COMING SPRING

 The weather has been so unusual this year; this week warm and breezy. Weeding has begun already (?) as some unknown ''thing'' has spread over many many gardens! This is not an easy ''just pull and go'' type of weed; on knees, dig across and under, work it, work it, pull, sift...eventually ''voila!" one weed has bit the dust.  

OH..., a rolling sea of weeds!
       Jump aboard this sea of green,
              and cast away me? but A SHIP I  need!
                      To farther shore MANY days from now, 
                              ANYONE interested?  Please come aboard!      -suzie

Come ''true spring'' there won't be time to weed; preparation for a wedding, recovery from a swimming pool blown down. Yes. Searing winds brought more trees down and, 20,000 gallons of pool water gushed toward the house leaving laden birdseed bins and an asundry other items strewn throughout the lawn. Sarah's boyfriend calls our woods, Chernobyl. Sadly, he is correct; the beauty of the woods is gone. Repetitive unusual storms of 2 years gone by.

Today: walking up the lane a breath of spring tried pouring in...why then such melancholy spirit within..., no laughter-

                                   "YET MY SOUL SEES BEAUTY IN LITTLE THINGS:

                                                     THANK YOU LORD, THESE GIFTS 
                                                                        OF SPRING."

COMING SPRING

Those nodding heads,              

ephemerals,

in white's and pink's,

some green's.

Those winter winds,

emoting me

to thoughts of

coming spring.                               

Does spring bring forth the hope of life,

a salve for broken dreams?

If so, rush past you winter winds,

pour hard gushing tears of rain.

March out to greet those nodding heads
in Hope,             an unfettered, flowing, spring.                -suzie

           


    

VALENTINE?

Does anyone remember the valentine's that you punched out in the late 50's to early 60"s?
They came in a folder like book and then you could also embellish them by punching
out a little heart and inserting it in a slot on the valentine you were giving to that special
person?             I remember doing it in 5th grade………and received one too! I think my mom
threw them out; I wish I still had it.
I would love to see one of those booklet-like things again; maybe google it? i think
I 'll look the next time I am out antiquing...

                                           HAPPY VALENTINES DAY  <3

I SEE THE MOON

      AND THE MOON SEES ME

            GOD BLESS THE MOON 

                   AND GOD BLESS THEE                 Happy Birthday to my Dad  Feb.14th, 1923
                                                                            

Ode to Jonathan, my boy, Yet A Man!

A solitary statue

sitting here on this shelf,

preparing my day,

a cleaning elf!

Keurig coffee sits beside me,
off to my left; 
and you were just here
with coffee and off
to the right!

Yet now you are off 
living where you should be
up and out, on your business

my Jing Jing is ''there."

How strong, A tall tower!

as he stood in that line,

My child of great character:

Integrity! is his line.

Two months! memories linger-

I'll cherish that time,

But a boy must move onward

and complete his own rhyme.

Oh wow and amazing

that you can do this,

take off and pursue,                      

a business like this!

My head shakes how awesome,

you persist and move on,

Not one of us here would,...

could pursue such a task!

A task?... humor tickles,

my mind surprisingly,

Isn't that what you're after;

Clearcut?! Yes indeed!

Jonathan, I love you,

to be a fly on the wall,

and watch you achieve this,

Man,....I'm just in awe.           with love, mother

ps: PopPop would be so very very proud of you; you stand like him Jonathan; so strong, mind and body, his spirit, his entrepreneurship...… and you have his nose!!!

A NON-PROFIT- CANCER: EASE the BURDEN for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUAL EMOTIONALLY & FINANCIALLY:

Description	OneRun is a Christ-centered organization that glorifies God through team outreaches that assist cancer patients and families.
Address	135 Schoolhouse Lane, Coatesville, PA 19320 · Get Directions
Phone	610.733.2181
Website	http://www.oneruntogether.org

Founded	September 1, 2011
About	Charitable Organization
Company Overview	The vision of OneRun is to be the premier supporter of cancer patients and their families. Our goal is to strengthen families through the selfless donations of our community.
Mission	The mission of OneRun is to host challenging and exciting races that financially and spiritually benefit cancer patients in need. In order to lighten their emotional and financial burdens, OneRun donates 100% of its profits to the cause.
Products	visit our store at www.oneruntogether.org/store
Email	vmurphy@oneruntogether.org

http://www.facebook.com/pages/OneRunTogether/230353843682361?sk=app_129982580378550

To See more events visit our webiste: www.oneruntogether.org/racesandevents/

Snowy Owl Invasion

http://youtu.be/Ufkcx-UqljM REPORT THE BIRDS YOU OBSERVE.

