Seven on Monday

These "Seven" posts originally started out as "Seven on Saturday", have drifted to "Seven on Sunday", and now could land on just about any day of the week. So - here's "Seven" for you on an early Monday morning:

1.  I had a superb (although very full) weekend. Some friends have decided to visit 11 old churches across North Carolina that were highlighted in a November article in Our State magazine. This weekend we went to the first (and closest) in Troy, NC - Shiloh Church. What a lovely, quiet, peaceful spot. Mr. Fuller, the president of the Shiloh Memorial Association, met us at the church to open it up and gave us a little tour. His great-grandfather not only went to church at Shiloh, but also attended school there. 

2.  Mollie "Pockets" got a haircut Friday and she is a-dor-able! (Photo by Mary)

3.  Guess what? Turns out E is going to her school of choice in the fall!! She was accepted back in December but didn't get the financial help needed to be able to attend. It was quite a disappointment - to be accepted but not be able to go - but she handled it well.... recognizing this was a door God was closing and began applying elsewhere. Just as the door was about to shut with a resounding "click" circumstances rearranged themselves and she has the means to go - but just for her Freshman year. We'll have to take one year at a time and see what God provides, what path He leads us to. Faith sprinkled liberally with a whole lotta Trust! We are excited, scared, happy, anxious.... so many emotions rolled into one jiggly ball.... Life is good. My beautiful girl is really going to fly the coup in seven short months!

4.  I sent in my "M" and "E" for consideration here. :-) 

5.  The Weymouth Writing Contest deadline is almost here. Not sure I'll enter anything this year.... You?

6.  Have I told you about this scrumptious breakfast casserole I found here and made a couple of times? Didn't think so. It has been met with rave reviews! 

7.  Hmmm.... some conversations this weekend have made me realize how much I've been neglecting writing lately. Not just writing on this blog, but writing in general. Why write? Glad you asked. Well - it's generally the way I process things, the way I keep too much 'stuff' staying couped up in my head where it either a) gets lost amongst all the clutter or b) finds more importance than it should. Writing is housekeeping for my brain. So... I think I'm giving myself a challenge this morning (egged on from this super-cool photography blogger forwarded by a friend). Here it is: Write everyday for the month of February. 28 days. 28 blog posts. Of some substance... not just a photo or a shot of current art projects, but posts with some depth and consideration.

Have a wonderful week, bloggy friends!

CONTINUE READING...

weekWORD: Transition

I'm really enjoying reading A Geography of Time. I'm only about 35% through (Yep, reading it on the Kindle sans page numbers) but I've learned a lot already. And I've thought a lot about the idea of time this week. No, time isn't this week's word, it's transition, but isn't that what time is all about? Transitioning us from one thing to the next, one place to the next, one activity to the next? I've never really considered how our lives are ruled by the clock, how each of our days are chopped up into 1,440 bits called minutes. I've also never thought about how keeping track of time the way we do, down to the minutes and seconds, is a relatively new invention.... Late 1800's to early 1900's. And even after that every one's time wasn't the same. Did you know that before standardization was instituted our country had as many at seventy different timezones?

Even revolutionaries in France knew that people are ruled by time and if they wanted in on governing the people they needed to set a new rhythm to life, a "revolutionary" rhythm. So the leaders of the French Revolution in 1793 officially changed time. They instituted a calendar in which each new year began on September 22, each month was thirty days with five extra days added at the end of the year, each month was divided into three ten-day cycles, and each day broken down into units of ten, rather than 24 hours. 

The French people didn't go for it though. After a while they reverted back to the good old Christian or Gregorian calendar. But it took a while... THIRTEEN YEARS! Can you imagine? Stalin instituted something similar in Russia as late as 1929 which lasted until 1940! Wow.

So, this week I've thought about time and clocks and watches.... hours and minutes and seconds. I've thought about how my life is pushed from one thing to the next by when to get to work, when to leave, when to pick up Mary from school, what time to have dinner ready, when the next meeting is, what time to start my Bible study group. Time pretty much permeates everything I do. I wonder what it would be like to live just one truly timeless day?

For more views on transitions click over to John's spot.

CONTINUE READING...

Letter A

One of the things I wanted to do this year was make an alphabet of my own. I made M & E in December as Christmas gifts for the girls. So, here's an A I did tonight. I used "Good Friends" color pallet I found from ColourLovers.

