A Corner of my Little World

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Rainbows and Lollipops

On my May 10th post, I listed some of my favorite things.  This past week I was able to very much enjoy all but the last one.  

Spending time with my Daughter    
Tony and I took Tara out for a 33rd birthday celebration luncheon Tuesday and then she and I spent the afternoon in the studio playing with our art journaling.  What fun to pull out the scissors and paste and colors and paints and just make a mess which is what we generally make.


 Peanutbutter and Chocolate Ice Cream
My sweetie and I had a nice luncheon today at Rio Grande, went to BAM and then stopped by Baskin Robbins for a special treat. You know someone loves you  when you are already too voluptious and he still buys you ice cream.


My cats' Happy purrs       
Can count on Thunder, Pookie, Mary George and SkippyJon for my daily purr therapy.


Doing anything with my Sweetie
I am a lucky girl because he spends quality time with me every day even if it's just being.

Reading in Bed
Been reading James Patterson's "Deception" every night. It's taking me longer to read a book in bed these days because I read two or three paragraphs and am out like a light.

Writing in My Journal
Have been making a concerted effort to write in my journal more the past few weeks. I have all these thoughts ricochetingy around in my head but often don't slow down enough to put them to paper. The purpose is purely to document my own madness you understand.
The movie - Driving Miss Daisy
Caught the tail end on tv Tuesday night. I've seen it a dozen times and still the scene where Hoke feeds Miss Daisy the pie gets me every time. Something so bitter sweet about it.


Photographing Nature  
I didn't take the first photograph this week.  Had other things to do but hope to have a chance to get out on the water in the Bay next weekend.

All in all a very good week of enjoying a few of my favorite things.

Free Cat ... Anyone?

Toddler SkippyJon being reprimanded by Pookie

                                                         SkippyJon

A few weeks ago we brought a new baby into the house, who quickly grew into a VERY busy toddler and progressed with the speed of light into a delinquent adolescent!   The one and only SkippyJon Jones Stuart.  A little background history...my daughter called me and said she had found a kitten at an abandoned house.  No other kittens nor mama cat in site; no neighbors claimed him.   The next day I get a text from her.  "Do you know anyone who might take the kitten?"   No - I did not.  All of my friends are up to thier eyeballs in free cats and I would never ask that they take on another one.  A a couple of days passed and she was not having any luck adopting him out.   The writing on the wall said she would be throwing him into the mix at her house with four adult cats and two adult dogs; all  rescues.  I had not seen the kitten at this point but I thought about it and asked Tony what I should do.   Do whatever you want to he said so against my better judgement I called her and said I would take him on a trial basis.   Yeah - right.  Here she comes bringing in this miniscule (maybe 9 oz.) ball of black and white fur.  He immediately made himself right at home and I was immediately smitten. What to name him???  After observing his personality I knew right away that it had to be SkippyJon.  For those of you who are children's book lovers, like Tara and I are, you know exactly who he's named after.  SkippyJon Jones, the siamese kitten who thinks he's a mexican chihuahua who goes on wild imaginary adventures.  I was afraid my three adult cats would not take to him very well since they are ten and eleven years old.  My fear was that my big black male cat, Thunder would pounce on him and hurt him.  I knew Pookie would avoid him and Mary George would establish her boundaries and then ignore him.  Well...within a couple of days Mr. SkippyJon was running the joint.  Poor Thunder is the one he has chosen to harrass because Thunder amazingly just sits there and whines while SkippyJon is hanging on to his neck and wrestling him.  I have even found myself encouraging Thunder to take up for himself!   How can someone who weighs (still) less than two pounds, have a nearly twenty pound cat acting like a wuss I ask you!  On the flip side, he has me looking like an abused woman.  Every step I make he is leaping out from behind doors or furniture and pouncing on me like a psycho maniac jungle cat.  My legs are scratched from ankles to knee caps.  I resorted to trying to scare him with a fly swatter and two swats resulted in two injuries ( to me - not him).   I am resolved to take it one day at a time and put him in time out in the sun room with his favorite stuffed rabbit when I can't take another minute of his shenanigans during the day.   On the upside, he has chosen Tony as his person.   All sweetness and licky licky, purr purr.  That's graitutude from a free cat for you!  

A Little Slice of Heaven

                                                                                                            
                                                  6/25/10   Bay St. Louis, MS

  6/25/10 Railroad Bridge - Bay St. Louis, MS

There are moments in life that if we blink we may miss. Moments that are so seemingly simple but leave a lasting imprint on your heart and memory. Last Saturday my Sweetie and I got up at 4 AM and headed out in the boat to watch the sunrise and hopefully catch a few fish. We rode along side by side in the dark; the moon spilling it’s beams on the water and no other humans in sight and as the sun began it’s ascent and the warm rays reached out to us; I realized that was one of those special moments that I will always cherish. Being priviledged and blessed to share the glorious sunrise and the wonder of God’s creation with the one who has been the better part of me for nearly forty years cannot be equaled.  It is these small and yet so very significant moments that I will remember and hold dear.  Truly a little slice of heaven.

