Sunday Scribblings Prompt this week is " Flock"

It's my birthday weekend.  I can smell a scrumptious meal being prepared for me as I write this. I always reflect around this time of  year.

I’ve had a core group of friends, (we call the goddesses) for a quarter century now. Each of us very creative. When we first met though, none of us knew that! Twenty odd years ago my one friend divulged that she was a writer. As though it was a dirty little secret. With coaxing she timidly shared her unpublished book. Disinterested  hubby mocked her hobby, squashing her confidence. Privileged that she disclosed her  passion  I shared my zest for writing too!

A few years later we both joined a writers group.  I read her book in weekly segments to the kids at my daughters elementary school.  Those children are now adults, the book still isn't published! She's since written many more  unpublished books. Fairy goddesses also has a closet of unpublished fantasy books written. The creative process is always more fun than trying to market it. I wonder how many people die with a plethora of interesting  works unpublished?

The  florist in our group  loves ambiance, is artistic and skilled at making everything in her midst beautiful. A voracious reader with the ability to write she  holds her talent close  too!  All of my friends are very articulate woman, loving culture and  nature in one way or another. We bring a very unique mix to the dinner table, conversation is always interesting, humor is full bore, and we come away enhanced by each other!

The eldest at sixty has the funkiest youthful style of all of  us!  Managing to make items from the seventies  look new and modern in her home while dressing in the latest fashion. She'd do well documenting her hiking adventures as she has many! While the youngest of us, soon to be forty, could be a stand up comedian. An avid reader, she once drove a pink Art car that never went unnoticed.  Now she drives a BMW  and races sailboats with her guy! 

Oddly and totally unplanned we all drive black cars except for fairy goddess who drives a red one!   Who knew all those long years ago working tedious jobs at the same company that we would find such hidden creative treasures amongst such an eclectic flock!

Todays My Birthday!

Sometimes when you have a birthday this is how you feel!

But Not ME!!!

Because I celebrate in Style

  With my Besties!!!

We chat about everything, eat great food, 

Take crazy photos and giggle out loud!

 Eat Cake

And Celebrate our difference!

Sometimes we even have a surprise or two up our sleeve!

Sometimes we just wear really fun Tights!

Anyone else see Gypsy goddesses inner artist begging to get out???

Thanks girls for making my Birthday so Special! I love you All!!

Check out this online scribbler program to make a piece of digital art like the picture I did!

Nothings Perfect

I’m working on a piece of art with the words “ What do you stand for?”  It will sit above the doors   facing the toilet in my powder room. It’s been a slow process and taken many turns along the way. Of course those words stay with me as I’m painting.

This morning I awoke thinking “ Nothing is perfect!” That phrase stuck with me as I went about my day. Today my daughter bumped  into a young man from our old neighborhood. In just a few moments he informed her  that three of the power  couples had split up in the past few years. People  you never imagined would separate. Women in their fifties. Mothers who always volunteered when parents were needed. Some homemakers who never worked. Their children are raised, now they’re single. All amazing moms. I won’t say the same for their husbands. One who tried to kiss me when I was first divorced. For the record I warded him off with a stern warning.

My daughter felt embarrassed about our divorce, how it ended was pretty traumatic. The whole neighborhood knew our business, mainly because it was ugly with law enforcement involved. We had honed such a normal facade, then boom everything changed. 

As the years go by so much has been exposed about our so called perfect old neighborhood. It really did seem that way for years. Turns out others  had trouble behind closed doors too!  Do women just tolerate their unhappiness until the kids are raised? Does everyone outgrow each other? Or do people just find their true self and decide what they once built and wanted no longer matters?

I used to ask  friends who had doubts about their marriage if they could retire with their spouse. I knew the answer was “NO” for me. I was very young when I figured that out. It took me twenty three years before we pulled the plug. He’s retired now, and I can’t even fathom how horrible it would be to have him around daily! No matter how good things look, NOTHING IS PERFECT!

Tulips Sunday Scribblings "Surrender"

My interpretation of the tulips sitting on our coffee table! Also inspired by my last post!  I missed sunday scribblings this week the prompt was 

" Surrender"

I will surrender to my silent self.
Though my mind’s a fury
of flammable thought
Crowding my creative vision

Is there a way to turn down
The minds volume
 Quiet the wisdom
Calling warnings?

Why do I have to
Know things
No longer relevant
To my life?

Why do I see things
Clearly when
Others are fogged
In denial?

Is my fear germane
Or will this pass?
This time
I hope to be wrong

He is so young
So dark, so sad
So detached
So alone and silent

Yellow

I need new motivation to blog. So I looked up a few prompt sites. Came across this daily prompt blog. This guy just happens to live in my same province. Mondays prompt was "Yellow"

Yellow I am so in  love with you. Very few of your shades match with the color of my skin! However I dream of watching you paired with purple  dancing across the canvas! You were a nightmare in the seventies splashed on kitchen walls across North America, caked with brown cigarette smoke, dulled by the suns rays! Even though you did the jig with lime green in the bathroom of my first home. I soon became bored, passing you and your brother accessories to good will. It's been a long time since I've even thought of you! In fact I'd avoided you at all cost! After thirty years of peaches, dusty roses, forest greens, teals and wine I now crave your bright appeal. I love your relationship with orange, apple green, and white. I'm interested to see how you meld with my favorite blue, and red. You'll never have your own room in my house. I doubt I'll wear you again, but I may sprinkle your airy spirit in a painting or two! I will always love how you stain  tulips and other flowers. You're a happy color, but I tend to tire easily of you, so you'll just have to wait and see how much of you I let into my life! Sorry... my love is fickle!

