Guideposts - Week Four

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
 

--His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

A co-worker of my sweetie's died in an avalanche last week.  (Death seems to be a recurring theme for us in the past two months.) Younger than us, possessed of a megawatt smile and personality, owner of a dog-clone of our late aussie shepherd, avid skier.  My heart goes out to his family left behind.  

There was a lot of public comment on that very experienced group "recklessly" skiing when the avalanche danger was high.    It's easy to judge whether you do or don't know all the facts.  Sadly, most of the comments were negative and unkind, calling it suicidal, complaining about what the rescue must have cost the taxpayers, at best remarking on stupid choices people make.  None of those people knew Ricardo.  None cared that their rants might would cause the survivors heartache.

I had thought of choosing a new quote about kindness for this week's guidepost, but I realized that compassion alone should have tempered the remarks aired in the public forum.  Rather than anger or sorrow, I feel compassion for those individuals who obviously lack it.  None of us get out of life alive.  And few of us choose to believe that.  What we have between birth and death is the ability to love and live and make the world a little better than we found it.  Some of us die at 5, at 15, at 51, at 105...our age doesn't matter.  What matters are the memories we've created.  

Ricardo brightened up his corner of the universe before he departed to a different existence.  Requiem in pacem.

Simple Gifts

I meant to post this mid-month, but didn't have the photos ready to go. These two items are still delighting me on my kitchen windowsill.

Birthdays are wonderful in a couple of ways--I feel like I get to do whatever makes me happy and I'm grateful every single year that the MLK holiday treats me to a three-day weekend near/on my special day.  You can bet I enjoyed my extended weekend this year!

In the choosing my fun category,  I treated myself to a walk with Kharma in the afternoon. We investigated the new field mouse tunnels exposed by melting snow as we circumnavigated the pasture and evaluated cow flops as free sources of manure if I (gardener!) could figure out how to collect them and get them back home. Kharma (dog!) was all for hauling back as many cowpies as I could handle.

In twenty-two years on the west end of town, I'd never ventured onto the remnants of country road that ran through the ranch until suburbia and four lanes sprang up and made it redundant. I thought I'd grab a birthday rock souvenir so we headed that way through some unexpected mud to find a river rock to add to the pond area.  We chose a nicely rounded rock but as I walked towards it I discovered this yummy aqua insulator floating up through the frost-heave.  And on the way out we came across this pristine white goose feather calmly sitting there waiting for us to pick it up.

I feel like the universe was wishing me a happy birthday!

I'm Currently Enjoying...

• Google Reader.  Where have you been all my life?!  I've subscribed to all my favorite blogs (even those of you who haven't posted anything for nearly two years--you know who you are).  I'm saving sooooo much time now that I don't need to click on your URL only to find out that there's nothing new that I have time for posting on my own blog.  You know you were wondering where I find the time...
• Netflix.  Through the mail DVDs or Watch Instantly.  I've never seen so many movies in such a short time in my whole entire life (including high school when we'd watch anything, remember?)--blockbusters, foreign language, Pixar, TV series, classics, tearjerkers, adventure.  The best ones recently:  Julie and Julia (Meryl Streep is amazing in anything!), and a little one titled Outsourced.  I can never predict what I'll merely like, what I'll enjoy and what I'll absolutely love.
• Ironing new fabric--with a Netflix movie (Watch Instantly) on in the background.  I had no idea that Lord Byron was such a bad boy!
• Longer days.  All the clouds and rain are more reminiscent of a northern California February replete with green hills and newborn lambs than a wintery northern Nevada January.  We have no verdure and no lambie pies, alas, but it smells like spring.
• A three day week, thanks to the flu. On the other hand...
• Being healthy and going to work.  It sure beats aches and lethargy.
• A January devoted to as many arts and crafts as I can jam in.  I'm leaving no room for any post-holiday letdown or depression.
• Creamy white paint warm enough to use.
• A first coat on my cottage sign.
  

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D

On this bright and sunny afternoon, just after Kharma and I took a short jaunt to the pasture to practice our heeling skills and to chase the flock of Canada geese (giving them a little much-needed exercise), I grabbed my trusty hand sander and successfully sanded the finish off my maple sign.  I also dug out my can of creamy white paint in the garage and wondered yet again who named it Sleepy Eyes and why.

The sign is ready for a basecoat but the refrigerated paint has to warm up in the powder room.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to paint if the nice weather sticks around just a tad longer.

I did outline the arched area on paper and discovered that if I held it right up in front of the computer screen I could get an idea what the prospective fonts look like.  I'm going to have to stretch the winner waaaaay out almost two extra inches to fill the space.  So I'll be investigating what program will digitally stretch the calligraphy without losing the stylish feel of it. ( I hope it won't be a steep learning curve.)

I'm getting excited--it's going to look so good!  Keep those votes and comments coming on the best font--and if you find another that might work, pass it on to me.

Whaddaya Think?

I'm dithering pondering thoughtfully as usual and I could use your help.

I found the cabinet door carved sign of my dreams and I'm looking for the perfect "Meadowsweet Cottage" font to paint on it. You know--the one that stylishly says smiles, clematis blossoms, apple green paint, kitchen aprons, homemade soup, crocheted lace, and daffodil yellow walls.  The font that hints of Belgian chocolate and dog kisses and ruffles while kindly ignoring dirty fingernails.

I think the arch will showcase an oval with a little painted flower, then our cottage name beneath.  The maple stain isn't staying--I think creamy white will look nice against our tan walls.

The choices thus far,  in alphabetical order:

Brock

Chopin

Grenoble Outline (but it would be filled in, just saving ink here)

Handscript 
I just love the way Blogger wouldn't upload the word files, so I had to photograph the computer screen. 

Liffey

I like'em all and can't decide.  Help me narrow them down! Pretty please? With peanut-butter chunk ice cream on it?

Here, Chickchickchick

Warning: Cuteness ahead...

Silver Laced Wyandotte baby chicks. Are there any two words cuter than "baby chick"? Can't you just feel their sweet little fluff right now?

Barred Plymouth Rocks...be still my heart!


My evil plan:  raise them at the Queen Mother's house and steal occasionally accept some extra eggs. She'll have to deal with all the chickenpoop the added advantage of onsite high-quality manure. She has the space and free lumber from her fence replacement.  It's the perfect match.

Drip Drip Drip

Is it raining?  I can't see any actual raindrops.  It doesn't matter--welcome to headache day three.  I decided to call it the flu--lots of aches and a day of HGTV.  At least it isn't a migraine.


When I regain the use of my life I'm heading out to buy the napkin fabric in natural brown linen/cotton.  The Pottery Barn sunflower pillow has inspired me--what about a fuchsia pillow?...or a gloriosa daisy pillow?

...or a hummingbird pillow?..or a tigerlily pillow?

...or a cosmos pillow?

If I can paint just one pillow and love it...the others will follow.  I can see them so clearly in my mind and browsing my garden photos is a joy in itself on a wintery day.

I can also see the brown fabric, which has so much body to it, as a great faux-French market bag.  Maybe with white lining and a stencilled "Paris" on the front in a great script font.  Yum!

While lying in bed, aching, I'm also promising myself that I'll also stop at the Habitat ReStore conveniently located close by the fabric stash and look for a cabinet door that I can re-purpose  into a front porch sign for Meadowsweet Cottage.  Something with an arch shape that I can paint Apple Green (because that colorbug hasn't departed yet). 

Ahhhh, the joys of dreaming.