Wordless Wednesday 4.26.17

sit quietly with me
see my many faces
I can be anyone you want me to be
first, you have to find me
Q

sit quietly with me
see my many faces
I can be anyone you want me to be
first, you have to find me
Q

Today I had occasion to visit a hospital as a potential patient. The view from this side of the window is a tad different. OK it is very different, and every time I have this “moment” present itself to me… I am a dual person. Part patient, and part auditor.
I take in everything, the way I’m greeted, the way other potential “clients” are treated, waiting time, cleanliness, & important to me is the way staff interact with you.

Emergency drop off, you are faced with steps, there is a ramp over to the side, but unless you have been there before, or know it is there, you have no choice but to try to make your way up the steps.. that have a very considerate sign that says, “be careful, slippery when wet” something to that effect. I was able to make my way up the steps, but another lady who was clearly in great distress was doubled over by the time she made it into the reception area.
My own journey through the “welcome centre” was smooth enough, except for the first person who spoke to me like I was a child who wasn’t listening. to her sergeants command to “wait”! Unfazed I did wait until the lady who I mentioned earlier came in and there was no one to help her. Then MY ” I am higher than you in the chain of command” persona took over.
All in all, as I said, for me the hours were productive. I did get to lie in a private room with a call button at my side, and IV in my arm.. the colours of the room were soothing, and altho’ I could hear the hustle and bustle around me. I could detach, I was in an area that was prepared should my body do something that required their immediate attention. I put my vest on backwards to keep my chest warm, a gown under my head, rolled like the Chinese neck supports of olden days, and slept.
When I got home, I painted the friend I met while sleeping.. Big smile. She is not finished, but wanted to capture her sweetness before I totally wake up.
Another day has come and gone. Hope you had a good day. I am going to be a good girl and REST till I see the doctor next week. What will you be up to. A lot of fun, and happy making of memories I hope.
PL Precept #18 Each moment is a turning Point
PL Precept 17 Grasp what is most Essential
Oyashikiri
Dymoon
First, let me begin by telling you I do not collect dolls. I have over the years belonged to the CDAA (Canadian Doll Artist Association) a club that no longer exists. We were doll artists from all over the world who had an interest in one of a kind dolls. Certainly not the kind of doll pictured above.
I met a lady in a shop, who over time, we developed more than a hi, good day, how are you relationship. I found out she is an avid doll collector, not the one of a kind type of dolls but in particular ones from a Canadian company, that have a certain look to them, and a wardrobe. Like myself, she is a crafter, and artist, with her hand in many different project. We are many such “creatures” on the planet, and we thrive on the exchange of ideas and the inspiration we get from one another.
It is in appreciating the differences in the people we meet that we ourselves grow. I truly believe that. Seeing their “vision” and “creativity” inspires me to look at the objects that come into my sphere of “seeking” when I’m out on a “treasure hunt”
The doll above, I’ve seen over the years in fancy boxes in shops that sell to the doll collectors, and have passed them without a second glance. Today I saw this young lady with her beautiful hair rather messed, and untidy, hanging all over the place, her shift which once had been clean and starched, was now faded, dusty and had a staining (that brown coat of “age”) that made her look shabby. To add insult to her condition, where other dolls were priced at a respectable price, she had been marked at a ridiculously low price. The colour of her outfit doesn’t really show properly, but the dress at one time looks like it was a pastel Easter green. Her crochet vest was perhaps an off white or linen colour. Her mother would have been proud, her undergarments were still white.
Yes, I brought her home, used a crochet piece I had to put her hair up so that I could get her clothes off, I’ve soaked the grime out.. and will give her a cleaning when I have time to get back to her, Why did I do that. I have no idea. I know I will not be starting a home for wayward dolls. At the time it seemed the right thing to do.
We all get old. Some more gracefully than others. The kindness we show to others, and the reason for our actions at times is not clear to us right away. But I know for a fact, that goodness, begets positive. When we live with a desire to live our lives with pure intentions, life is good. There is always a reason for our actions. When you believe this, the moments of awareness become more frequent.
Today was Monday, tomorrow is Tuesday, how wonderful is that! Sleep with dreams of soft pastel wonders, and tomorrow wake to a day filled with vibrant colour.

