Who knows you?

Paint Party Friday
 

Who really knows you? It's interesting how many people 
we can talk to over the course of a lifetime, some never
 really know us! They may think they do, but never seem 
to inquire about  anything of substance! 

So how can they truly know us?

I recently surprised my  goddesses friends by showing up 

unexpectedly at their morning breakfast soiree! I was a little
 verklempt on my country drive at the prospect of seeing 
them all! The joy and love on their faces was beyond 
what I could have imagined! It warmed my heart so much!
My mobility often makes it difficult to get around the

 way I used to! This one Sunday everything aligned

 perfectly so I showed up!  I felt loved and welcomed, 

it was as though we hadn't missed a beat!

 It was wonderful to see all my friends of over three decades!
  They know me, and I like to think I know them!
   We're all so interested in hearing the  details of each others
  lives! The goofy parts about aging as well as the
as the  blunders and joys that we experience! It's
always such an authentic loving group with an 
amazing life long bond whether we show up or not!

Then there are the phone calls with relatives, and
although you speak for a long stretch of time
 they never  inquire about your life! You hang 
up slightly perplexed, left wondering if you even
matter to them.

I have known some extended family for over 
twenty years, they  still don't know our
story. They never even asked the basic
 daily questions for conversation!
Funny thing is, a lot of Beardos large
 family doesn't  know him either!! 
Many have never heard  the music
 he's written, they have no idea how
  many instruments he can  play.
They've no  idea his other extensive talents either!!
They haven't a clue what his interests are,
 or what his opinions are! He is
a bit reserved and  unlikely to tell
 you much if you aren't interested enough to  ask.


Truthfully I prefer those types of people don't
know our story anyway! However I find
it interesting that they've never attempted
to find out more about us! Or to 
build an intimate relationship that's
more than one sided. Especially
after years of being around them!
  We know every intimate part of their

stories in detail!

Recently Gypsy goddess sent a very

old friend a special poem she had written for her.
Something she had never done before.
Her friend responded by sending her back
  a photo of a gorgeous painting she had painted. 
Neither had known each others 
special talents all these years!!

Here are my questions to you! 
Who truly knows your authentic self? 
Who in your circle do you need to know better?
Are you asking the right questions?
Who do you wish knew you better?

Hope you Giggle too!

Paint Party Friday

 

Mara Belle is quite private and refuses to tell me about herself.

Cupcake: Mara Belle said," I have a wedgie!!"

 I have missed two weeks in a row blogging.Pretty sure it's the 

first time in eleven years!!  Both Cupcake and I have been

  fighting  viruses. She managed to  pick up another at the tail

  end of the first one. At least that's what the doctor said!

 I was  worried she had pneumonia. She's resting

to curb the coughing. She managed to celebrate Fathers

 day with her in-laws, but only stayed a few hours as Beardo 

saw her fading! Apparently her sister in law has had it for

 two months now!  I am on the mend, save my ears slowly

 unplugging each day! I'm catching up on sleep now

 for all the days of coughing. So so grateful to be

feeling better! I did create intermittently while sick,

and hope to visit and catch up on all your blogs

as soon as possible!

Winny admits to being a nerd who loves polka-dots!

Cupcake: Winny said, " I like to eat ketchup out of the jar!"

I'm sharing more of my Happy Tiler peeps with a twist this time!

I let Cupcake look at their pictures and say the first thing that came

to mind,  without reading what I said first!! We managed

to have a few giggles, hope you do too!!

Jerry is  a divorced meat cutter single for several decades!

Cupcake: Jerry said,"I try to be cool, but I'm not!

I still sleep with my teddy bear!!"

Before

Life has been a bit depressing with all the nastiness in the

world of late! Being sick makes you feel even more vulnerable.

While the kids did grocery shopping, I managed to have a

private  melt down with lots of tears for all those affected

the last four weeks!! Sometimes it gets so bottled up and

feels refreshing to let it all out without holding back!!

After dressing my peeps in digital Canada day attire for July 1st!

I didn't even change my banner this month until just 

this week! Took me a few hours to digitally dress my 

Happy tiler peeps in their Canada Day attire!!

 Cupcake giggled quite a bit when she 

 saw them all decked out in red and white! 

Brandon is a teacher who needs a brewsky on the days his kids are  too rambunctious!

Cupcake: Brandon said," I like to boogie all night long"

If I can make one person smile or giggle at the quirkiness

of my odd shaped peeps with the weird over coloured

facess and odd attire,  then I'm happy!!

Sues need for perfectionism is often quite debilitating!!

Cupcake: Sue said "I'm having an affair with your husband!"

If you like to people watch the way I have over the years

you see how unique human bodies, faces and 

mannerism truly are!

 That's what makes it so interesting!!