Some interesting words that start with A...

aborning

- during birth; while being born

accoy

- to subdue; to pacify; to soothe

acedia

- listlessness; sloth

agowilt

- sudden sickening and unnecessary fear

assot -

to befool; to besot

CONTINUE READING...

Seven on Sunday

Happy Sabbath Day! Here's seven for you:

1.  The photo above is of Mary's lunch bag she carried to the NC Museum of Art field trip this past Thursday. She had to have a "sack" lunch so I pulled out this brown paper bag. She immediately found a pen and said, "Would you please draw something on it for me?" She was very happy with it but we had to add the glasses at the last minute as I was dropping her off at school. It's so sweet to have a little one who still thinks everything you do is pretty cool. :-) I know these days are getting short....

2.  I stumbled upon this artist from New Zealand and fell in love with her style. After perusing her blog for a while I found this post and this one that explained some of her process. I can't wait to play around with this. {CD, gobble, gobble, I think we should have an art night and try this out!}

3.  The sermon today was wonderful... It was from Exodus chapter 2 and was about Moses and how God had sovereignly prepared his life just exactly as it needed to be for the future good work of leading the Hebrew people out of captivity. (Eventually, you'll find it posted here on our church website.) The thing that struck me most was the point that today we look at Moses' story historically but that wasn't the way Moses saw it. It was real-life, real-time for him. He didn't realize that all the things he experienced the first 80 years of life (growing up in Pharaoh's house, living as an exile and shepherd in the wilderness, etc) was preparation for the ministry he would eventually have for the last 40. And of course there's an application for us.... trusting God in the hard times... the times when we don't understand what is happening to us, when we can't see any good in it. Just maybe He is preparing us for the good works that lay in our futures....

4.  My favorite tree fell over during the ice storm week before last. We cut it to pieces today and burned it all up. That makes me sad. Big, big-lower-lip-poking-out-frowny-face. : [

5.  This week will be the last meeting for the Women's Ephesians Bible Study I've been leading. It's been good for me and I've met some lovely ladies. I'll miss it, but it's time for a break. 

6. I gave two copies of this book to new friends for Christmas. It's one of my top ten.  I think I'll dig it out and try to catch up with them.

7.  The rest of the day, you ask? Laundry, read, laundry, help E with an application, laundry, work on B-study lesson, laundry, eat ice cream, laundry, draw, laundry. And then maybe I'll do a little laundry. :-)

Blessings, bloggy friends~

CONTINUE READING...

weekWORD: mercurial

  

Yep. Mercurial.

That's our word for the week chosen by the very entertaining and interesting Carmen over at Tails of a Biomouse. For a chemical engineer, this word has all sorts of meanings.... especially one working in the Chlorine-producing business where old mercury cells are being dismantled and newer, better, environmentally safe options are now being used. Any-whooo... enough of that!

There's so many definitions for "mercurial" but the one that caught my attention earlier this week was:

"fickle or changeable in temperament"

Now, most people who know me would say (or at least I'm relatively sure they would say...er...or I hope they would say) I'm pretty even tempered.  Not a lot of super frantic highs and deep dark lows. Fairly middle of the road. But, I do have some inconsistencies.... especially in my interests. This blog is a prime example: art, poetry, devotional writings, family news, recipes, book reviews... It's seems a little all over the place. A little fickle.

Another example is my bag:

I carry it back and forth to work.

It's full of books.

A lot of books.

I don't know. Maybe I'm afraid a read-a-thon is going to break out and I'll need lots of choices.

Maybe I'm just weird.

But, what's mercurial about it? The mix-match of books I tend to carry around.  Today I have:

1. My Kindle on which I'm reading the ESV Study Bible and A Geography of Time 
2. Tinkers - the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner (awesome, by the way)
3. How to Read the Bible Book by Book (for a study I'm thinking of doing)
4. The Daily Book of Art (for mind expansion)
5. My Moleskine journal
6. A sketch book plus two Sharpie pens
7. In the Neighborhood (a sociology book)
8. Drawn to the Light (book of poetry on Rembrandt's religious paintings)
9. Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies (non-fiction by the author of #8)
10. Blogging for Bliss (half-way through...pretty good so far)
11. Bridges on the Journey (another book I'm looking at to go along with #3)

Fiction, sociology, religion, art, poetry, blogging.... definitely "changeable in temperament."

So, that's it for a weird (and mercurial) peak into my little world. There's probably an indication of some kind of personality disorder with me carrying around all these books, huh? Sigh. I'll worry about that tomorrow! (Yes, Scarlett O'Hara is my favorite literary character!)