A recent expression.. I was experimenting with my new watercolours on canvas and tissue. Life is good, share your happiness with others.
PL Precept #19 Begin once you Perceive
PL Precept #16 All things Progress and Develop
Oyashikiri

Good Evening everyone. Mixed media is when an artist uses more than one media or technique to work on a canvas or project. In this instance, I had a canvas I wanted to recycle I applied gesso, then acrylic and when that dried, I went on with water colours. I have used water colour on acrylic before, but this time I wanted a dark background, so wasn’t sure how the water colour would show.
I was pleased with the results, I sculpted the canvas first with different tools, then applied the water colour to bring out the “feeling” I wanted. My water colour pallets were the Medallic Accents (Prima) nothing too fancy, and the Prang Ovals by Dixon.
Because I basically work to express myself, I use products that appeal to me, either colour range, and price. plays a part in what I get. One could say, self indulgence. I create to please my need to express visually what is passing through my frontal lobe. This makes for happy happy, I know I’m happy when I hear myself humming.. I paint, I hum. =^_^=
What does it mean, I’m asked, or what am I supposed to see? is another one. The short answer, is whatever you want to see. If what you see speaks to you, Enjoy. There is no rhyme or reason, my expression, whether writing, painting, or sculpting is because I want to. I gave up a long time ago trying to please..
We learn in PL, we, WE have to be happy, it is up to us to be ourselves. If we don’t know what we want, or what makes us happy, how on earth can we share honestly with another human being. It is no one else fault if you are unhappy, no one can make you unhappy unless you give them the power to.
OH my.. must not get going on one of my pet philosophies… Just wanted to share with you, my happy “dark forest” Makes me smile silly.
A holiday Monday for some, others are back to work.. hope your week-end was a good one, let us have a joyful start to another week.
Look who came to visit. He is from Malaysia..his ribbon said..Yu Pin Wan, does anyone know what that says? Google translate didn’t help me. Doesn’t matter, I think he is darling and will let him stay for a while.

Oyashikiri
Blessings/Namaste
PL Principle #2 I will not have complaints about others,matters, nor the weather. Rather I will always be creative and will look for shortcomings in my own thinking and actions.

Welcome to my mess. If you look .. you can see that it is a colourful mess. It happens. Both these canvas pieces, I found in a thrift shop. Both I brought home with the intent to recycle. How I would end up recycling tho’ I had not predicted.
I was looking for something rather specific for another canvas I had been working on, and it turned out that the tail on one of the birds was perfect for what I wanted. I pulled the canvas off the frame, and ripped it into pieces to get the piece I wanted.
Lo and behold I found that it was a very satisfying sound, the ripping of the old, dried canvas, and every more pleasing was the discovery that I really had myself some great pieces to do some unusual cards. So today when I found this other canvas with the paint splatter all over. There was something about it that drew me.. it was too busy for my taste, but I saw possibilities. For a few dollars it came home with me.
Once again I found myself delighting in the sound of tearing canvas. and … Now, I have a mess on my desk. I know, I just know. I really do… that these pieces are going to come in handy. At what .. I don’/t know yet. I’ll keep you posted.
Meanwhile.. I’m a very contented camper. I’ve ripped, torn, and pulled apart a canvas, finished a super special card, found a piece that is perfect for my “escape” canvas… and the day is not done. How lucky can one person be. =^_^=
Now that the mess is made, and I’ve recorded it for ??? I can pack up the pieces and put them away for another day.
Happy happy happy, every one..
Oyashikiri
PL Precept # 17 Grasp what is most essential
=^_^=
Step outside the box, enjoy all you do..
life is meant to be lived

Anticipation
as the days grow warmer the anticipation grows
soon, not only will we celebrate a new day
the new buds of spring will come alive
and the art of the bloom
will bless and bring colour
to skies that have been winter gray
Bees will actively tend their hives
and our toes will be free again
=^_^=
YAY !!!
Three pounds of hamburger for $1.00
4 loaves of bread for $0.50 cents.
3 packages of hamburger buns for $1.00
Onions, celery, peas and carrots were the vegetables of the day, along with the potatoes of course, or in our case, the bag of rice. Your shopping cart could be full for just over $10. Kraft Dinner was 4 for $1.00 and sometimes 6 for a dollar. Baked beans, came in all two flavours .. baked with pork, or molasses. Maybe there was one with a tomato sauce.
Mother whipped up dishes with chicken hearts, giblets, and often Sunday would be a roast of Beef, or Port heart. I recall her chicken livers and green peppers. Chinese dishes of course, all flavoured with garlic, ginger, and one of the soy sauces. I still like these meats today, but I do see that they seem to be less the flavour of the day.
When she made up the giblets in a garlic and bit of honey sauce stir fried with the cabbage, the sauce was oh so good over the steamed rice.
The icing on the cake, was when she would brown the rice that was stuck to the bottom of the pot… then carefully pour in some boiling water just as it got all crispy. That was dessert. We seldom had sweets for dessert till much later .. This served me well, I don’t crave sweets, however, do admit to drooling for creamy butter filled buns from the Chinese grocers.
When I first started to cook for my own family, I recall gathering up cook books that showed us how to cook minced beef in hundreds of ways. I’m thinking of this because today, I decided to do up a meat loaf for hubby. While whipping it up, my thoughts drifted to when it wasn’t an unusual happening in the kitchen but rather a weekly dish that was served up in a zillion different ways, with either roast potatoes or rice.. and of course the obligatory side dish of a veggie.
Do I eat this way now. Nope, no, and no. I can’t remember when I last had peas or carrots. a la frozen mixed vegetables sometimes with corn. Now I overdose on brussels sprouts, okra, and tender green shoots from the Chinese grocers.
Oh how time changes… =^_^= thanks for sharing the trip down memory lane with me.
My husband will have the meat loaf to himself (which he likes) .. I am steaming pork ribs with Okra and red peppers for moi in a black bean and garlic sauce. Can you hear the anticipation !!!
PL Principle #10 I will live in true harmony with my spouse.
Oyashikiri

