Friday, August 30, 2013

Just a Quote for Friday

 
"I have seen what a laugh can do. It can
transform almost unbearable tears into
something bearable, even hopeful."
 
PS: I realize that as soon as I add my two-cents worth this post becomes not Just a Quote for Friday, but I wanted to tell you about my experience with this. My Uncle Wes (my mom's brother) and my own brother, Ron, are two of the funniest people I know. They have an effortless way of using humor to lighten any situation. When I found this quote I was instantly reminded of being at my mom's house, two days before she died. There was a house full of people and in our horrible sadness, Uncle Wes and Ron had us rolling in laughter. It did help in that moment. It did make that time feel bearable, even hopeful. And it felt so wonderful to laugh for a little bit in the midst of our sorrow. This just might be my new favorite quote!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Scavenger Hunt Photos

Hey there, friends!
Come on in! I have some Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt photos to share today.
 
#4 - An airplane
Some of the planes flying in and out of Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona do so by flying over this stretch of freeway that Carrie and I were on. I was really glad she was driving so I could snap a photo! I almost got the Sky Harbor sign in the shot too, but she was probably driving too fast... ;o)  {HOV 2+ lane is for "high occupancy vehicles with two or more people" - otherwise known as the carpool lane.}

#9 - A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
Even the garden angel seems to be ashamed of Lucky's digging.

#12 - A cloud in the shape of something.
Check!

#18 - Our local pub, bar, coffee house or tea shop
We went with "bar" and I snapped this photo at Flanny's in Tempe {Southeast corner of Rural and Elliot for my locals}.

#20 - a dinosaur
Going through some old sketch books I came across this comic strip that I clipped out back in 2007. My first thought was of Rinda's photography scavenger hunt!

I'm getting close to checking off every item on Rinda's list - only three more to go and I know where to find them. :o)

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

On Soup and Hunting

It's true. I married a hunter.
I’m not sure how it happened, but I did and I’m pretty happy about that. I mean, I didn’t really “marry a hunter” – I married Doug and it just so happens that he loves to hunt.

Doug’s lifelong love of the wilderness and hunting goes way back before his time with me. He and his two brothers have enjoyed camping and hunting for forever, and they love the outdoors more than anyone I’ve ever known.


I try hard to get past the idea that Doug might bring a beautiful {dead} animal home with him after a weekend of hunting. It makes me super sad for the animal, and in a weird twist of anything that makes sense, it makes me happy for Doug. How confusing is that?

 
I was recently watching a documentary called “HappyPeople – A Year in the Taiga” about a small village in Russia. It’s a beautiful film, and it follows the life of a few hunters/trappers over the course of a year. As I watched the film I was struck by the similarities between the people in the film and Doug and his brothers. The people in the film live entirely off the land - they are one with the planet and it’s the only life they’ve ever known.

I jotted down this quote from the film: “Hunting is the closest you can get to the earth.” The man in the film was making a point about the earth providing food for them, and how grateful he was for that.


Now granted, we don’t have the need to live off the land here in 2013, but in a way I understand Doug’s desire to do so. There’s something very primal about the process, and I know that Doug’s love of the wilderness and being out in nature is what soothes his soul. It is to him what yoga and art are to me.
 

 
So while I would never go hunt and/or kill an animal {unless my daughter’s life depended on it}, any more than Doug would ever be caught on a yoga mat, it’s one of those things I accept because I know it’s important for him.


And because I’m a good wife, I make stuff like hearty soups for him to take hunting to fill his belly - just in case he’s not able to live off the land for the weekend.

 




Item#21 - Me with an artistic tool or craft supply

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

It takes time to create a home.

...even for a turtle.
 

This week marks the two year anniversary of Doug and I living in our current house. When we bought it there was so much work to be done, remodeling wise, and I remember those first several months (or first whole year) wondering how and when we would ever reach the point of going from making it a livable house to creating a home. You know - a space with all of our stuff and those personal touches that just take time, void of remodeling dust.


