Inspiration #3

One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride.

~ Richard Nelson Bolles

Mornings

I wish I was a morning person. I wish I could wake up at the break of dawn, some warm summer morning. I'd sit in my back garden, listen to the birds and sip a cup of tea in my pyjamas. I wouldn't have to rush around, or worry about being late for the rest of the day, I could just take it in. I'm sure those quiet morning hours are some of the most inspiring of any day, I just can't get myself up in time to enjoy them. 6:30, maybe 7:00am would be perfect. I always mean to. I set my alarm and promise myself that tomorrow morning will be different - tomorrow morning I'll take the time to appreciate the coming day, quietly and contemplatively. But, of course, my alarm goes off, and I think...10 more minutes...I can spare 10 more minutes...

More Art Journal Entries

I uploaded these the other day and forgot to post them here.



Lyrics taken from "Why" by Annie Lennox. I love the song, it really resonates for me.



I'm not sure what this one is about, and I'm equally as sure about whether or not I like it.



I love how this one turned out. The poem on the left is taken from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland". You can't really read it - my scanner leaves much to be desired. Feel free to interpret it as you will, I'm afraid the actual explanation may offend some people.



This one was born from a conversation about equality and ignorance. I believe the original quote was, "equality has one enemy: ignorance," but I tweaked it a little for my own purposes. The meaning still stands true, I think. Art, for me, is a great equalizer.

I intended to write up a big long post about life and where it has got me so far, but the words just don't seem to be coming to me. They haven't come to me for a while, to be honest. It has nothing to do with my mood - I've been in a surprisingly good one for the last little bit. On the other hand, maybe it *does* have something to do with my mood. Does introspection come more fluidly when we're unhappy? Oh well, I'm sure there are words up there somewhere. I'll grab them, pull them down and post them here once I get the chance.

x

Inspiration #3

I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.

~ Leo Rosten

Boredom, Procrastination...Same Difference

I've been going out of my mind with boredom lately. I've kind of ended up holed up a bit for the last few weeks, and after a dreadful attempt at going on vacation, I think I'm kind of giving up trying to inject some excitement into my life. Instead, it's been all pizza, beer and Dr. Who. While you may call rewatching the entire series sad, I call it thereputic!

Been drawing more too. Well, not drawing. That suggests there's some modicum of effort put into it. I've been doodling, and every so often I produce something I quite like for more than ten minutes. I finished up my blanket too. I think knowing that I made it myself makes it all the more soft and snuggly.

Here's hoping things will pick up a little before the summer's over. I really don't want to spend all of the warm weather feeling less than inspired. I had to work over the weekend too, so that can't be helping my mood.

Our pool is toasty warm now, so I might stretch myself a bit and throw a family and friends backyard party.

x

Inspiration #2

It is better to be hated for what you are, than to be loved for what you are not.
~ Andre Gide

Wedding Day

Friends
Originally uploaded by PinkBeret

There's really nothing like being with your very best friend on the happiest day of her life. It really was a bit like being in a fairytale. I think we all grew up a little bit more. I'm still not a big supporter of the 'white wedding', and I'd never have the patience to undertake the project myself, but even I have to admit that it was beautiful.

I'm happy for Emily, and I'm so glad her wedding day was the success it was. Here's to many more days just as magical as this one, though, markedly lower key would be nice. :p

Inspiration #1

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
~ Mark Twain

Nostalgia

I woke up last night at 4:43pm. Usually when that happens, I can fall back to sleep, no problem, but not last night. After staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes, I sat up and made the mistake of looking around. My closet is full of stuff. I tend to sleep with the door closed so the monsters can't get me, but it wasn't closed, and I realized how absolutely jam-packed full of stuff it is. I never really pay much attention to the top shelves. I'm only 5'5", so everything I use, I throw on the shelves that are eye-level or below. The stuff up top? Haven't seen it for years. Until now.

Ignoring the stuff that I set up there for discretionary purposes, I found a ridiculous amount of old books and toys. I mean, stuff I haven't seen since I was 5, which is weird, because I moved into this house when I was 8. Anyway, I made a list:

• 6 "Where's Waldo" books
• A denim jacket with "Who's Afraid of the Dark" embroidered on the back in glow-in-the-dark thread
• Board games I've never heard of. What's "Go for Broke"?
• A chestnut
• Mousey-Bear!
• One of those paper lanterns they made us make in grade-school
• A pamphlet from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (England)
• An inflated ziplock bag with nothing in it
• Really old floppy disk copy of "Jill of the Jungle"

I think I may be well overdue some Spring cleaning, but since it isn't Spring yet, I'm going to hold off a little longer.

If anyone feels that Google's header today isn't the best thing ever, let me know. I dare you.