To walk where no one has walked before

I wish, =^_^= but I was the one to make a new trail
down an unused road, that led me to another time

a family home, once filled with laughter
now stands silent, waiting
this was not the structure tho’ that had caught my attention
rather I was drawn to a building that called out
to my searching ” eyes”

“look, look, see my charm”, I got a picture in full sunlight
but this one with the little building half in the shade
I found had more to say
I sensed this is where the children played
on rainy days, on sunny days
this little structure captured and ignited
their imagination in every way

this pretty face
was also part of yesterday =^_^=
It was an amazing day !!!
In PL (Perfect Liberty) we do our best to live each day doing our best to be creative in every way. Make every day count, rain, snow, sunshine, it doesn’t matter. Do your best every day.
Oyashikiri

It was a beautiful day .. I took to the roads .. you’ve often heard me say how I love driving the highway, headed out of the city core. The stretch of roads I take have a lot of country side along the way. It is a way for me to unwind.
I’ve undertaken the huge task of clearing my work table, and letting go of the bits and pieces that seem to get left behind after each and every project. I think that last over-haul was perhaps last fall when I was working on the greeting cards for the church.
As an artist it is easy to get lax, I find that I need to challenge myself to step outside the box, much like with my writing. I can get very motivated, the ideas spring endlessly past my gray cells, yet I’m not smitten enough to take action. Then out of nowhere, I know the time is right. Since last week, I’ve noticed a lot “gemstone” colours, spring colours mainly, I’m rather excited to see what is around the corner.
I got knitting needles today, I’m not keen on knitting, but I found myself looking at square in the Michael’s’ store, they ask for donations of 9″ squares, they are put together to make colourful blankets for one of their charities. Who knows. I do know how to knit, it just doesn’t appeal to me.
PL Precept #18 Each moment is a turning point
There was more than one face in the above painting, but I pulled the one out.. because she was watching … =^_^=
Oyashikiri
PL # 2 To live is to Express One’s Self.

While my latest card says to Dream and Be Happy… I’m trying to find the balance between discomfort and ”darn that hurts” It is distracting. On talk show radio today while driving around from errand to errand… (I was being productive) there was a feature on how Emergency rooms are having to deal with dental emergencies, and are not equipped for the problems they are seeing.
It seems there are many people for one reason or another don’t go to a dentist, and then suffer terrible pain at some point when they encounter a severe tooth problem.. ie. they need a root canal etc. They are in so much pain, the doctor says they can’t answer a question properly the pain has distracted them so much.
As I listened, and wondered, hmmm is the pain subjective? I myself was caught by a sudden burning sensation in my right ear. Ooohhhh that hurts as I put my hand up to the ear, trying to sooth it with some warmth from my hand. Then I remembered that the dentist had told me that I had the equivalent of a sprained ankle in my jaw.. and I was to rest the jaw, not chew down on foods that would stress the jaw. He said “it is a warning sign” that if I didn’t take care of the situation now.. it could lead to bigger problems.
Even suggested a mouth guard.. yes … a mouth guard… and he gave me an estimate of the cost for such an appliance. Oh dear… I recall making a mental note, to **try to talk less =^_^= ** ** refrain from eating pistachios for a while** and try to eat foods that were easy on the jaw, like soups, etc. The discomfort was an instant reminder that I have not been following my “good intentions”
Even the finding of great fancy scissors that another crafts person parted with and a wonderful discounted bargain price failed to take my attention away from the “raging” ACHE in my jaw.. which shows itself through the ear.
So.. my obvious lesson today, is to stop being lazy .. and stubborn.. lazy, not taking the time to make and eat homemade soup that is nourishes and soft and easy on the jaw.. stubborn, thinking that I did it for a few days and that was enough, I knew better??? Wot! So if I have a discomfort, whose fault is it??………………….MINE
It is called owning the decisions we made and the results of……
Oyashikiri

the results of cleaning my brushes on the back of a book… liked it so left it that way the black is gesso