MICRO-PREMIE: 1988: 3 1/2 months early: A MIRACLE

 BORN: August 7, 1988     2lbs. 11 ozs.                                        DUE: November 24-27th
Here she is, 2 or 3 weeks old, perhaps 4? Her four long skinny fingers wrapped over my first digit only. Her arms were the same circumference as my pointer finger; her legs like my pinkie…and I have long thin fingers. A long straight nose, it looks like mine! Not her birth hair, no nipples or nails..a struggle for survival for the next 3 or more months!!! The chances she'd be blind, have lung problems, developmental disabilities and/or, Cerebral Palsy, Retardation; or, perhaps dead. A roller coaster--"it will be a ride" the doctors tell us; prayer on our side.
(African-American girls the strongest for survival…and last, Caucasian boys)

Four weeks for sure by now or 5, she's permitted out of bed and I can hold her! Her fingers appear to cover a larger area? Other children are there but the curtain is drawn; their struggle is over, the parents just begun.

They try her on some breast milk around 7 or 8 weeks but she cannot tolerate it. It was not even a drop; if it were continued her intestine would develop necrosis-more complications.

She grows to 5lbs. 1 oz. but is still on a machine; insurance forces her home and the doctors fought to keep her. So home on machines and stuffed in a stocking; her family really loves her and cares around the clock.








By ONE: she's become a MIRACLE: all systems seem GO! But mommy's a therapist so we work head to toe. Tactile and visual, auditory too, is this why God had be become an Occupational Therapist after all this time? Of course having 3 siblings helped welcome her to the world of activity, NOISE!

(to be continued)

Words: Are They Necessary?

LET'S JUST SAY yes for this one picture?….THIS BIRD AND I HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON….
I 'd love to take flight over the ocean,
Eyes closed with heart opened
On the waves of the sea.
I'd love to rest peaceful and lap up the sun,
Listen, taste salty
The calm of the sea.
To be happy and bobbing, laughing and calling
Ocean birds as they wing-
                                                Wispy sprays of the sea.                                  -Suzie

Can you see upon the water
Restive hues,  reflective color,
Hints of day,  its busy waders?
Yet my eyes draw up and yonder
breathe of life where heart stands still,
                                  the what, the how, the when and why?                     -suzie

Just Because There's A Smile….

How many of us hide
all of our lives
curled up in a little ball?
To close our eyes
sitting a while
it's a place to block out, find calm.


How many look on
think we're "great" or just "fine."…...
"They can accomplish & do anything."
"I wish that I could be…...
….that personality, 
          …...that smile…
                   …they always seem to win…"

How many of us struggle
yet, Always seem to muster the "lustre"
for family, company and calls?
We dare not to bother or
take up their time….
We want them to be happy not grim!

How many look on the other
through their narrow eyes,
their experience, perspective, own lives?
"They cannot imagine, touch or intone
what another experiences within,...
that pain those cross' they bear.."

To care for another,
No judgements, those assumptions!
Only the Lord & this individual's aware,
Of  their struggles, their efforts,
To walk through each day...
Perhaps minutes of hours,  burdens

Are there…
                    ... of a racing pacing heart.
                                                            -suzie

COLORED PENCILS: PRISMA - A NEW ART FORM

COLORED PENCILS: I was given, as my first project, a small statue of a ceramic clown to paint.
                                                             (I don't like clowns)
My first idea was not to render it as ''ceramic'' and to put into the painting my expression/interpretation of the character.
Of course this photograph does not show the clown as vivid or detailed as I would hope; but then, that
is my old Rebel camera which I do not want to part with at this point.

(apologies: the picture is too dark and does not represent his clothing well)

By the end of the project I came to enjoy this little fellow: I like the expression I put into his face and would like to believe it is a little bit of ''me": whimsy, playful, spontaneous, mischievous and fun. 

I FELL IN LOVE WITH COLORED PENCILS!

The painting at the top of my blog page (***pumpkins and flowers- removed it june 2012 posting at bottom of this page) was my second assignment. I have not signed them yet as I do not feel they are ''complete."  My next post will feature some small tutorials I used to practice colored pencil; books taken from the local library. 

COLORED PENCILS ARE NOT CONSIDERED, YET, A TRUE ART FORM similarly to pastels  which were not established as such until the 1980's! Imagine that! 