One of the things I loved about this house when we saw it for the first time was that it had an atrium. I actually squealed when I first saw it! It was in shambles, but there was so much potential! {You can read the before and after atrium post here.} At the time I had no idea we'd be adding a box turtle to that space - oh my gosh that would have made it even MORE exciting!


In the past year and a half since Rex has lived in our atrium, the space has morphed into a little turtle sanctuary. The dichondra grass is well established, and all of the plants on my little corner shelf have filled in nicely. What you can't see is the strand of little white lights we have strung around the top of the atrium. It's just so dang cute at night with those lights on!


I know from experience that the cozy, homey part of a house doesn't happen right away. Oh sure, you move your boxes in, organize your kitchen, hang stuff on the walls, but the "home" part - the part that really makes it feel right - doesn't happen right away. It just takes time. That's what I think, anyway.


At the beginning of next year we will be putting this house on the market and setting our sights on a new house to fix up and eventually create a home in. There's a part of me that wants to hold on to this one, to relish in the comfort of spaces that are now seasoned and sweetly lived in. But then there's the other part that's ready for the next step in our home-creating history.


I wonder where my little corner shelf with plants will
fit in our new home, and where Rexy might live.
Hooray for new ways to create a home.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Easy Going Weekend Recap

Good day, blog friends.
I hope this post finds you already enjoying the brand new week.
 
My Monday morning started out a bit off, but I think it's on the upward swing now! Doug was away this weekend, and I was feeling very low energy. I really took it easy on Saturday, but made up for the down time on Sunday. Come on in...


Friday night I watched a cool documentary on Netflix called "Happy." It was interesting to hear the scientific findings on what makes people happy. :o) {Spoiler: it ain't the money.}

Saturday morning I went to yoga and stretched my hips and wrists and shoulders...ok...everything to the extreme. I came home from class, ate a light lunch, and fell asleep for three and a half hours! What the...? I never take naps and the next thing I knew I'd slept a chunk of the day away. I suppose it was just what I needed. I spent the rest of the day on the couch in charge of the remote control while the King of the Castle was away.


On Saturday I received a sweet card from my Aunt Sharon containing a couple of photos of my parents on their wedding day in 1960. They were babies! So much water under that bridge...


By Sunday morning my mood had lifted, and I spent my day more productively. An early morning trip to the grocery store meant that it wasn't too hot yet {although our temps were quite tolerable over the weekend} and then I made my grandma's zucchini bread. {zucchini = courgette}


This boy was good company this weekend.


And I took a bunch of photos of this guy's habitat this weekend. I'll share those soon.


And with that, I'm off to tackle the week ahead. Here's hoping it flies by because we're looking at a three-day weekend on the horizon...
 
Have a great one, everyone!
:o)

Friday, August 23, 2013

Just a Quote for Friday


"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face
like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."

~ Roald Dahl

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Finding My Way Back to Yoga


I took my first yoga class in the early 1990's. I had always wanted to try yoga, and with a recent divorce I felt ready to open myself up to something new and different.

I registered for a class at my local community college and I remember being super nervous for that first class. I didn’t know my way around campus, didn’t know what to expect from the class, and I wasn’t sure if yoga would really be for me.

 
As usual with worry, it was all for naught. I found the yoga room, the class wasn’t what I expected, but it was definitely for me. It was in that class that I took my first conscious deep belly breath – I breathed on purpose and with purpose.

As soon as I got back to my car after that first class I cried my eyes out. Maybe it was all the oxygen I took in. Maybe I was relieved that I had taken the first step, or the fact that I knew yoga had already changed me – with only one class. I was right where I belonged.

 
Way back then, in the early 1990’s, I was a bit of an emotional case. I was in my 30’s and trying to find my footing in this life. I was cynical and had no spiritual aspirations. I was finding my way with being a single parent, struggling with my body image, self-esteem, anxiety…sigh. Yes, I was a bit of a mess.

