Paint Party Friday "A good trade off"

Paint Party Friday

Thank you so much for all your 

generous comments last week!

Eighteen years ago today, after a twenty three year marriage, in a pivotal  moment, a switch went off and my union was over!  It was an ugly ending, lasting almost two years, but I've never looked back, or had a desire to be married again! 

 Wip. First layer of a new canvas.

I gave up a fiscal security for the unknown. I won't lie, it was scary! It was  a struggle being a single mom but I was fortunate to have a child that never gave me a lick of trouble. Best of all I was a good example of peace in my child's life which she's  carried into her own loving marriage!

Color edits before the second layer! Wip

There was envy of my solo life. But everything is a trade off!! My dream home was sold, and I moved to a place of my own that I love, where I could put holes in the walls without a partners scrutiny. I could use color without judgement, and the remote control was mine, all mine!! Of course I shared with Cupcake!

Digital color edit wip

 

 

 

 Things broke down, we did without, but there was always peace, something I really missed as a child! Instead of arguments, there was negotiation. I often felt the world on my shoulders, nothing a dinner with girlfriends couldn't resolve. Friends were incredibly supportive and generous in my most difficult days! To this day I feel so grateful for their love!  

Wip

 As time passed and Cupcake grew up, the joy of being single could not be matched. It's become a way of life I treasure! I discovered sides of myself I never knew existed!!  I fell in love with freedom and creativity!

Before.... jewelry box revamp!

 After ...Revamped Jewelry Box

Today Cupcake brought me home my first  toasted coconut frappe of the season from Starbucks!   A rare treat to celebrate eighteen revered years of freedom!

Have you ever done anything you were terrified

 to do but eventually realized it was so worth it?

Paint Party Friday " Rise Up!"

 Paint Party Friday
Thank you Kirstin and Eva for featuring me this week.
It was a thrilling surprise! 

 I was always a vigilant parent warning with a whispered "Weirdo alert!" Educating my child in a non scary way of impending dangers in our midst! I watched for predators and encouraged my cupcake  to heed her intuition too!! It  gave her the ability to travel alone for business all over the country and overseas! 

Being a large breasted child, and I say child, because I was fully developed at nine!! I was a target for male predators. A very old extended family member attempted to molest me at ten. Even though I told on him, his wife died not knowing!

,

A male teacher kept pestering me to join his cross country running team. He gave me the "no-no" feeling. Later I found out I was right to feel as I had!

 A dentist fiddled with his apparatus on my chest in an attempt to fondle my eleven year old blooms. It was not my imagination, he moved it around too many times.  My insides were screaming no! Next time I brought my little brother and he asked why. I told him my mom sent him! I can only imagine what he had in store for me that time! I still wonder why mom sent me back in the first place!

I was twelve when an eighteen year old brother of a  friend offered to introduce me to things beyond my ken! I queried my dad hoping to understand what the boy meant. Dad originally explained the facts of life, so I felt safe to ask him anything. Even my forthright father was too embarrassed to answer my question. He told me    to come back in a few years he would explain it then!

 My Aunts married neighbor, a person she often traveled and socialized with held me too close as we danced at a house party. What stood between us was not fit for a thirteen year old. I was pretty disgusted!  I later found out he was known to  hang poolside ogling all the young girls!

 It's not usually stranger danger! It's always weirdo alert...and they can be and mostly are, people we know! Most people are naive to the predators in their midst! 
My immediate family believed me, other relatives didn't understand my ire!

I've had a boss who hugged all the women, groped a few and watched our rears as we bent over! The women were afraid to say anything, knowing life would be miserable if they did. When it happened to me I was afraid to tell my bad tempered partner!

It happens everywhere...at work, in schools, at relatives, in churches, at home, during sleepovers, in camps, by people you would never imagine...  The one thing we rarely know about people are their bedroom habits!

  It's an expensive mistake to be naive when it comes to our children! Rise and educate children! Forewarned is forearmed! It kept my child safe and I hope Cupcake is vigilant with her children!

As I created this post I couldn't help but wonder 

why I was such a victim at such a young age!

Have you ever  had that No-No feeling about a person that people would never suspect?

Paint Party Friday " The Heat of the Night"

 Paint Party Friday

 We're  in a pretty sick heat wave here in British Columbia, with a total fire ban everywhere!   I am not a heat baby and haven't been one since I was a teen when days were spent at the beach swimming! Nights we slept outside on the veranda, where a large mattress  was fixed through the heat of summer. 

 Sleep overs were such fun, as was sneaking out in the middle of night to meet up with boys.  Such excitement ducking behind bushes as the sun came up. Hiding from adults we feared might see us and report back to our parents! How we figured out the hook up without cell phones is beyond me....but we always did!! Parents were none the wiser back then!

 Back to reality, old age, and leaving a tub full of water to dunk into at three AM the middle of the night....cooling down enough to fall back to sleep until nature again calls! Oh how times have changed!

 We are slower and quieter these days. Most of the  talking happens in my head or on the page. We sit in the dark lately, just to avoid the heat of the lights. No worries though, rain is around the corner. Then again.... heat.....ho hum....

