Illustration Friday Skinny

illustration Friday Skinny

Common Sense

I found these faces on my zoom browser but I have no idea where the canvas went, or whether I painted over them....kind of appropriate for this post, also a bit spooky for Halloween week. I think I'll hunt and see if I still have it, would be nice to finish!

When my mom was pregnant she prayed for children with good hair. Not surprising for a hairdresser having dealt with nasty limp hair. While I was pregnant I hoped for a child with common sense. I actually wished for that over intellect.

Lately I keep hearing the quote “Common sense is not so common.” I’ve taken for granted my common sense. Unfortunately it doesn’t always factor into intelligence either. Growing up we had a highly intelligent neighbor completely void of common sense. Dad called her the dumbest smart person he’d ever met! In a very nonsexist way of course!

Her kids were out of control. She bragged to other neighbors if you wanted a house cleaner for twenty-five cents an hour; just hire me as a babysitter. Her house was always a chaotic mess, with ice-cream drips glued to the counters for weeks on end. I was helping out of the kindness of my heart, but she exploited me.

Recently, at forty eight my brother realized his childhood hood pal, (the same woman's son,) probably caused him to be held in contempt by many neighbors.When confronted the boy blamed my brother for his mothers large amount of missing coins. Ones he stole and spent on candy at the corner store. Never the type to steal, imagine the damage that followed my brother for years. Can't you just hear the woman informing all the neighbors what a little poop my bro was. Kind of like the woman who brags that her husband would never cheat while he's boinking every one in town! My mother would have thoroughly investigated before drawing a conclusion.

I feel pretty blessed to have common sense, thankfully my daughter does too!

You never know

For the template to carve my traditional Garfield Pumpkin go here!!

When my daughter was about ten she said “Mom I always take my purse with me, because knowing you we could head to North Van and end up in Chilliwack!” Meaning

I could head in one direction, but end up two hours away in the opposite direction once an idea strikes.

Last weekend, thirteen years later, I went to pick up dinner and get Pepper a slushy for her sore throat. My son in law jumps in the car with his PJ painting pants on. I’m perplexed because the day before he changed out of his stylish lulu lemon jogging pants, which look fabulous on him, into jeans for a short run to the hardware store. I asked him why he was wearing pajamas today but wouldn’t wear his lulu’s the other day. Not that I cared. He paused…. “Well it’s not unlike you to start at one store, then drive all the way out to Langley to look at something else” I had to chuckle. Funny how the kids see me, but he couldn’t have been more right.

When Pepper was little, money was abundant, gas was cheap, it would be nothing for me to take her on a green apple slushy hunt. Definitely an unconventional mom, I love it when she reminds me of our fun bonding memories. I’ll tell you, my quirky antics sure paid off!!

Sunday Scribblings " Shame"

Sunday Scribblings prompt is " Shame" This poem speaks for itself.

Dimished

Encapsulated shame

Festers

Around her waist

Choking the lungs

Of trust

Buried

With the memory

Of that

Nineteen sixty six

Extra large

Dairy queen

Ice cream cone

That soothed

The trauma

Of a monsters

Paws

Roaming

Over a

Protesting

childs

Ten Year old

Buds

Journal prompt "dance" and a small lapse

I don't normally do journal pages but decided to play along with Linda at "Just my little bit" with her journal page prompt "DANCE". It's a bit late and done digitally because I'm working on a large canvas. This started out with another saying which I love and will use for a future painting! Sometimes I really do dance with my heart, how about you? And I wear a yellow polka dot dress too....NOT!!! Hope you're visualizing with laughter! Rarely do I deviate from black, in fact I'm always ready for Halloween!!!


Friday our little television spot aired, I was surprised at my voice. Sounds much different than I hear when I speak! I enjoyed the three minute segment, they did a magnificent job of capturing the essence of my friend Violette. Our house is in disarray as my SIL is painting the entrance way, living room, dinning room! Big job, with many coats needed. I walked by a table and saw a new door handle so I asked where it came from, trying to figure out what door it was suppose to go on. Big mistake. My daughter had a look of horror on her face, speaking loudly as though my mental pause was a hearing problem, "MOM YOU BOUGHT IT, REMEMBER???" The titter in her voice jogged my memory in an instant, I announced, "oh yeah, fourteen dollars, for your room, right, I remember!" Mentioning the price to assure her I wasn't going senile!! Geesh I don't profess perfection! A few natural lapses in memory when you're tired is okay isn't it?

"Reusable bags" for Blog Action Day

My art representing all bloggers involved in Blog action day today!!

Making a difference! We all have the ability to make small changes that can affect the climate of our planet. There are no excuses....it doesn't matter if our neighbor doesn't comply. Leading by example will eventually socially guilt people into doing what's right, like we've done with drunk driving and smoking. In numbers we can all have an affect! Thousands of blogs are taking part all over the world to get the message out! Click on the blog action day icon to read not only what some of the experts have to say but what the average blogger like myself feels they can contribute!I imagine the values of my parents, where everything was reused,
recycled, well made and valued.

