I think maybe

All the TV shows

that I've watched for weeks now

are done for the season

~~~~~

So I guess I'll have more free time

on my hands

to be creative

or maybe I'll just stop everything

and enjoy the weather

~~~~~

or maybe I'll just be busy watching him

~~~~~

I don't think John would mind

he likes him too

well

maybe not as much as I do

but he likes him

and agrees with me that he is so talented

~~~~~

I think maybe

I will be the first in line to buy

his CD when it comes out

~~~~~

Maybe

I should just be done here

so you can enjoy him

too

a piece of my heart

This is how I felt late in the day,

today.

~~~~~

My sweet daughter left this morning

driving 7 hours south

all by herself

for the first time

and

I was a bit nervous.

~~~~~

When she called

and said she was there

I said a little prayer

and did a little happy dance.

~~~~~

We talked many times

while she was driving.

I told her she was fine

when she noticed an alternate route

where there was road construction

~~~~~

She let me know

that she didn't need to do an illegal

U-turn

on the interstate

like I did

when I made the same drive

last year

~~~~~

Now

she'll be gone

for the next four weeks

and she'll be SO missed

by us

~~~~~

But

she'll also be SO loved

by the children

that she will be counseling

at camp

~~~~~

the hours and days

will fly by for her

~~~~~

while the hours

and days for me

will be every bit of four weeks

and probably feel

even longer

~~~~~

just you

I'm walking alone

until you return

from your business trip

~~~~~

I miss you already

even though I could count the hours

since you left

and they wouldn't

even be

very many

~~~~~

I miss

knowing that

during the day

you

are just down the road

from me

~~~~~

I miss

the sound of your steps

on the floor

when you come home

at night

~~~~~

And

I already miss your smile

from when I say something

that doesn't make sense

and we both laugh at me

~~~~~

but

mostly

I miss

you...

just

you

in or out

For some reason

I wanted to write something poetic about fences.

~~~~~

Like

do fences keep you

in

or

out

~~~~~

do they

protect

or

prevent

~~~~~

and then I came to the conclusion

that whatever fences do

doesn't really matter

~~~~~

AS LONG AS I CAN HAVE ONE

THAT LOOKS

LIKE

COLORED

PENCILS

the weekend starts now.....

take a hike with me ?

John and I went hiking out at our cottage woods last weekend.
You might not guess it from this shot, but the woods are actually "clear" right now as far as being able to hike up the hills.
In another month, the growth of "everything green" will have taken over and then it's almost impossible to climb anymore.
In this shot, I'm actually looking up the hill at John and what you don't see is how steep it is behind me. If you look closely, my hand is holding onto a log so that I don't slip backwards.

The woods right now are full of what I call tree fungus.
I'm sure there is a "real" name for all the funky things we find on the trees,
but for now, I just keep pointing and saying,
"look, there's another fungi"
and then my husband says,
"gee, thanks honey, I am a fun guy aren't I?"
~~~~~
{and boy do we have woodpeckers...can you tell ?}

I wish I'd had a tape measure for some of these, as they were so huge.
This one was growing straight out from the tree, like a ledge.

Aren't they fun ?

And this one is my all time FAVORITE !!

I think I'm actually going to have to frame this photo !!

I think it's because it reminds me of a seashell

and since I'm a "water girl"....

well, it's just perfect !!

And speaking of water....

oh how I love the creeks

at the cottage !

Here's a shot of our cottage from the hill we were hiking on.

More tree fungus... isn't the shape of that tree interesting ?

And most of you by now, know how I love my birds.

Well, I've been waiting patiently for someone to find this great house we put up,

and yippee.....somebody found it.

Now I'll have to watch to see who it is that's going to be living in there.

The great thing.....my wonderful hubby put this house right at my level, so that I can open it and take pictures anytime I want....well, almost anytime.

You know how those birdie parents get while their raising their babies.

~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed the hike with me !!!

You'll see.....I 'm not suziblu

Well, today I decided to play.

