Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up

Today I had fun at the local garden centre photographing flowers. I wanted to have a wide range of blossoms close-up and thought this would be a good spot - and it was. With certain photo memes I taken part in weekly, I was falling behind in photos. Macro Flowers and Weekly Reflections were 2 I have been sporadic with. I am hoping to remedy that.

(2 of my favourite shots:)

This weekend we entertained the middle grandchild, age 7. She stayed over Saturday night and we did lots! It was enjoyable, especially when we dipped into the paints. I was working on some ATCs and I gave her blank cards to paint. She had fun - creating butterflies, flowers and clouds. She also painted me some angels as she knew I liked them. It was such a blessed time - she was so involved in her creativity! She loved taking her work home this morning and showing her parents!

I have quite a few ATC swaps I have signed up for, so I have been working a way at them. They are so relaxing (usually - unless an idea just won't gel). You can be creative, except in a smaller format.

Reptile and Amphibian Swaps:

Favourite Childhood Books Swap:

Dragonfly swap:
Dots and Spots Swap:

ABCs of Art

This week's letter of focus is H and I have chosen H for Handmade!

All my cards are handmade and many times I use handmade paper.

When we create gifts for others that are handmade, we share a piece of ourselves. We use our hands, our hearts and our heads.

The tribute for my Mom that I created Thursday was handmade with love.

Last week was also the Full Moon , so I was involved in creating the Full Flower Moon Dreamboard. Those are very valuable exercises to complete - they really do guide you through the month ahead. Check at Jamie Ridler Studios for more information.

I'll leave you with a quote from Jamie's blog which is so powerful.

"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.”
Freya Stark

Shadow Shot Sunday

Time to share our weekly shadows - such fun it is to seek shadows in the world around. the sun was bright and hot already this morning. It has turned into a gorgeous day! So off we went yard saling! Got some great bargains and some interesting things to use for crafting and art.

The shadows are from our yard as I only had a few minutes before we were to go out.

These plant shadows look like a giant bug!

Be sure to check out the other great shadow chasers at Hey Harriet!

Full Flower Dreamboard/ Tribute/Theme Thursday

Today is the Full Flower Moon and once again Jamie Ridler encourages us to create a dreamboard to put out our intentions for the month to come.

As Jamie says: "What’s possible for full-flower you? What colours shine? What dreams flow freely? What pours out of your heart and into the world?”

Today is an anniversary, a sad one - two years since my Mom passed away. I have decided to use it as a launch to a hundred days of caring for myself and nurturing my creativity.

I have already begun an elimination diet and am feeling more energized.

My goal is to replace bad habits with better ones and to dance, create, play - to use every day as an opportunity to be healthier and happier.

 

Theme Thursday

Today at Theme Thursday, the theme is beauty.

My first thought was to look up quotes and there are so many. Here is my favourite:

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched,
They must be felt with the heart.”
~Helen Keller

I wanted to create a tribute today for my Mom and I could not think of a better one than on the theme of beauty. She had a beautiful soul and was the kindest person you could ever wish to know . When I found this picture of her at 21 I knew this was the centre of my piece. She was stunning! I love you Mom!

Visit the other participants of Theme Thursday here.

Wishcast wednesday

It is time once again to answer Jamie's prompt (of Jamie Ridler Studios):

What do you wish for your space?

Foremost, I wish for a space that is clutter-free and inviting, a space that allows us to relax and be comfortable.

I also seek my own creative space, that is a haven for art and creativity.

Knowing what I seek, now I must achieve that!

As Jamie says:

"You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and support wishes by visiting other participants. It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together."

Visit other wishcasters here.

ABC Wednesday - S is for Skies and Squirrels

This week at ABC Wednesday - S rules!





Skies


There is something about skies -I have a great need to photograph them in all their faces, especially cloudy or pink skies!

With The celebration of Queen' Victoria's birthday on Monday, with a long weekend, and lots of fireworks this past weekend, I had to include one night sky, filled with fireworks!

Squirrels

A close friend runs a squirrel rescue at her home. When the local rescue society needs foster homes, she takes in newborns and cares for them til they are able to leave and live on their own. It is aq lot of work but she loves it. We had a chance to see one little fellow who was almost ready to leave.

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.