Competitive sports had never been fun for me, and I still suffered the sting of always being the last one chosen to be on the team in high school physical education classes. Man, I always hated that! My 7th grade gym teacher once told me that I ran like I was pulling a trailer, so I needless to say, my confidence level in any physical activity was pretty low.

 
One of the things that really appealed to me in that first yoga class was the reassurance from our teacher that yoga was a non-competitive practice. We honored the differences in our bodies, kept our minds free of personal judgment, honored our movements no matter how big or small, and never – I mean never – compared our progress to the person on the mat beside us. I loved that!

As I continued to practice, yoga became a safe haven for me. When the stresses of a crazy work day threatened to rock my boat, I paused and took deep breaths. While standing in line at the grocery store waiting to pay, I used that time to check my posture – to stand tall with my feet planted and breathe deeply while I waited. I found that yoga calmed me, no matter what the situation was.
 
I also carried myself differently and I gained more confidence in my physical abilities. It took time and practice, but eventually I could do some of the more advanced poses, and the physical strength I gained was something I’d never experienced before.
 

That was many years ago, and I could write blog posts about yoga and my experiences with it every day for the next couple of years if I set my mind to it. But this is a blog for random, not yoga. Having a shoulder injury took me away from my yoga practice for a few years, but as of last Saturday I am back on my mat.
 

I registered for a class at my local community college, and I found my way through campus and into the classroom. I kept my eyes on the teacher and not my neighbor, and I honored myself through poses that were once effortless but now presented new challenges for me.
 
After class I cried a few happy tears when I got back to my car. Maybe it was all the oxygen I took in. Maybe I was relieved that I had taken my first step back to yoga, or the fact that I knew yoga had already changed me.

Oh yes, I am right where I belong.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A Salad for the Turtles (and one for me)

I've been wanting to bring a little cohesiveness to the random nature of my blog {don't worry - it will still be plenty random}. I really enjoy publishing blog posts during the week, and having a bit of a blog post schedule helps me keep track of things.

It started a few years ago when I began posting Just a Quote for Friday. Then I accidentally started doing weekend recaps on Mondays almost two years ago and that's become a fun habit. I think having those regular features on my blog inspires me to pay attention and notice things around me that are noteworthy {...there's-a-story-there} and to take more photos.

So without making a big deal about it, I've been posting food related posts on Wednesdays for the past month or more. When I started, I created the post label "Food on Wednesday" because, try as I might, I just couldn't come up with a clever, sing-songy other thing to call it. Ha - I still can't! Anyway, I didn't want to make a big deal about it just in case I tried it and it fizzled out on me {cough...52 donuts} so I just kept it on the down low.

And now that that's out of the way,
today we're talking turtle food.


I need to be better about packing a lunch for myself during the week. Somehow I seem to be able to make time every morning to prepare delicious meals for our turtle friends - although a lot of times that involves simply thawing out some frozen shrimp and adding a side of cantaloupe.

One morning last week I was chopping some veggies for our turtles and I thought, "Hey, this would make a really good lunch for me too" so I pulled a few other ingredients together and made myself a salad to take to work. Rexy and Casper didn't get feta cheese or diced chicken though - their protein came in the form of a little sprinkle of "Turtle Treat" which is a really smelly shrimp-something-or-other in a jar. They love that stuff, and I hold my breath while doling it out.


Later that day, as I enjoyed my salad for lunch, I thought about how we take care of our pets. We love and dote on our dog, cat and two turtles, and it occurred to me that they just might eat better {healthier} than Doug and I do. How did that happen?



Gosh, they are such awesome pets and I know they deserve it, but they would probably say the same thing about us as their masters. If they could talk...surely they would...

Ok, the cat probably doesn't care, but the turtles might.

PS: I got my camera back! :o)!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

A Few More Scavenger Hunt Photos {from the beach}

Today I'm checking off three more items for
Wanna' see?
 
