Snip snip snip

The coronavirus has us all living life differently.  During this quarantine, I did something I've never done before. I cut my mom's hair. 

I'll pause for a sec while you contemplate the possible outcomes.

Yeah, everything from "what a great job" to "uh-oh".

I trim my bangs and ends when they get too rambunctious.  I am the designated barber for my guys.  Even the dog lets me cut her snowshoe toes, back skirt and ear mats. 

But I've never attempted anything that a decent hairdresser could probably do in their sleep.  Not that you'd want them to.

Her hair (my mom's, not the dog's) is shorter.  It seems to be even side to side. There are no obvious holes or chunks. She says it feels much better.  I noticed she didn't tip me though.
 

Bright Spots In My Day

Things that are making me smile today:

• Lilac buds outside my window.
• Dirt under my fingernails.  (Even if a brick and my fingernail had a disagreement.)
• Temps in the 60s.
• A rapidly-disappearing list of Spring garden chores.
• Sunshine beaming into the bedroom.
• Fresh compost for the roses and peonies.
• Green grass.
• Photos of my grand-niece in the dog crate when I was babysitting her three years ago.
• Winsor & Newton paints and Canson Watercolor paper.
• Giraffe spots.
• Pepperjack cheese, Dave's Killer Bread and pickles.
• Cookie dough.
• My gorgeous, sexy husband.
• Making a list of forty-five things I love about him. (Guess which anniversary is coming up?)
• The Sultans of Swing sung by a Frenchman.
• Putting flower shams on sofa cushions.
• Storing the fall/winter area rug.

What small pleasures are making your day beautiful while you are practicing Social Distancing?

Watercolor Playtime

January is good for one thing...I unleash my artistic side.

This year I discovered a fabulous site for those of us budding artists who love watercolor but know pretty much nothing.  Let's Make Art appeared on my Facebook feed around the holidays with subscriptions and kits, and I loved their ebullient paintings.  After the New Year I discovered that they offer tutorials on YouTube AND they have free download outlines.  What a welcome inspiration and an easy way to learn!

Sarah makes me laugh as I paint along. She has a last name and no, I've never met her, but she feels like a friend and I giggle as I paint. She's so positive and upbeat and self-deprecating and supportive. Her motto is "be kind to yourself." A good reminder for me since there is a lot of trial and error as I dive back into watercolor.  I'm happy with my flower-filled truck bed, but I'm not showing you how the VW Bug turned out or the bunny.  Room for improvement!

So, art keeps me sane in the cold January winteriness.  If I must be stuck inside waiting for my garden to stretch and rediscover chlorophyll, then at least I have something fun to work on.

How do you keep you spirits up after the fun, color and festivity all disappear?

Vision 2020

I just plain love the sound of Twenty-twenty and the way it rolls off my tongue.

I can't separate it from the time when it was just a good thing to hear from the optometrist.  Not that I needed one back when I possessed 20/20 vision and reading, threading needles and seeing distant hills clearly was so very easy. (I am grateful for bifocals!)

But onwards to the point:  a New Year needs a new phrase that encapsulates what I hope to achieve this year.  Last year was "complete".  And indeed, I completed many projects that were a long time waiting, and boy, does that feel good!  And I worked on making my personal life more complete.  Only to realize that all of us are a work-in-progress.

Of course.

For Twenty-twenty I've chosen "more or less". This will be a year filled with repeatedly asking myself whether I need more or less.  More of this friend or less?  More of chocolate biscotti or less?  More of couple time or less? More family time or less? More nativity sheep or less?  More spring bulbs or less?

I already find myself looking with fresh eyes and a different point of view as I move through my day.

I suspect that my pile of donation items will grow as I find that I'm happy with the cream of my various obsessions and willing to spread the remainder for treasure hunters at Goodwill or the SPCA Thrift.

I also figure that I will be more aware what people and activities I truly and deeply treasure.