Sunday Scribblings "May"

My new avatar, Spring is a great time for change! 


Sunday Scribblings prompt " May"

Hundreds of  cars on the road yesterday! Everyone in a big panic about mother! Some celebrations are way overrated putting a lot of pressure on families! In actuality mothers should be celebrated and treated kindly all year long!

My friends mother cared for her toddlers while she worked full time. At Christmas she bought her dear mom small diamond studs, which made her frugal hubby furious! When he complained  I reminded him in my outspoken manner, it was just a token and  far more costly to hire a full time sitter for three wee ones. Still he ranted on. He was an idiot, she eventually divorced him.

Thankfully I have a bighearted son in law who treats me like gold daily and supports my daughters generous heart! My girl randomly buys me cool treats all year long! I reciprocate, making it a win win for all of us!  

When someone suggested that my daughter should have children because she has me as her built in babysitter she became irate. Defending my right to have my own life, and only care for little ones if I  so choose. I'm pretty grateful for that too!

Years ago I'd get my hair permed in this nice salon. One day a man came in, kissed his mom, chatted with her hairdresser, then paid her bill. The beautician told me it was a weekly ritual to pay for whatever his mom wanted done. I was amazed that an adult son could do such a thoughtful deed. I loved seeing the woman's face beam with pride! I'd never really known men like that.

When times were very tough for me I kept my hair long and only got it done twice a year, if that. When my daughter was about eighteen she offered to buy me a haircut as a Christmas gift. I loved the much needed styling! As she got older I'd go to pay for my haircut only to find she'd already covered it while I was in the chair! I get my hair cut about every  twelve weeks now which often falls on a special occasion. The three of us go together, I'm usually last to be done, this time Bryan paid for it as a Mothers Day gift, truly I couldn’t be more thrilled! He bought me a cd I'd been wanting too! This morning it was coffee and breakfast in bed, then a wonderful blended fruit drink this afternoon, and marinating steaks for a bbq tonight, with angel food cake and strawberries, my favorite! Aren't I lucky? This is just the beginning of May, my birthday is at the end!! 

A Humorous Story about my Brother

 Not sure if anyone clicked through to this funny story about my brother on my last post!  It was written in 2006 I  did another edit and decided to repost it!

It happened in the early Eighties  

Lifting weights and dieting since age twelve my brother has always believed in good nutrition. At thirty he won a bodybuilding contest. When I was married  I'd have the  family over every Christmas. Dearest brother would hunt through my fridge consuming bits of everything in sight. Deprived of junk food all year long, it was his time to indulge.
 
I  won a container of tiny cheese wedges the previous year at a Christmas party. Unappealing to me I never served them. God knows why I saved them that long. I must have thought I'd use them in a casserole one day. And hey, doesn’t cheese get better with age anyway? A year passed, they still sat in the bottom of my crisper. Brother rummaged through the  fridge and ate them. I noted the missing wedges. I asked how the cheese tasted, never divulging how old  they were. He said they were a little dry, but fine.

I often caught him rooting through cupboards  tasting a little of everything in sight too! Satisfying his year long restraint. As I prepared the house for Christmas dinner that year he scavenged my fridge again, mentioning  that the beef jerky I bought was disgusting. Suggesting  I should throw it out. Thrown off guard I had  no idea  what beef jerky he was talking about. He told me it was the one in the fridge. I stared dumbfounded, pausing to think for a second,  I declared there was no beef jerky in the fridge. He insisted he found it there. My fridge was always so full,  so I doubted myself.  Thinking there was a possibility I forgot buying it!

I questioned  him  more. Asking what it looked like, thinking he'd mistaken it for the pepperoni or Ukrainian sausage I bought. He told me the beef jerky was in a shiny green package. Still I couldn’t recall the package.  I asked what part of the fridge he found it. He insisted it was on the side door beside the eggs. Still unable to  recall  what the heck he was talking about I walked over to the fridge, opened the door. He barreled behind me,  grabbed the half eaten package and shoved it in my face. I looked at the package in shock, laughing hysterically. Dear brother  stood there perplexed as I continued to laugh uncontrollably. Over and over he kept asking me what it was, and why I was laughing so hard. Tears were streaming down my face, I couldn’t get my composure. Finally I blurted out that it was the beef jerky I’d bought for the dogs. He had devoured  half of  the dogs Christmas treat.

..
My ex continued to mock my brother the entire day. Although I was amused, the relentless teasing and smug attitude bordered on bullying.  I demanded my ex stop.  He wouldn’t. So I disclosed to my family that the previous week I'd ordered Chinese food. There was a huge plate of leftovers I  put it down for the dogs. They couldn’t eat it all so I wrapped it up and placed  it back in the fridge. Thinking they could finish it the next day. Before I could re-serve it to them, my ex  innocently warmed it up  and ate it for lunch.  I hadn't the  nerve to tell him, thinking what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. The continuous taunting of my brother, forced me to reveal that he had nothing to laugh about because the week before, he too had eaten the dogs food. In hearing this story, all the family laughed, and my ex never bugged my brother again.

The moral of the story is, Always read the labels, or don’t just  eat  random things out of a persons fridge without asking if it’s safe, especially if it's all mushed together under a piece of foil!