Henry is a pleasant guy who likes to "skip  the light fandango."

Cupcake: Henry said " I'm really nice despite my appearance!"

From childhood I tended to like unique features! that

  weren't perfect! Who knew it was probably the

 artist within that found them so attractive!!

Cass is a Peace, Love and Harmony kinda a gal!

Cupcake: Cass said, "I'm really insecure and 

that's why I dress like this!!"

I sometimes see beauty where others may not! I often 

wonder, is it because I choose to look for the beauty

 first! Or is it because beauty in all it's glory tends to

trump what others may see as ugly or

not so perfect!

Linny is a quirky bird with an attitude! She's usually the instigator to family problems!

Cupcake: Linny said,"Do you think I can get free drinks with this dress?"

I tend to be attracted to all things unique!! I have never been

mainstream. Of course as a child it really makes you feel

like an oddball. Once you understand that no one is the 

same, the the ability to enjoy the oddities in life

are a gift, you accept it!

Sophie loves sunday school and purple tights!

Cupcake: Sophie said," I have to go to the bathroom"

For some reason I always wanted to be different than 

the others. Sadly it took half a century to figure out why!

Pretty sure it's the artist within. Who really knows!!

How about you do you like to fit in with all the others?

Or do you like to march to your own drummer and find

yourself a little outside the mainstream?

Appearance

Paint Party Friday

Sometimes you gotta speak out!!

Last Sunday was my Birthday but unfortunately I was still under the 

weather so I wanted to keep things really simple. The kids made 

me an  amazing meal. We had a few really really hot days and
 I suggested the kids get me a  long john instead of a cake this 
year!!  When Cupcake told  the girl  at the grocer  it was 
for my Birthday she got excited and asked if she could  
write Happy Birthday on it!! I was thrilled, as was  
my daughter!!

 2017 Birthday doughnut paired with marathon Netflix!

We were still enjoying the flowers from Mothers day but Cupcake

 still wanted to get me  peonies knowing they're my favourites!  She 

found none but planned to get us flowers a few days later.

Beardo took this photo through the window.....his mom brought it by for my birthday!

I told her to keep it simple and  get carnations, I love how long they

  last and how pretty they are!!  The  day we tossed  the mothers day flowers

my bestie left carnations and a Beautiful Birthday bag of goodies

at my door!! She knows me so well!! Cupcake has expressed how

much she is enjoying them too!!

 Recently my daughter observed a photographer she follows on instagram taking professional engagement  photos on the beach! The photographer was wearing sweat pants and a dirty shirt. Cupcake felt it was  so unprofessional.

Norma prefers comfort over being proper!

Having followed the woman for a few years now, she noticed the quality of her photos  deteriorating. Then to see her on the beach so disheveled was a bit shocking. Especially when showing up for a photo shoot! 

Karen is a yoga pant kinda gal!!

You may think how you appear to the public doesn't matter...but truly it can say a lot about who you are as a person! Possibly a busy mom whose washing machine broke down and left her with  nothing to wear except sweatpants and a dirty shirt? Or was she depressed because of a family crisis and ran thoughtlessly out the door? Could it have been she is just a slob there for a quick cash grab, resentfully taking photos? 

Oma loves patterns on all her clothes!!

Or maybe her craft is failing   because her heart is no longer in it? Recently her photos are too far away, leaving it  impossible to see details on the subjects faces!  Has she taken too many photography classes and lost confidence in her own original beautiful style of art? So many questions. 

Rosey is quirky and often says and wears inappropriate things!!

However when you show up for a job of any type you should be dressed appropriately and professionally! Maybe she just came from a gardening job... either way she should have represented herself a lot better to her client! No one wants a slovenly dressed person standing on the sidelines of their expensive wedding taking photos! I would think if she could miss big details about her own clothes she  may just miss the important details when taking proper photos!

Underneath this character is a hand  written prayer for people in my life!!

 I might be inclined to  think she'd procrastinate when editing, delaying the timeline of when I receive  my photos!    How you appear in your professional life has ramifications! My daughter would never consider, or recommend her  for a photo shoot now. Especially since it seems she's on the decline!  How you appear matters more than you think!

Another hand written prayer underneath this one!

I always try my best with what I have. Being heavy can make that difficult!! However my clothes and shoes are clean.

 Does appearance matter to you?

Observations

Paint Party Friday

Everything Moira does is so creative!

Some weeks are  better than others! 

Cupcake was sick several days and 

then I came down with it! Needless to

say there is a lot of barking involved 

and we don't have a dog! It's taken

hold on all of us and stopped everything

in it's tracks!!  Seems like our rock,

 Beardo, is right behind us as of today!!