I hope Life surprises me with unexpected choices in 2020. May it be a year of peaceful moments and quiet joy, of deepening love and rewarding friendship, of boisterous laughter and naughty puns, of children's hugs and doggy kisses, of healthy activities and a wealth of character, idealism and altruism.

Change is good, growth is good, as is stability and balance and forgiveness.

Keep the faith,
    Roxie

Good Advice from a Chef

  Pursue your passion; 

spread love and joy; 

be kind and forgiving;

 be generous; 

enjoy every morsel—from humble street food to decadent fine dining; 

cook for the people you love. 

 Travel the world and seek out adventure.  

 Help others and don’t be afraid to the take the road less taken.

       Live your life to the fullest.

~Fatima Ali, age 29, Chef

Stolen by cancer, 1/25/19

Magic at Our Fingertips

A blank page becomes

Swirls and curves, lines and slants.

More than words.

A spark between friends who've never met.

Everyday magic.



Thank you, Mary Oliver, for your one wild and precious life.

Once Upon A Blog

Once upon a time, I had this blog...

I refinished furniture. (I still do.)  I painted things. (Everything from cedar chests to terra cotta pots.)  I had chickens. ( Oh! how I miss fresh eggs.)  I grew flowers and veggies and dug a pond.  (I suspect that gardening might be passed down through the genes.)

I have a dog and a sweetie and two very grown sons and two grand-daughters--all of which I love very very VERY much.  (Not necessarily in that order.  I think.)

I took photos and posted fairly regularly.  I enjoyed the community and the friends I made as I shared.

What happened?

Picasa stopped uploading photos easily to the blogosphere.  Not a deal-breaker, but it added a degree of difficulty.  The Big Bloggers came to the party.  People stopped interacting on their visits and I missed the comments.  Facebook and Instagram became a lot easier than a blog--snap a photo, write a few words, and done.  And then Pinterest came along, heaven help us all.

I miss the days when blogging was at its height.  The days of my week revolved around the blog parties when everyone posted their latest.  Writing a good tutorial or sharing my latest accomplishment was a part of my daily life.  Taking a vacation and planning the best photos was a joy.  Visiting blogs was the same as visiting friends.  There was community and camaraderie and I loved connecting with people from around the globe.

Change is a part of life.  I take photos with my smartphone not my digital camera.  Picasa got rolled into a less satisfying photo editor.  My PC eventually became a laptop.  And my list of blogs eventually disappeared, but not before many lovely writers abandoned their websites.

Now?  I finally added some sites to my favorites so that I can read a select few blogs who shall remain unnamed.

I wish I could find my old list to see who's still out there flinging their hearts into the blogosphere.  I wish I could reach out to say how much you enriched my life and inspired me.  You made me laugh.  You shared  your home and your pets and your children with me.  I loved your photos and your individual style and your enthusiasm.

And now, here I am, realizing that I miss the challenge of writing cogently.  I miss sharing my thoughts and aspirations, my hopes and failures.  My daily life isn't filled with earth-shattering revelations and insights.  It is replete with small satisfactions and quiet beauty and bursts of enthusiasm.

I think that I might still have something to say even if only for myself.  I think I need to celebrate my own life and leave a record to look back on so I can say, Wow! I forgot I did that or Gee, I'm so glad I took that photo when the tree was small or Remember when?

It will be a challenge to rediscover photo-editing on a new platform (unless I can figure out how to magically bring Picasa back to usable form).  Because my photos were my starting point for any blog post.

Crossing my fingers.  You may see me here again.

Or you might not.  I might just be writing my life into a journal that no one will see but will satisfy me mightily.

Off to remember what my inspiration word for 2018 is.  Off to revisit my old PC and Picasa.  Off to look at drafts that were never posted.  And off to visit my other private family blogs to see if I should revisit them for family and future genealogists.

With a smile and a wave,
 Pogonip aka Roxie