This bag I painted over two years ago is rather tired looking but I can repaint to breath new life into it. This purse is large enough to carry many other folded up canvas bags while reflecting who I am as an artist!You too can encourage friends to carry canvas or cloth bags by giving them as gifts, or having a craft day where you decorate them with your friends or children.

Bags don't have to be fancy, you can make them colorful or plain to match your outfits. They're more likely to be used if you love them, and routinely carry them in a purse or car!

You can fashion bags to be seasonal, to reflect your own style.

Reusable bags can be decorated with scraps from around the house, buttons, ribbons, whatever suits your fancy. I apologize to my regular readers who've seen these before, but I would love to encourage people to try their hand at decorating bags to use and enjoy daily!

It can be an infectious small difference,
saving our Oceans and landfills from an overflow of plastic.

I'm not going to lie, I had to train myself to carry these bags at all times.
Returning them to the car the moment I put my groceries away worked best. The other day I forgot to return a bag to my purse because it was out of sight. I was so mad at myself, I asked the cashier to load only one plastic bag then carried what I could loosely.



Carrying meaningful bags can start conversations. To be honest they are much
easier to tote than the plastic, when you know better you do better....

Things I wish to see changed to make a difference.

Shorter retail store openings, to save energy on overhead, and recreate a more
normal family situation for children. Sunday closures except for corner stores.

Employers tax incentive for scheduling so people can car pool.

Less consumption, more families connecting for games, sports, conversations.

More fashions concentrated on reusing and altering older pieces.

A monetary penalty for industries who develop inferior products that need replacing every few years. eg...small and large appliances, vehicles. Or a tax incentive to those who develop the most well made lasting green products.

These are just a few changes that need to be made for the good of our planet and climate change. What would you do??

Things we do in our house.
Reusable containers for lunches
One car for three adults
Buy produce locally
Try to shop in our neighborhood
Plan errands to coincide with one outing
Reusable water bottles
Turn lights off
Don't idle the car
Heavy curtains and blinds for main windows
Cook enough for leftovers
Reusable bags
Donate things we don't need
Recycle as much garbage as we can
Share everything possible
To name a few!

Keeping up

I'm trying to keep up on my blogging,
but today I'll admit after the weekend I am pooped.
This is a sunset I took in a parking lot at the outlet mall
in Langley on Thursday. We're coming to the end of our
nice weather,I broke down, put on the heat.
I try to wait until Halloween before it goes on...
I've played this game for years.

Bryan and his sisters!
This is my very favorite photo of the weekend. I enjoy
watching the family dynamic when they're all together.
They all beam from ear to ear just
being with each other. Pepper adores them all too.
The middle one turns 30 on the 23rd it was
her party on Saturday. I feel such a fondness
for those girls, both so kind and loving in different ways!

Bryan with his not so little brother! They can't get enough of each other.
See their arms looped. This is another artist musician in the family.
I got such a chuckle when Bryan was tossing smarties into his brothers mouth from quite a distance. He caught the whole box except two, one bounced off his tooth!!

If the the young ones aren't hamming it up thinking up stupid pet tricks for humans, they are jumping off anything high. Shimmying up a basket ball hoop, standing on it and jumping into stacked mats.... They're like monkeys constantly moving and jumping!!! Both over six three. I could see these boys as extreme jumpers...so scary.
Not good being the youngest of ten with an older mom!!

This is my other favorite photo this weekend except it's a little too blurry for my liking! They both looked confident and sharp at the 40th anniversary party. I was reminded, had I stayed married it would have been my 36th at the end of the month!
Phew, glad that didn't happen!

Pain isn't always visible

Do you ever have aches and pains that aren’t noticeable to the naked eye? Yeah me too! Do you push through it one day, then the next it’s not so easy? Yeah me too!! So it infuriates me to hear blatant judgments made about the physical ability of an elderly person. I don’t care how crotchety or mean that older person may be, their pain can fluctuate from day to day! Just as mine does.

I have a middle-aged friend whose adrenalin staves off pain most of her working day, by the end of her shift, the aches becomes prevalent. Another friend lives with chronic migraines and eczema, her days can be pretty miserable. It’s difficult to fathom if you’ve never had a migraine! Sadly she struggles to work through them, sometimes without others knowing.

For me some days are better than others! I can tell by the way I walk down the stairs in the morning how my day will be. It all depends on sleep, the demands of the day, how much driving I’ve done, whether my knee hurts, which affects my opposite hip, or how many obligations I have in the week. Not one to complain, I just work through it, me and my Tylenol can be best friends. Some days I am so slow and prefer not to be around people. I have to pace myself. This wasn’t meant to be a bitch fest, but more of a plea for empathy, kindness and less judgment toward others! Because the fact is, pain isn’t always visible, and some people push themselves one day and are unable to the next!

Sunday Scribblings " Bump in the Night"

This weeks Sunday Scribblings prompt is " Bump in the Night"

I awoke after forty minutes of sleep,disoriented I thought I saw dust particles in the light of my window, it looked like smoke, and I almost panicked. But I smelled nothing,
heard no bump in the night so I raced to the computer
to get my thoughts down, and form
this piece of Halloween digital art!