 Item #16 - a windmill
 
I took these photos on our drive to San Diego last week. I always love this part of the otherwise boring and desolate looking scenery on the way to California - when the windmills are in view and spinning. I had hopes of making a little trip to northern Arizona for a shot of a really cool windmill that I know, but I like these photos just as well, so I think I'm calling it good for item number sixteen.
 

 I already had a mosaic photo for item number 14, but I'm thinking that I like this one better: 
 

It's on the boardwalk at Pacific Beach in San Diego. Love!

 
And then there was item number nineteen - a fisherman. I knew I'd have an opportunity to take a photo of at least one fisherman during our California beach trip, and I took this photo the day we arrived. I just love the colors of the sky and the sand, and the fisherman's reflection too. I thought I was done and ready to move forward for this item...
 
#19 - a fisherman
 
The next morning we had plans to walk out onto a nearby pier and to my delight there was a kid's fishing derby going on that day. So I took a couple more shots, but I think I still like the one shown above the best for the fisherman prompt.

 
One of the things I love about Rinda's summer photography scavenger hunt is that it keeps my eyes open and searching for things I wouldn't normally pay attention to. As we were people-watching one of the days we were in San Diego, a guy rode by on a unicycle and Doug pointed him out. That was so two summers ago, but it's just so fun to continue to play along.

Sixteen down, five to go.
Four weeks left to find them.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Super Hot Weekend Recap

Hello, blog friends.
Wow it was hot here this weekend!
Doug was camping with his brothers this weekend so I was left to my own devices. It was one of those weekends that felt busy but unproductive the entire time, and only when I uploaded these photos to create this post did I realize where all that time went. It was a really good weekend. :o) Come, I'll show you...
 
The Jay-cat offered assistance with Project Life. As per the usual, all my photos are printed, trimmed down, corners rounded, and inserted into the little pockets, but I still have journaling to do.
 
 
My biggest news from the weekend is that I started my yoga class on Saturday. I haven't practiced much {hardly at all} over the past couple of years due to a shoulder injury, and it felt sooooo good to be back on the mat and in a classroom setting. The class I'm taking is at a local community college on Saturday mornings, and I'm sure you'll be hearing more about it as the semester rolls on. It was awesome, awesome, awesome!
 
 
Saturday night was spent with my girl C ~ girls night out, then in. We went to Whole Foods and shared a cheese plate, drank a little wine, and then bought flowers and breakfast supplies on our way out.
 
 
Doug was away for the night, so Carrie and her pup {Marcus} spent the night with Lucky and me. Marcus and Lucky are best friends. ♥ ♥ {and so are Carrie and I}
 

Sunday morning found me headed to IKEA to meet my friend Janae and her littles. IKEA isn't a great place for four-year old twins, so we dropped the kids off at the IKEA play area and did an hour's worth of power shopping. Really cool - you can drop your kiddos off in IKEA's play area for one hour, free of charge. They give you a little pager just in case they need you to come back, and the kids had a great time. Afterwards we all had lunch in the cafeteria, and ice cream cones before heading our separate way.


Worst part was coming out of IKEA in the mid-day heat, getting in the hot car and going to the grocery store. Just inside the front door of our local supermarket was a stack of jack-o-lanterns and it gave me hope that the cool temps of autumn are just around the corner. Somewhere...


Rexy doesn't seem to mind the heat this summer...

Last night, even though it was hot, I sat outside for a bit and enjoyed the setting sun, wondering how my weekend drifted by so quickly...


And the next thing you know, it's Monday morning and time to start all over again.

Autumn approaching means two things around here: hunting season for Doug, and me being left to my own devices. I feel some creativity brewing, and the thought of Christmas in our future. What does the onset of Autumn look like for you?

Have a lovey week, sweet friends!

PS: All photos were taken with my iPhone 4S...still no word on my camera repair status.
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