PEEKS

                                    

I promised peeks of my bedroom and bathroom that I have recently redecorated. I can honor part of that promise right now. I slipped in an additional color, by the way. When it was only gold and blue, it looked unfinished to me. I decided on maroon as the third color, and I am pleased with the choice. I still have more things I need to do with the room, but the bulk of what I had wanted to accomplish is done.

There are no photographs of the bathroom...yet. Up came the new rugs and down came the new towels when an area of drywall needed patched. (That is a story in and of itself!) No way was I going to let white dust settle on them. Plus, there are a few cracks in the grout around the tile in the shower that must be repaired. Until those two jobs are finished, I am going to withhold putting out anything pretty in there.

 

Hubby arrived home from his fishing trip, and I had not told him I was pulling a decorating surprise on him. In fact, when he would call, I would tell him I was just kicking back and relaxing. He was home for maybe five minutes when I lured him upstairs to take a bath with me. (Hey! I had been without a man for SIX days!) He opened the bedroom door, stepped just inside, and his eyes flew wide open...as did his mouth. He looooved the new look. Yay!

 

                     

 

And Easter Day was quite perfect in all respects. Count me as one individual who feels blessed. ::smile::

 

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." ~Andy Warhol     

HELLO, EASTER!

The timing is impeccable. My yard erupted in a riot of blooms just in time to greet Easter Day. And that makes me smile.                         

                                

 

 

                  

                                

                         

                       

                         

                        

To you and yours from me and mine, have a blessed and............

                                    

 

"It is the hour to rend thy chains, the blossom time of souls." ~Katherine Lee Bates

WIKIPEDIA MEME

                            

Chuck, who wears see-through raincoats and clown shoes, has this Wikipedia meme in his blog, Separation Anxiety. It requires you to choose three historical events, two births, and one death that occurred on your birthday and post them in your journal. Aside from being a fun meme, I also think it is interesting. I have always thought dates and numbers often oddly connect in our lives.

Anywhooooo, here are the ones that pertain to my date of my birth:

 

THREE HISTORICAL EVENTS:

1307 William Tell shot an apple off his son's head.

1894 1st newspaper Sunday color comic section published (NY World).

1949 Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers, was named NL's MVP.

 

TWO BIRTHS:

1789 Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, who went on to develop a method of photography

1928 Mickey Mouse, who made his debut in Steamboat Willie.

 

ONE DEATH:

1969 Joseph P. Kennedy died in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at age 81.

 

Curious information, isn't it? It is to me. Each particular listing made me pause and think about the person/cartoon character. Take for instance, William Tell. Who doesn't automatically equate his name with shooting that apple? Then, there is Jackie Robinson. History has told us all he went through to be accepted into the baseball world as a person and not as a color. Mickey Mouse? He made many people laugh and smile. He entertained the young and the old. Joseph Kennedy is not someone I admire in any way. When I discovered he died on my date of birth, I immediately thought of some of the very ugly things he did during his lifetime. At least I found something positive about him in that he fathered President Kennedy who married Jackie Bouvier. Now, SHE is someone I admired. And Daguerre? WOW. What an impact his invention (in conjunction with three other men) continues to make on the entire world.

 

History. Gotta love it.

 

"History is the ship carrying living memories to the future." ~ Stephen Spender

SURPRISE!

                             

My better half left Friday morning (our wedding anniversary!) to go on a fishing trip to North Carolina. Fishing is not one of his favorite things to do; he would much rather be golfing. However, he went with his father and brothers. All of them live out of town, so it is a treat when they can be together like this.

 

And as I tend to do whenever he is off gallivanting across the country on trips, I decided to "change" something. Mmhmm...he has arrived home many a time to discover I was a busy little lady while he was gone. Not all of the things I alter are major. Some are.

 

One time he pulled into the driveway to notice that I had completely redesigned the front flower beds. Gone were some flowering bushes which I felt obstructed the view of the door (I transplanted them to the large flower bed in the back yard). I widened sections. The harsh angles of the beds were replaced with curves. I planted grass to fill in areas where there were once some plants. He laughed and shook his head.

 

As his mother was nearing death, he went alone to spend a few days with her. To help me chase away the sadness, I wallpapered the dining room. Never mind that my previous wallpapering experiences consisted only of putting up wall borders. But, I am willing to try darn near anything. So, I did floor to ceiling wallpaper. It was gorgeous. ::huffing on my fingernails and buffing them on my shirt::

 

I had decorated our den/study for him to make into "his" room. He never used it. He preferred the family room. Off he went on a trip, and I painted the room and put up a wall border. I took out the television. I dragged out the recliner and replaced it with an overstuffed chair. Up went a new valance. I moved the desk to a different spot. I brought in some feminine knickknacks and candles. It was now MY den/study.

 

Another time I ripped down the wall border that lined the entire kitchen. Then, I painted...an entirely new and vivid color. The bay window area I painted to match the family room walls.

 

Those are just a few of the ways I have greeted his returns. ::smile::

 

Now he is in North Carolina. Until Thursday. What have I done this time? I am redoing our bedroom and master bathroom. No painting, though. I prefer the ecru walls we have. It sets off our cherry furniture nicely. I bought a beautiful overstuffed and oversized jacquard comforter and bedskirt (but it is not jacquard, just tone on tone stripes). In a burnished gold. It plays well with the drawer pulls on the dressers and night stands. The valances are the same jacquard/stripes with cording. The accent pillows are trimmed with cording or fringe. I brought navy blue into the scene via a couple of throw pillows. The navy goes well with the new navy towels and bath rugs. The window above the bathtub has the same gold valance that is in the bedroom. Everything looks SO FABULOUS. And it is one heckuva change from the previous colors. It looks slightly decadent, yet romantic. I am more than eager to see the hubster's reaction.    

