A Better View

On any given warm-ish day, I am likely to imagine myself at the beach at least once. Like today. Although it is cloudy and windy, my thermometer reads 75 degrees. So of course, I'm taking a visual vacation. Can you see it?? No? Let me help you.

This is my actual view for today, the February 28 skyline from my backyard:

It has it's own sense of bleak beauty I suppose, but this is what I'd rather see:

Mmmmm... St. Croix. Gorgeous, yes? I'd love to be standing right there again. Sun warming my skin, breeze lifting my hair, the soft sound of the water kissing the shore, the vibrant colors of tropical foliage...

Or here, EI, NC (one of my favorite places):

Much more realistic for the present- again with the ocean breeze, the roar and shush of the waves, the water skimming over my feet, and the feel of soft sand beneath them...

These images have planted a serene smile on my face. Makes you want to just take a deep breath and go "aaaahhh." doesn't it?

Where do you go on your "mental vacations"?

Belated...

Whoops! Well, I missed my post yesterday to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, but I told him in person, so it's ok. 8^) We had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden, which was very good, but would have been better if Daniel were completely well. He still has some residual ickyness from the flu. Then we headed over to Best Buy to see about getting his present- a new laptop- but they were out of both of the kinds we were looking at, so we'll be returning later to look again.

In other news, I had an interview yesterday for another PRN position at a local hospital, so pray that I'll get it, Lord willing. More gainful employment is always a plus; playing housewife, artist, blogger, and reader is fun, but it doesn't exactly net me any cash.

Also, pray for my cousin who is having surgery today.

Have a happy Friday everyone!

Just doodling...

Last Thursday I mentioned that I wanted to do a Zentangle. I've been working on it here and there for the past few days, and today, I put the finishing touches on it. I went to scan it, and found out that the image is actually too big for the scanner. BOO! I got the majority of it, but some of the edges were clipped, so I took a photo of the whole thing to include as well. I really enjoyed doing this piece! I can't decide which "tangle" is my favorite... i think perhaps the flowery one in the upper right corner (which I think would have looked better sans the outline... oh well, too late for that) or the scroll-y looking one that occupies 3 spaces. Which section draws your eye most?

Click to enlarge

Loss, life, fear, and comfort.

Yesterday was a study in contrasts.

Sadness: I woke to a text from my mom informing me that she was going to have to put down her dog Lacey. Anyone who knows Momma will know that this was a very painful and heartbreaking for her to do. That little dog loved her, was her constant shadow from the time we got her (before I started high school), and was anxious when Mom wasn't around; she was Momma's baby. So, I went and held my Momma and we cried together while my step-dad buried her four-legged child. We get so attached to our pets, especially ones who live indoors with you, so that it feels like losing a family member when they die. To follow this up, a "deep theological question" was innocently posed in Sunday School this morning: Will there be dogs in Heaven? Irony. The jury's still out on that one.

Happiness: Then last night, I went and celebrated the 92nd birthday of Daniel's grandma. We ate chicken stew and laughed together about things past and present. I can't imagine what it must be like to have lived 92 years. The multitude of experiences, gains, losses, times of joy and hurt are heartening to contemplate. It evokes ruminations of what path my life will take, what trials, triumphs, and failures will come my way, and how those things will shape me. Who will I be when I am old, given that I actually live to become old? The myriad possibilities exite me, dissipating my earlier melancholy.

Fear: We got news that my 18 month old nephew had fallen and was at the hospital with a fractured skull. Pray.

Relief: Good news that he was up playing around and there was no bleeding on his brain. Thank God for his protection. Pray for healing.

By the time I crawled into bed, the emotional rollercoaster I had ridden all day had left me fatigued and scattered. I needed to be held. Daniel was already asleep, still recovering from the flu, so I opened my Bible to Psalm 139 and let God hold me close. This is probably my favorite chapter in the whole Bible. It never fails to comfort me, reassure me, and make me feel close to God. Peace closed over me, I turned out the light, and slept dreamlessly.

ahhh.

Today I spent a delightful afternoon in my lounge chair on our patio, reading a book. The weather was a perfect 75 degrees, with a slight breeze. Bliss. These spring-like days really spoil me... I can't wait till they're here to stay!

Role change!

Is there anything quite as pitiful as a sick man? Helpless, subdued, and despondent. Poor guy. He really does feel awful though. Daniel has come down with the flu and has taken my place as house invalid. It seems like everybody's getting it. He's done a great job coddling me these past few weeks, now it's his turn for some pampering. Don't worry Mrs. Betty, I'm taking good care of him! I've even got a roast & veggies in the crock pot for supper (yay me!). Please pray he gets better soon, and that I don't get it!

From doing the Creative Tuesdays, I have discovered a new kind of art to try. Actually, it's really just a lot of doodling, but the end product looks so cool!! It's called a zen-doodle or Zentangle. I tried one the other night, and it turned out pretty good, but I want to get better at doing some of the "tangles" before I post a sample. It's supposed to be really relaxing- you put on some calming music, then just doodle, paying attention to one section at a time, and see what materializes. Sounds fun right?? I don't have any of the special markers for it, but I think I can manage.

Also, today I downloaded the free Kindle reader to my mac! Free books- what's not to love? Woot!

Creative Tuesday: Luck/y

I went back and forth quite a bit on how I wanted to present the idea of "luck/lucky", and without drawing a shamrock. The result is this little cartoon starring "Lucky Duck" and Hop-along Hare; in which the new owner of Hop-along's rabbit foot is feeling very lucky, while Hop-along is feeling rather down on his luck, being minus a foot. Hope I haven't offended any ASPCA people out there. I'm feeling very empathetic toward Hop-along, having been called that name several times over the past few weeks as a result of my own left-foot injury. I'm excited to see what everyone else came up with on Mr. Toast's blog!