THE LOCATION, NUMBER....CHECK OUT:

Found some Pics: First OT Internship Maine

ANN, SANDRA & me; an O.T. INTERNSHIP

(the pictures we find when going through boxes: aka: this entry. Found more

pics of my Daddy with Grandpop and ''the cow," us girls in our dairy outfit for working

in the store-

oh brother were they ''uggggg-ly" and major ''static cling." Thank heavens for better fabrics today!

I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT EVENT THIS WAS: SOMETHING ANN SUPPORTED MOST LIKELY TO BENEFIT THE HOSPITAL. (above: 1st picture is cheerful, encouraging Ann. 2nd picture left to right: me, Sandra, Ann)

Sandra, my roommate for the summer; a great listener and friend when you really need one. Wish I could remember her last name to contact her.(okay, let's laugh at the sweater: does that date the picture or what? So many thoughts go into a picture....what a really difficult time/scarey internship/so ''not confident'', depressed....yada yadah........wanted to be rescued.......Sandra provided some of the hugs I needed.......Ann let us go on a week camping/canoe trip skipping work (oops): couldn't wait, though, for the summer to come to an end.                                                                                                             

YOUR HAND HOLDS ME FAST

Somehow I erased my entry. 

will have to re-enter later..man...and I liked it. 

Ps. 121: 1-4 and Ps. 139: 1-12

both Psalms fully memorized b/c I need(ed) it**: do you need words during difficult

times to try and plunge through dark times.....take a look at the entirety of both Psalms.

(colored pencil: a practice lesson)

I really liked how the fingernail came out: very surprised actually that it looks kinda real. There is

hope yet for exploring this medium.

_______________________

**"b/c I need(ed) it": I have come back July 2012 to explain what I mean by that statement to encourage anyone about memorization. Now I know there will those who balk at this and just say my brain did this b/c I wanted/needed so badly to memorize it so it happened. But, I know me, I know my limitations and I know what I know..how do you explain the unexplainable that ''you know is true.?" 

Okay: During a very dark length of time the lines of Psalm 139 were like a balm to my soul; the words were a life-line to hold me from sinking deeper. I wrote it all down on paper and went for a very tearful

walk. With paper in hand I told the Lord how I need this "Psalm 139"…

So I set out and walked for what I discovered later was 40 min. and had it all set to memory; like fluid it  could roll off my tongue aloud or in my head and it was in my soul..how do you explain when something is in your deep down spiritual place…your soul.? And I have had that still today along with all of Psalm 121 (a thankful praising psalm etc.)…when times get tough…...God gave the words to me.

And when I force myself to know it/say it I cannot completely unless I am in need….

I have tried to memorize other things with some success. I have found that I can only memorize what I truly need and I know it is not from me; you can say it is this or that scientifically/psychologically and explain it away. .....but it is the Lord who gives…..so hopefully i explained that well. Ask.

PASTELS: My First Try

ASSIGNMENT: learn pastels: paint my 2 adirondack chairs in a scene in my yard. THAT WAS TOO MUCH FOR ME TO THINK ABOUT...I saw an apple in the kitchen with beautiful leaves still attached so I asked the teacher if I could do that instead. ''YES." Thus began the apple and leaves....well, that morphed into the crazy hair-brained idea to practice ''a hand'' and of course that means its Eve's hand (my hand.) I didn't plan a background/composition so the problem presented: WHAT TO DO WITH THE BACKGROUND? man. I made up what is in the second picture and DO NOT LIKE IT. 

So, this is a work in progress or I might just put it away and chalk it up (ha ha- get the joke ''chalk'' ) as a practice of pastels...I DO LIKE THE RESULTS THOUGH OF THE APPLE.

PASTELS ARE NOT MY CHOICE OF MEDIUM AT THIS TIME.

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