Pepper got me two blank Starbucks cups so I could cut the printed out pattern for a combined 30th and 40th birthday party I was to attend last evening. I even added their names for a special ghoulish touch. I was pretty excited to be able to top up their gifts with these unique pieces.
Saturday Morning on route to another location I waited outside the mall for a few minutes so Pepper could gather some containers needed for our next stop. Sadly this is what I saw........

Saturday Morning People

Almost nine thirty

Straggler trickle to the mall
greasy haired addicts
oblivious to who they appall
Cravers of that morning smoke
toss butts amidst their walk
Disheveled stranger
cocks his head to the sky

to talk
Old ladies wheeling
walking aides
Slumped in disarray
Saturday morning people
Chasing demons away
Some amble slowly
Some click a quick pace
Parading through the entrance
in the lonely peoples race
I peer through my car window
Waiting for my one who cares
While the unfortunate
settle for empty stares.

Film Shoot

Violette was kind enough to send me her photos
from the impromptu television shoot
we did Monday for "The Express" .

Bryan was invited to entertain us with his own
compositions while we created in the art studio at

the magic cottage.His voice is always so relaxing. When the film crew arrived they seemed thrilled with all the creative eye candy.
It brought back memories when I first visited the house during an artist tour.
I was so excited to meet another individual as passionate about color as I am.

A kindred soul who thrives in unconventional surroundings! I was a little apprehensive about being filmed, telling myself if my car didn't work Monday then it wasn't meant to be. I really wanted to support my friend so I was glad it started! In fact the day flowed so beautifully. Surprisingly I was interviewed for quite a chunk of time, which along with Violette's feature and Bryan's tunes will be edited into a three minute segment.

It was a pleasure to express my admiration for Violette's work, explaining how she inspired me to start a blog and explore different genres of art. Especially to such a receptive interested film crew as Erin and Rob. I'm looking forward to final product which will be aired next week.

When Pepper was small she loved to do art projects, drawing some great pictures that I still treasure. Now she sews on occasion, scrapbooks, and using fashion as her creative outlet, sometimes even finding excitement in decorating cupcakes too! Since we've spent more time with Violette lately, I see her even more inspired to focus on her creative abilities, a slight reprieve from her business mind.

Pepper and Erin clicked as they chatted about their favorite fashion finds!

Don't you just love the background of the creative juice studio!
The day ended with my replacing my car battery, which
was somewhat less expensive than the expected new starter!!

Nature Goddess

Inside
Even if you're a sixty year old named nature goddess
Happy Birthday Hot stuff
Girl you put the coo in cougar!
This is the card I made for Nature Goddess

It was her sixtieth birthday a week ago Sunday. Doesn't she do sixty well? Yes my lovely traveling hiker friend always amazes me, how easily she stave's off age! Inner peace really is an integral part of staying young, along with a few youthful pieces of clothing and jewelry...wink wink!! Jewelry being the plus size woman's best friend since clothing of late has too many florals and stripes to ever flatter the chunkiest of us! Let alone keep us looking current and young! Anyway it was a fun gathering to celebrate our goddess, with only one glitch. A group of four middle aged men moved from one table to sit next to us, with all but their tongues hanging out ogling our table the entire time. They were so creepy. But isn't the cake Dream goddess created pretty?

Revamping

I didn't get a before photo of the lamp I revamped.
However this is the same corner in the powder room
before it was redone!

After photo of the same corner
Sneak preview of my new powder room curtains
and revamped lamp

There has been a lot of revamping going on in this house lately with little time for blogging. It must be done by February 2010 to get the one time economic tax incentive! So what better time to buy paint, put in pantries, clean and renew worn out bits and pieces in the house. Unfortunately I am very restricted but the kids are taking a big initiative on the bulky jobs, while I take charge of the small details when I can.

It all started in June when Bryan was away on business. Pepper pulled our powder room apart and primed it. She wanted the room back together by the time he returned a few days later. It's almost completed, just last week she found material for curtains.I repainted this lamp and a small table to hold excess toilet paper!

I've primed a few big canvases but have yet to do the paintings for the room! When I was a kid if you wanted something to look new you just painted it! Growing up we were all about recycle, way before it was fashionable!

Table before
The blue was not turquoise enough so it needed a revamp.

Table revamped once again!
Much better in person!

Sunday Scribblings First Kiss

Sunday Scribblings prompt this week is First Kiss! I have had many a first kiss, some more memorable than others. Some more predictable than others. All as individual as the souls delivering them. The worst was a slobbery handsome man, the best ended up to be most of my boyfriends. Because a good kiss is almost as important as a good cup of coffee, which I much prefer these days!

Last First Kiss

New shoes
strapped around
purple painted

Porcelain white toes

Caught his eye

Lingering

A moment

too long

Exposing lust

Instantly she knew

that awkward

Forbidden

Stolen

Symbiotic First kiss

Would follow