Shoes Are Like Crack For Women

So I love Law and Order. I watch it religiously and I wait for the zingers that the detectives predictably spout at least twice an episode. I am watching last week when Det. Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin) turns to Det. Fontana (Dennis Farina) and says, "Man, shoes are like crack for women." And I think to myself, yeah, he's right. I mean, don't necessarily feel a soaring high when I buy new shoes, but I love that feeling of finding the perfect pair: stylish, beautiful, so comfortable I could wear them all day. And it's even better when I get them for a bargain! I think the DSW may be my crack. Just two days ago I found the most fabulous pair of red pumps for a song. And really, who doesn't love having just the right shoes for every outfit? These sandals are my current favs. They have become my summer staples. Perfect for almost every summer occasion. Now if I could just find a pair in brown....

Everyone Loves Food

I am finally reading again. It must be the onset of Summer. It seems like my summer reading list has one common thread: food. I finished The Last Chinese Chef last week. It was a very good read. It was really informative and a fun story to connect all the history. I have just started Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Already I am captivated by her prose. Can't wait to finish it. On the bedside table are stacked: The Omnivore's Dilemma, 75 Exciting Vegetables for Your Garden, and Garlic And Sapphires. Perhaps all the gardening is seaping into the reading list :)

On the other hand, I just finished re-reading Harry Potter and The Order Of The Pheonix and I am ready to start (again) Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. I have to remember all the details before I can start the very last one! It's good to be back between the covers of a good book.

Growing Up

Hayes is getting so big. He's almost 6; he'll be in first grade next year. Four years ago I never would have believed I'd be feeling this way. He can get himself dressed. He can clean his room. He can tell funny jokes. He can carry on a full conversation. He can work the computer better that some adults. He is learning spanish. He is really his own person. And I just love him. Independence comes with a price, I know. But I am so in love with this kid right now. What am I ever going to do when he goes off to college?

Garden Passion

We've been doing a lot of gardening lately. In fact, today we created a raised bed for some lovely new veggies. It's a passion I can't seem to fully explain. I love the flowers and the fragrances of all the herbs; but the produce has really got me going. It's not that we've never planted a garden before, it's just that it's been a while. A long while. And I forgot how very satisfying and refreshing it is to plant and eat your own food. I love being in harmony with nature. I monitor those little plants every day, sometimes more than once. I can't get enough. I don't know what I'll do when we aren't planting any more. I just know that I need to keep turning the soil, nurturing the life that is planted there. Maybe we'll never move. How could I leave all my plants?

Looking for Feedback

I am reworking my artist statement in anticipation of putting together a portfolio to take to galleries. I know what I see when I look at my artwork, but I wonder what you see. If you have the time, I'd love to know what you see when you look at my work. For a little refresher, you can click on the label to the right that says "art" for posts with my artwork in them. Thanks!

Recent Additions

These are my newest pieces.

She's A Little Tied Up:


Man Totem:

Garden Weekend!

So we made some large changes in the backyard this weekend. Not only did we plant our church garden at the Gunns on Sunday, but we spent all of Saturday in the backyard with Hayes and Jezzy. Richard, God bless that man, dug 8 very large and difficult holes to house our new roses! For those of you who are unaware, the soil around here should not be called soil at all. It's clay. It's such hard clay, that Richard had to use the sledge hammer on the shovel in order to dig the holes out. We filled them three-quarters of the way full with water Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning, they had only drained half the water that was in them. I must say, the hard work is going to pay off nicely; these roses will be beautiful!



We also widened both the beds in the back, planted a couple of lavendar plants (ringed with white marble chips), and added two containers for veggies (due to the unfriendliness of said soil). We should have lots of lovely heirloom tomatoes, as well as basil, peppers and spinach this summer. Hayes even decided he wanted a strawberry plant and spent his allowance on one! (Shades of Eleanor at 3.) We are hoping to get one more whiskey barrel for the far corner of the yard to be filled with annuals. But we were just too tired this weekend to get there!

The Small And Mighty Garden

So we finally planted our wonderful garden as a church. I am so proud of us! We are going to learn so much about each other and how to be a community. Don't get me wrong; I think it'll be really hard work, maybe even drudgery sometimes. But I am excited none-the-less. Here is a copy of the Garden Blessing and some photos of the endeavor. It was a marvelous morning. (Scroll all the way down for all the pics!)



Garden Blessing

Leader:
Our garden began as a small idea and has become something we would never have imagined. This garden will be a place of hard work. We will learn the lessons of toil and patience, disappointment and surprise. We will be rewarded in the end with lessons we never saw coming, both negative and positive.

We will be reminded that we are not in control; no matter how attentively we tend it, we are only one factor in the life of this garden.

We will learn to live in the ambiguity of waiting: waiting for the sun to shine, the rain to fall, the plants to sprout, the fruit to ripen.

We will be reminded in our weeding that getting to the roots is of utmost importance. If we don’t, the weeds will return again and again.

We will find power in being in collaboration with nature and with God.

We will be reminded about our commitment to our community. We know we cannot create a garden and walk away. The garden will have to be taken care of, even when we don’t want to do it, or when we are sick, or on vacation, or very, very, tired.

We will be rewarded with nourishment of all kinds in the tending of this garden. It is my sincere wish that the lessons of the garden will be rich for us all.


**Process around the garden singing “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

**Children will plant some seeds in the garden.

**Everyone holds hands.

Blessing:

Almighty, everlasting God, sower and nourisher of the heavenly Word, you till the ground of our hearts with spiritual tools. Hear our prayers, please & pour your blessings upon these sprouting seeds, strengthen them in the gentle movement of soft winds, refresh them with the dew of heaven, and let them grow to full maturity for the good of body and soul. Grant us a sense of constant gratitude for your many gifts, so that the hungry may find rich nourishment in the fruits of the earth; so that we may find patience as we wait for the harvest; so that we may find wisdom in the working of this earth.