Angels

I woke up Saturday morning feeling like I wanted to tackle a project I had been thinking about. I know summer is coming to an end and I wanted to do something special with Mekayla so I called to see if she wanted to get creative with grandma. She was excited for the project.

The project started with some angels my sister-in-law Nancy made. The country colors weren't doing it for me and I thought I would try to freshen them up with some junk.

We used spray paint and brush on paint.

We painted, sawed, hammered, cut, nailed, drilled, and screwed.



The wings required some fancy engineering. The iron was screwed into a small block of wood. The small block of wood was screwed into the angel. I bought the weird iron pieces at a garage sale.
In my mind I thought the project would take two maybe three hours . . . it was five hours and as Mekayla said, "That was hard work!" "Yeah! But it was fun work!"I replied.
Interesting results aye?

With an old wooden heart I had in the garage and the little angel's wings, Mekayla made a sweet wall hanging. So cute!!!

It was a heavenly day.

I DID IT! I made of scrapbook of my chldhood stuff. I feel so happy even though the book is filled with hidden sadness and terrible report cards. I laid those ugly grades right out there for the world to see. I wish I had been a perfect child . . . I was lovable (and needing love) in spite of my weaknesses and failures.
There is a lot of commentary in the book. It is NOT a complete picture of me but it's okay. I can be satisfied with this effort.

This is what I put in the beginning of my book . . .

Many years ago my mother gave me a shirt box filled with scraps of my childhood. The box made me feel sad and confused. I couldn’t seem to make sense of the chronology of the objects. While the objects were saved they weren’t preserved or given special care.

It’s nice to have some remnants from my brief childhood even if some of the objects make me feel little insecure. This flotsam reminds me of old hurts, shame, and unrealized hopes. I know the unhappiness behind the smiles. I know how weak I was.
It doesn’t seem like I should have been such a miserable child, but I was. I used silliness to tread through my fear, anger, and disappointment like an alcoholic uses the drink to forget their troubles.

Recently I read Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd & Anne Kidd Taylor. Sue the daughter of a very capable mother wrote that every woman has to mother herself. Meaning not even our mothers know exactly what we need to nurture our potential or heal our hurts. This book is my attempt to mother myself. In making this book I am learning to love my imperfections, not be afraid to look at old scars, and go slowly so as not to tear open old wounds. And, resentment is evaporating. Crooked bangs look perfect on me.

Glad I Posted

I am glad I took the time to record some of these sweet moments in life. These weren't the only happy moments. Unfortunatley though there is still a cloud of anxiety and uncertainty hanging overhead.
I am working to rid my life of some of the stress, and these small accomplishments have brought me some relief, however the list of concerns is endless and my hands are weak. If I spent each day recording that day's concerns this little blog would be depressing. Instead I try to focus on the positive - not to appear in a better state than I am, rather I foucs on the positive to remind myself that my eyes see the blessings and that the blessings remain with me inspite of all the obstacles (internal & external) I have difficulty overcoming.

Gwen knows I love cicadas. For our annual gathering she gave me a wooden light switch plate of a cicada. It brings me joy when I see it.

I was a friend failure . . . I didn't get her anything.

Magic Bike

The grandkids stayed with us one weekend. I went and dug out Uncle Joel's little yellow Schwinn coaster. This little bike is perfect for learning how to ride a two wheeler. All my kids and about six other neighbor kids all learned how to ride a two wheeler on this bike. Arianna was so excited when she saw it. She learned how to ride it in two hours. Grandpa went and got her bike, took off the training wheels, and pumped the tires. Before long everyone was showing off their speed and agility.

Colorful Spheres

I've been trying to keep the creative flames going. I had the rag balls out. I am using them in a wall hanging. They remind me of marbles.

Keep Calm

Keep calm???? It's hard not to get excited about Doug's kegerator. Doug's Summer Wit beer was an amazing treat. It was a gift one savors for a long time in memory.

Virginia

We did have fun in between looking for jobs in Virginia. I found Utz chips (yummy), visited Manassas Clay where Mikkie teaches class, and we ate appetizers at a restaurant specializing in Cajun foods. We ate fried oysters, okra, and crayfish. We drank Purple Haze beer which is excellent. Turns out that Dan's in Clinton serves Purple Haze on tap. It is raspberry infused beer.

Super Egg

We went to Virginia to check out jobs. We stayed at Mickie's house. She gets amazing farm fresh eggs. This huge egg had three yolks!

Number Eleven

For Jeff's birthday we went to Comerica Park to see Sparky's number retired. I was freaking out about getting a sun burn and it turned out we sat way at the top in the shade. These were perfect seats as far as I was concerned (inexpensive and shady).
It was a fun moment to savor.

Pork Tacos

The local Mexcian grocer sells seasoned pork for tacos. The meat is quickly stir fried placed in two corn tortillas which are small and sweet. The meat is topped with diced onion, cilantro, and lime juice. mmmmm