Life is Good! and Sunday Weekly Wrap-up

Earlier in the week I received a lovely tribute from Lis of "Dandelion Seeds and Dreams" - Life is Good!
Part of the award is to answer 10 questions – here are my answers to her 10 questions (needed some away time before I could write responses)

1. Do you have a special gift and what is it?I feel that the one true special gift I have been blessed with is that of teaching – with respect, passion, caring and patience. I enjoy my interactions with the students and love to see their eagerness to learn. I want to make learning exciting and fun for them, to ensure that they love reading and that they show respect to others.

2. What would your perfect day consist of?
A perfect day would have the people I love central to the day, with time for art, music, and dancing. I would have time to read a favourite book and eat some special foods.

3. Who do you miss and what do you wish you could say to them?
I miss my Mom and my aunt/godmother (they were sisters) the most. I lost both of them in the same school year – my aunt in September and my Mom the end of May, two years ago.
I would tell them both how much I loved them and how much they have both influenced my life and the woman and mother I am.
I was lucky though, as I was always to tell them how much they meant to me and how much I loved them often.

4. Do you have a recurring dream and what is it about?I have had recurring dreams occasionally, but they usually relate to a problem or challenge in my life.

5. Who inspired you as a child? Do they inspire you today?My parents inspired me and still do.
My father was a great believer in treating everyone as his equal, whether bank president or caretaker. At his funeral (in 1972), I remember the caretaker of the bank where he worked, tell me that my dad always stopped and asked after his wife and children and remembered their names. My dad did not suffer fools, and especially pompous ones, at all.
I got my love of reading and math from him.
My mother became my role model of what a mother should be like, as well as how to cook and bake. She had a very hard life, yet she never complained. She always tried to look on the positive side of things. She was always on the lookout for something that would make a loved one happy.

6. How do you hope you will be remembered?I hope I will be remembered as a person who gave of herself, who cared about her family and friends, who tried to make a difference in the lives of her students, and tried to help, even in small ways.

7. Is there a moment or an event you wish you could do over and why?If there was one event I would change, it would be that I separated from my ex sooner, and moved away from his influence on my children much sooner than I did. It might have prevented the abuse of my oldest and the debt I went through for many years.
The trouble is, if you change the past, you would change the future and I might not be married to my husband now.
Things happen and change us, for better and for worse. That time of my life made me stronger.

8. What artwork would you like to own?I would love to own a Vincent Van Gogh – one of his sunflower paintings. Any of the impressionist painters’ work or a painting by one of the Group of Seven would work as well.
But I am always on the lookout for new artists - there is so much talent to be discovered.

9. If you could have any talent, what would it be?I would love to be able to be to create large landscapes and large floral paintings.

10. Describe the best meal you ever had (or perhaps your dream meal) and who was with you (or would be with you?)My favourite meals have always been ones with family or friends. I have favourite foods, but it is the whole experience of eating and talking and laughing that makes the meal special. Follow that up with games where everyone takes part (think Scattegories or Pictionary) and the whole evening is complete! Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and birthdays are all special times.

The next part of the award is to pass this on to fellow bloggers who inspire me, who I visit regularly:

There are so many bloggers I would love to learn more about and who offer so much inspiration. So, I am going to leave it to you wonderful bloggers who would like to participate and let us learn more about you. Life is indeed Good! Grab the award and answer the questions!
Here are the 10 questions:

1. What would your perfect day consist of?
2. Who do you miss and what do you wish you could say to them?
3. What is your favourite book and/ or author?
4. Who inspired you as a child? Today?
5. Where in the world would you most like to visit and why?
6. How do you hope you will be remembered?
7. Which 3 people would you most like to meet? Why?
8. What artwork would you like to own?
9. What is one of your favorite songs and why?

10. Describe your perfect day.

Sunday Weekly Wrap-Up:

This week has been slow artistically. I have been trying to organize and plan for the months ahead. I have been reading blogs and interesting articles.

I created more papers for the Artistic Mother group this weekend

and finally completed my Poetry/inspiration Journal. I was stuck for a long time trying to decide what picture to use. Then yesterday while going through some old pictures I found one of my parents and me, when I was just months old. There was my inspiration! Then the cover easily took shape.

(The quotes don't show up very well but both mean a lot to me.

The second reads:

"Your talent is God's gift to you.

What you do with it is your gift to God" by Leo Buscaglia

Giveaway Day Winners:I chose 3 winners for the World Giveaway Day on Friday and have contacted them about their winnings.

