 |
| Fooling around with snow, light and shadows |
 |
| my old friend Maple Tree |
 |
| Snow ripples. |
 |
| More snow |
 |
| Tree tops of the acre...and a moody January sky... |
The digital sketchbook is full of winter shots, and I'm playing around with black and white which just seems to be the idea pallet choice for this time of year. We're deep into winter, and seeing the light returning one minute at a time...some days a little more than that...it's snowing again, lightly...we missed the big storm (for once), but I have to feel sorry for the poor souls in communities less able to deal with the snow, we get tired of it, but we make do...4 wheel drive is helpful, but it doesn't stop you from losing it on ice...drive carefully and get where you gotta go in one piece...
Lots has happened...last week, our son turned 25 last Saturday, I cooked his favorite spaghetti and meatballs for dinner...he's reached the milestone of no longer being our dependent, so no more tax write off...overall, we've raised a good kid who's grown into a mature young man, who still has a lot to learn...Where did the time go, right? Looking at the calendar today, I realized this is the day he finally came home from the hospital all those years ago (he was a month premature, so there were complications to be monitored.) It was hard for me to leave the hospital without my baby, and to go to the hospital every day to be with him, feed him, and recover (me), he was such a wee thing, about the size of a loaf of bread, the weight of a roasting chicken...I remember my brother telling me that our mother handed him a chicken at the grocery store the day her grandson was born and said "This is how much he weighs" (5 lbs 4oz).I just remember being so dang poor, working poor, we both had jobs, but barely got by, always a paycheck away from financial disaster. So my baby is all grown up...not yet on his own, but getting there...it's hard for the young people to get on with it these days, such a tenuous time...bottom line, I want him to be happy in life.
Last Sunday morning, I got a call from my sister that our mother had a stroke (she's 79, will be 80 in May). Thankfully, long story short, she's recovering quickly...the scary part was that it had affected her vision (she's a folk artist/painter so imagine the fright for a visual person to suddenly loose the one sense they rely on!) Within two days her vision returned to near normal, and she started painting on Thursday...WHEW! Call it a warning shot across her bow, I suppose...time to take it easy, slow down, take care... she's going to be fine. If anything, Mom is a force of nature... (aren't all moms?) Although she's physically tired, she's doing fine considering what she's been through.
In the midst of this, my Fred and I were preparing for our next art exhibition at
Moonlighting Gallery that opened last night, it's always a treat to meet and greet, talk to people about what I do creatively, painting, photography, and writing books...the positive energy of the night, the enthusiasm in the steady roar of voices filling the space, and the well-being of all made it a good night.
Oh, yes...2 weeks later, the wee kitten, Butters, is adjusting, doing what kittens do, only he's Mr. Mellow Yellow, not quite the curtain climber nut-job some kittens can be...not saying he doesn't have his moments of kitten crazies...he's fitting in, and he's happy. For him, life is good.
I'm glad it's Saturday, I'm tired, I need a break...I need to recharge...it's a juggling act to do all that I do and manage a body that rebels on a daily basis with chronic fatigue, pains in strange places...sometimes it's all I can do to stay upright and go forward, but I do it...
 |
| Looking down at my size 6 1/2's yesterday afternoon, telling myself, "Come on, you can do it..." |
