On a nightly walk this week, we saw a flash, a shooting star, probably a meteor. It shown brightly for a few seconds, and was gone but it stopped us in our tracks! I painted the scene above to remember that moment, and wrote this poem...
a moment of brightness
Brightness for even a few seconds
Can change things
Plodding along as I do every night, more of the same, never
seeing a way out
One foot in front of the other… the definition of survival
Continue…
You may feel empty and useless and hopeless and then
In a few seconds of brightness
It stops
You stop
And look up to live in that moment of light
Still looking up long after it’s gone, wanting more
The darkness returns but there was a moment
A moment of light
A moment of hope, of joy
Reluctantly I stop looking up, put one foot in front of the
other and return to the way it is.
Except
I saw brightness, and will remember it and that moment
And I am changed
(c)Lee Anna
Paylor 2020
I liked how the background looked before I added the stars. I used a large flat brush, dipped it over two pans of colors and let the paper show through... nice effect!
I like the little dots of white posca paint, and dots of silver gel pen look!
I like the 6" piece in general!
This week I watched a video on painted rocks, (I linked to it and blogger saw fit to remove the link. They also made a big space in the posted video that does not show when I wrote the post. I do not enjoy the new blogger.)
they are adorable in person! Bright and graphic. I used a #8 round brush, running it over two colors in the KOI set, then brushing an oval of color. After that dried I went over it with black gel pen, white posca and silver gel pen. Wish my handwriting was better!
Welcome to this week's list of likes! Not everything goes right but there's always something to like each week, so to start with this time, I Like Flamingo kitchen towels!
Sewing
SEW much accomplished this week!!!
I've been very enthused about my flower series, that all started from a painting. With each small 12" square work, I'm changing one or two elements and loving the process. Plus pink is calming, they often use it in hospitals and mental treatment centers. I need peace.
Painting
I have been sewing, watching videos, and knitting more this week but have a couple small works to share tomorrow, this is a tease!
Farming
no blossoms on vege yet but we harvested some lettuce!
the flower seeds are pretty little delicate stems, so I have hope for them!
Social
My latest mask... and yes that's how I often feel!!
Joy and I had another zoom meeting and aside from some glitches in technology, it was fun. We've also fallen into a very comfortable daily email of what we're doing that makes me feel very connected to her.
I got to chat to Rose via google hang outs but the tech. will not work well. Mary and I talked this week by phone too, and caught up in just a few minutes.
Our neighbor's little puppy was trying to come into our yard under the fence, and we had given the last of our wire mesh fencing to a different neighbor, so from a distance we asked Keith if he could fix that side to keep the puppy over there. I didn't expect him to care enough to do it but he did. Kind of restored my faith in them as neighbors.
We can no longer let our dog run in the yard freely as our fence touches three other fences on zero lot lines, and they all have dogs now. You might not believe me but dogs can transmit the virus on their hair, and actually catch it. Not one of our neighbors social distances or even seems to believe we're in the middle of a health crisis so we have no choice but to keep Milo from going right up to other dogs.
It's taking a toll on all of us, but y'all.... America is rising to 1000 deaths a day, and now takes up one fourth of the WORLD'S infection numbers. I am grateful to DH for finding work he could do from home for a while, as his office reported cases.
fine dining
we had to finish up some smoked turkey luncheon meat this week, so I made turkey reubens on the stovetop. A pan large enough to hold four slices of bread, melt butter and place bread, place some gruyere cheese slices on each piece. Layer on meat if you're like me, then drained sour kraut, then some thousand island dressing. Allow the bread to toast slowly, melting the cheese. Flip the toasted bread over the other slice holding the sourkraut. So as to really melt the cheese and not burn the bread, I take the sandwich off, microwave it for 30 sec. and it's all toasty and melted. Sliced in half on the diagonal, include some pickle slices and you've got a good lunch.
dh found collard greens at the store... he got two bunches as it cooks down so much. Many non southerners don't know what to do with these. Here's what I do:
wash well, fold leaf in half, grab the tough center stem and pull out, leaving tender green leaf
Pile these up on a cutting board, roll tightly into something that looks like a cuban cigar
cut across the roll in thin slices, this is called chiffonade
put shreds, about a cup of water, salt and pepper in a big pot and simmer til tender.
my mother put in pork to season but I'm allergic/intolerant of it.
When serving include the yummy liquid, and pour on pepper vinegar
The grocery stores here continue to be limited, and each time we go/order delivery many items are unavailable. In my whole life, I've not known this to be the case. We continue to wipe each package with vinegar (soap and water for cans or bottles) to try to limit the virus load, and most vegetables and fruit accept it. We learned this week peaches cannot stand the vinegar.
Reading
I'm listening to The Namesake on disc in the studio... the story is gentle and real, and the author won a pulitzer prize. It involves themes common to us all, where to live, how to change cultures, how to care for a family and maintain your sense of self, maintaining traditions while adopting new ones, change...
the reader has a most excellent voice and I get lost in it as I quilt.