Jacque  likes to play shuffleboard with the boys

Social media makes it quite fascinating being 

able to follow the life of kids you knew when your

 child was in kindergarten! To have seen them interact as 

wee ones and now have children of their own! My child

 always seemed to know exactly who the good souls

 were, as young as five!

Dobson is an arrogant artist that annoys people

A few of the girls have become amazing young women

one a nurse and fabulous mother!  The other, single

 and a world traveler with her own cyber business!!

Horigon loves fashion, even his casual wear is fun!

It's interesting to also see the kids who she

shied away from. Usually the  more athletic types!

A popular mother of three who she always 

avoided  posts photos of her seemingly

  perfectly fit  body and lifestyle! During 

Halloween this mom posted a video of her lone 

baby in shopping cart sweetly waiting as she comes 

around the corner and spooks him while wearing 

a very  scary mask. The child was crying and

 shaking in fear while she laughed in hysterics.

It was painful to watch  and sickened me!

 Several months later , during a layover,

she was caught in a terrifying situation,  her 

children in tow!  Pretty sure how she felt during

that scary incident  paralleled how her little one

 felt months before!

Duncan  was pretty proud that he caught a few fish his first time out!

I was surprised to see how well one young man

adapted despite being raise by a  self involved,

primadonna bipolar single mom with a revolving door 

of husbands. One incident his mother went on an 

unreasonable tirade for no reason  when  her son had

 dinner at my home with a small group of friends! There 

was no reasoning with her.  Sad for the boy,

at an inconvenience to me I drove him home!

Apparently this was common place with her, his

brother lived with their dad! He has since eked out

 a simple life with a very overweight young woman,

and a dog. He is an amazing wildlife photographer

 who lives and works far from his mother!

Harley enjoys boating fishing is just one of the perks!

Some of the kids who were raised in the higher

echelon have really good work ethics and have

become quite successful. Yet some of them have

taken on the worst traits of their parents!! Children

do learn what they live! However some choose

not to follow in the footsteps of the dysfunction. 

While others step right into the quicksand of

 their flawed circumstances!

Friends hangin Happy tiler peeps

It's also interesting to see the groups of kids

who've melded since kindergarten! Still friends,

a few married. A few with learning disabilities have

done so well...which is never surprising to me.

Some of the smartest ones tended to take their 

 intellect for granted! While the others adjusted

to their struggles and  superseded them!

Nanette loves to sing!

I truly find  humans and all their unique

antics so interesting!  Some how they 

always seem to amuse me!! We can

learn so much from how we act and react 

to life situations!! 

Singers Happy Tiler peeps

Have you learned anything from 

the young people in 

your life?

Wilson sings all day long...he is such a happy soul!!

My happytiler peeps have been put on hold as I work

on my canvases. I have so many done ahead it gave me

good leeway to be sick and still work on my 

canvases! Some peeps I have decided not to share

because I despise them!! Duncan should have

 also been one of them!!

 

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting!!

Knowing your Passion

Paint Party Friday

Casey painted then mounted on a digital background

 There was a time when having a diesel vehicle was a form of 

success, we had a sports car then too!  If you lived within a five

 mile radius of where you worked you were also successful.

Trudy

 If you had a certain education you were successful. If you had a 

home with property you were successful. There have been

 so many measures of success at different intervals in my life.....

but it didn't necessarily  mean you were happy! 

I lived in neighborhoods of the highest echelon and 

still people were so terribly dysfunctional and unhappy!

Secretary

 Happiness is so subjective.  Having a passion for something

 seems to be key! For some it's fitness, or gardening, or 

creativity, for others it could be  volunteering, or doing for others.

 We all have things that truly make us happy.  How often do

 you ask yourself what that is? I think it really changes over the 

years according to our needs and interests.

Carol-Ann

 I'm not naive, of course there are many things beyond our control that disrupt

our life, make us unhappy and worried. When life is tough and full of angst

knowing our true passion makes it so much easier 

 anchor us back into happiness. Our passion  can distract us,

comfort us and  be a great source of solace in times of greif.

Reworked from last week...mirror...or twins?

Over the years my world has become smaller. My focus more narrow,

  but my passion for being creative is at the forefront. Even when

I'm creatively stagnant I am waiting for the next creative fix to hit!

   If you asked me why, I could never explain it!

It's a mystery why each of us enjoy different things!

Office Girl so many of these characters are coming to light

Could be conditioning, could be environment, could be innate.

It's hard to say but it is key to feeling content, fulfilled, 

and happy.... after your  initial needs are met of course!

Rain Girl

 The new gauge for success truly is happiness... 

because really, without it, what use is the rest. 

Working girls

 Name a few things that truly make  you happy?

The office Girls

 What do you feel excited to get up for everyday?

Aristotle
Happiness is an expression of the soul in considered actions.

 Burton Hills
Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life.

 Aristotle
To live happily is an inward power of the soul.