 

Get the idea I like changes? Surprise changes? Impulsive changes? Yep. I do. I have never regretted any of the redecorating I have done. Looks like this time will be no different. ::wide smile:: 

 

"But there's always a creative side to me; even when it's quiet musically, it comes out in some other direction, like painting or decorating or planting a garden or writing a children's book or putting on make-up like a Kabuki artist." ~Carly Simon

SAILS

     

          (Thank you, Rob, for the use of this lovely photograph you took.)

 

How do you fix what you perceive to be a flaw in yourself? A flaw you have had as long as you can remember. Or does it even need to be changed? Do you accept that it is how you are and leave it at that?

 

I can be sailing smoothly across the water and enjoying the beautiful view and the breeze tousling my hair when suddenly one thing goes wrong. The wind leaves my sails, and I am left slumped over. Gone are the previous moments of relaxation and quiet joy. Replaced with a melancholy that clouds all the positives leading up to that one thing gone wrong.

 

For example, say that you had a wonderful day. That there were many laughs and smiles and feel-good happenings. You felt genuinely content and even somewhat giddy. Happiness surrounded you. Nite approached, and you were still riding the high the day brought to you. Then, in the blink of an eye, someone said something to upset you or hurt you or anger you. And BOOM. Wiped out was all of the day's happiness. It could be a big or little "something" and it would not make a difference. The fact is your mood is shot.

 

Well, I am that way. I am the one who lets go of the 99 pluses of the day and gets mired in the one minus. I hate it. I have tried very, very hard not to let anyone affect me to such an extent. As a general rule, it is only those I care about who can cause me to react in this manner. I suppose that is very telling in itself.

 

I do know that when morning comes, I will return to my former state of feeling upbeat and looking forward to a day of delight and smooth sailing with the wind once again nudging my sails.

 

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

EROTIC...OR NOT?

This painting may or may not be the final version. I need to look at it later. Usually, when I finish one, I step away from it for a time. When I return to it, something that is missing or needs adjusted sticks out like a sore thumb. Then there are those frustrating moments when a painting I thought I liked suddenly looks terrible to me. Time will tell how I feel about this one.

The main point of this entry is eroticism. I found a black and white photograph of this couple and was immediately taken by how erotic it was. My mind conjured up all sorts of scenarios that led up to the image I recreated (with some artistic license) here. Without the slightest bit of prodding, my thoughts took it further. To the end. To the climax, so to speak. ::smile::

 

Maybe it is only I who finds pictures like this to be highly erotic. Much more so than your run-of-the-mill nude couple. I suppose part of the appeal is because it leaves something to the imagination. And I do love my imagination. Part of it could also be the way the man and woman are positioned. Another very erotic aspect of it is that they are kissing. I do not think anything is more intimate than a passionate kiss. The joining of lips tells so much about the depth of feelings and the intensity of the passion.

 

This was a very fun painting for me to paint. I am quite happy I attempted it. Now, I just have to decide if I genuinely like it enough to keep it.

 

"What is erotic, like taste in art, is subjective." ~Kelly Borsheim

MONTANA, BASKETBALL & A BIRTHDAY

                                 

Who says you have to leave the United States to see glorious sights? Certainly not I. I think we have some gorgeous places right here to be appreciated. The above photos of Montana prove my point. They were taken during the trip my husband and kids went on without me.

I loaded these photos from the hubster's camera onto my computer very late Saturday nite. My worn-out husband and children were fast asleep when I did it. I transferred the pictures to a CD, and I sat here viewing them as a full-screen slide show. Wow! What fabulous sights they saw and adventures they had.

 

Yes, the guilt bug bit me. The "should have gone with them" insect would not let go. It took some doing for me to pry it from me, and only then after repeatedly telling myself that I NEEDED the solitude I found during their absence. Besides, the end result was a happier me and a family that met me with lots and lots of smiles, tight hugs, and kissssssses. It was evident they had missed me, as I had them.

 

The one photo displayed here is a close up shot of an elk. Hubby had told me he had gotten very near it to take its picture. He had also mentioned that it charged him! He ran, and it finally stopped its chase. After they arrived home, I asked my daughter if "Daddy had screamed like a woman while the elk was charging him." She said he had not. Pffft. I could have had some fun with that had he been a wussy.

 

Some of the other photos are of the entrance to Yellowstone Park, Boiling River, Big Sky mountains, the $1.6 million house they stayed in, and dog sledding. There were other places they visited, but far too many for me to put in here. They kept VERY busy. No wonder they were exhausted after they made it home.

 

NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: I do not want either of the teams to win the championship game tonite. I dislike the coaching style of Florida's coach. He is far too Pitino-esque and foaming at the mouth during games. And I dislike UCLA for reasons that pertain to the highly-questionable <insert illegal> acquisitions of the players that led the school to their lengthy string of past championship titles.

 

Because it is practically impossible for me to watch any sporting event without choosing someone to cheer, I guess I have to go with Florida. The LONE reason I will be rooting for them is because I have the hots for Joakim Noah. ::swooooooon:: That is one fine looking young man. All 6' 11" of him. For a big man, he moves with a grace that is seldom seen in someone his size. (I would imagine that comes from his father, Yannick Noah.) His face is almost pretty, and his ponytail is sexy. Mmmm, he is hottttt.

 

Geez, I guess broads in their forties can be considered dirty old women. ::grin::

 

BEST NEWS OF THE DAY: My son's birthday is today! Yay for him! I am 100% proud of the young adult he has become. He is incredible. I could not have handpicked a more terrific son. I have been blessed.

 

"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."  ~G.K. Chesterton

 

AND

 

"Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time." ~Jean Paul Richter