light chaser...

hi there...how are you?  it has been awhile.  have you ever had so much to say and yet, nothing to say, all at the same time?  that's kind of how i have been feeling lately.  i have been keeping myself quite busy.  there have been lots of home projects as well as art making.  there is always art making...that never stops.  i am finally painting all of my rooms that nice fresh white i have been dreaming about.  and whenever fresh paint gets put down, it makes me want to change all sorts of other things.  i have been "decluttering" in a big way.  figuratively and literally.  some of my treasures have been making their way into my shop.  lots of pictures to take.

i saw a commercial on tv last night with a guy trying to be ferris bueller.  he said, "life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."  so true right?  so today i stopped and looked around.  the first thing i noticed was the way the light came in this morning and illuminated this little corner of my living room.  and i became a light chaser.

a little bit later on...the light cast its magic down the dark hallway leading the way to our bedrooms.  after its fresh coat of white, i painted a rough band of chalkboard paint all the way around this hall and i have been writing poems and lyrics on it.  just for fun.

i had this lace on my table and the when the light came through at lunchtime i noticed the way it can make pretty things even prettier.

and the way it makes simple things look kind of extraordinary.

my little furry buddy needed to go outside, so i popped out back for a little while and wow.  a few days of rain and now sun.  we have a jungle and the flowers have burst open.

it is time for me to plan my dinner, so i have wrapped up my light chasing for now.  i hope you are able to find some time to stop and look around this weekend.  who knows what you will find...

mend...

                                mend

                                /mend/

                               verb

                                 1. repair (something that is broken or damaged).

                                   

                               noun

                                 1. a repair in a material.

things to do on an ordinary wednesday...

breathe...

When life is foggy, path is unclear and mind is dull, remember your breath.  It has the power to give you the peace. It has the power to resolve the unsolved equations of life.

-Amit Ray, Beautify your Breath - Beautify your Life

read...

We read to know we're not alone.

-William Nicholson, Shadowlands

smile...

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,

 but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

fur and diamonds...

in the process of clearing out some no longer wanted items, i came across this fabulous fur collar.  i thought i might sell it in the vintage section of my shop.  but, while it sat around waiting for me to take pictures, sudden inspiration hit.  don't you just love it when that happens?

i fiddled around with it for awhile until i figured out a way to make it work.  i paired it with a pretty vintage rhinestone button.  i seem to have an abundance of those, as i am always drawn to sparkly things in antique shops.

i added some pretty papers and turned it into a very glamorous one of a kind book.  you can find it here if this book speaks to your inner diva...

no. 828

number 828.  yes, i'm still folding cranes.  i'm ever so slowly working my way towards 1000.  if you've read this blog for awhile, you'll know that i have been doing this for 5 years or so.  and that i don't give up.  i never give up.  

i've been rather quiet, i know.  it's been a different sort of year.  one that has required some soul-searching.  and that's not the sort of thing that can be shared.

i just got back from a "leaf bopping" trip to upstate New York.  it's so beautiful there in the fall and i haven't been there in the fall since we moved to Virginia 11 years ago.  it was just my beloved and me and it was quite relaxing.  we had a very nice visit with our family.  and a lot of nature time.  we hit it just right...the leaves were at their peak...oh, the colors!  and the weather was simply lovely.  we spent most of our days outside soaking up the warm sun and enjoying the leaves and the water and of course, apples.  we brought back two big bags of apples and i am dreaming about apple crisp right this minute.  i may have to make that happen when i am finished here.

    

 just before i left, i had all of my hair chopped off into a cute pixie cut.  i'm not very good at selfies...so you will have to imagine it for now.  i love it...it is sooooo easy!.  i have received many compliments on it from family and strangers as well.  quite a few women have told me how much they love my hair.  i think they are secretly wishing that they can be brave enough to try this.  i know because i wanted to do this for a long time and i finally got brave enough to try it.

today i am home, unpacking and doing laundry and taking pictures for my shop.  i finished a fun book that i will show you sometime this week.

  just wanted to say hi... i hope you are having a lovely autumn...

words to ponder...

she seems so cool, so focused, so quiet, yet her eyes remain fixed upon the horizon.  you think you know all there is to know about her immediately upon meeting her, but everything you think you know is wrong.  passion flows through her like a river of blood.  she only looked away for a moment, and the mask slipped, and you fell.  all your tomorrows start here.

-neil gaiman-

ch-ch-ch-changes...

ch-ch-ch-changes...you know...like the Bowie song.  what a year it has been so far.  it's been so busy around here, i've barely had time to process all of the changes taking place in our lives.  this past week brought a flurry of changes, but also a feeling of "ok, it's all falling into place now and everything is happening as it should ."  for lack of a better way to say it.

i snapped this quick picture of my twins this morning as they headed off to their second day of college.  and yes, this is what they are wearing.  i think the goggles are super cool, don't you?  they are both enrolled in a welding program at a local college.  both of them taking welding...i know, crazy right?  it's a twin thing i guess. 

 they zipped off to school in their newly acquired little and quite cute volkswagen beetle.  it doesn't look old, but it is (that's the beauty of southern cars).  they purchased it together just a few days ago.  many hours of hard work for both of them preceded that purchase.  one more step towards adulthood.  and one more thing for mama to worry about!  

as if that wasn't enough going on for one little old monday, my older daughter had her first day of school too.  graduate school that is, where she will be both teaching and working on her advanced degree.  just two weeks ago, my husband and i took the 11 hour drive to leave her in hot and sunny Florida...home of the gators...both real and of the mascot variety.  one of my hardest moments this summer was turning around and coming home without her.     

since we were already in a college state of mind, my hubby decided this would be a good time to pursue his advanced degree.  he will be juggling his demanding "fuller than full time" job with classes.  which is exactly how he did it the first time around, so he's prepared for it.  and besides, he likes a good challenge like that.  in case you were wondering, it's kind of cost effective to have four college students at once.  scholarships, grants and financial aid.  oh my!  

since i didn't get a first day of school picture for the other two...here's a little picture from the twins graduation.  they may look sweet, but don't let them fool ya...they are rebels...the whole lot of them.  just like their mama : )

jake (the baby - ha ha) recently started his second year of high school, busier than ever with all of his music pursuits.  that's him on the left, taller than all of us now and taller than this picture which was taken months ago.  the only changes for jake are the never ending purchases of bigger shoes and longer pants.

and me?  i'm just rolling with the changes.  holding down the fort.  keeping little old Dexter company while all of his kids go out into the world.  and that's enough right now.  more than enough...