  This is a wonderful video of legal graffiti in Brazil, done for a great cause!

 I have been playing with mixed media. Revamping hair, features and clothing on catalogue pages. It's been total bliss creating these pieces even in the heat! They are inspired by  "The Daily Painter" Katherine Jeanne Woods whom I deeply admire!

This week I  wonder if Beardo and Cupcake are enjoying the music festival they're  attending,  even though it's one of the hottest  places  in the province!

 I dream of a world without violence towards others! Especially this week, where spousal abuse has left one woman in critical condition  and the other  dead within days of each other.

Recently I worry about all the  forest fires in our province, especially with my kids being in a hot mountain village!

 I hope I eventually develop my style to a place where I actually love it!

 How about you? What's your naughty childhood memory? What do you #1 Wonder about, #2 Dream about #3 Worry about #4 Hope for at the moment!

Paint Party Friday "Labelled"

 Paint Party Friday

I have friends with twins.... One girl is creative, dreamy and a bit quirky,  the other is  fastidious and curious. Each beautiful in their own right with unique talents and differences!  One is more athletic, one is more social, one loves clothes, the other doesn't. Either way they are amazing sweet  girls.

Their pre school teacher had concerns  that the fastidious twin was over taking the creative one a bit too much.  I see the fastidious girl as a future scientist or possible CEO of a company with all the qualities of a phenomenal leader! The teacher expected the parents to dissuade what was referred to as  bossy behaviour..

I have such a passion for children. I suggested my friends direct that beautiful leadership energy down the right path instead of viewing and reprimanding it as bossy behaviour.  As a parent  I've always believed  I was here to  correct my child, not crush her spirit!

In grade one, a child  dropped their crayons so I helped  pick them up, like my mom taught me! The teacher was annoyed complaining that I was too helpful. As the years went on other teachers complained I  could do better if I applied myself, labeling me a daydreamer! They were right, I was a daydreamer.... but in a good way!

 Rarely, if ever, was the word "creative" mentioned on a report card.  I played the piano, cooked well at a young age, crocheted at eleven, sewed, sang in several choirs, wrote and preformed a song for a play, was active in neighbourhood sports, yet most teachers, (not all) took   my positive qualities and turned them into a negative.  One can only wonder how things would have been if my many assets had been encouraged.

 The mere mention of  music as a career was poo-pooed by my parents.  Back in the day , the word "Artist" of any kind, seemed to be a dirty word, along with "Hippy!"

 

It's no wonder it took  fourty seven years for me to start  dabbling in paint! I'm so pleased the twins have parents who will do what they know to be  right for their girls. Directing them in a positive way, making small corrections when need be and celebrating all their differences and triumphs!

Were you  labeled as a child? Was it positive or negative? How did you deal with it? 

Proud and Grateful Paint Party Friday

Paint Party Friday

How  lucky am I to live in a Country that is peaceful and free...with four seasons, freedom of speech and creativity as well as free access to medical services for a small monthly fee?
 As we celebrated Canada Day July 1st I reflected on something my dad said fifty years ago. He asked me," why do you think you are so lucky to be born in such a beautiful and peaceful country instead of a faraway land where food is scarce and there is so much unrest?" A big question for an eight year old, one that stuck with me!! It kept me from taking my life  and possessions for granted!  

Today a friend sent an email, another reminder how lucky we are to live where there is access to so many wonderful basic and luxurious amenities that  many countries could only dream of! The following thoughts were born...........

A former hockey hero once filling an arena with eighteen thousand people awaits  his demise with a terminal disease, while three hundred people show up outside his hospital room to chant his name in appreciation. Another revered hockey goalie adored while at the top of his game hears little fuss when he's traded. Styles come and go, heroes come and go, only the rare few stay in the lime light for long. We are a fickle society!

Wedding card for a friend...looks better in person, the sparkles alter the photo!

We love our new smart phones or tablets until a newer model comes along. We appreciate things while they do us a service, then they are tossed willy-nilly  to the side. Do we value people and things enough I wonder?

A woman gains a few pounds and feels she's not worthy, a  man or woman ages and is treated like they are no longer relevant, social media comes along and ousts what was thought to be timeless Newsprint. Maybe years ago things had a longer shelf life...like   electronics, small appliances, friendships, and marriage. Some people change their mind like their underwear, falling into that change, disregarding long term consequences.... so much is dictated to us about what and who, we should want, or love!  Yet each of us have such unique interests and preferences! I often wonder how we so easily fall prey to this kind of marketing!

I'm glad I was born in a day where life was simpler, relationships and values took priority! I watch my kids on a few days off enjoying each other with only small bout on social media and a bit of television.  They are truly enjoying the simple life, shutting out the world to reconnect  and calling it a holiday! 

Are you fickle, do you find yourself wanting that possession/or person touted as the next best thing? Are you truly appreciating the simple things that are unavailable in so many other parts of the world?

 Today and everyday I am a proud Canadian appreciating friends, family and the  simple things!