The winners were:

Baukje - sun quilt/calendar holder

SewFunky - the cards and tag

Crystal Hendrix - Surprise package of supplies

It was wonderful to hear from so many bloggers. I will be visiting them all over the next few weeks. I didn't win anything this time but I found some very interesting blogs to which I will return!

Shadow Shot Sunday

It is time for our weekly sharing of shadows for Hey Harriet! It is such a fun meme - when you switch the focus from trying to avoid shadows in your photos to actually seeking them out!

This week I did not take my camera with me at all, so this morning when I went to find a few shadows I was met with rain and cloud! So, had to stay indoors and find shadows!

We now may have a new tenant in or nest! This morning, a morning dove came to check it out! It will be very interesting to see if she stays.

Be sure to visit the other shadow-chasers here.

Weekend Reflections

Weekend Reflections

As we (in Canada) head into a long weekend, I wanted to start the weekend with some reflections - of the photo variety!

I had not gotten out and about this week, so my reflections were caught inside.

We have a beautiful grandfather clock and there are always reflections in it. I was able to catch a few this morning.

Here are a couple of reflections from my archives! From Stratford - a possible place to visit this weekend:

and a relative's pool - which has just been opened! May be a wee bit chilly to swim this weekend - but soon!


Have a wonderful Victoria Day weekend!

Be sure to visit the other participants here.

New Challenges/ Thankful Thursday

Tonight I was in a mood to avoid work and visit different blogs. Going from one blog to another, you are never sure where you will end up! Tonight was no exception.

Theme Thursday

I discovered "Theme Thursday" where the theme this week was "hands". The topic resonated and I ended up writing and creating a bit in my journal.

Hands tell stories about us; they are expressive, and we use them for so many things. I started a list of what we do with them - I could add so many more I am sure.

I photocopied my hand and as I looked at the lines I realized there is a lot of living in those hands. And my hands are becoming my mother's hands.

I read a story a while back about a man who so loved his father's hands and as he got older, he realized his hands were his father's.

Hand and heart go so much together and the art we create depend on both. There is work and thought and then there is feeling.

Paint With Me Thursday

I visited some other blogs that were following the challenge of dandelions through "Paint With Me Thursday"at "Simply Feather"

Now that is a much maligned weed/plant. As I thought about it, the overwhelming image was the root!

I also found this image of blowing the seeds tonight, as well!

We need to make wishes as well as putting down roots.

Thankful Thursday

I have missed a few Thankful Thursdays. At times, the challenges we take on become challenging and not as enjoyable. Trying to fit so much into a week made step back and cut back on some of the challenges/memes I was doing.

But this week there seems to be much to be thankful for:

1. My daughter and her boyfriend returned safely from Mexico.

2. We were able to watch the robins grow and leave the nest.

3. Lis of Dandelion Seeds and Dreams presented me with an award earlier in the week. Thanks Lis! Her blog is exceptional - I love visiting! Her weekly reflection sure has you thinking!

She left me questions to answer and I will do that with my Sunday Wrap-up.

4. I took part in my first World-wide Giveaway and it was fun. I will be drawing names tomorrow for the 3 prizes. Good luck everyone who entered!

5. I am so thankful for the teachers and staff at my school who support me in so many ways.

6. I am thankful that most of the children in my class actually raised there had yesterday to show that they loved reading. And, when giving choices for what they can do when work is done - many turn to reading! that was my number one goal when I started the year.

7. I am thankful for the naturalpath doctor who may be able to get to the bottom of my tiredness!

8. And lastly, I am thankful for my husband, who supports me, pushes me when I need it and then cheers me on.

ABC Wednesday - R is for Robins

(Scroll down to the next post for the GIVEAWAY - 3 Prizes!!!!)

This week at ABC Wednesday, we "R" all focusing on R - and R is for Robins!

Tonight I watched the second baby actually leave the nest! After watching the family of robins, from nesting to eggs to babies, it was a bit of shock to see the baby take wing and actually clumsily fly off. It just seemed like yesterday they were hatching!

Three eggs were laid, but only 2 hatched.

Over the past week, I got a few glimpses of the babies, especially when the parents arrived with worms! Then it was all beak!

Here are a few shots from the past week!

Be sure to visit the other great participants here.