Merry Christmas!!

1 more sleep until Christmas Day!

I hope you and yours are all ready for the season. Whether you have a small Christmas with a few friends or loved ones, or if you are sleeping on the floor in an over-crowded family home with cousins galore, 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy 200th-Postiversary!

image source

Happy 200th!

Yes, it's true, this is my 200th blog post! Amazing!

I started this blog eight years ago, thinking it would just be a place to air my thoughts, share my ideas and maybe work out the messy innards of my complicated mind and heart.

I started using a blog before photos could even be added to a post!
Now that makes me feel old!

My very first post on September 21, 2006 was called "Growing Up & Sow's Ears", how's that for a catchy title?
It was about moving past my childish ways and thoughts, about growing up but also growing into who I was meant to be,

I look back on that post and I admire that young woman. (Yes, I know, I'm talking about myself.)
I admire her for sharing herself on this public platform, where sharing has hopefully encouraged others and inspired hope.
I admire her for her zeal and her vivacity. She has faced trials and sorrow but hasn't given up on herself, her God or her future.
I admire that even back then, she was starting to cast off her sackcloth of apathy and dissatisfaction and look around to embrace her talents and her abilities though her future was uncertain and foggy.
I admire that she continued to bear her soul, that she didn't settle for less, and that today she shines in small, subtle ways to those who know her best.

To answer the question....
Do I finally feel grown up?

Hmmm, let's see.
I feel like I am on my way to becoming a grown-up, an adult, a mature and valued member of society.

But the not-so-secret is...
I still like movies and popcorn and playing with Lego and watching cartoons!

As one 10-year old said to me after he and his brother wanted to head inside after an afternoon of playing with me in the snow, "Hey, you're just like a big kid, aren't you?"

Yes, yes I am.
I am a grown-up, but a grown-up who loves life, love and all the little things and no one can ever take that away from me!

I will always have a funny accent at the ready.
I will always be the best at making a new train track for my nephews.
I will always like bright colours...on my walls or on my clothes.
I will always choose rain and wind over heat and sun, just because I like how the wind whips my hair around and the rain makes the ground smell so fresh.
I will always be able to do all the voices from a storybook.
I will always be able to make up a song to make the time pass by more quickly.
I will always have clutter in my house that includes pretty shells and rocks I've found.
I will always be a little disorganized simply because I have so many things I still want to try.
I will always love dogs and animals and creatures big and small.
I will always love to colour, create, draw, craft, make something with my hands.
I will always make a fool of myself when I'm excited about something.
I will always wear my heart on my sleeve and in the blush of my cheeks.
I will always find the game in everything.
I will always prefer to be silly rather than serious.
I will always know those lyrics to some random song.
I will always come up with some interesting fact about where we are or what we are watching.
I will always be a nerd/geek/weirdo at heart. (yes that 200 image at the top is made up of Star Wars Lego  figurines...but not my own, just for the record.)
I will always care...about my family, my friends, my co-workers.
I will always eagerly give my heart away, even if that means it comes back needing much repair.
I will always be the loudest laugh in the room.
I will always, always be able to find the fun!

And if all that makes me childish or immature...then I am glad.
Because all that...is me!



To All of You:
Thank you for continuing to read my blog. 
I would love to hear from you and know how you like my posts, how you found my blog or just a little about you! Please comment below or send me an email sometime. :)

Such a Gem!

A few weeks ago I entered a giveaway contest from a blog I regularly read (SquirrellyMinds) and guess what? I won!! 
The Prize: An original gemstone watercolour painting of my choice!
Tan, of SquirrelyMinds, is genuinely talented and I love ALL of her watercolour art!

I was trying to pick an ideal candidate for a painting to adorn my wall and it came to me....I wonder if she could paint a geode!

What's a geode, you ask? 
Basically, a geode is a sedimentary or volcanic rock...with a surprise inside. Somewhere along the way a hollow or bubble formed inside the sediment or lava and crystals formed over time.

On the outside, a geode looks just like any other ordinary rock, plain, uninteresting. But once the inner hollow is accessed (cut or cracked), a geode's centre is a riot of colour and texture, catching light and reflecting it's glorious beauty.

Hmmm, makes me think we should never judge a rock by it's outer looks. :)

Why a geode, you ask?
When I was about six years old I was visiting my grandparents in northern BC and on a trip to a store with my grandfather, or Pops as we affectionately called him, I noticed a few of these beautiful rocks on display.
 Being the generous and most amazing Pops ever, he bought me one (what grandfather can't resist a granddaughter's charm?). This small stone fit in my own tiny palm, grey on the outside and sliced in half to reveal deep blues and purple crystals on the inside.

I've kept this momento and it has always been a warm reminder of my grandfather.

* Today, I am quite distressed. Since thinking about this geode, I have tossed my house looking for it, to no avail. It's misplaced! When I do find it I'll be sure to update you with a photo.

So, I asked Tan if she would venture to try painting me a geode.
Tan delivered!!

She created a wonderful, unique painting for me!

She also went the extra mile and delivered it to me, though sadly I had stepped out of my office and just missed her.
I came back to work to a lovely gift wrapped with crisp tissue and gold foil stickers spelling out my name!
(As a kid with a slightly unusual name, let me tell you anything with our correct name on it is a treasure!)

Here it is, my very own geode painting. Love it!

Thanks, Tan from SquirrelyMinds! (Psst, check out her wonderful blog!)

(Extra foil stickers cut outs from the front adornment.)

Love my new Geode Painting!

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my Weird & Wonderful Wednesday Series!
(have a look at Part 1)

Today I bring to you a sample of some of the weird & wonderful photos I've taken over the years.
Some are of oddities and some are just magical.
All are unedited and not at all enhanced.

This lot comes from all over the place and from over the past seven years.

     (*Bonus points if you can name where some of them are taken!)


Enjoy!

Love's Secret: A Risk Worth Taking

I've mentioned before that I love poetry.
I love the lilt, the play with language and wording.
I love the visual imagery a poet can create for their reader with a simple line of thought.

William Blake is one of my favourite poets.

Not only did he draw out wonderful imagery from his words, but he was a talented and other-worldly artist, creating art from metal etchings that most often included the poems themselves.

Some of his works are difficult to look at, with drastic themes and angry undertones. Yet, many I can appreciate for their simplicity and beauty.
 
This poem, "Love's Secret" is short and simple but deep.

The subject is describing what it was like to finally voice his love only to have his hopes dashed.
His affection is rejected and the object of his love is eventually whisked away by another. Sad.

Blake does hint, though, that if you never voice your love, it will never come into being.
Love only happens when it is proclaimed and admitted. 
For him, that love was lost.

Love is a risk, no matter how you seek it out.
You can never risk the good without risking the bad.

Perhaps I'm feeling a little melancholy tonight, since this poem, though a little sad, feels sweet to me.

Love's secret is just that...a secret, an inward longing, unless risked to have a voice.

"Love's Secret"
by William Blake

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind doth move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart,
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears.
Ah! she did depart!

Soon after she was gone from me,
A traveller came by,
Silently, invisibly:
He took her with a sigh.