Be Still and Know...Then and Now

A long, long time ago in a land far far away an old woman picked up a paint brush….. For my second foray into painting I have chosen a landscape I took while we vacationed in San Francisco. This picture was taken at Golden Gate Park in the Japanese Tea Garden. It was one of the most beautiful gardens I have seen in a very long time. The tranquil beauty and Japanese simplicity was stunning. October 2, 2010 I have found that if I do a few preliminary sketches first then I have a better sense of what the focal point of the painting needs to be. I also took the time to make a grid, which I did not do last time. I really regretted not taking the time to do this. My perspective suffered and there were many times as I painted over certain parts of my last painting that I whished I had taken the time to get my perspective right before diving in. October 26, 2010 I was finally able to transfer my grid to my canvas and get the main structure of the painting sketched out!   Decembe...

Yesterday was a very busy day. My morning stated at 6:15 when the alarm went off. I lazed a few minutes in bed but did not linger due to the very busy day I had ahead of me. I had spent the past two week getting ready for the orientation of my bible study that is about to start next week. Arriving at the church a full 30 minutes early in order to give myself PLENTY of time to get my room ready AND have a bit of quiet time before the rest of the member arrived was my hope. Now one of my pet peeves is tardiness. I don’t like to be late and I don’t like folks who are chronically late. However I was looking forward to a few moments of quiet to focus my thoughts when just after I walked in the door to my classroom one of the members shows up and there went my plan. So much for my focus. Seeing as it was orientation our business was conclude rather quickly and thankfully I was able to move on the the next item on my list. Taking the dog to the vet. Several months ago he had an unfortunat...

It is amazing the difference perspective brings to my life. When I think of my life and where I am at the ripe old age of 49. I see so many things that are surprising. I thought that the number 50 would bother me, but as I step into the year that I will draw near to this milestone I find that I am not as bothered by this approaching landmark as I thought I would be. The grey hairs kind of bug me at times, but not enough to exert the time, energy and expense to get rid of them. A blogging friend of mine called them credentials, Wow! I like that!! They aren’t grey hair or wrinkles they are credentials, have mercy!!!! The aches and pains are an inconvenience, but I have the perspective to recognize that they are minor in comparison to other physical health issues of some others that I know. The short term memory loss, (now what was I saying, why did I come in here and why are my car keys in the freezer?) this can be a blessing as it clears away the mind and allows me to simply lets go of ...