To the Artists

My friend Betsy forwarded me Eric Rhoads newsletter, Coffee with Eric and his blog post, Doing Your Soul Work.  I just LOVED this quote!

Bird graphic from The Graphics Fairy. 

I'm reminded of the story of John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls telling the story of writing Name.  They were a punk band, traveling around in a van and he was approaching 30 and thinking about getting a "real job," and maybe going back to college. Or plumbing school, because apparently he's really good at plumbing, which back in the 80's would not have wowed me, but now I just think, "Oooooh, bathroom remodel!"  :-)  But I squirreled. Anyway, he was having that what-should-I-do-with-my-life? conundrum and sat down on the sofa, and wrote Name, which was their first song on the radio and the rest is rock-n-roll history. 

Here's a clip of him telling the story, but this video is too adorable not to show:

And how could we not include Seth Godin on a conversation about art?  :-)

The Science of GRATITUDE

Loyal readers of this blog are familiar with our beLOVEd Bruce Lipton. Just in time for the season of Gratitude, comes this brilliant explanation of how gratitude enhances your health, happiness and life! EnJOY!!!  :-)

"Whatever you're waiting for, be of peace of mind, contentment, health. It will surely come; but only when you're ready to receive it with openness and gratitude. Of all the characteristics needed for both a happy and morally decent life, none surpasses gratitude. Happiness and health are the just rewards for living in gratitude." ~ Ben Franklin

Jammie Chat, Day 17: Advice

Quote:
"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."  ~Erica Jong

Jammie Chat, Day 16: You Are Not Your Addiction

Quote:

"Every addiction arises from an unconscious refusal to face and move through your own pain. Every addiction starts with pain and ends with pain. Whatever the substance you are addicted to--alcohol, food, legal or illegal drugs, or a person--you are using something or somebody to cover up your pain." ~Eckhart Tolle

I mis-remembered Cee Lo Green's quote, but you'll hear it in the Begin Again trailer:

Jammie Chat, Day 13

I am delirious, but promised to do a daily video, so here you go!

Quotes:

"If it doesn't open, it's not your door."  ~Zig Zigler

"The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times." ~Paulo Coelho, author of THE ALCHEMIST

For more photos about my office transformation (book pages "wallpaper" etc.)  click HERE.

Jammie Chat, Day 11: "Because it's one more."

Quote of the day:

"When the voice and the vision on the inside are more profound and more clear than all opinions on the outside, you've begun to master your life." ~Dr. John DeMartini

Spinal Tap ELEVEN reference:

View of My Labyrinth From Space

See that white speck in the clearing of trees? That's my chair in the center of the labyrinth.

Here's a closer view where you can sorta make out the lines:

Day 9 of Jammie Chat

"Sometimes when you think you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but actually you've been planted." ~Christine Caine

Jammie Chat, Day 8: Glittering Eyes & Feast of St. Michael

Quote card of the day:

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic, never will."  ~Roald Dahl

It's St. Michael's feast day, today. See some Archangel Michael cards from Doreen Virtue. :-)

One Engagement Ring, Disappointment Not Included

How's that for a 6-word story?  I've had on my endless To Do List to sell my engagement ring. I finally got it appraised and have listed it in my Etsy shop. I priced it a bit below its appraisal along with FREE SHIPPING so it will sell sooner rather than later; altho I know Christmas & Valentine's are the big engagement times. It really is a beautiful ring, but not being a jewelry person anyway, it's kinda wasted sitting in my brother's safe!  Originally I thought I'd turn it into a Claddagh ring. Meh. I'd rather remodel the bathroom. So that is what these funds are slated for.  :-)  Hopefully it will sell before Thanksgiving week, so I can do the remodel then. Fingers crossed!

Here are some some graphics I did:

I googled how to photograph jewelry. One photographer uses hot glue to keep rings sitting up, but I had glue dots. The first photo I took in front of a piece of scrapbook paper. I think that's my favourite. I love Paulo Coehlo and Rumi and those quotes. I saw the last quote on Pinterest and I thought it was sweet. So there it is! (Too many notes--name that movie). My ring for sale.  :-)

Russell Brand Quote

“You cannot define yourself in reference to other external coordinates, you must define yourself internally with a relationship with a higher entity. Think of yourself as a manifestation of some higher “thing”, some higher frequency, this is the visible realization. And you know that because you can’t see atoms can you? You certainly can’t see the forces that hold atoms together. There in the micro quantum world Richard, lie the answers to everything. we can't understand it with our logical rational minds, but we feel it, intuitively. get yourself in alignment with that stuff and you BEAM like the sun.”  ~Russell Brand   

Quote-of-the-Day

Quote

It's E.B. White's Birthday today.  :-)

And to quote Dave Dobson, "I wonder what you can get curious about."  :-)

Quote

Grasshopper Quote

This is from this Monday's Grasshopper Note by John Morgan:

Nothing says "inspirational quote" like a pretty landscape. :-) Photo by Andrew Meade.

Quote of the Day

Autumnal Gloriousness

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.  ~Stanley Horowitz

I haven't posted nearly enough fall pictures! My favourite season & I've taken oodles of pix. We're past the peak now, and it's getting more wintery, altho the weather this week has been in the 60's.  :-)

Chiro-sister's stained glass looks different thru the seasons.

View out my kitchen window.

Directly off my back porch.

Neighbor Dave's river lot. So inviting for trespassers!  ;-)

Along the river on the way to Indian Grave Ridge.

And a few pix from Mum's driveway:

 BEAUTIFUL fall foilage.  ;-)

Fall Friday

My Porch Swing thru The Seasons

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  

~ George Eliot

Currently autumn.

The days are deliciously crisp, and even tho we had such a dry summer, autumn colours are still GLORIOUS! As we move closer to this . . .

And back to this . . .

For everything, a season, etc.  :-)

PLAY Quote

The above is a quote from the book  Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. If you click on the link, you'll find a wonderful interview with the author on the site, as well.. I haven't read the book yet, but as an educator, I always thought the best way to learn is thru play. Because it's just more funner for me as a teacher, and for the student. And I like the idea that there is scientific research to back me up for appearing to be frivolous. To quote Dr. Seuss: These things are fun, and fun is good.  Or something like that.

So you know what's funny? There's a review of the book entitled, "Meh."

Highlighted bits for my own amusement:

I really like the premise of this book, but it seemed a bit too "touchy-feely" or even fluffy - I was looking for a bit more grounded information about play, a bit more of the science behind it. What is presented here is definitely accessible, and probably is great for people that don't really understand "why play?". However, for someone involved in the field, the reading is a bit too light.


Oh the delicious irony!  It's so . . .  serious in tone. Because a book about play needs to be un-fluffy and heavy. This field s/he's involved in: is it a PLAYing field?

Whispers of JOY

From my dear friend Joy, whose book, Whispers of Joy, I have been savoring. Check out her blog, and I'll leave you with a quote with this morning's sunrise:

Quote of the Day

Beautiful tea cup from the Graphics Fairy. And quote from one of my favourite authors. I've been writing this blog for almost 4 years and have started to categorize and create pages. I've been updating my quotes page and I came across the above quote. I had slapped this quote up on March 12, 2008. But out of all the quotes I've posted, I couldn't tell you the dates of any of them. Except this one on a morning that was uneventful and ordinary. When I was updating my Favourite Quotes page, and I came across this quote, it brought back the day that I had been so nonchalant in posting. This was the day that Remi died so suddenly, without warning. So I needed to do something to diffuse the grief that was still lingering. A pretty tea cup makes it better.

My sweet Remi.

 Sunrise with Remi.  :-)