For more interpretations of the word, or to find out who's hosting next week and join in on all the fun, click on over to Carmen's place.

Oh. And the girl? Well, I just thought she looked "mercurial" with all those bubbles coming out of her head! Smile.

CONTINUE READING...

What?

CONTINUE READING...

New York!

Well - we made it home last night! M and I had a wonderful trip with my sister and her son, J. We: 

• Went to Ellen's Stardust Diner (Fab-U-Lous!)
• Stayed in Times Square
• Visited Toys-R-Us, M&M's World, and the Hershey's store (can you tell we like chocolate?)
• Went to Ellis Island
• Shopped at LittleMissMatched
• Shopped at The Strand (that was for me and sis!)
• Visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and Grand Central Station.
• Saw the Broadway production of Lion King. M's first Broadway play! :-)
• Went on a bicycle tour of Central Park with "Kenneth" from Turkey who was a brilliant and funny guide!
• Road everywhere on the Metro Subway without getting lost or losing a child ONCE!! If you knew me and my sister, you'd have to say that was pretty amazing.

Now, we're so, so happy to be back home in grand old North Carolina!! And so, so tired!

(The only bummer is we didn't have time to do my most favorite thing of all - visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sigh. I'm determined to take a trip to NYC for a few days by myself (well, ok, maybe hubby, too) and spend the whole ENTIRE time at museums.)

(Photo: M while we were hanging out at a Starbucks in Times Square waiting for Toys-R-Us to open. She was a delight the whole weekend! Cute, isn't she?)

CONTINUE READING...

weekWORD: Recycle

This was a perfect word for me this week! The Strathmore online journaling class with Pam Carriker that I'm working through is about making new journaling pages with your old artwork - ie, recycling. Here's my page after week two's lesson. (My scan lopped off the bottom edge, but you get the idea.) I can't wait to see where week three takes us. It's not too late to join in!

And then, since we had snow days this week, I was able to spend some time working on a blog redesign and used Photoshop to create a new banner using artwork I had created in 2010 - ie, recycling!

To see other interpretations, hop over to Elisabeth's blog.

Well, I'll be signing off for a few days. Mary and I are off to New York for a long weekend with my sister and her boy. Back on Monday with news of a wonderful trip!!

CONTINUE READING...

New Look

How do you like it?

It seems last January when we were snowbound I did a new blog banner, too. I think I'll have make this a tradition! :-)

This banner is a conglomeration of artwork from last year. I used to change my banner just about every month, but the last one (below) I kept for a year. A record, I think. I'd say I'll keep this one for a year, too, but who knows!? I may catch a whim and do a re-haul next month!

Take a look at the tabs I've added. They've all got new(ish) information, especially the "about" tab.

Here's all my previous banners. The dead bee beats them all, don't you think? Snicker.

CONTINUE READING...

Birthdays & Snow

Today is E's birthday. It's a BIG one - 18! Hard to believe. She's such a wonderful, wonderful girl. Can't imagine what my life would be like if God hadn't given me this beautiful little blessing all those years ago. (Oh, and this is our one-eyed puppy Mollie with E.)

Birthday plans? Well, things have kind of gotten a little delayed with all the SNOW and ICE we've gotten in the last 24 hours. Wow! Here's a photo I took from the road of our house yesterday around 2pm. Looking out the window now, there's something coming down now... not sure if it's snow or sleet at this point. No school. No work (or at least no driving in to work!) A day to stay in pj's!! (Pictures like this remind me why I love my brown house on the hill. I need to look at this when I'm envious of my friends' new open, bright, and airy homes that I couldn't afford anyway! We're snug as a bug here!)

CONTINUE READING...

Strathmore Online Workshop

I think I've mentioned this online art journaling workshop with Pam Carriker that I wanted to work through this month. I finally got around to doing the first week's lesson which was about reusing old art to make a journal page. I think we'll be taking this page and building off of it in future lessons. I've already watched the video for Week 2 and I'm ready to get going! Hopefully there will be some time to play today!

CONTINUE READING...

2010 Books-I-Read Wrap Up

For the third year running, here's a wrap up on the books I've read the past year. A really cool thing about keeping a blog is you can see where you've been. In 2008 I read 56 books. In 2009 I read 58 books.