I should have been packing what the kids need for camp, or cleaning, or doing laundry, or running errands...all the things I told my hubby I'd be doing today, but for some reason...okay, the reason is because I love Suziblu, I decided to take a video of myself. I asked my daughter{who insisted that she not be filmed} to take it for me while we were eating the lunch she brought from Trader Joe's...but she just laughed at me. {I get that alot from my family, usually with a roll of the eyes} Anyhow, the only video camera I have is just an "extra" on my regular camera, so the quality isn't that great...well, neither is the subjuect matter, but it was fun to do....we laughed alot. So for me, the girl who doesn't even like photos of herself, this is a big step to show myself "raw to the world"....oh, and on top of it, the house was a mess with "camp" piles while I walking through it....but I digress !

So here I am.....on my first {and maybe last} youtube video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByPsy1uXGSo

broken words, maybe

I want to write the words that are on my mind,

but they're broken.

All I'm seeing is a big pile of letters,

wishing they could right themselves in order to make sense.

~~~~~

Maybe the words are there...in my head,

and not broken at all

and they do make sense

and maybe I'm just scared to share them.

Maybe I'm afraid that if I said what I really wanted to say,

I'd hurt the feelings of someone.

~~~~~

In fact, I know that's the reason

I'm not writing what I want to write...

because of the feelings

of someone

who could, maybe....

read this blog and know that I was talking about them.

~~~~~

It doesn't seem fair, does it ?

That this is my blog,

my place to express myself

and yet

today I'm feeling

that I can't write or say what I want to.

~~~~~

My feelings are still fresh

at the moment.

And somewhere in my head I'm hearing

the words

wait.

So maybe this isn't the right time to let those feelings

birth the words that go along with them.

~~~~~

So for now,

I'll keep those words

mostly to myself,

mostly bottled up,

while my hubbby helps me sort out my feelings

and

supports me

and gives me strength

and helps me lift those broken words.

skunk cabbage

My view while down in the wetlands.

I'm not sure why I find this plant interesting, but I do.

This is what it looks like today...

and that's my hubby getting close enough to it to see if it really does smell awful,

and it doesn't,

unless it gets crushed.

It looks like a huge head of lettuce,

good enough to eat,

but I guess that animals

find it really digusting.

Here's another photo of the skunk cabbage,

from early spring,

just as it was starting to grow out of the wetlands

at our cottage.

And then another week or so.....

~~~~~

As you can see,

we have tons it...

none of the plants are close to the cottage,

but the valley and the wetlands

are full of it.

build it and they will come......

"it" being a new journal and "they" being my thoughts

~~~~~

Yes people, I've actually been in my studio playing.

{look at that mess}

I've probably lost all of my "art buddies" since it's been FOREVER

that I've posted anything art related.

So if you're still out there, I've got some journal pages ready to share with you.

This is my first moleskin to work in....

thanks to Suziblu.

{don't you just love her and want to spend a day with her?}

It's a longer, skinner moleskin

and obviously I had a hard time

trying to photograph

2 pages at once.

I'm not sure which one she uses,
but I liked that this one had watercolor paper in it...
I like that heavy feel !

I used the "regular" stuff...
magazine everything, rub-ons, markers and paint

and tons of my scrapbook paper...

some words from the newspaper

and my new favorite thing...

paper drywall tape.

I love using the magazine "real simple"

and the catalogs "anthropologie" and "toast."

Can you tell that the picture on the right is a mug of tea ?

{actually it's probably coffee, but since I hate coffee and LOVE tea, it's tea}

And these two pages are my favorite, so far.....

between my love of a good beach and the saying on her hat...

well, it's just so me.

{you should be able to click on any photo to enlarge it}

a whole box of kleenex and then some...

I cried alot the other night.

Not because I was hurt,

but because I love so deeply.

I cry easily.

I show my feelings freely.

And sometimes I let go to the point of no return.

~~~~~

I laughed the other night, too.

And I smiled.