To think that Rembrandt et. al. used pastels as an art medium! There was a ''modern pastel renaissance," so to speak, around 1987 and then in 1994 The International Association of Pastel Societies was formed to unite the world in recognizing ''pastels'' as an art form. This was then followed in later years with The Pastel Journal. 

This blog entry however, is about Colored Pencils.  Continuing with the study of colored pencils I am affording myself the opportunity to be introduced to pastels, oils and watercolor pencils. I did dabble in watercolor a few years ago. It is my hope to establish the mediums that will be ''my passion" and study those in detail. 

Any comments, critique's, recommendations for workshops, etc. are encouraged/WELCOMED.

I LOVE MY PRISMA COLORED PENCILS!!!

***

I was not happy with the flower pot she chose and the haphazard arrangement (?) in it but had to go with what was there….would love to have free license to change the contents of the pot. But I was to represent it as is. Showing you some progression of the pencil. Notice the 2nd picture: it is missing something on the left so she did allow me to put in a leaf that I made up from memory...

The pot held a leftover geranium that survived the winter indoors along with nasturtiums.
Photo doesn't show the full colors unfortunately; nor depth really so I guess I need more darks!!!!!

FALLING LEAVES

Have you ever fallen in a pile of leaves
   or read a book lying deep within?
Have you ever dove through a pile of leaves
   or crawled and curled hidin' deep within?
Have you ever kissed in a pile of leaves
   or hugged snuggling tickling kids?
Have you ever thrown a pile of leaves
   or blown them about to watch'em twirl?


I have,
     and its fun,
          OH, there's so much to do,
               in a deep pile of falling leaves!
      
                          ***********


Have you ever said, "I'll rake those leaves,"
   but found you played instead;
      or, put it off by taking a walk,
          through wood or quiet glen?


Have you ever said, "I can't stand all these leaves,"
   but found you loved instead;
      the sights, the scents, the cackling geese,
          those awesome colors beneath your feet?   


........... (to be continued?) we shall see.... 
                                                                      -suzie   11/3/2011

HOW DO I GET A GREAT PICTURE?

 is your CAMERA READY & in a CONVENIENT location?
                                        (EASY ACCESS AT THE DROP OF A HAT?)  
          
               - battery, no..... BATTERIES CHARGED!!
                        - sufficient CF card & previous photos downloaded/backed-up then deleted
                                - (optional): tripod stand and/or stick
                                       -(optional) HD video/ still camera on hand
                                            -clean lense

This is one of those shots I could not believe I got!

LEARN TO SEE

AKA: anticipated his next move - the camera is

always in the room where he plays just an arm length away.

Isaac rolled under here for a split second, peeked at me

and immediately rolled out. I DIDN'T THINK I GOT

ANYTHING WHEN I TOOK THE PICTURE. 

MAN WAS I SURPRISED.

LEARN TO SEE

learn to see colors within colors; parts of wholes; shapes within objects; angles & perspective; "anticipate" for example,  the flight of a bird; relax and enjoy the process.....etc. etc.

     -willingness to bend, lie down, whatever it takes....dirt/wind/rain.. doesn't matter

           -playful, fun, serious, time doesn't matter, patience, boldness..you get the idea.

                - never get discouraged, play with your camera and just enjoy the taking

                    -adventurous spirit 

                         -spontaneity 

                              -ITS NOT ABOUT YOU but everything OUT THERE

AND MY WORST NIGHTMARE? IS, FORGETTING TO TURN IT ON!!! AND I MISS THE PICTURE...man, do you know how many times I do it immediately laughing at myself....man...''turn it on Suzie, dahhh"

              

BIRTHDAY'S

                  WHAT DO YOU DO ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?
                                                        Our Traditions
~~everytime I say ''traditions'' I start to sing the song from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF- in my head of course; well, sometimes outloud ~~     oh brother,
                                                        Does anyone else?

1) Night before: Child (makes a crown out of construction paper, Mommy gets
to write the number on it and he/she decorates it whatever way they choose. Hang
it on the bedpost and wait till morning for breakfast in bed!~~ Adults: no crown
although they made me one when I turned 40 something along with our usual
movie and photos...oh great; burn that up!

2) Day starts with breakfast in bed (thank you Sarah for chatting and loving me today!)
Child is woken or is already sitting up with his/her crown on waiting for all of
the family to come in with video/camera. Everyone has to get up and go into child's room,
sing Happy Birthday. Candles are either melting in the pancakes, waffles, etc. oh my.