In 2010 I read 36 books. Wow. I knew I was reading less, but didn't realize it was that much of a difference. I suppose with an increased interest in developing art skills, a son's wedding, and the illness & death of a good friend, I have an excuse for my reading to have dropped so much. But interesting (and concerning?) is the fact that my reading of Christian non-fiction books is really the category I decreased in the most. Hmmm.... Guess I needed to see that in black-and-white. (I read 9 Christian non-fiction books in 2008 and 15 in 2009.)

Here are the totals:

Non-Fiction (Christian) - 3
Non-Fiction (General) - 9
Fiction - 12
Fiction (Audio) - 11
Poetry - 1

So, favorites? It would have to be Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (both audios) by Ken Follet. Hands down. Fabulous stories, amazing characters, and wonderfully performed on audio.

If I had to choose a fiction favorite that wasn't an audio I'd say Cutting for Stone or The History of Love. Beautiful writing, both!

Non-fiction? A tie between A Homemade Life (I'm not a foodie, but this was good!) and Drawing Lab (I learned so much from Carla Sonheim!)

CONTINUE READING...

Last of the Tardy Book Reviews for 2010!

FINALLY - the last of my overdue book reviews for 2010!! I actually wrote this entire post once already and somehow it disappeared before I could post! Egads! So, here's a really quick review on four books to finish up 2010. Better late than never, I suppose.

1. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby; Paperback: 131 pages, Publisher: Vintage; Later Printing edition (June 23, 1998), ISBN-10: 0375701214

Source: Random selection at a used book store
Rating: A really high 5 of 5 STARS

I thought I had heard of this book before when I came across it in the bottom of a cardboard box in our local used book store. For a buck, it wasn't much of a chance. I am so glad I read this. It's the memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby (editor of Elle Magazine in France) written after he had a stroke at age 42. The stroke resulted in Bauby living with Locked-In Syndrome meaning he was left with a totally intact mind but with no control over his body except his left eye. He wrote the memoir by blinking through the alphabet with an assistant. He wrote and edited whole chapters in his mind before blinking them out. The title comes from the thought that his mind (the butterfly) could take him anywhere even though he was tethered to his useless body (the diving bell.) His writing is lovely and the story is moving. There's a movie based on this memoir that I'd like to see. Highly recommended.


2. Christ Our Mediator: Finding Passion at the Cross by C.J. Mahaney, Hardcover: 96 pages,
Publisher: Multnomah Books (September 21, 2004), ISBN-10: 1590523644

Source: I've read him before and picked this little book up off a sales rack
Rating: 5 of 5 STARS

This is a very short book aimed to bring us back to the simplicity and beauty of the Cross of Christ. The chapters are short and it made a wonderful daily devotion book for about a week and a half. It would probably be a great Easter devotional but, really, like Mahaney says, we should daily be looking to the Cross over and over again so it would be a great read anytime. Highly recommended.


3. Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life by Terry Brooks; Paperback: 208 pages, Publisher: Del Rey (February 3, 2004), ISBN-10: 0345465512

Source: Yet another random choice from a used book store (I have store credit. Really, it's ok!)
Rating: 5 of 5 STARS

I've never read any of Terry Brooks novels and doubt I ever will as they are a genre I don't really enjoy - fantasy. But this memoir was a great read. If you're at all interested in the publishing industry or how a writer gets his start and develops his career, this book is for you. There's some advice on the craft itself but mostly this is about Brooks career and experience as a writer. It was really good. It makes me want to try one of his fantasy novels. Almost! :-) Glad I read this one, though.

4. Beautiful Girls by Beth Ann Bauman; Paperback: 186 pages, Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing (March 2004), ISBN-10: 1931561664

Source: And ANOTHER used book pick-up
Rating: 4 of 5 STARS

I love short stories and this is a nice collection. I wouldn't say the writing is especially moving or the characters especially clever. It's just a good, solid gathering of stories about everyday women. One is about a young lawyer whose father is dying in a nearby hospital and she tries to figure out how to be with him, work, and get her laundry done. Another is about three sisters living with a single mom who has rotting food in the basement no one wants to deal with. That sort of thing. The reason I like these stories is that they are pretty much all about ordinary women doing ordinary things. And usually I find that interesting. (P.S. I thought the choice for the cover photography was unfortunate. It's really not a reflection of the book at all!)

WHEW! That's it for 2010. Much better than I did on reviews for 2009. I think there were about seven books I never got around to reviewing last year (er... or I guess it's actually year before last, huh?) I've already finished my first for 2011. THAT review to come soon! Promise!

I.Will.Not.Procrastinate.This.Year!

CONTINUE READING...