I also did of alot of thinking.

~~~~~

Why all the emotions you ask ?

John and I watched,

P.S. I love you

If you've seen it, let me know how many tears you wiped away.

And if you haven't seen it,

please do.

I remember.......

20 years ago....

getting pregnant fairly easily~

being diagnosed with placenta abruption and being on bed rest for 14 long days~

taking it easy for 6 months~

growing huge boobs~

gaining 35 pounds~

having an epidural~

pushing for hours~

being told, "it's" sunny side up~

pushing and crying~

looking at the clock feeling helpless and miserable~

the doctor telling me they were going to use forceps~

John being close to fainting~

holding a beautiful baby girl~

instantly knowing my life would never be the same~

16 years ago.....

it taking us 9 months to conceive~

everyone in the family finding out we had sex at my parents house Christmas eve, as that was when I was most fertile~

growing huge boobs again~

this pregnancy being a breeze~

gaining 28 pounds~

picking the name Jack for a boy and not finding any girl names that we liked~

being overdue, grouchy and demanding at my ultrasound to find out what sex "it" was~

going into labor quickly~

wanting to push this baby out, but the doctor wasn't at the hospital, so I had to wait~

with one cough, out came the baby boy they told me "it" was~

being amazed once again in the miracle of life~

"happy mother's day to me"

even hairy moms deserve credit this weekend.....

And for a really good laugh that will make you appreciate being a sibling or a mother,

please entertain yourself with this video clip !!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bhcA4Ry65FU

and then just like that

my hair never gets pulled back

my floors are not dark

my dresses are not that short

and grey is not really "my" color

but I love being barefoot

I love black and white

and sometimes being upside down

is just what I need to shake out the cobwebs

and make the world look right again

as days go by

Last Friday, I got to meet someone.

Do you recognize her ?

She's in the red.....that's the famous Michelle Ward,

and she is a doll !

We had shared a few emails and had read each others blogs, but other than that we were strangers.

Strangers who hugged at the airport and then spent the next 90 minutes talking, laughing and gossiping in the car like we were old friends catching up !

I was taking her to Valley Ridge where she was teaching for the weekend.

Due to other plans, I wasn't able to take her class, but just spending time with her was worth it's weight in gold.

{and the tiny woman in green is michelle's mom who came down from Minnesota to spend the weekend with her at VR..adorable isn't she?}

Kathy and Bill, being the fabulous entertainers that they are, immediately gave us a full tour of their wonderful new home once we arrived.

Can you say ART ?

Every inch of their house is colorful and artful and I feel blessed to have seen it during the building process and now again upon completion.

So we all walked around for another hour or so ohhing and ahhing over everything and then it was time for me to leave and head back to Madison.

It was a beautiful night to drive.

The rain showers were long gone and the sky was still a bright blue with cloud shadows dancing around.

I turned the music up as loud as I could, and thought to myself...

this has been a great day !

just some stuff.....

First of all...a new banner !

The green in that photo screamed SPRING to me

so I had to use it.

Plus, the lace in the window...too cool !

~~~~~

Also, I have a new widget !

Sounds kind of like my undies are riding up, huh ?

But seriously,

on my side bar, you can see who most recently commented...

and it could be you !

~~~~~

And last but not least,

SIT DOWN NOW

and watch

AUGUST RUSH !!!

If you like~

love

art

music

children

wonderment

honesty

determination

and

wind chimes

YOU

will LOVE this movie !!!!

Even my macho 16 year old was glued to the television like we were !!!

What a great family night we had !!!

to be a kid....or a dog

Tired boy comes home from school and literally falls asleep as soon as his feet hit the carpet.

"but Mom, he's in my bed"

After an hour of napping, a phone call, a lick from Sophie and a change in body position, tired boy is still sleeping.

"fine, I'll let Jack stay in my bed ...but Mom, you gotta promise me that next time he has to at least make it to the couch before he passes out !"

it will always be all about the shoes

I did it...

and I'm still alive

to talk about it !

I didn't get hurt,

or hurt anyone else.

I didn't complain.

I remained focused.

I played by the rules.

~Yesterday~

I played golf !!

real golf~on a league~with other women

and I survived !!

Golfing for me has always been played with my hubby and he lets me play by the rules that I make up...like if I get tired, I can stop playing at anytime. If my ball goes into the rough, there is no penalty for picking it up and throwing it back into the fairway. If it takes me 8 putts to get the ball in the hole, but I think it should have only taken me 4 putts, well then we'll call it 6. If a ball lands in an area less than perfect, I get to move it to a new spot that is perfect. If my tee shot is awful, I get to hit another ball and pretend that the first ball never existed. If I think a hole is just kind of odd or too long, then I just let him play that one while I work on tanning my legs and last but not least, if we're playing 9 holes and I suck after 4, then I'm done.

So, can you imagine me after all those years of golfing with "my rules" playing by someone else's rules ??....me neither !!! But I did it and it was fun !!

And my new shoes and glove....

well they totally rocked !!

{and for any real golfers out there who think keeping score is important....it was a par 32 course and I shot a 58}