Young at Heart vs Biker Chick

 

Marti and Bernie

Sunday Tony came back from running errands and yelled for me to come quick he had something to tell me.  He began by saying that Thames, our air conditioning guy, had called him on his cell phone to say that he had a young lady on the back of his motor cycle and was going to put her on the phone to see if Tony could recognize her voice.  He said that when he heard her voice his ears were telling him he recognized the voice but his brain could not make it sync.  He asked who it was and she cackled and said it was Bernice.  Bernice?!   Bernice - my little 4ft 9" 80 year old Mom Bernice???   Yes she said it certainly was her and that she had not been on a motor cycle in years.  Tony said he literally held the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if an alien voice was being transmitted.   As he was telling me the story I felt like I was trapped in the twilight zone.  Yes, her name is Bernice, yes I know Thames, noooo - a motorcycle in the equation was crazy.   My brain began to frantically search through my mental files to try to make some sense of what he was telling me.  Ok, The Myrtles, the Nursing facility she's in, had had a luau on Tuesday for which I had provided her with a festive outfit, lays and a flower for her hair....now let's see....oh yeah!....now I can see it clearly on the May calendar the Myrtles had sent me....a motorcycle something or another.  I  hadn't paid much attention to it but I'm pretty sure it did not specify that the residents who wanted to would be given a ride.  Who'd a thunk it.  Even so, she is about the last person I would have expected to climb on the back of a harley.  I called her as soon as I thought she would be back in her room and got the scoop.  She was still giddy and said she had not expected to do it but decided why not?  She said she wore a helment and that he didnt go too fast.   I guess I'm a lot surprised that she'd still be willing to take on such adventures but then on the other had I'm really glad she did.  I think it's pretty wonderful that those guys take time to make someone's day a little brighter.  Wish I had been there to take a picture.

A Perfect Space to Create Art

I decided to set up a new blog for my artistic endevors.  I have wanted to set up a studio for a long time now but could never decide where to do it.  I considered taking what we call the "window room" , which is one of the extra bedrooms with lots of light, as the name implies.  I just couldn't seem to bring myself to take down the antique bed and change the room's pleasant ambience.  I've been dragging everything to the dining table when I want to work on an art project but then once I was done I'd have to drag everything back to the laundry room where I've been storing my art supplies.  That has not been working for me for sometime though because I have accumlulated so much stuff I've outgrown the space and it's caused me great frustration because I couldn't organize or find anything!  Tony has suggested several times that I take one end of the sunroom for my studio but I have been obstinate.  I have a hard time changing things once I have them like I like them.  I just couldn't wrap my head around giving up some of the sunroom furniture and moving in things I may or may not be satisfied with.  I finally acquiesced and let him convince me that it would work.  He brought the antique drafting table from his office and bought me a new ergonomic chair, helped me move in the old bookshelf  that I had stored in the garage and provided me with a huge roll of paper to use to protect the table when I paint.  I've spent days now moving my art supplies and books to their new home and generally "nesting" as Tony calls it.  I am a little surprised at how pleasant the space is and how much I like it.  OK; he was right.  There I said it.  He asked today to see something I've done.  I had to admit that I haven't done anything yet.  I've been much too busy getting everything just right to actually create art!  I am very much looking forward to getting started though.  Tara and I have been collecting ephemera to begin our art journaling project.  Now we have a great space to work and spend time together in.   Maybe tomorrow I will pour myself  a tall glass of ice tea, put my 300 + CDs on shuffle, turn up the bose speakers and see if I can get the creative juices flowing. I feel a little bit like an imposter though pretending to be a real artist.  Maybe my new studio will inspire me.  Wish me luck. Stay tuned. 

Picture This

I've been a serious amatuer photographer since 1977. My husband bought me a $300.00 35 mm Pentax SLR when our daughter was born and I was hooked. I have hundreds - maybe thousands of photos I've taken of her over her lifetime. I cringe to think how many more thousands were discarded back when I burned up roll after roll of film. I would wait eagerly for days for them to be developed and then to my great disappointment come out with one or two good ones out of the whole lot!   For years I hauled around (I must give my hubby credit for many an afternoon he did the hauling for me) multiple lens, filters and flashes so I could be sure to have the right one to capture any situation. Then the life of us ametuer shutter bugs got a lot sweeter when the cost of digital SLRs became reasonable enough  for us to buy. My first 35 mm digital camera was like a magic box. Being able to immediately view what I'd just photographed and deciding whether it was a keeper or a goner with a touch of a button was just too good. No more film to buy and develop, no more heavy camera bags to lug. Freedom - to go and SHOOT to my heart's content. Then I graduated to more advanced digital SLRs and began experimenting with different techniques and effects. Some worked -some didn't. Then I discovered photo editing programs and took my photography to a whole other level. Those photos that I might have been inclined to delete I now take a second look at. It's amazing what you can do to a not so great photo with the magic of Photoshop!  Today I signed up to take a 50 hr. digital photography course at USM. I have the best cameras anyone could possibly need other than a true professional maybe; and I think I take pretty good photographs. I really want my photographs to be better than good; I want them to be great.   At the end of the next two weeks I expect a drastic improvement in my artistic photography endevors. I'll keep you posted.

A Few More Of My Favorite Things

Spending time with my Daughter

Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream

My cats' happy purrs

Doing anything with my Sweetie

The movie - Driving Miss Daisy

Reading in bed

Writing in my journal

Photographing nature