I lost my Uncle Jim on November fifth. I have been avoiding this particular post because I don't want to admit that my uncle's life is over. That's denial, the first stage of grief. Anger follows, then the bargaining stage. Depression is the fourth stage, which is good to know. It's hard to see beyond depression at any time, but with grief, acceptance will follow. Yes, I started this post only a few weeks after UJ was laid to rest, but the idea of Lucky Bamboo Day is infused with the love I have for him and the rest of my family. I saw four decks of cards on a table, smelled beer, so I knew the Leeds crowd was there: Granny 'Daisy' Leeds, Uncle Frankie looking down his glasses, Aunt Jean laughing the loudest. May the spirit of Lucky Bamboo infuse all our lives, every day. We are all family and we are all lucky to know each other.
My best and only husband finally learned to control the Money Monster. Today we celebrate the credit he deserves.
Let the bartering games begin! Dragonfly Lake Scents is a local Erie startup of heavenly hand crafted soaps. I met the owners through Girl Scouts and hurried home to visit their website. I had a temper-tantrums with my beloved husband in range of righteous spittle. "How do I diplomatically say that their pictures suck? They deserve better than that." Long and short, here is my loot for a two hour shoot. In a couple weeks, we'll be going back to do the rest of their product line. Lest anyone be confused, these products and this image is the only thing I kept. Tenise and Mioshee own the other images I took. Plan to wait til I need more soap, then nudge Girlfriends. I'd have to go back to check the dates, but the last time I visited Terrilynn and the gang, I predicted they'd be in their new house by Thanksgiving. I, uh, was a little off, but TA DA! Barring any bizarre closing tragedy, I give you the outside of Terrilynn's first house. Terry is so proud he's about to become twins. These are just some quick snaps with gardening in mind. Can you dig that front porch, though?
About six seasons ago, Gramma and I happened across a community garden in the city of Erie. We stopped the car, after going across the street to ask if it was permitted to wander. I got to talking with one of the Sisters there, turns out her name is Sister Phyllis, about gardening and such. I left her one of my cards, then forgot about it. Out of the blue, I got a call last week, asking if I was still interested in helping children garden. Out of respect, I did not shout, "Hell, yes!" I'll be meeting the director of the program on Monday. Sweet and DUN! While I was getting a close up of these lovely double daffs, I caught the interest of a passer-by. I think the man is part of the neighborhood and wondered why I was laying on my belly in the middle of the sidewalk. We got to talking about cameras and I advised him to buy a Tamron lens if he is serious about cameras.
Cornball title, I know, but appropriate, doncha think? Haven't mentioned it before, but Mom went into rehab about a month ago to get stronger, then contracted pneumonia instead. This is after breathing carrots instead of swallowing them, but the short of the long is that I have been painting her place. This is me and my friend Nancy waiting for Mom to come home. I will bare my soul here, because I admit it took me more than a couple weeks to get started because there was that fraction of a possibility that Mom wouldn't come home. Hated to waste the paint. Today I give you an image to battle negativity. This is a symbol of Serenity, of peace between you and God, a relationship that needs celebrated and embraced often. I invite you to use it when you want to shout, "Get offa my cloud."
Call it what you will, I've looked down at my feet and I find that once again, I've hacked through the underbrush, re-invented the wheel and called out battle cries, just to find out the Girl Scouts have been sneaking around doing the same thing since 1912.
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May 2016
If you don't dream they can't come true
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