"Curtain Call..."

...for the last Blooming Tuesday post of this August.

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others.
We are all children of chance
and none can say why some fields will blossom
while others
lay brown beneath the August sun.
Care for those around you.
Look past your differences.
Their dreams are no less than yours,
their choices
no more easily made.
And give,
give in any way you can, of whatever you possess.
To give is to love.
To withhold is to wither.
Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared
and
your life will have meaning
and
your heart will have peace.”
~Kent Nerburn

"A Zen Batik..."

...painted with Daniel Smith's magical iridescent sapphire

watercolor.

Tilt it one way and it reads a soft blueish violet

with a rich satiny sheen.

Tilt it the other way...

and it takes on a glowing, sparkling-rich, deep sapphire color.

When digitally scanned

the magic vaporizes and the color become flat and stormy gray.

Such is life, sometimes.

I wish my family and friends on the eastern seaboard

a speedy recovery from any damage

suffered from Irene.

May the palette of your skies and coastlines return to

the sparkly sapphire of summer.

“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime.
Never make a negative decision in the low time.
Never make your most important decisions
when you are in your worst moods.
Wait.
Be patient.
The storm will pass.
The spring will come.”
~Robert H. Schuller

"A Sky Visitor..."

...back for a second blog visit.

What???

Another repeat, you ask??? Why???

Well...

I have been making art like crazy...and have lots to share....

BUT...(here come the excuses)

my nemesis, lately, has been my Illinois scanner

and now, a current bout with

a bit of the lazy summertime blues, blahs, and blehs.

Kids

are back to school today in Sycamore...

Hobby Lobby

has Christmas stuff on display...

and

I feel like I fell through a time warp...

What in the world has happpened to August???

Maybe

that sky visitor had something to do with it!

That's my story...I'm stickin' to it.

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures
come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
~George Washington

"Sensational..."

...another card in my whimsical "sensitive floral" series...:)

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

The simplification of anything is always sensational.”
~G. K. Chesterton

"Some Subtle, Soft..."

...Summer-Sunday Zen.

These branches are part of a much larger imaginary

"Tree of Life"

which magically sprouted in my Muse's mind

the beginning of this month.

I think she may have had a bit of an autumnal

breath or two in her spirit as well.

I know I most certainly do...
I am totally ready!

"I like trees because
they seem more resigned to the way they have to live
than other things do."
~Willa Cather, 1913

"Visiting My Brother..."

...today for my annual dental checkup.

This illo was drawn ink straight in..."lead free"

in my Illinois sketchbook just about three years ago

and posted on my blog

shortly thereafter.

I thought she deserved a repost today.

Guess we'll have to wait and see how my artistic Muse

actually interprets today's visit.

Maybe another illo might be in the works...:)

"Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable
than a diamond."
~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1605

"An Ivy Geranium..."

...a perfect bit of a virtual house warming gift

for my dear friend Jan.

Can't wait to see your new place and hear all your stories!

Soon...it must be soon! :)

"The ornaments of your house
will be the guests who frequent it."
~Author Unknown

"Nothing Beats..."

...a golden full moon piercing the darkness

of a late summer's night.

She glows in my eyes and dances in my heart...

quite enchanting, indeed! :)

“When I admire the wonder of a sunset
or the beauty of the moon,
my soul expands in worship of the Creator.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

"Awaiting Dr. Chen..."

...and viewing an eye chart from a whole new perspective.

“Language shapes the way we think,
and determines
what we can think about.”
~Benjamin Lee Whorf

"A Post From the Past...'

...with a potent and important application for me...today!

I MUST get busy

painting in my Illinois sketchbook...real soon.

Time spent here this summer

seems to be flying by at "break neck" speed.

At long last, yesterday, the humidity took a nose dive

and the weather became so

delightful and breezy we were able to open windows

and breathe in some yummy fresh air.

Hopefully,

this dry Canadian air mass will stick around for the

next few days...just

long enough for me to do some on site sketching.

Fingers and toes crossed!

“I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately,
extremely abstract.
No brush, no paint, no canvas...

I just think about it.”
~Stephen Wright

"For Anita..."

...in love and friendship.

I hold you close in my thoughts and prayers.

I wish you peace.

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings
in heaven
where the love of our lost ones pours through
and
shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”
~Eskimo Proverb

"Line Dancing..."

...all throughout the day and all through the night...

in Summer Sunday Zen style!

“While I dance I cannot judge,

I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life.
I can only be joyful and whole.
That is why I dance.”
~Hans Bos

"Salvation Happened Today..."

...with the unshackling of my purple coneflowers from their
smothering floral imprisonment!

This feat of strength was accomplished by Scott...
powered by his affinity for garden work
and fueled by
some tedious, labor-intensive work

digging up yards upon yards of overgrown and resistant
lily of the valley.
He was indeed a garden warrior!

For the last few years the lilies have assumed

the reigning monarchy

of my Illinois perennial garden

running rampant over almost anything in their way...

including the lawn,

the coneflowers,
the day lilies,
and the black eyed Susan's!

Today they have indeed met their match in Scott!

The drawing above

reappears here as a revival...all refreshed and renewed...

plucked from the sketchbook garden of
my previously posted art.

I thought it was fitting...especially today...

that she, too,

would once again stand with her real life sister...
free...unencumbered...and
all on her own. :)

“Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.”
~Buddha

"Whew! I Have Decided..."

...that my Arizona lungs do not mix well with with this
soggy, supersaturated Midwest humidity.

Yesterday started off muggy...

I knew that immediately when I awakened

to find the outside windows

dripping wet

and fogged over. Geesch!

Then by 3:00 in the afternoon

the air temperature here in Sycamore, Illinois was

90 degrees...

the dewpoint was 81 degrees...

making the THI (Temperature Humidity Index)

feel like it was 108 degrees!

Say WHAAAAAT????? UGH!
We then ended the day
with a tornado warning and fast moving thunderstorms.

The temps have dropped a bit...but

it's still not time

to open the windows for fresh air.
All is now quiet...and somewhat settled

except

for the classical chatter of crickets

and

the drone of our faithful air conditioner.
Thanks,

but, NO THANKS!!!

This is not

what I expected of August in Illinois.

As of this writing

desert heat is by far more preferable to me.

My Muse decided to

drew her impression of my "sweltering lovliness"

as we were both held captive indoors...the entire day...

again!!!

Whewwwwwwww!!!

Just Sayin'! :)

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.”
~Mark Twain