A forgotten murder
At night I'm reading an E-book the third in Jude Devereaux's Medlar mystery series... she had me at her first novel, A Knight in Shining Armor and to my mind, has gotten better with each book since. This series has likable real characters and intriguing mysteries I don't figure out til the last page!
While reading the Writer's Almanac's daily page, I followed one writer to find this site:
There's just something about an old chewed up toy to go to at night... an old comfortable friend !
Most of the time I go to this old indestructible chicken for play time.
It's old, it's not pretty, the wings, legs, and comb are chewed off but it still can squeak, and there's still fluff in there to hunt for. Every night I take him out of the toy box (how does he get in there without wings? ) and we spend quality time chewing and tossing and keep-away-from-the-daddy.
Also I liked that we have a bite-sized bunny in the yard now. It runs from me when I take off to catch it, but comes right back as soon as I go back in the house. It's got spirit!
Now sit! Stay! and visit mama's friends who kept a list of likes this week too!
I've not tried it as there is enough stress in my life.
For the life of me, I don't understand when things are working, they have to be changed without being requested.
this is a test...can I meet the challenge? Do I want to?
Blogging has brought me many friends and many happy moments of connection. It allows me to chart my weeks, express myself, share my art and heart.
It was easy.
This is not, nor is it enjoyable.
you can do it mama!
if it doesn't start working for me, I will try revert to the old interface. I keep an old phone because I don't need a phone to be a computer and I don't want to have a learning curve on making and receiving calls.
I keep an old computer because I want to spend my time being creative instead of learning new operating systems.
I have an old car because I know it, it knows me, and I don't want car payments.
I make choices on what to keep and what to learn.Life is harder now, just surviving is challenging enough.
For years I had my blog, like an old friend, and now some technician has taken that, for what reason I wonder?
Don't we have enough areas of our life that are beyond our control?
1. Why did you pick the book? A: I cannot choose one book, or author, as a favorite as I LOVE reading and listening to books being read to me. I like stories, and writing. I like a lot of genres. I have a book page of some authors and books I've read and really enjoyed. Some Authors I've read Rhys Bowen, Sara Dunant, Laura Childs, Diana Gabaldon, Jodi Thomas, Maeve Binchy I chose this book as a child because of the cover, and I needed to do a book report. It was on the new book shelf in the school library and called to me! I chose this book to discuss today because it made a big impact on me as a 12 year old. I read it many times as a child and a few years ago went back and found a copy to re read. Generally it's about: A young girl is shuttled between two aunts homes, mostly being ignored, and is transported to an earlier time when the house was new... 2. What did you think about the book? A: It was magical, and felt very real at the same time, like life could be magical 3. What do you know about the author? A: She was British, and wrote for children in an adult way that didn't talk down to them 4. What’s the most memorable scene? A: The young girl, who was generally ignored, was allowed to investigate the old house, and found a closet with an old pinnafore and height marks on the wall from kids who lived here long ago. She saw her name, and was transported back in time. It started me thinking about time, and how we'd influence the future if we went back into the past, it would change things and how would that change what you had left in the present??? It kind of freaked me out, the same way imagining infinite space and galaxies. What?! What's beyond that??? what's beyond THAT??? 5. How did the book make you feel? A: Like time travel was possible and I could actually go see how people lived. I felt hopeful that I wouldn't always be stuck in my household, like there were possibilities for me 6. How do you feel about the way the story was told? A: it was the first novel I read that totally transported me, I got lost in it and felt like I was the little girl in it. I was very into history by that age, and wanted so much to travel back to see what life was really like. I've never lost that need, today I watch tv shows about archeology, I read history magazines and archeology magazines and books. I like historical fiction. My fave series is Diana Gabaldon's OUtlander series and I've read all the books.
7. Which parts of the book stood out to you? A: visualizing the old home, and the relationships between the characters
8. Which specific parts of the protagonist can you relate to? A: I was adopted and alternately ignored, abused, and overindulged... I never fit into the family and was told I'd better be good. I felt like the visitor always, the one who could be asked to leave, the one that better not make waves. The protagonist wasn't hurt in the book but she was not valued either. I wanted to find a time to travel into where I could fit as well as jessamy did. 9. Which character did you relate to the most? A: the girl 10. Share a line or passage from the book. A: sorry it's been a long time since it was read
11. What did you think about the ending? A: I liked it, the way it connected the circle of time 12. Is the story plot driven or character driven? A: well rounded characterizations within a strong plot line d 13. If the book was made into a movie, what changes or decisions would you hope for? A: I always hope the clothes and hair follow the real trend of the times. So often people do historical shows and have present day make-up and hairdos. It aggravates me. I like how Outlander's shows have them dirty, it was a dirty time! 14. How did the book change you? A: hard to say... I think it started a life long desire to know about people from history, and it gives me pleasure to visit old places and museums today. I want to know about the actual lives of people and their challenges. 15. If the book is part of a series, how does it stand on its own?
A: NA
they are adorable in person! Bright and graphic. I used a #8 round brush, running it over two colors in the KOI set, then brushing an oval of color. After that dried I went over it with black gel pen, white posca and silver gel pen. Wish my handwriting was better!
