doing something

since flowers flourish here in california this time of year, i thought i'd add a few flourishes to some of those that are blooming right now...

lonely

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

Lonely: 1. lone; solitary; without company, companionless. 2. remote from places of human habitation. 3. standing apart; isolated.

we were just reminiscing about the thanksgiving a few years ago that we spent camping in death valley with my mom and dad. there were so many sights and feelings and moments that we brought home with us that will ever linger...

it was strange and magical. the sun had a different light. the air was peculiar to us. it was a beautiful and lonely place...

obsolete

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

Obsolete: 1.no longer in general use, fallen into disuse. 2. effaced by wearing down or away. 3. to make obsolete by replacing with something newer or better; antiquate.

when my favorite jeans began to tear, i made them even more favorite by repairing them with my needle and embroidery floss. alas, there comes a time when the holes are so numerous, there is no salvaging what fabric remains... i am too fond of them to toss them. 

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?

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.

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...

sunday creative

this week's prompt... shapely. gee, tempted to just post a picture of myself ;)... seems every year past 40 i keep getting more and more "shapely."

i think i'll stick to the purpose, which is prompting creativity.

in so many ways, isn't shape almost inseparable from color? it is often the very thing that defines shape. but in an even more real sense, the way something feels as we touch, that is the true experience of shape... hard, sharp angles, smooth planes, soft curves, bumps, ridges, even the missing places. best to close your eyes and discover what you hold, relishing the simple wonder of touch...

btw, these painted rocks are in my etsy shop.