Then the rush to get to school etc. Summer? play play play...do whatever he/she likes
within reason. (one year I took Jonathan out of school and we went ice skating-of
course the school didn't know that-shhhh!)

3) Mom cooks whatever dinner you want! (what should I cook today?)
4) Scavenger hunts for the kids; now they are adults; rats. But they still do it and love it.
    (rhymes are made up and the clues get harder with age; sometimes they
     have to do what the rhyme says (e.g. cartwheel to the ''shed") Gifts are
     hidden at some of the locations.
5) cake or icecream cake,,,their favorite.
6) play games during day if possible AND ALL THINGS ARE FILLED WITH
LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGS AND GOOFY ACTS OF THE SILLIES.
                                   
                                  BIRTHDAY VIDEO IDEA
    Once Michael's birthday was during our drive to Florida and he was bummed
that we would be in the car all day! So, I got this crazy idea~!

I videoed tons of people all over town that I did and DID NOT KNOW; they either
sang Happy Birthday to Michael or spoke something. The people who did not know
Michael at all pretended to know him when they spoke, like he was an old buddy.
Let me tell you. There are some pretty creative people out there who can come up
with fun things to say at the drop of a hat!!!!

---One man pretended to be "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" and stood behind the hood
of a car while talking to Michael (Tim's voice and all....)

---A woman made up, in seconds, a long rhyming poem while I videoed her standing
in her kitchen (I never met her before this-that is an interesting story how I ended up
in her kitchen~) wishing him Happy Birthday- then sang.

---A nursery school class used puppets singing him happy birthday....

---Using the "Michael's" Craft Store sign I welcomed Michael
to ''Michael's". The manager allowed me to video at the entrance
while he is welcomed to the store and told Happy Birthday. Lastly,
using the voice from the TV show The Price is Right she said "Come on Down"...

(will add more ideas as they come back to me...)

it was fun and crazy.        HE LOVED IT!!!
Happy Birthday to everyone who's birthday is today!~


    THE GARDENS TODAY ARE LOOKING LIKE FALL
and so are the weeds, they're mighty tall.
    MANY BEAUTIFUL AREAS, WHERE SHALL I SIT
I believe woodland aster's and Tricytris do the trick.

    
   WHILE BEGINNING TO SIT ON THAT YONDER BENCH
  I spied little flowers peeking every way and which.
   BREAK OUT TINY BOTTLES, VASES & "THINGS,"
  fill up each one, varied colors, its better than BLING!
            (oh man, I don't like mentioning Bling but it is the only thing that works here....)

     WELL, Here are some arrangements.


Suggestion: 
Often I will place 5 different shaped and sized bottles 
in the bay windo, fill with water to top and put one single
flower in each (all different varieties); or, I put 5 of the same flower in each, having them at varied heights or the
same height. Here I have chosen to use all glass for every room. But, use anything! Salt cellars, miniature sugar or creamers...oh! next time I have to photo the ''frogs'' that I use
to hold little flower arrangements when something really matters- aka: giving away to cheer someone's day.


The black background pictures above were done
earlier when the lighting was not that great.  The carrier
with tiny bottles were creamer holders from my father's
farm from the 50's. Remember those?    


Well, enough playtime. (will put the FROG device I use on here tomorrow! If anyone knows where I can find a couple more of these let me know; I WOULD REALLY LOVE TO HAVE MORE TO GIVE AND USE.)


PS: dumb? Do you ever sing Happy Birthday to yourself? I always did at 10:08 am in Band Class in middle/highschool; the exact time I was born-oh brother! The Band director thought I was playing right along but I pretended. Sang the song,   "Happy Birthday to Me....etc.'' and then went back to playing my flute! I still do it; YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD TRY. 
                                       TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT.

POETRY: excerpt: Hiawatha's Childhood by H.W. Longfellow

"...And the West-Wind
               came at evening, 

Walking lightly o'er the prairie,
               Whispering to the leaves
                               and blossoms ,
 

Bending low the flowers and grasses,

Found the beautiful Wenonah,
       Lying there among the lilies,
 


Wooed her with his words of sweetness,
       Wooed her with his soft caresses, ...

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.

Dark behind it rose the forest,
   Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, 
      Rose the firs with cones upon them;
        Bright before it beat the water,
Beat the clear and sunny water,
        Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water........"